By way of an introduction, I am from Sydney, Australia and qualified as a veterinary surgeon in 1987, worked as a dairy and mixed species veterinarian until 1995 when I started a PhD programme on factors affecting postpartum ovarian function in dairy cattle. After this, I worked at the Queensland Government’s Australian Tropical Dairy Centre for a couple of years and then moved into academic roles at the University of Glasgow and the University of Queensland. For the last 15 years I have been Professor of Animal Health and Production at the University of Glasgow. Last year I made the decision to leave academia, and I am now dividing my time between the Journal, my role on the UK’s Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs, and my work for Harbro Limited as a dairy production consultant. My interests in dairy science are broad: I have done a lot of work as a parasitologist: working on ticks, flies, coccidia and Cryptosporidium. One of my favourite areas of work has been bovine genetics, bovine metabolic diseases, and the application of sensor technology to assess ruminal acidosis. Lately, a lot of my research has been on the bovine “faecal phenotype” – how we might interrogate faeces to understand the health and performance status of the cow. I have never worked on the post-harvest side of the milk production process, but I look forward to learning about it. Taking on the role of Editor in Chief of the Journal of Dairy Research is very daunting. Chris has done a wonderful job with the Journal for some time now, and I realise it will take me some time to work out the system and become efficient. Looking forward to working with you,
Position available
Closing date for applications: 28th April