About ANZAAP
A not for profit association that provides support and quality peer reviewed information to its membership of professional aquarists.
To provide a forum for dissemination of information to further the science of aquarium design, maintenance and aquatic animal husbandry and health, both in aquatic research model organisms and species of public aquarium significance.
ANZAAP has developed from the Australia & New Zealand Zebrafish Husbandy group. Originally dealing solely with zebrafish research, the organisation has grown to include elements of the public aquaria groups as well as a strong focus on animal welfare and aquatic health.
Our Team
Cameron Mackey
President
Since late 2020 Cam has been managing the newly commissioned University of Melbourne zebrafish facility.
He has been working in various capacities within the ornamental fish industry since 2005, with focus on production, facility management and biosecurity.”
Bruce Newell
Vice President
Working for Deakin University in Geelong,
Bruce has been involved with the zebrafish model for the last 14 years and is a
member of both ANZLAA and ZHA.
Deakin
University have in recent times tripled their capacity for zebrafish research
and will be soon implementing state of the art robotic feeding systems.
Bruce has been instrumental in driving this exciting development and expansion.
With
over 30 years of self-employment in aquatics and herpetology he has been
involved in a large range of different aspects of aquatics including system and
equipment design & construction, curation of large scale marine aquaria,
building fish rooms and providing consulting services to many different
institutions.
Diana Baumann
Secretary
Diana is a laboratory animal consultant, working with multiple institutions on staffing and operations. Additionally, she teaches leadership and project management to scientists across the globe. Prior to this she directed the Reptile & Aquatics facility at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research for 20 years. There she had responsibility for the management of a wide range of species including zebrafish, cavefish, Xenopus, reptiles, and invertebrate aquatic model organisms including planaria, corals, and sea anemones.
Diana was a member of the animal ethics committee for 19 years and she is an Ad Hoc Specialist for AAALAC international. She is a Certified Manager of Animal Resources and faculty at the University of Alabama Zebrafish Husbandry Short Course. She has served on multiple AALAS committees. Diana has published and presented on a diversity of topics and is recipient of multiple awards for teaching, management, and contributions to the laboratory animal field.
Rob Jones
Public Aquarium Liaison
Rob Jones is an aquarium veterinarian based in Melbourne. He visits and consults to all major public aquariums in Australia and New Zealand and more recently Asia. Through his business “The Aquarium Vet” he has developed the E – Qauarist course, an online training resource for aquarists working in any field.
Lauren Pandolfo
International Liaison
Lauren Pandolfo is a long standing subject matter expert and frequent consultant on Laboratory Reared Aquatic Species, Aquaria and Lab Design, and Guidelines and Regulatory Compliance. She is heavily involved in outreach and education in the biomedical and aquatics communities, Instructor on husbandry, reproduction, invitro fertilization, and cryopreservation at the University of Alabama Zebrafish Husbandry Short Course, and engages in speaker presentations on aquatics facilities and aquatics research and biosecurity. In her current role as Zebrafish Operations Manager at Baylor College of Medicine Center for Comparative Medicine, Lauren is working to optimize, upgrade, and expand the research capabilities and scale of the zebrafish research program.
Lucie Nedved
Technology Officer
Lucie is a veterinarian with a special interest in aquatic species including fish and amphibians. Over the past 10 years, Lucie has been involved with zebrafish as well as other aquatic species in the laboratory setting. She currently works in the University setting for University of New South Wales in Sydney.
Lucie has been a long-standing member of the ANZ zebrafish community and is a member of ANZAAP, ANZLAA and the ZHA. She has presented and participated at ANZAAP and ANZLAA conferences on the zebrafish health and welfare.
Lucie is a WAVMA (World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association) Certified Aquatic Veterinarian.
Alhad Mahagaonkar
Outgoing President
Alhad (Al) is based in Auckland, New Zealand and manages the zebrafish core facility at the University of Auckland. He has significant experience managing zebrafish facilities and has overseen many facility expansions and renovations. He is responsible for the facility’s overall operations, including quality animal care, husbandry, system maintenance, user education and training. Along with this, he also manages the biosecurity and compliance requirements that are set out by the regulatory authorities in New Zealand.
Al has been a long-standing member of the ANZ zebrafish community and a founding board member of ANZAAP. He has participated and presented at various international and ANZ conferences on the zebrafish component. He is keen on promoting and developing better-standardised practices for aquatic research models, especially zebrafish. Al has previously served as a board member of ANZAAP as the Vice President and President.
Stephen Pyecroft
Treasurer
Aaron Hay
Committee Member
Aaron heads the BioCORE Facilities at The Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in Sydney. Since 2018, Aaron has been working to update, enhance and future proof the aquatic facilities to ensure the ongoing survival and efficiency of the systems. With primary studies in Cardiac Research, VCCRI has led this field in groundbreaking finds in genetics and echocardiology and continues to focus on dark genome and cardiac disease using aquatic models, Zebrafish, Medaka fish and Xenopus Frogs.
Prior to joining VCCRI, Aaron worked as an Aquarist at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, where he was fortunate to work with a large range of animals, from coral to elasmobranchs and Dugongs. Having worked in both public aquaria and laboratory animal fields for over a decade, Aaron has an appreciation for both fields and the continual growth of the ANZAAP community.