Sydney Faculty of Veterinary Science hosts veterinary virologist

Dinar Hartawan, a veterinary virologist from Indonesia and the recipient of the 2014 Crawford Fund Fellowship, was based at the University of Sydney Camden Campus for four weeks of training during November.

As Head of Virology at the Government Animal Health Laboratory in Denpasar Bali, Dinar contributes to the investigation of transboundary animal diseases that are high priority for Indonesia and Australia (such as rabies, avian influenza, classical swine fever and bovine brucellosis).
“Dinar, through the investigation and diagnostics of animal viruses, is making a substantial contribution to animal health, and thus to livestock production and human health and well-being in eastern Indonesia,” said Jenny-Ann Toribio, Associate Professor in the Sydney Faculty of Veterinary Science.
The close proximity of Indonesia to Australia means that ensuring high diagnostic and response capacity in eastern Indonesia also contributes to preventing these diseases entering Australia.
The training in laboratory diagnostic procedures for Dinar, is being shared by collaborating scientists at NSW DPI Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute (Drs Peter Kirkland & Debbie Finlaison) and at University of Sydney Veterinary Science Camden Campus (Dr Paul Hick).
“It is planned that the skills gained by Dinar will be applied in future collaborative research on classical swine fever, a disease of pigs that causes substantial deaths and reproductive losses. We hope that it may also lead to a PhD opportunity for Dinar moving forward,” states Jenny-Ann.
It is an honor for the university to host Dinar as the 2014 Crawford Fund Fellowship recipient. Established in 2002, this Fellowship aims to provide further training for a scientist in agriculture, fisheries or forestry from a selected group of developing countries, whose work has shown significant potential.