VN November 2022

Vetnuus | November 2022 6 On the 20th of October, Onderstepoort Faculty of Veterinary Science opened its doors and invited friends, colleagues, and both Post- and Pre grad to attend Faculty Day 2022. Faculty days are the brag days of the research students. The students did not disappoint. They lined up in their drones, all neatly dressed but visibly a little nervous, to present the latest research topics. Besides the presentations given in person, the hall was packed with poster presentations, the students beaming with enthusiasm to share their projects and inform the bystanders of their goals and results. Outside, the Industry had a chance to show its goods and interact with students. A lot of fun was had between the stalls. The formal proceedings in Hall 35 got underway with the charismatic Dr Alfred Kgasi opening and facilitating the first session. Prof Vinny Naidoo opened the proceedings and was clearly beaming with pride as to the achievements of the Faculty in the last year. Several students made 250 Publications on topics of a Veterinary nature in 2022. The Faculty of Veterinary Science of the University of Pretoria is highly ranked internationally due to the volume and high standard of publications. These publications contribute to food safety worldwide, as 20% of people s dependent on animal production as a source of income. Onderstepoort has been a leader in the development of vaccines worldwide, even since 1957, when the worst Foot-and- Mouth disease hit South Africa; after which Onderstepoort was instrumental in the fight against the disease. Prof Juergen A Richt, a veterinary microbiologist from the Kansas State University in the United States of America, presented the Arnold Theiler Memorial Lecture. During his 25+ year scientific career, he has studied pathogen- host interactions in various infectious disease models, including Avian and Swine Influenza viruses (AIV, SIV), African Swine Fever virus (ASFV), Rift Valley Fever virus (RVFV), Vesicular Stomatitis virus (VSV), Schmallenberg virus (SBV), animal prion diseases and Borna Disease Virus (BDV). On these topics, he published more than 250 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts. He is an editor for Virus Genes and serves on editorial boards for other scientific journals. He is currently the Director of the Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases (CEEZAD) and the NIH COBRE Center on Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (CEZID). Prof Richter holds the prestigious Regents Distinguished and University Distinguished Professor appointments at Kansas State University. Prof Richt is not only formidable in person, but touched on the remarkable progress in developing Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction Assays, which are gel-based for the rapid detection of viruses. From full-length presentations to speed dating, it was all there. A new session was introduced where Doctoral and Masters candidates had the opportunity to present their research to an audience with no background in their research area in just 1 minute for Masters and 3 minutes for PhD students. While all of this was happening inside the hall, in the passage the poster presenters displayed their research. Official proceedings ended with the Faculty Research Prizegiving. At this event the hard work of researchers is recognised. Onderstepoort Faculty Day 2022 Prof Naidoo handing over a token on appreciation to Prof Richter for delivering the Keynote Address TshenoloMbabaexplainingherresearchto OntnetseKubeandKhomotsoMoabelo