Organising Committee

Chair

Prof. Michael Ward

Michael Ward is Chair, Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety at the Sydney School of Veterinary Science. He is a veterinary epidemiologist with experience in analytical epidemiological methods, spatial epidemiology and simulation modeling. Michael has more than 30 years’ experience in conducting research on infectious diseases, including West Nile virus in the U.S., FMD in Argentina, bird flu in Romania and rabies in southeast Asia. He is a veterinary graduate of the University of Queensland and has held positions within the Queensland Department of Primary Industries as well as the veterinary schools at Purdue University (Indiana) and Texas A&M University.

Co-Chair

Prof. Marta Hernández-Jover

Marta Hernández-Jover is a Professor in Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health at the School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga. Prof Hernández-Jover has almost 20 years of experience working as a veterinary epidemiologist in Australia. Her main interests and current research focus on biosecurity, disease surveillance and epidemiology and social science methods applied to infectious animal diseases and public health. She completed her PhD on livestock traceability in 2006 in Spain. In 2006, Marta joined the University of Sydney as an Epidemiology research fellow and started at Charles Sturt University in 2012, where she teaches epidemiology, public health and food safety to veterinary students.

Treasurer

Dr. Simon Firestone

Simon is an Associate Professor in Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health in the Melbourne Veterinary School. He teaches epidemiology into the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, One Health breadth subjects and the Animal Disease Biotechnology stream of the Science degree. His research focuses on modelling infectious disease outbreaks, Bayesian diagnostic test validation, zoonoses surveillance, outbreak investigation and control, with projects on COVID-19, Q fever, foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever, Mycoplasma bovis, foodborne disease, influenzas and arboviruses. Simon is also a founding member of the World Organisation for Animal Health Collaborating Centre for Diagnostic Test Validation Science in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Scientific Program Committee Co-Chair

Prof. Mark Stevenson

Mark Stevenson is a veterinary epidemiologist with expertise in the areas of infectious disease epidemiology, spatial epidemiology and investigations into production limiting diseases of farmed livestock. Mark is currently Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology at The University of Melbourne where he leads a group working on applied veterinary epidemiological research with an emphasis on endemic and transboundary animal diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, bovine tuberculosis, foot-and-mouth disease, Q fever, African swine fever. Production limiting disease interests include reproductive performance in dairy cattle, lameness in dairy cattle, preweaning mortality in dairy goats, tail-biting in pigs and smothering in free range layer poultry.

Social Committee Chair

Prof. Jane Heller

Jane Heller is an Associate Professor in Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health at the School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences at Charles Sturt University. She is also the director of an epidemiological consultancy, ‘Heller Consulting’. A/Prof Heller trained in Epidemiology at the University of Glasgow (PhD and ECVPH residency) and has worked in Australia since 2009. Jane applies her epidemiological knowledge to many areas, but is particularly interested in infectious disease and zoonotic transfer of pathogens, with a focus on antimicrobial resistance and stewardship (AMR and AMS), and Q fever. She is increasingly interested in the way that social aspects influence zoonotic disease and the uptake (or lack thereof) of educational resources, collaborative systems and preventive measures. Jane co-founded the AMR Vet Collective (www.amrvetcollective.com) and associated free online learning program (www.vetams.org), a Not for Profit, developed with the aim of translating the science around AMR and AMS and engaging veterinarians in this space. 

Scientific Program Committee Co-Chair

Dr. Anke Wiethoelter

Dr Anke Wiethoelter is a Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Epidemiology and One Health at the Melbourne Veterinary School with a research focus on infectious diseases at the wildlife-livestock-human interface and determinants of health behaviour. She teaches epidemiology, evidence-based practice, and One Health to undergraduate and graduate students. Previously, Anke assessed prion disease risks in free-ranging mouflons for the German Ministry of Agriculture, managed the German National Research Platform for Zoonoses, collaborated with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on a scoping review of wildlife-livestock diseases, and explored Hendra virus risk perceptions with NSW and QLD Departments of Primary Industries.

Social Committee Co-Chair

Dr. Charles Caraguel

Dr Charles Caraguel is an Associate Professor and lead veterinary epidemiologist at the School of Animal & Veterinary Sciences, The University of Adelaide in South Australia. Originally from France, Charles pursued his post-veterinary graduate training in Prince Edward Island (Canada) before to move to Australia in 2011. Although Charles applies epidemiology to a wide range of host species, he has a particular interest in health management of aquatic animal species (i.e. finfish, crustaceans and molluscs). Beside a passion in sharing and transmitting his knowledge about veterinary epidemiology, Charles is also activity invested in research by addressing impactful disease challenges and progressing epidemiological techniques (details available here: https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/charles.caraguel ). When Charles is not working, he enjoys going to the beach for surfing and fishing. Charles attended all ISVEE conferences since 2009 in Durban (ISVEE12) when he was a PhD student.

Sponsorship, External Engagement, Marketing and Scholarships Committee Chair

Dr. Peter Black

Dr Peter Black is a veterinary epidemiologist with extensive experience in addressing emerging infectious disease and transboundary animal disease threats. He currently works as a private consultant based on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. From 2014 to 2018, he was the Deputy Regional Manager of the Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) based in Bangkok with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Before joining FAO, he worked on animal health and disease control related activities for Australian National and State Government Departments of Agriculture for more than 30 years.

Sponsorship, External Engagement, Marketing and Scholarships Committee Co-Chair

Dr. Skye Fruean

Dr Skye Fruean is a principal veterinarian leading a team of veterinarians within the biosecurity sector of the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

Skye has worked as a veterinarian in a variety of roles over the past two decades within Australia and the Pacific region, including clinical mixed practice, applied epidemiology in a clinical setting, capacity development, and animal health policy, risk analysis and surveillance. Skye is a member and recent past-President of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists Epidemiology Chapter and also has post-graduate qualifications in veterinary public health and management.

Workshops Committee Chair

Assoc Prof Victoria Brookes

Victoria Brookes is an Associate Professor in Epidemiology and One Health at the Sydney School of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney. She is a Fellow in Veterinary Epidemiology of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists and a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Science, specialising in the epidemiology of emerging and neglected infectious diseases. Victoria uses an interdisciplinary One Health approach to research infectious diseases in the Asia-Pacific region, and has conducted research for industry, government, and international organisations.

Workshops Committee Co-Chair

Dr. Jennifer Manyweathers

Jennifer is a senior lecturer in Veterinary Epidemiology and Ruminant Health at the School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences at Charles Sturt University.  From mixed practice in rural NSW, she is interested in the sociopsychological aspect of veterinary epidemiology – why people do what they do in the animal health space (PhD and Grad Dip Sci Comm, ANZCVS Epidemiology). She is also interested in veterinary education and how to bring evidence based practices into the teaching and lecturing field.

Local Scientific Committee

International Scientific Committee