SCIENTIFIC COMMITEE
PD Dr. Rachel E. Marschang
PD Dr vet. med., DECZM , FTÄ Mikrobiologie, ZB Reptilien
European Representative of the Global Ranavirus Consortium (GRC). Adjunct professor at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Germany. Diplomate of the European College of Zoological Medicine. President of the Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians (2013-2014). Working as veterinary microbiologist on the diagnosis of infectious diseases in reptiles and other exotic animals at Laboklin in Bad Kissingen, Germany.
Dr. David Lesbarrères
Associate Professor, PhD,
Dean of Graduate Studies
Dean of Graduate Studies at Laurentian University (Canada) and an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology. His research has focussed on amphibian populations in human-dominated landscapes, leading to either their adaptation or demise. These originel land-crawlers face various threats in many regions of the globe, including loss of habitat and infectious diseases, two important factors that Dr. Lesbarrères and his graduate students are investigating in Canada.
Professor, PhD,
Associate Dean Emeritus
Honorary Advisor of the GRC. Chair of Iridovirus study group in the ICTV. Retired Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Associate Dean, School of Graduate Studies, at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, USA. He has worked with ranaviruses since 1981 and currently is being involved in efforts to identify anti-viral immune responses and immune-related molecules in the channel catfish. His interests are primarily molecular and are focused on understanding the role of various ranavirus genes that control virulence, host range, and immune evasion.
Dr. Amanda L. J. Duffus
Associate Professor, PhD
Secretary-Treasurer of the GRC. Associate Professor of Biology at Gordon State College in Barnesville, Georgia, USA, She teaches biology, genetics, evolutionary biology, and herpetology; mentors undergraduate research students in a variety of projects, with primary interests in amphibian infectious disease ecology and evolution. She completed PhD at the Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society and Queen Mary, University of London. She began working on ranaviruses in 2004 at Trent University in Canada.
Prof. Dr. Ellen Ariel
Associate Professor,
PhD in Aquatic Pathobiology
Australian representative on the Board of the Global Ranavirus Consortium. Associate Professor in Virology at the College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences. at James Cook University, Australia. Worked for the European Commission with biosecurity of aquatic animals.
Team leader of the Turtle Health Team, and instigator of the research facility: "The Caraplace".
Thus, she can combine her love for people, turtles and viruses when teaching undergraduates and supervising higher degree research students.
Dr. Jesse L. Brunner
Assistant Professor, PhD
Assistant professor of biology at Washington State University focusing on the ecology of infectious diseases. His dissertation work at Arizona State University centered on the transmission and persistence of the Ambystoma tigrinum virus. After a post-doc studying the community ecology of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, a continued research interest, Jesse returned to studying ranaviruses. His current work focuses on several ecopathological aspects of the ranavirus infection.
LOCAL ORGANIZING COMMITEE
Prof. Dr. Mária Benkö
Dr of HAS, Private Professor of UVS, Budapest, DVM
Dr of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS), member of the Veterinary Commitee of HAS.
Chair of Adenoviriae Study Group in the ICTV. Head of Molecular Virology Research Group at the Institute of Veterinary Medical Research of CAR, HAS. Organizer of two successfull conferences in 2009: the 9th International Adenovirus Meeting (IAM) and the 8th Congress of European Veterinary Virology (ESVV).
Prof. Dr. Balázs Harrach
Member of the Hungarian Academy of HAS, DVM
Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS). Chair of Animal DNA Viruses and Retroviruses Subcommittee in the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). Vice-president of the Hunagrian Bioinformatics Society, Head of Comparative Virology Research Group at the Institute of Veterinary Medical Research of CAR, HAS. Organizer of two successfull conferences in 2009: the 9th IAM and the 8th ESVV.
Dr. Tibor Papp
PhD, DVM, MSc zool.
Senior researcher at the Institute of Veterinary Medical Research, CAR, HAS, Budapest. He has done his PhD work on the field of reptile virology under the supervison of Rachel Marschang and Balázs Harrach, and among other projects he still focuses on this reasearch field.