Robyn Alders

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Robyn Alders
Born
Taralga
NationalityAustralian
EducationTaralga Public School, Crookwell High School
Alma materUniversity of Sydney, Australian National University
Awards Order of Australia
Scientific career
Fields food security, Influenza A virus subtype H5N1
Institutions University of Zambia, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sydney
Patrons Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
Thesis Immunobiology of utero-ovarian peripheral lymph in sheep  (1989)

Robyn Gwen Alders AO is the first female veterinary scientist to be made an Officer of the Order of Australia. Dr. Alders is most recognised for her work on food security by improvements in poultry health in developing countries. [1] Alders' work on the maintenance of the health of small poultry flocks helps under-resourced women to provide adequate nutritional and financial support for their families. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Robyn Alders was born and raised on a farm in Taralga, New South Wales. Educated locally at Taralga Public School, then Crookwell High School, she was the first in her family to matriculate from high school. During high school, Robyn was an American Field Service Scholar, spending 12 months in Concordia, Kansas. Encouraged by the educational reforms enacted by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam that provided free tertiary education, Alders embarked upon a Bachelor of Veterinary Science degree at the University of Sydney. [3]

Following her graduation as a veterinarian from the University of Sydney, Alders undertook an internship in large animal medicine receiving a Diploma of Veterinary Clinical Studies. She then moved to the John Curtin School of Medicine at the Australian National University where she completed her PhD researching the immunology of pregnancy. [4]

Veterinary work in the developing world

While living at Wesley College in the University of Sydney, Alders became associated with Community Aid Abroad. This association led her to seek a position in a developing country upon the completion of her PhD. Dr. Alders was employed as lecturer for three years at the newly founded School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Zambia. She then spent three years working as Project Officer in Southern Africa for Community Aid Abroad, spending much of her time contributing to the renewal of small-scale agricultural production at the end of the civil war in Mozambique.

Poultry are not only by far the most common type of livestock owned, they are often the only livestock owned by the most vulnerable families. Poultry play an important role on smallholder farms, because they:
  • are a relatively low-cost way to access quality food
  • provide eggs and meat that can be sold or traded easily for other essential family items
  • assist with pest control
  • provide manure for fertiliser.
Poultry are often the only livestock under the control of women. Ensuring the participation of women in the ND control activities has empowered them and improved the wellbeing of their families.

Robyn Alders (2012) [5]

Village chickens represent a low input source of nutrition and income, usually under the care of women, in underdeveloped countries. Indigenous poultry breeds are largely self-sufficient. Their natural scavenging and roosting behaviours allow them to be maintained with a low initial investment and minimal inputs for food or housing. Under conditions of good health, they reproduce rapidly providing an excellent source of high-quality nutrition through eggs and meat, or may provide income from the sale of these products. Maintenance of the health of small poultry flocks may represent the only opportunity for under-resourced women to provide adequate nutritional and financial support for their family. [2]

During her time in Southern Africa Dr. Alders became aware of the importance of village chickens in the lives of people in undeveloped communities. It was apparent that viral Newcastle disease (ND) was endemic and causing significant mortality and loss of production in these small flocks. The development of a thermotolerant vaccine for ND meant that for the first time, control of this important livestock disease was possible in the most remote and underdeveloped regions. [6] [7] Together with Professor Spradbrow, Dr. Alders received funding from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) to implement a program of vaccine delivery in the field in Mozambique. Similar ND vaccine programs have now been used throughout Africa and Southeast Asia. [8]

Dr. Alders' main contributions to these programs has been in developing sustainable, user-pays systems delivered by local people. This has been achieved by using vaccine technology suitable for local environmental and supply chain conditions; culturally sensitive and effective education programs; and co-ordination with relevant international government bodies along with national stakeholders. [9]

Since 2004, Alders has been also involved with highly pathogenic avian influenza control and preparedness in Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Laos, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. In Indonesia, she oversaw the training and communication components of the FAO HPAI Participatory Disease Surveillance and Response Program from May 2007 to September 2009. From May 2008 to June 2011, Robyn directed the International Veterinary Medicine Program at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in the US and remains an Adjunct Associate Professor with this program. From July 2011 to May 2012, Alders was the Team Leader of a Newcastle disease control project in Angola implemented by the KYEEMA Foundation and funded by the European Union. [10]

Current projects

Awards and honours

In 2012 360 degrees films made a documentary about Dr. Alders' work in Africa. [12]

Publications

Related Research Articles

Poultry Domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, meat, or feathers

Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes. The term also includes birds that are killed for their meat, such as the young of pigeons but does not include similar wild birds hunted for sport or food and known as game. The word "poultry" comes from the French/Norman word poule, itself derived from the Latin word pullus, which means small animal.

Avian influenza Influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds

Avian influenza, known informally as avian flu or bird flu, is a variety of influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds. The type with the greatest risk is highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Bird flu is similar to swine flu, dog flu, horse flu and human flu as an illness caused by strains of influenza viruses that have adapted to a specific host. Out of the three types of influenza viruses, influenza A virus is a zoonotic infection with a natural reservoir almost entirely in birds. Avian influenza, for most purposes, refers to the influenza A virus.

Virulent Newcastle disease Contagious viral avian disease

Virulent Newcastle disease (VND), formerly exotic Newcastle disease, is a contagious viral avian disease affecting many domestic and wild bird species; it is transmissible to humans. Though it can infect humans, most cases are non-symptomatic; rarely it can cause a mild fever and/or conjunctivitis in humans. Its effects are most notable in domestic poultry due to their high susceptibility and the potential for severe impacts of an epizootic on the poultry industries. It is endemic to many countries.

University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences

The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), originally known as Lahore Veterinary College, is a public university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is accredited by the Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council (PVMC). It has additional teaching campuses in rural areas of the Punjab, Pattoki and Jhang.

Fujian flu

Fujian flu refers to flu caused by either a Fujian human flu strain of the H3N2 subtype of the Influenza A virus or a Fujian bird flu strain of the H5N1 subtype of the Influenza A virus. These strains are named after Fujian, a coastal province in Southeast China.

Poultry CRC

The Poultry Cooperative Research Centre, or Poultry CRC, was a joint venture established and supported under the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centres Programme.

Intensive animal farming Type of animal husbandry using high inputs and stocking densities to increase production

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Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University Public university in Bangladesh

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Gordon Lee McClymont AO was an Australian agricultural scientist, ecologist, and educationist. The originator of the term "sustainable agriculture", McClymont is known for his multidisciplinary approach to farm ecology. McClymont was the foundation chair of the Faculty of Rural Science at the University of New England, the first degree program of its kind to integrate animal husbandry, veterinary science, agronomy, and other disciplines into the field of livestock and agricultural production. In 1978, in recognition of his work and contributions to his field, he was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia.

Antibiotic use in livestock Use of antibiotics for any purpose in the husbandry of livestock

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Given the variety of diseases prevalent in swine production, both in the United States and abroad, it is important to understand the risks associated with organic swine production. Overall numbers for certified organic livestock remain low compared to the overall U.S. swine numbers, with approximately 12,000 animals in 2011. However, since 1992, stocks have increased dramatically, with an annual growth rate of 20 percent in total U.S. organic stock. Additionally, there are thousands of non-certified organic swine herds which are not accounted in official statistics, but where farmers still use organic production practices. Consumer demand, stemming from the larger organic agriculture movement has helped spurred growth in this industry. The overall segment, although minuscule compared to the conventional national average, still represents a strong and growing segment in U.S. pork production. The definition of organic swine according to the USDA National Organic Program (NOP), is largely unchanged:

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A Foreign animal disease (FAD) is an animal disease or pest, whether terrestrial or aquatic, not known to exist in the United States or its territories. When these diseases can significantly affect human health or animal production and when there is significant economic cost for disease control and eradication efforts, they are considered a threat to the United States. Another term gaining preference to be used is Transboundary Animal Disease (TAD), which is defined as those epidemic diseases which are highly contagious or transmissible and have the potential for very rapid spread, irrespective of national borders, causing serious socio-economic and possibly public health consequences. An Emerging Animal Disease "may be defined as any terrestrial animal, aquatic animal, or zoonotic disease not yet known or characterized, or any known or characterized terrestrial animal or aquatic animal disease in the United States or its territories that changes or mutates in pathogenicity, communicability, or zoonotic potential to become a threat to terrestrial animals, aquatic animals, or humans."

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References

  1. 1 2 "Australia Day 2011 Honours Lists". Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor General. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  2. 1 2 Melesse, A (September 2014). "Significance of scavenging chicken production in the rural community of Africa for enhanced food security". World's Poultry Science Journal. 70 (3): 593–606. doi:10.1017/S0043933914000646. S2CID   86497280.
  3. ↑ Cole, David (25 January 2011). "Dr Robyn's Honour". Goulburn Post. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Associate Professor Robyn Alders". Faculty of Veterinary Science – Academic Staff. University of Sydney. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  5. ↑ Robyn Alders; Penny Farrell (2012). "Vaccines, poultry and the poor: women farmers and researchers making a difference in Africa". Australian International Food Security Research Centre. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  6. ↑ Bensink, Z. Spradbrow, P. B. (1999). "Newcastle disease virus strain I2 – a prospective thermostable vaccine for use in developing countries". Veterinary Microbiology. 68 (1–2): 131–139. doi:10.1016/S0378-1135(99)00069-3. ISSN   0378-1135. PMID   10501170 . Retrieved 1 November 2014.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ Robyn Alders; Spradbrow, Peter (2001). Controlling Newcastle disease in village chickens: a field manual. Canberra: ACIAR. ISBN   1863203079.
  8. ↑ "The Australian Village Poultry development Programme in Asia and Africa"
  9. ↑ Newcastle disease control in Africa
  10. ↑ "People Notes". Tufts Journal. September 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  11. ↑ ACIAR projects
  12. ↑ Dr Robyn Alders 2012 film
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