Australia - University of Melbourne Faculty of Veterinary Science
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The Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Melbourne was the first veterinary school in Australia. The Faculty has a long history of excellence in all areas of veterinary science including research, teaching, clinical practice and support of the profession.
About Us
- 1887: Veterinary Surgeons Act passed in December.
- 1888: WIlliam Tyson Kendall, the founder of the veterinary profession in Australia, opens the Veterinary College in Fitzroy as a private veterinary college.
- 1891: The first GMVC certificates were awarded
- 1906: Belle Bruce Reid becomes first female veterinarian in Australia.
- 1909: Act of Victorian Parliament (no.2174) enabled the establishment of the Veterinary School and Veterinary Research Institute at the University of Melbourne—the first university veterinary school in Australia. The first Bachelor of Veterinary Science degrees were awarded that year.
- 1919: Master of Veterinary Science first offered.
- 1928: Veterinary School closes. Veterinary Research Institute remains open until 1991, as the key diagnostic laboratory in Victoria.
- 1963: School of Veterinary Science re-opens, in response to requests from Victoria's small animal industries to the State Government for more locally-trained veterinarians.
- 1966: Werribee Clinical Centre opens (now the University Veterinary Hospital)
- 1967: PhD in Veterinary Science first offered.
Education
The Faculty of Veterinary Science is taking an innovative new approach to veterinary education with the introduction of the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program to Australia. The University of Melbourne begins teaching this exciting new veterinary program in 2011
Current Research
The Faculty of Veterinary Science has a strong international reputation for achievements in research and for its links with industry and stakeholders.
Research within the Faculty has led to some outstanding outcomes including: increased agricultural productivity; vaccines and diagnostic products that have been commercialised throughout the world; enhanced animal welfare; improvements in public health; and contributions to basic understanding of animal biology. Details of previous research projects and activities are available in the University's current Research Report.
The Faculty currently focuses on four research areas: animal production, performance and welfare; infectious diseases, public health and biosecurity; cell biology and morphology; and animal biotechnology.
Many projects cross the University’s departmental/faculty boundaries. All of them have an international focus — with collaborators in many countries throughout the Asia Pacific, Africa, Europe, South America and North America.
The Faculty has strong relationships with animal-related industries and in particular with producers and service providers in:
- the cattle and sheep sector through the Mackinnon Project and the Dairy Residents Project
- the poultry industry through the Asia Pacific Centre for Animal Health
- large animal biomedical sciences through the Centre for Animal Biotechnology
- the horse industry through services provided by the Equine Infectious Diseases Laboratory and the Equine Centre
- facilitate clinical research by providing diagnostic services through the Histology laboratory
- Australian wildlife through the Wildlife Health Surveillance Victoria
The Faculty welcomes collaboration with industry and is an active partner in a number of ARC Linkage projects, commercialisation activities, and research supporting development of new products and services to the animal related industries.
Clinical Services
The University of Melbourne Veterinary Hospital is one of Australia’s leading veterinary hospital facilities, based in Werribee.
They provide veterinary care to the community via their general practice (primary and preventative care), referral practice (for veterinarians), emergency and critical care services and an equine centre.
They essentially operate like a large veterinary practice contained within world class facilities. Their team of caring and highly-qualified veterinary staff treat over 17,000 animals each year which is supported by a dedicated veterinary nurses, specialist technicians and administrative staff. They employ over 40 registered veterinarians from interns to senior veterinary registrars.
As well as their general practice, they provide specialist veterinary services in surgery, anaesthesia, radiology, neurology and clinical pathology.
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