2009 John Monash Scholar, Mark Schembri, has been announced as the winner of the prestigious 2011 Educational Partner of the Year Award by the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney. His Advance Equine Elective received excellent feedback from students, a direct reflection on his educating and mentoring final year veterinary students. The award was presented at the Veterinary Education Awards Dinner on Thursday 21st July at the Partners in Veterinary Education Conference in Sydney.
Mark recently completed a Masters of Public Health Degree at Harvard University, US. Mark studied zoonotic diseases: infections and viruses that can be transferred from animals to humans, such as bird and swine flu, rabies, and mad cow disease. Understanding how humans approach such pandemics helps prepare responses to outbreaks in animal populations, and lead to better prevention techniques. Mark completed his Masters of Public Health at Harvard in 2011, graduating near the top of his class, and received a grade A for his project on the Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CAE) virus and its consequences for biosecurity.