Senior Research Fellow
Qualifications:
1984 BVSc&AH
1992 MSc Vet Sc
2002 PhD
Professional Distinctions
FAO International Fellowship
Research career & interests
After completing an undergraduate degree in Veterinary Science from the Kerala Agricultural University, India, Om worked as a Regional and Zonal Veterinary Officer in his home country, Bhutan, for five years. He was awarded an FAO Fellowship to undertake a Masters of Science in Animal Breeding and Genetics at the University of Sydney. On completion of his MSc Vet Sc, Om worked as a research fellow on an ACIAR funded project on footrot in sheep and goats in Nepal. He successfully made a recombinant DNA footrot vaccine which was used to control and eliminate endemic footrot in that country. He has also worked on a similar project in Bhutan and other footrot projects and research collaborations in India, China and Malaysia.
Om is a key member of the footrot research team at the University of Sydney, providing leadership and guidance to young researchers. Om has special expertise in vaccine development and is a vaccine patent holder for the University of Sydney. Through his long term leading research work he has developed extensive collaborative research partnerships with Monash University, the industry bodies MLA and AWI and the State Departments of Agriculture/Primary Industries in Australia. Om was a member of the NSW Footrot Technical Advisory Committee and has also worked on Ovine Johne’s Disease research.
Om has an extensive list of publications in footrot research and is a reviewer for International Journals such as Vaccine, PLOS One, Australian Veterinary Journal and Microbial Pathogenesis. Currently Om is leading the footrot research team and also teaching sheep health to Animal Science and DVM students at the Sydney School of Veterinary Science at The University of Sydney.
Applied research has been the focus of Om’s research career and he has a passion for improving animal health and welfare and helping farmers deal with these issues.
Footrot @ Sydney 