KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Prof Zoe Wainer, Director-General, Australian Centre for Disease Control
Her work is focused on embedding scientific rigour, operational excellence, accountability and a culture of continuous improvement — experience central to building a trusted and effective Australian CDC.
Professor Wainer is also a doctor with a clinical background in cardiothoracic surgery and thoracic surgical oncology, and is a highly regarded academic and policy leader. She holds a PhD and Master of Public Health from the University of Melbourne; is an Enterprise Professor in the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health; and serves as a Principal Investigator with The George Institute for Global Health.
Professor Michael Kidd AO is Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, based in the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. He is a general practitioner and a primary care and public health researcher and has served as president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, and president of the World Organization of Family Doctors. He is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, and has held past research appointments at Monash University, the University of Sydney, Flinders University, the Australian National University, and the University of Toronto.
Dr Beth Cookson, Australian Chief Veterinary Officer (ACVO)
Dr Cookson was appointed Australian Chief Veterinary Officer (ACVO) in December 2023, following an expansive career as a veterinary officer and senior executive in the Australian Public Service. As CVO, Beth is the primary representative and advisor to the Australian Government on Australia’s animal health status, co-chair of the national Animal Health Committee and Australia’s Delegate to the World Organisation for Animal Health.
Dr Scott Weese, Director, Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses, Ontario Veterinary College
Scott Weese is a veterinary internal medicine specialist and the chief of infection control at U of G’s Ontario Veterinary College. He is an expert in infectious and parasitic animal disease, including rabies, tick-borne diseases, antimicrobial resistance and emerging diseases. He is the former Canada Research Chair in Zoonotic Diseases. Weese focuses on a range of infectious disease issues of animals and humans, including antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial stewardship, emerging infectious diseases and infection control.
Dr Jane E Sykes, Chief Veterinary Medical Officer at the University of California
Dr. Sykes is a professor of small animal medicine and Chief Veterinary Medical Officer at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, with a special interest in small animal infectious diseases. She obtained her veterinary degree and PhD in veterinary microbiology at the University of Melbourne in Australia and completed her residency at the University of Minnesota. She is a Diplomate of ACVIM. She is widely published in peer-reviewed journals and is the editor of the textbook Canine and Feline Infectious Diseases.
Professor Jackie Benschop, School of Veterinary Science, Massey University
Prof Benschop is a veterinary epidemiologist with 20 years’ clinician experience working in practice and in the meat industry in Aotearoa. She co-leads the Molecular Epidemiology and Public Health Laboratory, a WOAH collaborating centre for Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health, in the School of Veterinary Science, Massey University. Her interests include one-health, cross-sector collaboration, science communication and mentoring of staff and students.
AUSTRALASIAN SOCIETY FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASESABN 20 108 151 093
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ASID acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as Traditional Owners, Custodians and First Nations of Australia, and Māori as tangata whenua and Treaty of Waitangi partners in Aotearoa New Zealand.