Dr Keyburn, a scientist at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL), won the CSIRO Livestock Industries’ AAHL Animal Health Award for his pivotal role in finding alpha-toxin protein is not, as has long been believed, the main cause of the devastating bacterial chicken disease Necrotic Enteritis (NE).

NE was first described in 1961 and alpha-toxin was implicated as the major causative factor, although definitive proof has never been reported.

As a result, for the last 30 years all vaccine development work was based on the assumption that alpha-toxin was the key.

"The research team at AAHL found that the real cause of NE is a new toxin, NetB, which is found in a high proportion of the bacteria that cause the disease,” Dr Keyburn said.

NE costs the world’s poultry industries an estimated $2US billion every year.

Dr Keyburn’s research results have significant, local and global implications for the development of NE vaccines and Dr Keyburn plans to use the award money to help fund his travel expenses to present these findings to a larger scientific, veterinary and industry audience both locally and internationally.

Chris Cowled, a PhD student at AAHL, won the Geelong Independent Early Researcher Award for his research into unknown insect borne diseases of livestock.

His research has identified and characterised a new group of viruses of the genus Orbivirus isolated from sentinel cattle and insects in northern Australia.

“In recent years, several major international outbreaks of never-before-seen viruses have made us increasingly aware of the serious threat posed by emerging viral diseases,” Mr Cowled said.

“Through the characterisation of unidentified Australian viruses we have been able to develop diagnostic tests for early detection and rapid diagnosis in the event of an emergency animal disease outbreak.

“We are now building on this base to validate a new test for the detection and identification of a large number of different viruses simultaneously,” he said.

“I plan to use the award money to purchase materials for my research and to fund my attendance at the Australian Arbovirus Symposium, to present my research findings.”

The Smart Geelong Network was established by the Geelong Chamber of Commerce and comprises a group of local agencies committed to developing research and lifelong learning in the Geelong region.

Ten winners received $5,000 for their achievements in a wide range of research areas including:

• Health and lifestyle,

• Biotechnology,

• Animal health,

• Smart technology and

• Teaching and learning.