Dr Alex Hyatt manages and directs the diagnostic electron microscopy laboratory.

Dr Alex Hyatt: leading the AAHL Biosecurity Microscopy Facility

Dr Alex Hyatt manages and directs a specialist microscopy service incorporated within the AAHL Collaborative Biosecurity Research Facility (ACBRF) in Geelong, Victoria.

• 24 August 2009 | Updated 14 October 2011

Overview

• Current activities
• Background
• Academic qualifications
• Achievements 

Current activities

Dr Alex Hyatt is a Senior Principal Research Scientist based at CSIRO's Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) in Geelong, Victoria. He currently heads the AAHL Biosecurity Microscopy Facility, and is Program Leader, Emergency Disease Preparedness.

The AAHL Collaborative Biosecurity Research Facility (ACBRF), incorporating the AAHL Biosecurity Microscopy Facility (ABMF), has been established using funds invested through the Commonwealth Government's National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).

NCRIS invested A$542 million over 2005-2011 to provide researchers with major research facilities, supporting infrastructure and networks necessary for world-class research.

The ABMF is a specialist microscopy service and a Linked Laboratory of the Australian Microscopy & Microanalysis Research Facility (AMMRF). 

It is a national diagnostic and research facility specialising in viral identification, characterisation and microscopy of infectious diseases. The facility provides the nation with core diagnostic and research services in the fields of biosecurity and infectious disease.

Offering conventional and advanced light and electron microscopy equipment and expertise within a high biocontainment environment, the ABMF enables fundamental research with infectious disease agents that require the highest levels of containment.

The facility currently offers:

• microscopy equipment housed in physical containment level three (PC3) space, allowing work with exotic animal and human pathogens.

Scheduled to open late in 2010, the ABMF will also offer:

• a specialist microscopy service housed within physical containment level four (PC4) space, enabling work on the highest hazard human and animal pathogens.

In addition to the activities associated with the ABMF, Dr Hyatt is currently involved in developing strategies for networking microscopy - both nationally and internationally - whereby the response time for the identification of new pathogens would be greatly reduced.

Background

Dr Hyatt joined CSIRO in 1984 following positions as a:

• Lecturer at Melbourne State College
• Science teacher at Waterdale Girls High School (Studentship appointment)
• Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Fellow at La Trobe University (Analytical Electron Microscopy)
• Adjunct Professor at the University of Queensland
• Adjunct Research Fellow at James Cook University.

Dr Hyatt has been awarded numerous national and international grants on identifying agents responsible for:

• the decline of global amphibian populations
• biological control of the cane toad, Bufo marinus
• new epizootic diseases in Australian amphibian populations.

Academic qualifications

Dr Hyatt was awarded his Bachelor of Science with Honours from La Trobe University in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

He also completed a Diploma of Education and his Doctor of Philosophy at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia.

Achievements

Dr Hyatt is well known to the entire electron microscopy community in Australia, a recognised world leader in his field whose awards and achievements include:

• recognised expert for the world animal health organisation (Office Internationale des Epizooties - OIE) for the:
  • the fish iridovirus, epizootic haematopoietic necrosis virus
  • chytridiomycosis
  • ranaviruses of free ranging cold-blooded animals.
• Associate of Consortium for Conservation Medicine, 2002–present
• co-awarded Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) Quarantine Award for identification of a reptilian ranavirus, 2000
• co-awarded CSIRO Medal for research into discovery of pathogen affecting global amphibian populations, 2000
• co-awarded CSIRO Chairman’s Gold medal in recognition of work performed with the discovery of a newly ‘emerged’ zoonotic virus, equine morbillivirus (now called Hendra virus), 1995
• led a team nominated for a Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (SRCC) Safety award in the category Best Solution to and Identified Workplace Health and Safety Issue, 2009.

Dr Hyatt has authored over 160 papers including peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and printed abstracts. He was chair of the 2006 Australian Conference on Microscopy and Microanalysis (ACMM) and has organised numerous international conference sessions dedicated to the microscopy of infectious organisms.

He has been instrumental in the development of a number of new electron microscope techniques. He is also internationally recognised within the virology community for his work on diagnostic virology, specialising in new and emerging viruses.

Dr Hyatt has been involved in a number of important discoveries including:

• discovery of equine morbillivirus - the Hendra virus
• correlated association of Hendra virus with the second human fatality, via use of immunoelectron microscopy
• discovery of the herpesvirus associated with the pilchard epizootics during 1995 and 1998
• identified lyssavirus (rabies-related virus) within the brain of an Australian bat and the brain of deceased woman by conventional and immunoelectron microscopy
• discovery of various viruses, some of which can cause respiratory illness in humans.

Dr Hyatt's professional memberships include:

• Secretary of Australian Microscopy and Microanalysis Society (AMMS) 2008–present; President of AMMS 2006–08
• Editor-in-Chief, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms
• Chair, Ranavirus working group of the International Committee Taxonomy of Viruses
• Member, Australian Federal Government expert committee on amphibian diseases.

Read more about the virus that stopped the nation, Hendra virus.