Cenvet Companion Animal Practitioner in Residence ProgramApplications are invited from the University of Sydney Faculty of Veterinary Science Partners in Veterinary Education to complete the Cenvet Companion Animal Practitioner in Residence Program.

This 12 week program will provide opportunities for continuing education in companion animal clinical studies and veterinary undergraduate education.The successful applicant will participate in the delivery of clinical services and clinical instruction in the areas of Small Animal Medicine, Surgery and Anaesthesia at the University Veterinary Centre Sydney.

CriteriaApplicants must be registered with the NSW Veterinary Surgeons Board, have a current licence to use radiation apparatus and be participants in the Faculty of Veterinary Science Partners in Veterinary Education Year 5 Program. They will need to demonstrate:

• Commitment to student education• Commitment to continuing education• Willingness to enter into a contractual agreement with the UVCS to provide clinical services to the UVCS • Willingness to participate in other prescribed activities related to the aims of the program

The successful applicant will receive an allowance of $13,000. The 12 week program is to be completed in a block period between August and December 2005.

Further information and application forms may be obtained from the Partners in Veterinary Education website http://www.vetsci.usyd.edu.au/partner_practices/ or from the Faculty Offi ce +61 (0)2 9351 3550.

The closing date for applications is 30 July 2005.

faculty of veterinary science | university of sydney | veterinary science foundation

www.vetsci.usyd.edu.au/Foundation june 2005 | issue 384

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The J D Stewart Address coincides with the Provet 2005 Partners in Veterinary

Education Conference. This event is held annually for our Partner Practitioners - practitioners who offer student placements in the lecture-free fi nal year program of the BVSc curriculum.

For the second year, the Faculty gratefully acknowledges the generosity of Provet as Principal Sponsor of the conference. Pfi zer is contributing as supporting sponsor.

The 2005 conference will focus on ultrasonography with special guest speakers Professor Graeme Allan (Veterinary Imaging Associates) and Dr Vanessa Barrs (Feline Specialist, University Veterinary Centre Sydney). The conference will also include sessions for feedback and discussion on the Partner Practice Program.

The Faculty will also announce the new Cenvet Companion Animal Practitioner in Residence program, which supports a Partner Practitioner for 12 weeks at the University Veterinary Centre Sydney. Associate Professor Geraldine Hunt, UVCS Director, explains ‘the program will be a great opportunity for us to benefi t from the expertise of partner practitioners, while giving them the opportunity to upgrade their skills in clinical practice and develop further as clinical teachers.’ The Faculty has secured a signifi cant Australian Research

Council grant (ARC) for advanced research in koala disease, welfare and treatment. The signifi cant grant will fund a three year research project, based at the Koala Hospital at Port Macquarie, into the prevention and treatment of chlamydiosis and cryptococcosis - the most important infectious diseases threatening the sustainability of local koala populations.

As an ARC ‘linkage’ grant, the project will also receive fi nancial and in-kind support from the following partners drawn from industry and wildlife organisations – bringing together their expertise in this area for the fi rst time:• The Australian Koala Foundation (leading national spokes- organisation for the conservation of the Koala – fi nancial and in- kind support)• Pfi zer Australia Pty Ltd (pharmaceutical and fi nancial support)• The Koala Preservation Society of New South Wales (expertise and facilities in treating sick and injured koalas)• WIRES (Wildlife Information and Rescue Service - cash support)• Mayne Vetnostics (diagnostic support)

Dr Mark Krockenberger (above) heads the Faculty’s team which includes Professor Paul Canfi eld, Drs Susan Hemsley, Damien Higgins and Merran Govendir, and the Post Graduate Foundation in Veterinary Science Dr Richard Malik. The work will continue the Faculty’s longstanding pioneering studies into koalas.

J D Stewart Address 2005

Professor Richard Whittington, the Faculty’s Chair of Farm Animal Health, will deliver the 2005 J D Stewart Address:

GLOBAL VETERINARY DEFENCE - new rol for v s in public health, food saf y, emerging diseas and biot err orism.

Richard will address the challenges faced by today’s veterinary scientists in the front line of human and animal health. Whether the issue is food safety, new fast-spreading animal viruses or the terrifying possibilities of bioterrorism, vets are often the first people to diagnose such problems and, most importantly, to alert government.

Professor Whittington is well placed to bring a global perspective to the subject, having studied diseases in Australian wildlife, fish and livestock since he graduated from the Faculty of Veterinary Science in 1980. He was instrumental in establishing the epidemiology and diagnosis of the 1995 and 1998 major epizootics that decimated wild pilchard populations around the Australian coastline.

Before joining the Faculty, Richard was Principal Research Scientist at the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute. He is a registered specialist in Veterinary Pathobiology, teaches undergraduate units of study, and supervises numerous postgraduate research students. He manages, within the Faculty, Australia’s OIE Reference Laboratory for Epizootic Haematopoietic Necrosis Virus (an internationally notifiable fish disease), leads the Faculty’s role in the Australian Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre, and is responsible for the Faculty’s on-line postgraduate degree in Veterinary Public Health Management. He currently leads research on the pathobiology of Johne’s Disease in ruminants with an important aim of mentoring future leaders in veterinary research.

The Faculty and Foundation extend a warm invitation to members of the profession and to our other friends and supporters to attend the Address. For further details, please contact (02) 9351 8026 or email vsf@vetsci.usyd.edu.au.

r u m e n a t i o n s

koala research update

Partners in Veterinary Education Conference 20052005 Conference2005 Conference15 July, 6pm

sponsored by Cenvet

faculty of veterinary science | university of sydney | veterinary science foundation

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We want your feedback and contributions. Contact the newsletter team on email

vsf@vetsci.usyd.edu.au, or phone Zara Gosson on (02) 9351 8026.

from the dean’s desk

The Veterinary Science Foundation has announced its 2005 fundraising concert, Animalia – the

Australian Youth Orchestra, Marshall McGuire and friends in a musical celebration of animals.

Guests will enjoy the inspirational playing of Australia’s most talented young musicians in a musical journey through the animal kingdom with soloists including renowned harpist Marshall McGuire, mezzo soprano Suzanne Johnston and Riley Lee, Australia’s only Grand Master of the Japanese flute, the shakuhachi. This once-only performance will be held on Thursday 1 December 2005 at the Verbrugghen Hall, Conservatorium of Music, Sydney and will raise funds for the work of the Veterinary Science Foundation. It will be an evening for music and animal lovers alike!

For further details or to receive an invitation please contact (02) 9351 8026 or email vsf@vetsci.usyd.edu.au

In May I attended my first Australian Veterinary Association Annual Conference in 20 years. The 2005 Conference was held at the new Convention Centre on the Gold Coast and was well

organised and well attended. The highlight of the congress for me was the Veterinary Education program. The Faculty was well represented at these sessions and consolidated its position as a leader in innovation and curricular design.

Associate Professor Rosanne Taylor chaired a key session and Associate Professor Jennie Hodgson (the 2004 winner of the AVA Excellence in Teaching Award) spoke about “turning students on to” microbiology using a case-based approach. Dr John Baguley reported on our final year program and the transition to practice. This presentation was nicely complemented by Dr John Aspley-Davis, a practitioner from Canberra. John’s daughter Amy graduated from Sydney in December 2004, and he spoke about managing the final year rotations of our student interns. Finally, Dr Trish Holyoake, our Senior Lecture in Intensive Animal Industries, gave an inspiring presentation on developing a Pig Health and Production Course for Australian veterinary students – an excellent collaborative project.

And just to round it off, we received the very pleasing news that Senior Lecturer Dr Paul McGreevy had won the 2005 AVA Excellence in Teaching Award.

There were, of course, many other contributors from the Faculty to the conference, and I was proud of the Sydney Faculty’s performance at the premier veterinary conference of 2005.

Dean, Professor Leo Jeffcott

Veterinary Science Foundation Fundraising Concert 2005

Emeritus Professor Cliff Gallagher passed away on 7 May 2005. A 1952 Graduate of Sydney and past

Dean of the Faculty, Emeritus Professor Gallagher was a life long supporter of the University of Sydney and the Faculty of Veterinary Science.

He was a pathfinder for veterinary biochemical pathology and received the highest University honour for research, a Doctor of Veterinary Science in 1962 at the unprecedented age of 37. He was amongst the first to encourage animal industry support of research programs into animal disease, a model for success that continues in the University and which is encouraged by the Federal Government. He also moved into areas of medical research including UV-induced skin cancer. This work continues in the Faculty today through a colleague Dr Vivienne Reeve. Until his retirement in 1990, Emeritus Professor Gallagher gained international recognition for the University and influenced many young research students and academics many of whom have gone on to highly successful careers both here and overseas.

Emeritus Professor Cliff Gallagher

Faculty NewsPro-Dean AppointmentProfessor Chis Maxwell, the Faculty’s

Associate Dean for Staff and Students, has been appointed the Faculty’s new Pro-Dean. Professor Maxwell commented, ‘I have greatly enjoyed working with our new Dean on a series of initiatives and the development of the Faculty’s 2005 -2010 strategic plan. I now look forward to taking these forward and continuing to support Professor Jeffcott in this role.’

Professor Maxwell will also continue to act as Associate Dean for Staff and Students until the end of the year.

The Australian Youth Orchestra