LEFS

Dr AL JASSIM Rafat, BSc, MSc, PhD (r.aljassim@uq.edu.au) is a honorary Associate Professor in Animal Science Centre, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), University of Queensland, Australia (www.qaafi.uq.edu.au). He is specialised in Nutrition Biochemistry and Gut Microbiology. He has retired in 2016 after 16 years of service at Gatton Campus and 38 years in academia but continues to work as Independent Technical Consultant and participate in research projects. In doing so, Dr Al Jassim is trying to bridge the gap between academic expertise and commercial application. During the past 25 years, the focus of his research programs was on the impact of commensal gut microorganisms in large animal health and disease and the role of gut microbial ecology in the nutrition of domesticated and wild herbivores. Interaction between diet and the microbial community of the intensively managed animals has been of particular interest. Recent research programs have dealt with variety of topics including the use of plant extracts to control pathogenic microorganisms such as Campylobacter, isolation of bacteria with the ability to degrade mimosine and prevent leucaena toxicity, monensin toxicity in camels, seasonal changes in tropical grass quality and its impact on methane emission and rumen microbiota, impact of heat stress on rumen microbiota, the development of probiotic bacteria to reduce or prevent the risk of acidosis in ruminants and the effect of indospicine in camels.