Taralyn McCarrel
Associate Professor, Large Animal Surgery
Ontario Veterinary College, Department of Clinical Studies
DVM, DACVS-LA
Profile
Dr. Taralyn McCarrel grew up in Brampton, Ontario, and spent her formative years riding horses and working at a nearby hunter-jumper barn. She gave up riding for several years in favour of academic pursuits, graduating from OVC’s Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program in 2006. She subsequently completed an internship in large animal medicine and surgery before moving to Ithaca, New York to pursue research in comparative orthopedics and regenerative medicine at Cornell University. She later left academia to complete an equine surgery residency at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, KY and attained board certification in large animal surgery with the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2014.
In 2015, McCarrel joined the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, supporting both the Large Animal Surgery Service and the Equine Lameness and Imaging Services. A passionate teacher, she developed the Equine Lameness and Imaging course and coordinated the Equine Surgery and Laboratory course. She also served as a consulting surgeon for the University of Florida Veterinary Hospital at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, FL when they opened a new state-of-the-art equine hospital in 2022.
McCarrel’s research focuses on orthobiologics, lameness diagnosis and upper airway surgery. For several years, she served as Director of the Florida Pari-Mutuel Wagering Laboratory, which maintained a group of fit Thoroughbred horses for pharmacokinetic studies (exploring how drugs move throughout the body) in collaboration with the Florida Racing Laboratory.
Research Interests
- Equine surgery
- Orthobiologics
- Advanced lameness diagnosis
- Upper airway surgery
- Equine performance
Professional Experience & Honours
Education
- DVM (2006), Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph
- Internship, Large Animal Surgery, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph
- Residency, Equine Surgery, Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, Lexington KY
- Board certification (2014), American College of Veterinary Surgeons
Selected Publications
🔗ORCiD Profile: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3124-4054
(Lead author(s), *Mentored student, ^Mentored resident)
Orthobiologics
- McCarrel TM. Equine Platelet-Rich Plasma. Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract. 2023 Dec;39(3):429-442. PMID: 37550126.
- Vieira CP, McCarrel TM, Grant MB. Novel methods to mobilize, isolate, and expand mesenchymal stem cells. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 May 27;22(11):5728. doi: 10.3390/ijms22115728. PMID: 34072061; PMCID: PMC8197893.
- McClain AK^, McCarrel TM. The effect of four different freezing conditions and time in frozen storage on the concentration of commonly measured growth factors and enzymes in equine platelet-rich plasma over six months. BMC Vet Res. 2019 Aug 14;15(1):292. doi: 10.1186/s12917-019-2040-4. PMID: 31412868.
- Longhini ALF, Salazar TE, Vieira C, Trinh T, Duan Y, Pay LM, Li Calzi S, Losh M, Johnston NA, Xie H, Kim M, Hunt RJ, Yoder MC, Santoro D, McCarrel TM, Grant MB. Peripheral blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells demonstrate immunomodulatory potential for therapeutic use in horses. PLoS One. 2019 Mar 14;14(3):e0212642. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212642. PMID: 30870461.
- Martin-Pena A, Porter RM, Plumton G, McCarrel TM, Morton AJ, Guijarro MV, Ghivizzani SC, Sharma B, Palmer GD. Lentiviral-based reporter constructs for profiling chondrogenic activity in primary equine cell populations. Eur Cell Mater. 2018 Oct 12;36:156-170. doi: 10.22203/eCM.v036a12. PMID: 30311630.
- Chu CR, Fortier LA, Williams A, Payne KA, McCarrel TM, Bowers ME, Jaramillo D. Minimally manipulated bone marrow concentrate compared with microfracture treatment of full-thickness chondral defects: A one-year study in an equine model. J Bone Joint Surg AM. 2018 Jan 17;100(2):138-146. PMID: 29342064.
- McCarrel TM, Pownder SL, Gilbert S, Koff MF, Castiglione E, Saska RA, Bradica G, Fortier LA. Two-year evaluation of osteochondral repair with a novel biphasic graft saturated in bone marrow in an equine model. Cartilage. 2017 Oct;8(4):406-416. PMID: 28934879.
- McCarrel TM, Mall NA, Lee AS, Cole BJ, Butty DC, Fortier LA. Considerations for the use of platelet-rich plasma in orthopaedic sports medicine. Sports Med. 2014 Aug;44(8):1025-36. PMID: 24760591.
- McCarrel TM, Minas T, Fortier LA. Optimization of leukocyte concentration in platelet-rich plasma for the treatment of tendinopathy. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2012 Oct 3;94(19):e143(1-8). doi: 10.2106/JBJS.L.00019. PMID: 23032594.
- Fortier LA, Barker JU, Strauss EJ, McCarrel TM, Cole BJ. The role of growth factors in cartilage repair. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2011 Oct;469(10):2706-15. PMID: 21403984.
- McCarrel TM, Fortier LA. Temporal growth factor release from platelet-rich plasma, trehalose lyophilized platelets, and bone marrow aspirate and their effect on tendon and ligament gene expression. J Orthop Res. 2009 Aug;27(8):1033-42. PMID: 19170097.
Lameness and Orthopedic Surgery
- Hoblick S*, Denagamage TN, Morton AJ, McCarrel TM. Antimicrobial prophylaxis is not indicated for horses undergoing general anaesthesia for elective orthopaedic MRI. Equine Vet J. 2024 May;56(3):475-483. doi: 10.1111/evj.13978. Epub 2023 Aug 2. PMID: 37531950.
- Elane GL, Biedrzycki AH, McCarrel TM, Banks SA, Morton AJ. Kinematics of the equine distal sesamoid (navicular) bone of the thoracic limb. Am J Vet Res. 2022 Jun 1;83(7):ajvr.21.07.0090. doi: 10.2460/ajvr.21.07.0090. PMID: 35930775.
- Trolinger-Meadows K, Morton A, McCarrel T, Porter E, Dryden V. Use of venography including the dorsal 60o proximal-palmaro/plantaro-distal oblique to improve the evaluation of nonlaminitic digital disease of the horse. Equine vet. Educ. 2022;34(11):e497-e508. http://doi.org/10.1111/eve.13539.
- Perez-Jimenez EE, Biedrzycki AH, Morton AJ, McCarrel TM. Three-dimensional printed guides for screw placement in equine navicular bones. Vet Surg. 2021 May;50(4):758-766. PMID: 33687084. Citations: 5
- McCarrel TM. Angular Limb Deformities: Growth Retardation. Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract. 2017 Aug;33(2):353-366. PMID: 28687095.
Pharmacology
- McCarrel TM, Cole C, Maxwell LK, Roe HA^, Morton AJ. Bupivacaine and liposomal bupivacaine do not produce prolonged perineural anesthesia in a lameness model and are detectable beyond clinical effect in conditioned Thoroughbreds. Am J Vet Res. 2024 Aug 23:1-9. doi: 10.2460/ajvr.24.06.0167. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39178895.
- Thomson ACS^, McCarrel TM, Zakharov A, Gomez B, Lyubimov A, Schwark WS, Mallicote MF, Portela DA, Bisiau AL*, Wakshlag JJ. Pharmacokinetics and tolerability of single-dose enteral cannabidiol and cannabidiolic acid rich hemp in horses (Equus caballus). Front Vet Sci. 2024 Apr 12;11:1356463. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1356463. PMID: 38681854; PMCID: PMC11047043.
- Maxwell L, McCarrel TM, Hay S, Cole C. Pharmacokinetics of aminocaproic acid in thoroughbred horses. J Vet Pharmacol Ther. 2023 Jul;46(4):250-256. PMID: 36994984.
- Schnabel LV, Papich MG, Divers TJ, Altier C, Aprea MS, McCarrel TM, Fortier LA. Pharmacokinetics and distribution of minocycline in mature horses after oral administration of multiple doses and comparison with minimum inhibitory concentrations. Equine Vet J. 2012 Jul;44(4):453-8. PMID: 21950341.
Respiratory
- Roe HA^, Biedrzycki AH, Davenport PW, Freeman DE, Porter EG, McCarrel TM. Three-dimensional models of the equine larynx can be used to perform traditional measures of arytenoid abduction and permit the positioning of modeled implants to demonstrate the anatomic feasibility of placing a rigid implant across the cricoarytenoid joint. Am J Vet Res. 2023 May 13;84(6):ajvr.22.11.0202. doi: 10.2460/ajvr.22.11.0202. PMID: 37160260.
- McCarrel TM and Woodie JB. Update on Laryngeal Disorders and Treatment. Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract. 2015 Apr;31(1):13-26. PMID: 25770065.
General Surgery
- Pozor MA, McCarrel TM, Perez Jimenez EE, Macpherson ML, Kelleman AA, Shelton KE. Endoscopic laser ablation of a midline cyst of the colliculus seminalis as a treatment for anejaculation in a stallion. J Equine Vet Sci. 2020 Mar;86:102896. doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2019.102896. Epub 2019 Dec 23. PMID: 32067666.
Book Chapters
- McCarrel TM. Superficial Digital Flexor Tendon Injury. In: Sprayberry KA and Robinson P, eds. Robinson’s Current Therapy in Equine Medicine. 7th ed. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Saunders; 2015:813-817.