The FAO Director-General has appointed Dr Juan Lubroth, a United States citizen of Spanish origin, as Senior Officer, Infectious Diseases Group-EMPRES. He succeeds Mark Rweyemamu, and will formally assume his duties in February 2002.
Juan comes to FAO by way of the United States Department of Agriculture's Plum Island Animal Disease Center, where he worked as Head of the Reagents and Vaccine Services Unit, Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, until his FAO appointment. He was born and raised in Spain before going to the United States for his biology and veterinary medical degrees. He was first employed at the University of Georgia (United States) as a wildlife biologist and wildlife veterinarian focusing on infectious diseases and population health. His first stint with the Plum Island institute was as an extern in veterinary pathology and later as veterinary medical officer in the diagnostic section, where he worked on foot-and-mouth disease, vesicular stomatitis, African horsesickness, rinderpest, and classical and African swine fever. He has lived in Haiti, Mexico and Brazil and has worked in field and in laboratory settings extensively throughout Latin America, northern Africa, the Near East and in various Asian countries.
Dr Lubroth has two postgraduate degrees: in medical microbiology (University of Georgia) and a doctorate in epidemiology and public health (Yale University, United States). He also holds a diploma from the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine.
Juan Lubroth: new head of IDG-EMPRES
EMPRES/VICENT MARTIN
A new Web site on FMD has recently been launched. The site can be found at the following address: www.queesaftosa.com, and is hosted by e-campo.com. It contains information on FMD worldwide.
E-campo is a modern portal that specializes in the agricultural industry, where farm owners, professionals, businesses, associations and students all collaborate to ensure an excellent service. It provides up-to-date information on markets, weather, agriculture- related news and information, new technologies, and the latest products and services available. E-campo intends eventually to enter the e-commerce market.
Guillaume GERBIER joined the EMPRES team (Early Reaction) in September 2001 as a short-term officer. He graduated as a veterinarian in France and holds a Ph.D. in veterinary public health. He spent seven years in the French Agency for Food Safety (AFSSA, former CNEVA) studying epidemiology and biostatistics, where the main research fields have been FMD, brucellosis and epidemiosurveillance networks. Within the EMPRES group, he is currently developing computer tools, which will be used as sensitization tools to demonstrate the link between early warning and early reaction for the control of transboundary animal diseases. He is also working on risk evaluation of disease spread in the Near East region.
Rupert HOLMES joined the EMPRES team (Early Warning) in September 2001 as a short-term officer, having spent several years working in Viet Nam and Nepal. He is a UK veterinarian with a special interest in veterinary epidemiology, especially livestock disease surveillance. Part of his work in Viet Nam involved the development of an animal heath information system for which he recommended the adoption of FAO's software for transboundary diseases, TADinfo. This was further adapted and translated into Vietnamese and is currently undergoing widespread testing within the country. He is now involved in early warning within the EMPRES team and is advising on the development of the new version of TADinfo, utilizing his experience as an end user. In addition, he is also jointly responsible for the deployment of TADinfo to member countries and is involved with training in disease surveillance and TADinfo use.
Chidi UZOMA joined the EMPRES team in September 2001 as a writer for the EMPRES Bulletin. He is assisting the EMPRES Bulletin editor in compiling articles of topical interest in the field of transboundary animal diseases. He is a Nigerian architect by training and has been writing for a number of publications over the last ten years.