Abstract
Imagine our world without genome sequencing. In my career my outputs have been contingent on sequencing technologies. Sequencing leads to the ability to identify novel diagnostic tests, new biomarkers for disease resistance, and also new vaccine targets. In this seminar I will present how novel sequencing technologies have led to new solutions for in animal health highlighting achievements and progress from my current and previous teams. There is no limit where we can go with these technologies - this is an exciting time in science - omics tools provide great options in research.
Professor Ala Tabor
Prof Ala Tabor leads the Animal BioTICKnology group at the Centre for Animal Science in QAAFI at UQ since 2010. She did her undergraduate BSc at the Department of Microbiology, UQ (1981-1984), Honours in Virology at UQ (1986) after a year working at JCU. Her PhD part-time from 1989-1995 was through the Faculty of Medicine’s Tropical Health program researching Burkholderia pseudomallei the causative agent of human melioidosis. She is a research focussed academic with a strong background in industry engagement associated with animal health and agricultural biotechnologies. Her research interests are associated with the application of omics to: 1) develop molecular diagnostic and genotyping methods; 2) study gene function in relation to virulence and host pathogenicity of infectious diseases, to develop new effective vaccines and 3) identify biomarkers and study microbiomes associated with improving animal health. She has >100 publications with 3 full pending patents for 2 different anti-tick vaccines and commercialised diagnostic assays and tools.
Research areas includes bovine reproductive diseases, Australian paralysis tick (Ixodes holocyclus), cattle tick (Rhipicephalus microplus species complex), and tick-borne diseases (babesiosis and anaplasmosis). Prof Tabor has attained and completed ~$12 million in competitive grants in the last 10 years including the ARC, pharma and industry. Together with the SCMB Biotechnology Program and SAFS she developed UQ's 'Agricultural Biotechnology-Field of Study’ within the Masters of Biotechnology in 2020. Her international recognition is exemplified by her membership of the BMGF International Cattle Tick Vaccine Consortium (CATVAC, est. 2015), specialist tick editor for the International Journal for Parasitology, Chair for the 9th International Tick and Tick-borne Pathogen (TTP9) conference (2017), and the Australian node leader for the 1000x Ixodes genome project.
Contact: Professor Ala Tabor, Professorial Research Fellow, Centre for Animal Science, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, Email: a.tabor@uq.edu.au
For any questions, please contact the QAAFI Science Seminar Committee.
About Science Seminars
Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation hosts science seminars across the disciplines of animal, horticulture, crop, food and nutritional sciences.
With a range of speakers from Australia and abroad, the series explores how high-impact science will significantly improve the competitiveness and sustainability of the tropical and sub-tropical food, fibre and agribusiness sectors.
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The Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation is a research institute at The University of Queensland supported by the Queensland Government via the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.