A Victorian scientist who has dedicated his 35-year career to protecting Australia’s plant industries from pests and diseases has won a national award with significance beyond what he could have imagined.
Agriculture Victoria’s Professor Brendan Rodoni was awarded the inaugural Dr Kim Ritman Award for Science and Innovation for his contribution to biosecurity research and national leadership.
Dr Kim Ritman, who was Australia’s Chief Plant Protection Officer, died earlier this year following an accident in 2019 and was a mentor, colleague and friend to Professor Rodoni.
Professor Rodoni, who leads Agriculture Victoria’s Microbial Sciences, Pests and Diseases research team at the AgriBio Centre for AgriBioscience, said it was incredibly sad to lose someone like Dr Ritman and winning an award in his honour meant more than the award itself.
‘To win an award in Kim’s name means so much to me; he was a great leader for Australian plant biosecurity and plant sciences,’ Professor Rodoni said.
‘He was passionate about his work and it was an absolute privilege to have someone like him to look up to and learn so much from,’ he said.
‘I am one of many who respected Kim’s work and attitude. He has inspired many of us to continue asking questions and find answers through science to better protect the plants we all rely on in our day-to-day lives.
‘We are probably the biggest group now doing research and innovation in plant and animal biosecurity in Australia, and this award recognises the impact of our work at AgriBio and our Horsham research facility.’
While Professor Rodoni’s achievements are vast, he said taking part in the national response to the detection of fire blight in Melbourne in 1997 changed how pests and diseases were diagnosed and triggered the start of a new era of biosecurity in Australia’s plant industries.
‘This was the first major incident of fire blight in Australia, and it was a very big deal for me personally and a turning point for biosecurity and biosecurity research in Victoria,’ he said.
‘The people and facilities make AgriBio a very special place to work and together through our partnership with La Trobe University we are making a huge difference to how biosecurity is managed in Australia and across the world.
‘For that, I consider myself very lucky.’
