Congratulations to 2024 Fellow of the Australian Society for Parasitology, Shokoofeh Shamsi!
Professor Shokoofeh Shamsi has been a member of the Society for over 20 years. After completing a Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Iran she moved to Australia and was awarded a PhD for research in fish parasitology from the University of Melbourne in 2007. Professor Shamsi entered an academic career at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in 2010 and in 2022 she was promoted to the status of Professor in Veterinary Parasitology on account of her academic achievements, the scope of her public engagement and her service to the University.
Professor Shamsi has promoted the advancement of parasitology, in particular through her research publications, international reputation, supervision of postgraduate students, the public promotion of the awareness of parasitic disease and contributions to Committees of the Society. She has also been active in championing the role of women in science. In 2022 she was the recipient of a Scholarship that enabled her to attend the Women’s Leadership Summit in Sydney.
Her main field of research is parasites of fish, although the host range she has investigated includes fish, reptiles, pangolins, dasyurids, crustacea and birds. She has described 39 new parasite species predominantly of monogeneans and nematodes. Professor Shamsi has published around 140 papers which have been cited thousands of times (2607 at last count). Interest in her work has led to five invitations to present plenary or keynote talks.
Her awards are many and include several teaching and research performance awards from CSU, international recognition. Examples are from India and from the International Association of Zoologists. She has undertaken laboratory exchanges to Rome, South Africa, India and Japan and hosted scientists from Iran, Brazil, Singapore, Poland, Spain, India, France and the Netherlands. Prof. Shamsi has also collaborated widely with Australian experts in fish parasitology. Research funding is challenging in this area of research. Nevertheless, she has received more than $1M, including funds from international agencies.
Professor Shamsi maintains an undergraduate teaching load and enthuses students through her parasitology teaching such that many undertake research with her and her colleagues. She has supervised 48 postgraduate students including 25 in the last 5 years, 12 for PhDs. In addition, she has also supervised 22 undergraduate research student projects. With these students she frequently leads an impressive cohort, often the most numerous from a single institution, to each annual ASP conference. Many of those have been distinguished by winning ASP student conference prizes.
A major activity of Professor Shamsi’s career has been public education of the zoonotic threats from fish parasites, in particular, the anasakids. One landmark outcome of her work was inclusion of these diseases in medical curricula in Australian universities. A second was that her work prompted national seafood safety risk assessments by the Australian Food Safety Information Council. A career highlight that cements her authority in the field was authoring the chapter ‘Nematodes and Closely Related Taxa’ in Encyclopaedia of food safety in 2023. Her media appearances number over 90, a remarkable achievement and evidence of deep commitment and consistent endeavour.
Professor Shamsi’s expertise is recognised through serving on many committees including the boards of the World Federation of Parasitologists (2022-2026) and the Food Safety Information Council (2021-2023) to name just two. She also sits on the following journal editorial boards: Parasitology Research (2017- current), Clinical Microbiology Reports (2022- current), the International Journal of Food Microbiology (2020 – current), the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2020 – current) and the World Register of Marine Species (2011 – current).
In terms of the ASP, Professor Shamsi has worked tirelessly and has rendered conspicuous service to the Society. She was the NSW State Representative (2015-2018) and Executive Member of the Council (2019-2021). Her commitment to the promotion of parasitology through education is evident in her long-standing membership of the Education Committee of the ASP (since 2016) and her membership of the Future of the Society group of the Australian Society for Fish Biology (since 2020). Professor Shamsi has applied her skills in public engagement through a number of parasitology-related Science Week events, including hosting an online ‘Parasites and Art’ event with the ASP in 2020. She co-editor of the up-coming, second edition of the ASP-sponsored e-publication ‘Australasian Animal Parasites, Inside and Out’.
In conclusion, we believe that Shokoofeh Shamsi has promoted the advancement of parasitology and rendered conspicuous service to the cause of parasitology and to the Society. She has been a true ambassador of Australian Parasitology and is a deserving recipient of the award of Fellow of the Australian Society for Parasitology.
