Dr Gad Baneth is a professor of veterinary medicine at the Hebrew University School of Veterinary Medicine in Jerusalem and Chair of the WSAVA Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC). He tells us about his career and the role of the SAC... Could you summarize your career?
I graduated from the Hebrew University Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Israel in 1990 then took a Small Animal internship and residency at the Hebrew University. I then moved to the US to undertake a fellowship in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases Research at the College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University.
Back in Israel, I then studied for a PhD in veterinary parasitology at the Hebrew University. I continued to work at the Hebrew University Veterinary School and served as head of the Small Animal Internal Medicine Department at the Hebrew University Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
I am a diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Clinical Pathology (ECVCP), an associate member of the European Veterinary Parasitology College (EVPC) and an editorial advisory board member for the Journal Veterinary Parasitology. Together with veterinary colleagues from Europe, I formed the LeishVet group for standardization of the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of canine leishmaniosis. The LeishVet group has published guidelines for canine and feline leishmaniosis aimed at helping practitioners understand and manage zoonotic leishmaniosis. I am also an active member of the Tropical Council for Companion Animal Parasites (TroCCAP), which aims to guide veterinarians in the management of pet parasitic diseases in tropical regions.
My research interests focus on the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of veterinary and zoonotic vector-borne infectious diseases including leishmaniosis, relapsing fever borreliosis, canine ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, hepatozoonosis, trypanosomiasis and dirofilariasis. I have been involved in research projects on the study of zoonotic and veterinary diseases in the Mediterranean Basin, Uzbekistan, Ethiopia, Southern Europe and North Africa.