IMPACT OF THE FACULTY TO THE UNIVERSITY, NATION AND BEYOND
Through its graduate outputs, services and research outputs, the faculty has contributed significantly to the advancement of the veterinary profession, improving livestock health, production and products as well as improving public health and animal welfare, including wildlife. By the end of December 2014, 264 veterinarians were registered on the Council of Veterinary Surgeons of Zimbabwe’s register to practice veterinary medicine in Zimbabwe, 70.5% (186/264) are graduates from the FVS. Currently there are 25 academics in the FVS and 76% (19/25) are products of the faculty. Similarly, over 70% of veterinarians in the Zimbabwean public and private sectors are FVS graduates. Hence, the faculty has a significant impact in promoting the livestock and wildlife industries in the country. The faculty is also having a significant impact in the region and beyond. In the region, by end of April 2014, in South Africa alone,104 veterinarians and 8 veterinary nurses graduating from the FVS were registered to practice veterinary medicine in the academia, private and public sectors of that country. Within the region, the FVS graduate outputs are contributing to the veterinary professions in countries such as Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. Outside Africa, the faculty graduates are employed in different sectors in countries such as the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, etc.
The research work by the faculty has contributed to the discovery of new and characterization of pathogenic species in animals. It has greatly contributed to the identification of risk factors, surveillance and suggesting control measures against several diseases in both domestic and wild animals. Furthermore, it has contributed to the evaluation of several diagnostic tests, promoting the use of techniques with high sensitivity and specificity in disease surveillance and control programs in commercial and smallholder farms. In turn, the ultimate effect is the significant promotion of animal health, production and welfare and, reduction in the public health risks associated with the disease in livestock and wildlife.
The Faculty has been involved in research that focused particularly on the so-called African neglected zoonotic diseases including anthrax, brucellosis and tuberculosis. The research has been broad enough to be viewed as making a contribution to the field of African neglected zoonotic diseases in the SADC region with a formidable production of research publications especially on brucellosis and anthrax.
Some of the Notable Luminaries from the FVS
Professor Munashe Chigerwe,Associate Professor of Food Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Califonia Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. PhD & MPH (University of Missouri), BVSc (University of Zimbabwe 2001).
Professor Chigerwe is an Associate Professor of Food Animal Medicine and Surgery with UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. He received his BVSc from the FVS, UZ in 2001 and MPH and PhD degrees from the University of Missouri before joining University of California Davis in 2009. He is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. He has proven an exceptional instructor in didactic and clinical teaching settings, receiving the Favorite Large Animal Clinician and Favorite Teacher Awards in 2010 and the Favorite Large Animal Clinician and Favorite Faculty Awards in 2011. In 2013, he was awarded the School of Veterinary Medicine(SVM) Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award. He has published more than 30 articles covering different aspects of large animal medicine.
Professor Tarisai Brighton Dzikiti, Head of the Veterinary Anaesthesia Section, Companion Animal Clinical Studies Department, University of Pretoria. PhD (University of Pretoria 2011), MSc (Utrecht University, The Netherlands 2001), BVSc (University of Zimbabwe 1997)
Prof Tarisai Brighton Dzikiti was born in Rusape, Zimbabwe in 1972. He obtained his BVSc degree from the FVS, UZ in 1997. Immediately after completing his undergraduate studies, he joined the UZ as a Clinical Assistant in Small Animal Surgery, Anaesthesia and Radiology. In 2001, he obtained anMSc degree in Veterinary Anaesthesia from Utrecht University, The Netherlands. After a 2-year period of lecturing at UZ, he left to join the University of Pretoria, where he has been lecturing Veterinary Anaesthesia since March 2003. He obtained a PhD degree at the University of Pretoria in 2011 whose main research focus was intravenous anaesthesia in goats. He rose through the academic ranks at the University of Pretoria to become an Associate Professor since January 2013. He is currently the head of the Vet Anaesthesia section at the University of Pretoria. He has published 22 scientific papers in internationally recognised journals, presented at regional and international scientific conferences more than 35 times and has successfully supervised 5 Masters level degree students at the University of Pretoria. He regularly reviews scientific manuscripts for five journals, including the Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia journal and the Journal of the South African Veterinary Association. The value of his contribution to furthering advancement in the scientific community is substantiated by awards and recognitions that he has received in the last few years, namely: i) Exceptional Young Researcher of the Year Award (University of Pretoria) 2012; ii) Young Veterinarian of the Year Award of the South African Veterinary Association in 2013 and iii)Y2 rating as a researcher by for the years 2013 -2018 by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa. His most prominent scientific publications entitled ‘Effects of intravenous lidocaine on isoflurane concentration, physiological parameters, metabolic parameters and stress-related hormones in horses undergoing surgery’ has been cited up to 75 times to date.
Dr Benford Mafuvadze, Research Fellow, University of Kansas, Department of Pathology
PhD Sciences (University of Missouri 2012), MVSc (UZ 2004), BVSc (UZ 2002)
Dr Mafuvadze completed his BVSc at the FVS, UZ in 2002. After completing an MVScdegree in Veterinary Physiology (UZ) in 2004, he was employed as a Physiology lecturer (UZ). He was appointed Chairman of Preclinical studies in 2007, a position he held until he left for doctoral studies in the United States of America at the beginning of 2008. He completed his PhD in Biomedical Science at the University of Missouri in 2012. His Doctorate work focused on the role of natural flavonoids on development and progression of progestin-dependent breast cancer. In 2011, Dr Mafuvadze was awarded the Golden Key International award for scholarly achievement. He is currently a research fellow at the University of Kansas in the Department of Pathology, where his work involves studying molecular mechanisms involved in the progression of breast cancer. In particular he is looking at mechanisms involved in progression from the non-invasive form of breast cancer (ductal carcinoma in situ) to the invasive form (invasive ductal carcinoma). To-date Dr Mafuvadze has published 18 articles in International Accredited Journals and a book chapter in a widely referenced textbook of breast cancer. He is currently a member of the Editorial Board for the Pan African Medical Journal.