Dr. Pravesh Kara earned his doctorate in microbiology from the University of Pretoria's (UP) Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences in 2024. He has been a employed permanently as a researcher for the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) since 2003 and is situated at the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute. Dr Kara is a member of the Vaccine and Diagnostic Development Programme. In 2001, he helped sequence the whole genomes of the LSDV Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) vaccine and a South African field isolate. His primary interests include lumpy skin disease and the development of new recombinant LSDV-vectored vaccines, the identification of novel diagnostic targets for use in an LSD DIVA assay, the enhancement of present diagnostic assays, and the sequencing and analysis of LSDV isolates. Dr. Kara has also participated in various experimental trials to assess LSDV-vectored vaccines. He has 11 peer-reviewed articles to his credit, both as an author and co-author. He has also received SANAS training on ISO:17025 and Quality Internal Auditing. This has led to his appointment as an internal quality auditor at ARC-OVI where audits of accredited laboratories are performed to ensure that they maintain their SANAS status.