Meet Dr Tu Tu Zaw Win

Research associate

What is your area of animal health?

I gained my PhD in Veterinary Epidemiology at the University of Queensland in 2019. I have worked as a research officer at the Public Health Division of Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department (LBVD), Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, Myanmar, from 2013 to 2020 prior to joining as a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Applied One Health Research and Policy Advice, the City University of Hong Kong in 2021. My research interests are small-scale livestock production and management practices, zoonotic diseases, the role of the trading network in disease transmission, and estimating the impact of diseases. I am currently involved in epidemiological research projects associated with value chain analysis, African swine fever, regional development programmes and zoonotic diseases.

What is your role in the APCOVE project?

I participated as an in-country partner in the Asia-Pacific Consortium of Veterinary Epidemiologists (APCOVE) project. My main activities included ensuring coordination of the project amongst the different authorities, dealing with the implementation of research and collaboration between the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, Myanmar and APCOVE, and communicating with other stakeholders and local veterinary authorities for the stakeholder consultation activity. I also helped to develop four e-learning modules including Module D04: Estimating the Impact of a Disease, Module D05: Evaluating a Brucellosis Control Program – Economic Analysis, Module E01: Principles of Cross-sector Human and Animal Health, and Module F04: Communication for Managing an Animal Health Emergency.

Why are you passionate about improving the skills of the Asia-Pacific animal health workforce?

Livestock production in the Asia-Pacific region has been rapidly growing over time. Therefore, developing the skills and knowledge of veterinarians on animal health, assessment and impact of risk, communication, and policy development is crucial. The design and activities of the APCOVE project fulfill these knowledge gaps. I believe that this project’s output may further help implement efficient and effective disease investigation, disease control activities, impact assessment and policy development from the One Health perspective.