Dr Jaime Gongora

Lecturer Faculty of Veterinary Science The University of Sydney NSW 2006 Telephone: +61 2 9351 4789 Fax: +61 2 9351 2114 Email:

Qualifications

PhD in Animal Genetics. University of Sydney (2004, Australia

Master in Biology. Pontificia Javeriana University (1995, Colombia

Bachelor of Science. Libre University (1987, Colombia)

Teaching Areas

Conservation Biology, Genetics and Wildlife Genetics

Academic Experience

Associate Lecturer, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney

Associate Researcher, Centre for Advanced Technologies in Animal Genetics and Reproduction- University of Sydney

Postgraduate Teaching Fellow, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney

Professional Experience

Coordinator of the Molecular Biology Centre, Gimnasio Campestre (High School), Bogota, Colombia

Research

Jaime has conducted research in the following areas:

• genetics, evolution, virology and conservation biology which has contributed to taxonomic redefinitions of Suiform mammals, to the better understanding of host/parasite coevolution within Suiformes, to the development of technologies for better animal population management and to the understanding of cross species transmission of viruses
• discovered two genetically distinct continental groups of Collared peccaries, in the American continent, probably representing distinct species
• the porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV)/ host coevolution, which has been brought to the attention of key group working in human medical xenotransplantation
• improvement of commercial animal production by analysing candidate genes associated with commercial traits in sheep

Contribution to the Profession

Jaime's research has been recognised by internationally important paleontological and conservation ecology groups and applied in conservation programs for the rare and endangered Chacoan peccary.

Selected Publications

Gongora, J., Chen, Y., Bernal, J.E., Nicholas, F.W., and Moran, C. (2002). Interspecific amplification of peccary microsatellite markers using porcine primers. Animal Genetics. 33: 312-313.

Kim, K-I., Lee, J-H., Lee, K., Zhang, Y-P., Lee, S-S., Gongora, J., Moran, C. (2002). Phylogenetic relationship of Asian and European pig breeds determined by mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequence polymorphism. Animal Genetics. 33: 19-25.

Gongora, J., Peltoniemi, O.A.T., Tammen, I., Raadsma, H. and Moran, C. (2003). Analyses of possible Domestic Pig Contribution in two populations of Finnish farmed Wild Boar. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A Animal Science. 53: 161-165.

Gongora, J., Spencer, P., Fleming, P., Mason, R., Garkavenko, O., Lee, J-H., Meyer, J-K, Droegemueller, C. and Moran, C. (2004). Phylogenetic relationships of Australian and New Zealand feral pigs assessed by mitochondrial control region sequence and nuclear GPIP genotype. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 33: 339-348.

Gongora, J., and Moran, C. (2005). Nuclear and mitochondrial evolutionary analyses of Collared, White-lipped and Chacoan peccaries (Tayassuidae) Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 34: 181-189.

Fan, B., Gongora, J., Chen, Y., Garkavenko, O., Li, K., Moran, C. (2005). Population genetic variability and origin of Auckland feral pigs. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 35: 279-285.

Gongora, J., Morales, S., Bernal, J.E., and Moran, C. Phylogenetic divisions among Collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu) detected using mitochondrial and nuclear sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution (accepted).