Yadav Sharma Bajagai

Dr. Yadav Sharma Bajagai

Ph.D.
Research Fellow / Senior Research Officer
School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences
Institute for Future Farming Systems

y.sharmabajagai@cqu.edu.au

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3043-071X

(07) 4930 6493

Rockhampton North
361 - G.43

About Me

Dr. Yadav Bajagai is a researcher at Central Queensland University (CQU), specializing in microbiome, genomics, gut health, animal nutrition, and bioinformatics. He holds a Bachelor of Veterinary Science, a Master’s Degree in Animal Science and a PhD from the University of Queensland. He has extensive experience in various roles across industry, government, and academia. His current research interests include host-microbe interaction, gut health, alternatives to antibiotic feed supplements, antibiotic resistance, and microbial ecology. He is also passionate about big data analysis and bioinformatics. Dr Bajagai has co-authored more than 50 scientific papers, including more than 30 journal articles in reputable publications.

Prior to his research career, he served in the Ministry of Agriculture in Nepal as a Senior Veterinary Officer, working on livestock extension, animal health, and food and nutrition security. He has also consulted for the livestock and poultry industry as a veterinarian. Dr. Bajagai's expertise extends to his role as a consultant for the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), where he focused on the use of probiotics in animal nutrition and their regulation.

Throughout his career, Dr. Bajagai has received numerous national and international awards for his academic and professional achievements. He was honoured with the prestigious Australian Leadership Award (ALA) and Endeavour Award for his Master's and PhD studies in Australia. A research and extension project led by Dr. Bajagai's team, on behalf of the government of Nepal, was awarded a USD 58 million grant from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP). He was also recognized with the Outstanding Young Australian Alumni Award by the Australian Trade Commission and Australia Future Unlimited, the "Mahendra Vidya Bhusan" (The Order of Merit in Education) by the King of Nepal, and the "Nepal Vidya Bhusan" (Order of Merit) by the President of Nepal, among other accolades.

General

Universities Studied At

The University of Queensland - PhD

The University of Queensland - Master of Animal Studies (Animal Science and Management)

Tribhuvan University - Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSc)

Wageningen University and Research Centre, the Netherlands - Short course on Monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment of food and nutrition security program

Universities Worked At

Central Queensland University

University of Queensland - Causal academics and consultant

Queensland University of Technology - Consultant/Interpreter

Awards

Outstanding Young Alumni Award by Australian Trade Commission and Australia Future Unlimited

Australian Leadership Award (ALA) Scholarship by the Australian Government

Endeavour Award (Endeavour Postgraduate Scholarship)by the Australian Government

Nepal Vidya Bhusan Medal (order of Merit) by the president of Nepal

Mahendra Vidya Bhusan Medal (order of Merit) by then the King of Nepal

Deans Commendation for High Achievement by the University of Queensland

Netherland Fellowship (NFP) by the NUFFIC

SIDA International Training Scholarship by Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

Rotary Veterinary Award by Rotary International Rotary Club of Yala

Narendra Memorial Trust Award by Narendra Memorial Trust

Previous teaching

The University of Queensland - casual academics

Professional Experience

Senior Veterinary Officer / Under Secretary - Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Government of Nepal

Livestock Development Officer - Department of Livestock Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Government of Nepal

Consultant - Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)

Senior Technical Executive (Consultant Veterinarian) - ProBiotech Industries Pvt. Ltd

Professional Memberships

Australasian Veterinary Poultry Association

Australian Society for Microbiology

Australian Association of Animal Sciences

American Society for Microbiology

Nepal Veterinary Association

Nepal Veterinary Council

Computer Software

R, Python, Unix, QIIME, QIIME2, Galaxy, MetaPhlan, HUMAnN and several other bioinformatics tools for microbiome analysis, RNAseq analysis and multivariate statistics.

Recent Research Projects

Effect of Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) Compared to a Placebo on the Gut Microbiome in an Adult Population – A double blind, randomised controlled trial

From: 23/11/2022 to 01/07/2024
Grant: Contract Research (Category 3: Industry and Other)
Funding Scheme: Contract Research - RDC Clinical - Effect of PEA vs Placebo on Gut Microbiome in Adult Population - 2022-23
Total Funding: $20,000.00

Sustainable Precision Feeding in Broiler Chickens in Australia (PRO-016111)

From: 30/06/2022 to 30/09/2026
Grant: Competitive Grant (Category 1: Aust Competitive Grant)
Funding Scheme: Agrifutures Chicken Meat Program Nutrition, Gut Health and Environment Research Program
Total Funding: $593,620.00

Exploration and analysis of publicly available shotgun metagenomics functional sequencing data on chicken and pig gastrointestinal microbial communities – Stage 2

From: 24/01/2022 to 31/12/2022
Grant: Contract Research (Category 3: Industry and Other)
Funding Scheme: Contract Research - Evonik
Total Funding: $94,670.00

Review of publicly available Microbiota data

From: 16/07/2021 to 01/02/2022
Grant: Contract Research (Category 3: Industry and Other)
Funding Scheme: Contract Research - Evonik
Total Funding: $89,310.00

Probiotics for Free Range poultry Gut Health (ICG001441)

From: 24/08/2020 to 29/10/2021
Grant: Competitive Grant (Category 2: Other Public Sector)
Funding Scheme: Department of Innovation, Industry & Science - Innovation Connections
Total Funding: $50,000.00

Research Supervision