Lorna Melville - Mentor for Postdoctoral Fellow

Summary

Through targeted mentorship and by engaging in BEF research activities over the last three years, the postdoctoral fellow enhanced his skills in pathology, immunohistochemistry (IHC), arbovirology, grant writing/management, and leadership. The new IHC protocol he standardised became instrumental in addressing specific research objectives and has potential for use in future BEF research and diagnostics. Overall, the fellow's research efforts elucidated on the tropism of the BEF virus for different bovine tissues, described peripheral nerve lesions in BEF virus-stricken downer cattle, and compared the sensitivity of qRT-PCR and virus isolation in monitoring BEF viraemia. He also studied the kinetics of six cytokines and initiated cellular immunology studies of BEF. Through routine diagnostic work, field post-mortem examinations, and by participating in ongoing arbovirus surveillance, the fellow familiarised himself with animal production systems and vector borne disease issues in the Northern Territory. He presented his research at three national scientific meetings, authored four peer-reviewed papers that are under review, and expects to write two additional papers. The fellow also attained membership of the Australian & New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists, and was accepted in the MPhil program at the University of Queensland. He was recently appointed Senior Veterinary Pathologist/Virologist at the BVL.  In 2016 he took a role in the UAE and resigned.
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