Wildlife and marine animal pathologist appointed as Senior Lecturer
Press release
27 April 2009
The Faculty of Veterinary Science recently welcomed Dr Pádraig (Patrick) Duignan to the
position of Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Pathology.
Pádraig joined the Faculty on 30 March 2009. He will be responsible
for teaching veterinary anatomic pathology to undergraduate veterinary
science students, alongside commitments in research and supervising
of graduate pathology students.
An expert in marine and wildlife pathology, Pádraig’s career has taken him across the globe to study an impressive range of animal health subjects, from the immune responses of oysters, to distemper viruses in polar bears, the physiology of sea lions and bluetongue disease in ruminants.
Pádraig began his academic career with an honours degree in zoology and a masters in biochemistry from the National University of Ireland, before completing a degree in veterinary medicine in 1989. After a stint working in Saudi Arabia as an avian pathologist, Pádraig relocated to Canada. Here he undertook a PhD at the University of Guelph, researching morbillivirus infection in North American marine mammals. Pádraig’s PhD studies led to a residency in pathology at the University of California-Davis, where he continued research into diseases of free-ranging marine mammals.
In 1997 Pádraig accepted a post doctoral fellowship at Massey University, New Zealand. Here his research into cetacean stranding saw him surveying stranded whales, dolphins and seals to determine the prevalence of infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses. During his nine years at Massey, Pádraig had responsibilities in teaching, administration and research. The latter resulted in two masterate theses, five PhD dissertations, and numerous publications and conference presentations.
In 2006, Dr Duignan returned to Ireland for family commitments and worked for two years for the Department of Agriculture and Food, advising on exotic disease contingency planning and developing Ireland’s response to the bluetongue serotype 8.
Pádraig was lured back down under by the opportunity to join the University of Melbourne and looks forward to the challenge of developing a wildlife health research program within the Faculty of Veterinary Science.
For further information please contact Lauren O'Connor, Marketing Assistant, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Melbourne, Tel: 8344 7844 or email: oconnor@unimelb.edu.au