Areas of Expertise 

Deliberate Use of Biological Agents/Biothreats/Bioweapons

• Invited member of OIE ad hoc group developing guidelines for Investigation of Suspicious Biological Events, 2017 (published online 2018)
• Enrolled as an OIE and Australian Qualified Experts on the UN Secretary-General Mechanism’s (UNSGM) Roster for Investigations of Alleged Use of Chemical, Biological or Toxin (CBT) Weapons
  • Received field training 2016, Australia
  • Received Command & Control Training, 2018 UK CBRN National Centre
  • Attended as the only Australia Representative UNSGM action planning meetings: “International investigation of suspected deliberate bio-release: how to build operational capabilities?” and Friends of UNSGM Action Plan meeting; 2018, UK
• Member, Australian Counter-Bioterrorism Laboratory Network (ABLN), 2017- current
• Coordinator of tours and presentations to Australian Defence & Defence Science Technology personnel; multiple visits

OIE Reference Laboratory Expert, Bluetongue Virus

• Invited Speaker, Regional Meeting of OIE Reference Centres in Asia and the Pacific, 2017, Japan
• Invited Speaker, OIE Regional Workshop on Vector Borne Disease in the Asia-Pacific Region, 2018, Republic of Korea
• Technical Committee member, National Arbovirus Monitoring Program, 2013-current

Field investigations and field epidemiology

• Member of 4 person international World Health Organisation team investigating an outbreak of Nipah virus, Mindanao, The Philippines, 2014
• Subsequent to the field investigation above, led an ACIAR funded project on the Epidemiology of henipavirus in horses and pigs in Sultan Kudarat, Mindanao, Philippines
• Invited facilitator for the World Health Organisation’s Global Outbreak and Response Network (GOARN) Scenario training; Cairns, Australia, 2017; 24 participants from 12 countries
• Invited member of an ad hoc group on Zoonotic Diseases: Updating the Tripartite Toolkit for national implementation of multi-sectoral approaches for Preparedness, Detection, Assessment, and Response

Application of diagnostic assays, including test validation & interface between epidemiology & laboratory testing

• Co-developed and delivered 2 week program for a Regional Laboratory Network Workshop on Strengthening of the Laboratory and Field Epidemiology Linkage, 2013, funded by FAO and with 23 participants from 9 countries
• Presented at multiple Emergency Animal Disease training courses for veterinarians and veterinary undergraduates, on topics ranging from specific EADs, AAHL’s role in Australian biosecurity, diagnostic assays and importance of laboratory/field linkages

Supervision

• External PhD supervisor for Shumoos Abdullah Said Al Riyami, Faculty of Veterinary & Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Thesis title: Decision Support Tools for Vector-borne Spread of Animal Diseases
• Advisor, Fabian Lean, PhD candidate, Faculty of Veterinary & Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Pathogenesis of Bluetongue