Dr Mike Goddard is currently a Professorial Fellow in Animal Genetics at the Faculty of Land and Food Resources, University of Melbourne, where he has held a joint appointment with the Department of Primary Industries, Victoria since 1998.
Dr Mike Goddard is currently a Professorial Fellow in Animal Genetics at the Faculty of Land and Food Resources, University of Melbourne, where he has held a joint appointment with the Department of Primary Industries, Victoria since 1998.
Mike Goddard graduated with a B.V.Sc (Hons) from the University of Melbourne in 1972. Such was his intellect, Mike simultaneously undertook an advanced mathematics course during his period of undergraduate study to stimulate his interest in animal breeding, much to the chagrin of his fellow veterinary science students who struggled with the routine challenges of a B.V.Sc. degree. Professor Goddard completed his PhD studies in 1977, also at the University of Melbourne, before accepting a position as lecturer in biometry at the Graduate School of Tropical Veterinary Science, James Cook University of North Queensland.
From 1983 to 1993, Professor Goddard was Senior Geneticist and then Director of the Livestock Improvement Unit at Department of Agriculture in Victoria, before accepting the position as Director of the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit at University of New England in Armidale, where he remained until his current appointment at University of Melbourne. In 1990, he undertook a period as Visiting Professor at University of Guelph in Canada.
Mike Goddard's research accomplishments are both impressive and extensive and are renowned for Mike's unique and well-honed ability to derive practical applications from the most complex of theoretical genetic considerations. His achievements include development of breeding objectives and selection indexes, estimation of genetic parameters for traits of economic significance and development of genetic evaluation methodology for international comparison of sires and design of breeding programs. Mike's current research in his role as leader of DPI Victoria's and the Beef CRC's genomics projects focuses on identification of bovine genes for use by dairy farmers and beef producers, with his personal contribution to these efforts being on developments of statistical methodology and the practical application of these methodologies for gene discovery.
Professor Goddard's research aimed at the genetic improvement of dairy and beef cattle and pigs and the application of genomics to genetic improvement of these species has had broad application and very wide recognition throughout the world. In 1999, his research achievements were recognised by receipt of the Urrbrae Award for Contribution to Australian Agriculture. In 2003, Mike was presented with the American Dairy Science Association's International Dairy Production Award sponsored by the International Dairy Foods Research Association at the ADSA Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona (USA). Recognising his international acclaim, Professor Goddard has been an invited speaker at the World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production in France (2002) and Canada (1994), at the European Association for Animal Production (The Hague 2000), INTERBUL meeting (Poland 1998) and the American Dairy Science Association (USA 1991, 1992, 1995, 1997 and 1998).
Other international recognition of Professor Goddard's achievement comes in the form of invitations to conduct an AVDIP Course on Veterinary Epidemiology (Bogor, Indonesia, 1982), as leader of an Australian government mission to China on pig breeding (1991), as a reviewer of the New Zealand Dairy Board's new genetic evaluation system (1993), as Opponent, PhD examination Swedish Agricultural University (1995) and as reviewer of the IL-DLO Institure, The Netherlands (2003), genetics research at University of Liège, Belgium (2004) and INRA Department of Animal Genetics, France (2005). Professor Goddard has also been a member of Ovita New Zealand's Scientific Advisory Group since 2002 and a member of INTERBUL's Scientific Advisory Committee.
Professor Goddard has received similar acclaim within Australia, being Chairman of the Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme's Genetics Committee since 1988 and a member of Meat and Livestock Australia's National Beef Cattle Genetics Advisory Committee. He has also held executive positions with the Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding and Genetics (2002-2003) and its predecessor organisation in 1990-1991.
During his research career, Professor Goddard has supervised 12 PhD and 14 MSc students, many of whom have now established themselves as international experts in their fields. Professor Goddard has also achieved competitive research grants funded by Meat and Livestock Australia, the International Wool Secretariat, Dairy Australia, the Geoffrey Gardner Foundation and Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme. He has also served as an independent assessor of research grant applications for a number of the funding organisations including the Meat Research Corporation, International Wool Secretariat, Dairy Research and Development Corporation, Canadian National Science and Engineering Research Council, Swiss National Science Federation and the Israeli-American Joint Research Grants.
For his outstanding contribution to animal breeding and genetics and its application in the Australian livestock industries, the Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding and Genetics is pleased to enrol Professor Mike Goddard as a Fellow of the Association.