Nora Mestorino

Nora Mestorino DVM is an Argentinian Doctor in Veterinary Medicine, Pharmacologist and Professor at the National University of La Plata, where she is the director of Laboratory of Pharmacological and Toxicological Studies at the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences. She is also a Category I Researcher from the Incentive Program for Teaching and Research of the Ministry of Education of Argentina. Her main areas of research are antibiotic resistance profiles, antibiotics used in subclinical bovine mastitis as well as pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic strategies as alternative therapies.
== Early life and education ==
Nora Mestorino was born on November 29, 1960, in Rivadavia, Mendoza province. She was the youngest and the only female from amongst five siblings. When she was three years old, her family moved to the city of La Plata, Buenos Aires province where she grew up. She attended the Escuela Normal Nacional Superior N°3 "Almafuerte La Plata" and graduated from high school in 1978.
Once graduated as a veterinarian from the National University of La Plata (UNLP) in 1984, she first started as Assistant of Pharmacology and Therapeutics Work Practice, later becoming Head of the Department until 1995. After several years, she became increasingly interested in teaching and research. Her main interests were general pharmacology and toxicology as well as pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics as alternatives to maximise the efficacy of drugs in food animals, mainly of antimicrobials on dairy farms in Argentina. Mestorino served as full Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology for the School of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad del Salvador (USAL) from 1990-2011 and at the Catholic University of Cuyo, San Luis, Argentina from 2010 to the present day. She was also Associate Professor of General Pharmacology and Pharmacodynamics at the Faculty of Medicine, UNLP from 2009 to 2012.
Mestorino has been Doctor of Veterinary Sciences at UNLP since 1993 and Associate Professor of Special Pharmacology and Toxicology at the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, UNLP since 2001.
== Career and research ==
After her PhD and her period as Head of the Pharmacology and Therapeutics Work Practice and several years teaching, Mestorino became a Category I Researcher to the Incentive Program for Research Work and Teaching, funded by the Ministry of Education of Argentina. She was later awarded several grants for various research projects including the International Foundation for Science (IFS) in 1998 (B/2726-1) for the study entitled "Pharmacokinetics of Antibiotics in Healthy and Mastitic Holstein Cows" and the Scientific-Technological Cooperation Program / MINCYT-FNRS (BE/08/05) which ran between 2008 and 2010. 
The rational use of antibiotics has always been a priority for Mestorino, hence she has advocated for optimising actions to prevent its effects on the public health. Through various documents and training meetings, Nora has expressed the importance of implementing management plans for antibiotics that would be suitable for each species, with withdrawal periods for each formulation being respected for animals intended for human consumption. She has also stressed the importance of the quality of antimicrobial processing and control for successful therapeutics and defended public health, good manufacturing practices in drug development and good laboratory practices as essential to making further progress in this field.
Through the research project PICT-2008 "Therapeutic Alternatives for the Rational Management of Subclinical Mastitis by Staphylococcus aureus", Mestorino and her team explored the pharmacokinetic behavior in milk of several antibiotics such as cloxacillin, amoxicillin/clavulanic, expiramycin, azithromycin and d/anofloxacin. Their assessment considered the production levels (high vs. low) and health status (healthy vs. suffering with mastitis) as variables of real interest in pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic behavior and therefore in therapeutic efficacy. During this project, bio-equivalence studies were carried out between various antibiotic formulations (ceftiofur, tilmicosin, oxytetracycline); this work had high technical impact in Argentina. From the study "Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Behavior of Antimicrobials at the Intracellular Level" (PICT-2010), Mestorino proposed to elucidate intracellular behavior of penicillin G, danofloxacin and azithromycin against S. aureus, as well as to evaluate second exposure effects of these antibiotics. In this work, Mestorino and her team were able to verify that none of the three agents tested achieved a bactericidal effect against S. aureus at the intracellular level. Based on these results, this study proposed to assess intracellular behavior of other antibiotics used in veterinary medicine and, particularly, in the treatment of bovine mastitis for re-evaluating all the therapeutic schemes used. Simultaneously, Nora and her team have worked on a study addressing the "Control of antimicrobial resistance in Escherichia coli - Epidemiological approach in the animal-environment-man system". They have evaluated therapeutic alternatives to reverse the bacterial resistance mediated by over-expression of efflux pumps. The team were able to verify that association of antimicrobials with pump inhibitors (1-(1-naphthylmethyl)-piperazine (NMP)) established a potentiation synergism to restore the sensitivity of some antimicrobials with decreased effectiveness due to antimicrobial resistance. This study won several awards including CEDIQUIFA 2011, ZOONOSIS 2014 and ZOONOSIS 2018. Nora believes that as knowledge deepened, new challenges arose: "We had to find alternatives that would increase antimicrobial efficacy at the intracellular level by approaching the virtual eradication effect of S. aureus." Thus Nora and her team began to venture into phytotherapy, specifically with Melaleuca armillaris essential oil. They have evaluated various antibiotic/essential oil combinations, for instance of M. armillaris with cloxicillin - an antibiotic widely used for bovine mastitis treatment – as well as with erythromycin and rifaximine) against S. aureus under different pH conditions. Some findings of synergistic and enhancing effects have been evidenced, encouraging the development of new formulations.
A common thread aimed at the prudent use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine and finding alternatives to antibiotic use as well as the control of bacterial resistance runs through Mestorino’s work. Over these years, she has developed a multidisciplinary group that works together to obtain scientifically based tools to effectively attack a multifactorial problem that affects the health of both animal and human populations worldwide.
Mestorino’s research focus on bovine mastitis allowed her to lead the research group for FONCYT-ANPCyT research projects in 2008, 2010, 2014 and 2018 and to collaborate with research on profiles of antimicrobial resistance in dairy farms in Argentina with the University of San Salvador (USAL) in 2011 and 2020. Nora’s and her research team’s interest in researching pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics set them on a path to researching natural alternatives to optimize antimicrobial efficacy which would impact on Argentinian public health. She collaborated in research projects funded by Aids to Research Groups Santander ECL and CyT-UNLP in 2012 and 2019. Mestorino is also part of a number of editorial committees, acting as Associate Editor of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology as well as Frontiers in Veterinary Science and Academic Editor of Veterinary Medicine International. She acts as a peer reviewer for Journals of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, African Journal of Microbiology Research,Analecta Veterinaria, FCV – UNLP,Chemical Biology and Drug Design, Wiley-Blackwell, Environmental Research, Food and Chemical Toxicology, International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, International Research Journal of Agricultural Science and Soil Science, Iranian Journal of Applied Animal Science Iran, Journal of Bacteriology Research, Journal of Medicine and Health Research, Natural Science, Revista Argentina de Microbiología, Revista Cuyana, FCV – UCC, Journal of the College of Veterinarians of the Province of Buenos Aires, Small Ruminant Research and The Veterinary Journal.
== Recognition ==
# Prize "Stimulus to Scientific Research", Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Buenos Aires. 1998. Theme: Pharmacokinetic Study of Ricobendazole (RBZ) in cattle administered by different pathways, Formentini, E., Mestorino, N., Errecalde, J.O. Resolution (CD) No. 364/98
# Award for Best Presentation. 2007. Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic integration of danofloxacin in cows carrying subclinical mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus. XVII Argentine Conferences and XII Latin American Veterinary Drug-Toxicology Days, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, National University of La Pampa. September 13, General Pico, La Pampa. Lucas, M.; Marchetti, L.; Mestorino, N.
# Award for Best Presentation. 2008. Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic integration of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid in cows with subclinical mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus. XVIII Argentine Days and XIII Latin American Pharmaco-Toxicology Veterinary Days Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Buenos Aires. September 5, Buenos Aires. Lucas, M., Marchetti, M.L., Mestorino, N.
# Award for Best Presentation. 2008. Tylosin in healthy hives after administration in summer. XVIII Argentine and XIII Latin American Veterinary Drug-Toxicology Conferences, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Buenos Aires. September 5, Buenos Aires. Huber, B., Quintero M., Greve, E., Mestorino, N.
# Award for Best Presentation. 2008. Stability of tylosin in honey. XVIII Argentine and XIII Latin American Veterinary Drug-Toxicology Conferences, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Buenos Aires. September 5, Buenos Aires. Huber, B., Quintero, M., Mestorino, N.
# Award for Best Presentation. 2008. Resistance profiles in isolated Escherichia coli strains of dairy cows in the province of Buenos Aires. XVIII Argentine Days and XIII Latin American Days of Pharmaco-Veterinary Toxicology Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Buenos Aires. September 5, Buenos Aires. Marchetti, M.L., Lucas, M., Mestorino, N.
# Award for Best Presentation on Antibiotic and Antiparasitic Waste Area. 2010 (Res. C.D. No. 369/10). Quantification of enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin in chicken feathers by HPLC-fluorescence. XX National and XV Latin American Conferences on Pharmacology and Veterinary Toxicology. Hope. Holy Faith. Valle, C., Errecalde, J., Mestorino, N.
# Award for Best Presentation on Pharmacokinetics of Antibiotics. 2010 (Res. C.D. No. 369/10). Tylosin in healthy hives after administration at different productive times. XX National and XV Latin American Conferences on Pharmacology and Veterinary Toxicology. Hope, Santa Fe. Huber, B., Mestorino, N., Errecalde, J.
# CEDIQUIFA SCIENTIFIC AWARD 2011. Therapeutic Alternatives to Reverse Multiresistance Mediated by Eflux Pumps. Marchetti, M.L., Errecalde, J., Mestorino, N.
# Honor mention award for the presentation of Effects of 1-(1-naphthylmethyl)-piperazine on the CIM90 and CIM50 of florfenicol, ciprofloxacin and tetracycline in multi-resistant Escherichia coli of various origins. 2012. Health Area, V Days of Clinical, Industrial and Environmental Microbiology of the Province of Buenos Aires, October 9 and 11. La Plata. Marchetti M.L.; Remezovski N.; Mestorino N. 
# Honorable mention award for the presentation of Residual profiles of ivermectin in grilled chicken. 2013. Discipline Basic Sciences. 8th International Days of Practical Veterinary Medicine organized by the College of Veterinarians of the Province of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata. 9-10 August. Buchamer A.; Marchetti, ML.; Mestorino N.
# Award for Best Presentation. 2014. Effect of the association of an efflux pump inhibitor on the bacterial kinetics of Escherichia coli. III Pan-American Congress of Zoonosis. VIII Argentine Congress of Zoonosis. Faculty of Medical Sciences, UNLP, 4-6 June. Marchetti, L., Vedovato, V. Buchamer, A., Chiarizia, J., Cabril, Y., Mestorino, N.
# First prize for the best poster. 2015. Time-kill assay for determining the in vitro activity of an efflux pump inhibitor with three antimicrobials against Escherichia coli. 2015. 13th EAVPT International Congress. Nantes (France). 19-22 July. Marchetti, L., Buchamer, A., Chiarizia, J., Mestorino, N.
# Thesis Award, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, National University of La Plata. 2017. Antimicrobial effects of the combination cloxacillin and essential oil of Melaleuca armillaris against Staphylococcus aureus. Work to be published in Analecta Magazine No. 2. Buldain, D., Buchamer, A., Marchetti, L., Aliverti, F., Borja, C., Mestorino, N.
# Award for Best Presentation. 2018. Evaluation of the association of antimicrobials with 1- (1-naphthylmethylpiperazine) against Escherichia coli wild type multi-resistant strains isolated from commercial farms. Second International Congress of Zoonosis and IX Argentine Congress of Zoonosis 2018. Marchetti, L; Buchamer, A.; Buldain, D., Aliverti, F.; Gortari, L.; Roberto, B.; Mestorino, N.
Category:Argentine public health doctors
Category:1960 births
Category:People from Comodoro Rivadavia