Professor Dr Susanne Hermesch FTSE
Professor Susanne Hermesch grew up near Osnabrueck in Germany on a dairy farm which sparked her interest in agriculture and animal breeding. After completing an apprenticeship in farming and a Diplom in Agrarwissenschaften at the University of Goettingen she moved to Armidale in Australia to complete a Doctor of Philosophy in pig breeding at AGBU at the University of New England. During her career, Professor Hermesch has developed sustainable selection strategies for pig breeding and she is an expert on genetic improvement of survival, resilience, health and welfare in breeding programs that also aim to improve productivity, carcase value and efficiency. Her research was conducted in close collaborations with the Australian pork industry and she has communicated her research extensively to industry. Professor Hermesch is a widely published author, an editor and she has supervised PhD candidates in pig, dairy, beef and chickpea. Other research interests include crocodile farming and gender equity in STEM. She is currently an editor of the Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics and a member of the board of advisors of the European Master in Animal Breeding and Genetics an Erasmus Mundus Master Programme. Previously, Professor Hermesch was the president of the Permanent Committee of the World Congress of Genetics Applied to Livestock Production. Professor Hermesch is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.
