My name is Asinamai Athliamai Bitrus, I am an aspiring young academic with keen interest in antimicrobial drug resistance. As a Bacteriologist and with particular interest in the molecular characteristics of antimicrobial resistance of bacteria from food and companion animals. The COVID-19 pandemic ignited a paradigm shift in my research adventure to pursue a career in understanding the dynamics of drug resistance. These I intend to achieve through the adoption of a One-Health approach to unravelling the dynamics of drug-pathogen relationship and ecosystem health. I am adept in various molecular biology and epidemiological skills, SPSS, and basic knowledge in bioinformatics. I am proficient in both spoken and written English and with a good team spirit. I also have more than 4 years university teaching experience in bacteriology, mycology, virology, and disease surveillance. I have several research articles published in peer-reviewed journals.

I had my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree (DVM) in 2012 at the University of Maiduguri, Borno Nigeria, and my PhD (Bacteriology) at the Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2017. The title of my thesis was “Characterisation and Genetic Profiling of Antibiotic Resistance amongst Staphylococcus aureus and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from Selangor, Malaysia”. I also had a one-year stint of Post-doctoral Fellowship at the Research Unit in Microbial food safety and antimicrobial resistance, Department of Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. I believe I have the requisite skill sets and attitude to carry out any research work and will be glad if my application is given due consideration.  After my undergraduate and Graduate Programmes at both University of Maiduguri and University Putra Malaysia, I worked as a humanitarian organisation as a programme officer in charge of planning and implementing activities related to resettlement of internally displaced persons ravaged by the insurgency in North-Eastern Nigeria. I have also had the opportunity of working as a consultant on mapping of locations of survivors of Gender-Based Violence in Yobe State.  Now am a lecturer in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Jos. My responsibilities include teaching, research, and community service. I am also a trainer for the In-Service Applied Veterinary Epidemiology Training (ISAVET). The training is sponsored by FAO in collaboration with USAID.

I have actively participated in the training workshop on the development of a strategic framework for the control of priority zoonotic disease: Anthrax and Brucellosis sponsored by Global Implementation Solutions (GIS) in collaboration with African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC) and Nigerian Field Epidemiology Network (NFELTP) from 9th to 13th September 2019 at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, Nigeria. These fora further fired up the passion in me to take up courses or training course in field epidemiology, disease surveillance and responses. Furthermore, COVID-19 pandemic has exposed some lapses in understanding the dynamics of disease with a given population. From professional background as a veterinarian, this training programme will further improve my perception of disease surveillance and responses with a broader scope. 

I have excellent interpersonal, communication skills and an outstanding research skill and the ability to organize and lead projects efficiently. I am dependable, trustworthy and I always adhere to a strict code of work ethics.