DrMark Westman

BVSc (Hons) MANZCVS (Animal Welfare) PhD

Mark graduated with a BVSc (Hons) from the University of Sydney in 2003. Following graduation he worked mainly in shelter medicine for 10 years (RSPCA NSW and Animal Welfare League NSW). During this time, he also volunteered for veterinary programs in Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Indonesia and India. Mark co-founded Pets in the Park in 2012, a charity dedicated to providing free veterinary care to pets owned by the homeless, which now has clinics in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, ACT and Tasmania.

In 2012 Mark returned to the University of Sydney to undertake a PhD investigating feline retroviral diseases, in particular FIV vaccine effectiveness in the field and FIV antibody response following vaccination. On completion of his PhD in 2016, Mark moved to the Centre for Virus Research at the University of Glasgow to undertake postdoctoral research in the antibody response of FIV and FeLV vaccinated cats, thanks to an Endeavour Research Fellowship and Sydney University Early Career Mobility Scheme Grant.

Between 2017 and 2019 Mark returned to Australia to take on various teaching roles for the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree in the Sydney School of Veterinary Science, including small animal microbiology, large animal microbiology, and veterinary pharmacology units.

As well as being an Honorary Research Affiliate with the University of Sydney, Mark has been Team Leader of the bacteriology unit at Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute (EMAI), the NSW state veterinary laboratory, since 2020.

Mark also enjoys running, particularly ultrarunning, and climbing mountains!