Profile: Izmira (Mira) Farhana Mohd Ismail

I was born... months after the first International Islamic Games held in Izmir, Turkey. It was quite a historical event and my parents decided to name me after the beautiful city... hence Izmira!

At school I... was very timid and quiet, I became talkative when I joined the debate team in University

My first relationship was... with my highschool sweetheart at 14, whom I am now happily married to :)

Friends say I'm... cheeky

If I wasn't me I'd like to be... a very glamorous TV host with my own talk show on prime time

At the moment I'm reading... ' Barking' by my favourite comic fantasy writer Tom Holt


My worst job was... none really. I've worked once as a chemist sales assistant and I loved every minute of it!


At the moment I'm... sequencing the ovine CLN6 gene to find disease-causing mutation/s

... which is interesting because... finding the mutation will not only help our affected sheep with Batten/NCL disease but also provide helpful information for children with a comparable human form of the disease.
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Profile: Michael Bertoldo

Mysteriously nicknamed 'Big Bad' for reasons unknown to the Eds, this second year PhD student has been busy jetting off around the globe in his quest to improve the reproductive performance of sows during seasonal infertility.

I was born... 1/1/1984

Friends say I'm... a d**k

If I wasn't me I'd like to be... dunno

At the moment I'm reading... The Costello Memoirs

My worst job was... Kitchen Hand

At the moment I'm... procrastinating

... which is interesting because... right now you probably are too!
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Profile: Meg Donahoo

Meg is a second year PhD student investigating the immune responses to vaccination against an intestinal disease in pigs. If she can find immune cells in the pig that are linked to vaccine protection then it might be possible to use these in the pig industry to determine whether vaccinated pigs are protected against future infection.

I was born... in the baby factory in Melbourne- that's right, I'm not a two headed Tasmanian

At school I… got picked on for being rosey in the cheeks, apparently I looked like a tomato

My first relationship was... with the floor, I couldn't walk until i was 3 so I polished the floor with my bum

Friends say I'm... feral because I could happily go a week or two without a shower, and showering when you go camping is sacrilege in my books!!

If I wasn't me I'd like to be... one of those hot looking tv presenters who gets to travel to cool places for free.

At the moment I'm reading... a quirky book about horsie people.

My worst job was... cleaning old people's toilets!!

At the moment I'm... playing with lots of poo, blood and intestines- it's fun, really!

... which is interesting because... you can find out a lot of information about someone (pigs) from their poo!

Meg facing her fears and making friends with a chook

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Profile: Professor John W. James

You'll find Professor John James in Room 513 of the RMC Gunn Building on most Wednesdays and Thursdays. And why would you be looking for him? Well, that bit is easy - he's a retired academic with a background in quantitative genetics, biostatistics, and computing applications, and since statistics in particular is the least favoured discipline of 99.9%* of biologists (*estimated using a thorough survey of this blog's editors), his skills and interests are very valuable.

John has retired from his post at the University of NSW, but his two days a week with us in the Vet Faculty shows that he has not been able to completely resist the siren call of academia. However, he does have other interests that keep him busy, including sport and literature. This Renaissance Man and Fountain of Statistical Wisdom provided the following answers to our profile questions:

I was born... in 1935 at Rockhampton, the first of 7 children to 5 of whom Dad transmitted a Y chromosome. I did not pass on my copy, but my brothers have passed on 7 copies in all.

At school I... was called Jesse, after a well-known American, my resemblance to whom is, I believe, in name rather than character.

My first relationship... was begun 50 years ago and still continues.

Friends say I... like any game that involves hitting or kicking a ball.

If I wasn't me I'd like to be... Roger Federer, hitting the ball so much better than I do.

At the moment I'm reading... (as usual) several books : The Secret River by Kate Grenville, Shostakovich and His World edited by Laurel Fay, Something to Declare by Julian Barnes, and once again An Introduction to Probability Theory and Its Applications by William Feller. This old favourite provides much entertainment and instruction, and includes an account of the Galton-Watson process which can be used to model Y chromosome transmission.

My worst job was... shovelling crushed ore back on to a conveyor belt in the No. 1 Mill at Mt. Morgan mine at the points where it had fallen off. By the time we had finished at the last point it was time to go back to the first.

At the moment I'm working... not very hard,

...which is interesting because... that is also the way I worked before I retired.
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Profile: Dr. Gauthami Sudhamayee Kondagari

Gauthami is one of only a few postgrad students here who has actually worked as a vet! She joined us in February, 2005, and is working on a doctoral research project, entitled "Intra thecal enzyme replacement therapy in canine fucosidosis and investigation of pathophysiology". Before coming to Australia and starting her PhD, Gauthami worked as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology, College of Veterinary Science, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, India (2002-2005). She worked as a Veterinary Surgeon from 1999 to 2002.

Gauthami has completed her Master of Veterinary Science in Physiology (M.V. Sc.) and Bachelors in Veterinary Science & Animal Husbandry (B.V.Sc. & A.H.) at the College of Veterinary Science, Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad, AP, India.

The story of how Gauthami came to be here with us in Australia is an interesting one. She had always been passionate about neuroscience, and loved dogs, including her family's German Shepherd, Buffy. When her husband, Ramana, found work in Australia, Gauthami started to look for roles here, and in May 2004 visited the Faculty of Veterinary Science here at the University of Sydney. She met a few potential supervisors, including Rosanne Taylor, who had a project looking at canine fucosidosis in Springer Spaniels. With such a good match for her interests, Gauthami was inspired to work on this project, and the rest is history.

Gauthami will be writing for us again soon to tell us more about living and practicing veterinary science in India. Here is her profile:

I was born... in Hyderabad, the most populous city of Andhra Pradesh which is the southern state of India.

At school I... was keen on becoming an Engineer as I was strong in Maths.

My first relationship... ended in marrying Ramana and we are blessed with 2 beautiful children.

Friends say I... am a naughty nut! "but now no more"

If I wasn't me I'd like to be... an Engineer.

At the moment I'm reading... only books related neuroscience as I am writing up my work.

My worst job was... while working as Vet in a rural area, I had to attend janmabhoomi where I was forced to attend meetings with politicians and villagers to resolve issues not relevant to my job profile.

At the moment I'm working... intra-thecal enzyme replacement therapy in canine fucosidosis

... which is interesting because... it gives encouraging information to parents whose children suffering with fucosidosis too.
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Profile: Karma Nidup

I was born... in the cowshed nearby a beautiful lake surrounded with thick broad-leaved forest. My late brave mother was alone and while in labour she saw star through the window and named me “Kam Mindu” – meaning Northern Star. Later, my Buddhist teacher changed it to Karma Nidup which means “blessing of the stars”.

At school I… was a bit hyperactive (unusual for a northern star)

My first relationship was... that was in high school. She dumped me after few days for a guy who was a singer in the school. It is okay because even I admire singers… No grudges!

Friends say I... don’t look like 35… Keep saying it folks.

If I wasn't me I'd like to be... a television journalist or radio jockey.

At the moment I'm reading... books on genetics – well, I have to.

My worst job was... so far I have no complaint.

At the moment I'm working... on genetic diversity of Bhutanese and Nepalese pigs

... which is interesting because... these animals will change my title from Mr to Dr –hopefully, fingers crossed!
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Profile: Dr. Gary Muscatello

Dr. Gary Muscatello joined the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney in 2008. He completed his BVSc at the University of Melbourne in 1997, after three years in practice he returned to the University of Melbourne to undertake postgraduate studies completing a PhD in Veterinary Microbiology in 2005, investigating the effects of farm management on ecology of virulent Rhodococcus equi. His work in the field of R. equi epidemiology has raised many questions regarding the method of spread of virulent R. equi on horse studs, with results suggesting an alternative contagious route of aerosol transmission.

Gary gave us some insight into his background and passions with his answers to our profile questions:

I was born... into a large immigrant Italian family in the Western suburbs of Melbourne.

At school I... was an AFL superstar in the making...

My first relationship was... in kinder with a freckled face red haired girl who lived a block from me, we were friends through to year 12 ...

Friends say I... love a challenge and don’t mind putting in the hard yards ..

If I wasn't me I'd like to be... a sports journalist.

At the moment I'm reading... Finding Nino, A sea change in Italy by Marc Llewellyn (I started reading this book at Christmas and am still on the first chapter!!).

My worst job was... haven’t had one yet!!...

At the moment I'm working... on developing new units of study in the Animal and Veterinary bioscience degree ...

... which is interesting because... it gives me the opportunity to mould young scientific minds...
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Profile: Professor John Prescott, University Professor at Large

Professor John Prescott gave a lunchtime seminar in the Faculty of Veterinary Science on Wednesday, September 10, 2008. His talk looked at public health and zoonoses, with several attention-grabbing examples from research carried out in Canada by the Centre for Public Health at Zoonoses at the University of Guelph. Professor Prescott is in Australia for a month. This profile was sprung on him when he was least expecting it, but the results were very interesting! Let's hope other visiting professors can keep up the standard...
I was born... in a British military hospital in Libya with an identical twin brother... (evil laugh)
At school I... had a very broad education. I went to thirteen schools before I was 12. Usually when a boy changes schools they get beaten up in the playground, but that doesn't happen when you've got a twin brother.
My first relationship was... gee, I've had so many I don't remember.
Friends say I am... interesting, amusing, intelligent, handsome, good-looking...
I'm very bad at... names. People should wear name tags on their foreheads.
If I wasn't me I'd like to be... a Golden Eagle.
At the moment I'm reading... A Dance To The Music of Time, by Anthony Powell. This book was recommended by Bob Carr (Ed: recommendation is in My Reading Life: Adventures in the World of Books) as one of the best English language books in existence. It is catastrophically funny.
My worst job was... bagging barley on a back of a 3' wide combine harvester.
At the moment I'm working... in Australia on trying to improve my bacteriology teaching.
...which is interesting because... I've got quite a few new ideas.
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Profile: Kao "no middle name" Castle

I was born... in Townsville in the 70's. My parents lived on Magnetic Island (where compasses don't work properly!).
At school I... got comments on my strange sense of humour in every report card (including kindergarten), and didn't pay much attention to my teachers.
My first relationship was... with Sam in preschool, when I tried to convince him I could fly.
Friends say I... am good at remembering birthdays. They must not know about automated reminders from electronic diaries!
If I wasn't me I'd like to be... my dog, Miles, who gets to sleep for 22 hours a day.
At the moment I'm reading... I'm not actually reading any books, but I like to check salon.com, theonion.com and I love themonthly.com.au.
My worst job was... temping for a security company. One client stopped paying their bills when their security system was stolen along with all of their posessions, and the security company didn't notice.
At the moment I'm working on... a bone growth disorder called osteochondrosis in Thoroughbred racehorses.
... which is interesting because... individual animals can be worth so much, and the breed as a whole is very healthy.
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