Interview with Tserendorj Munkhjargal

Tserendorj Munkhjargal is a Mongolian veterinary researcher with a PhD in animal and food hygiene, working on controlling tick-borne diseases in livestock, which can cause severe economic losses for the country’s herders. She was recently awarded an OWSD-Elsevier Foundation award for women scientists in the developing world.

When and where were you born? How did this shape you?
I was born in Uvurkhangai province, Mongolia, in 1980. All Mongolian people are used to dealing with the weather due to Mongolia’s extreme continental climate. Like other Mongolian girls in the countryside, I grew up in the often harsh nomadic life. Being born in this place has shaped my moral compass and my adaptability to different environments.

You’re based in Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, but you’ve also worked in Japan. How does Mongolian higher education differ from that in Japan?
The Mongolian State University was founded in 1942. Much of the teaching was originally in Russian due to a lack of Mongolian-language texts in specialised fields. Under socialism, the higher education system provided opportunities for promising students from all regions of the country to participate in advanced study in the Soviet Union or Eastern Europe. Education was closely linked to upward social mobility. In my case, I received higher education in a less resourced environment in Mongolia. I have been fortunate to also work as a postdoctoral fellow at Obihiro University in Japan, a more developed country with greater education resources.

Does your career path stem from a childhood fascination with animals? What’s your favourite animal, if you had to choose?
My childhood was spent on my parents’ small farm in the countryside. In summertime, I helped them herd sheep and goats, feed calves and lambs, milk cows and shear sheep. The experience helped me understand animal behaviour and the environments they live in. I’ve wanted to be a veterinarian since I was a kid. I obtained my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in veterinary medicine from the Mongolian University of Life Science and my doctorates in animal and food hygiene at Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine. Most Mongolian people’s favourite animal is a horse, but mine is a calf.

What animals do you study most? How often do you go into the field – and does this involve working with Mongolia’s herders?
My work focuses on diagnosis, treatment and prevention of parasitic infections in livestock such as sheep, goats, horses and cattle. Most recently, I did a research project studying mosquito-transmitted parasitic infection in two-humped camels. Now I am conducting a joint research project on control and surveillance of vector-transmitted diseases in dogs in Mongolia; it’s a collaboration with Taiwanese colleagues. I usually go into the field to collect blood samples at least twice a year. Because large animals such as camels, cattle and horses are semi-wild it is difficult to catch them, so I work with both Mongolia’s herders and local vets.

You recently received an OWSD-Elsevier Foundation award for women scientists in the developing world for your work on tick-borne diseases. How did you get involved in this area?
In Mongolia, livestock contributes 16 per cent of the national GDP, providing meat and milk for domestic consumption. Livestock husbandry is a significant source of export income. Yet over the decades, the livestock industry has been challenged by a lack of forage due to country’s long deep winters, climate change and frequent outbreaks of livestock diseases, including tick-transmitted ones. Vector-borne diseases are a growing concern in Mongolia; their prevalence continues to increase with the expansion of farms in new areas, making my field increasingly important.

In your career so far, what have been the most difficult and most gratifying periods?
I faced many educational challenges during my doctoral course in Japan. Since I did not have much experience working at a laboratory, I had to do everything from scratch – learn about the techniques, how to design experiments, prepare my manuscripts and…present my research work. I worked in the lab from early morning to evening, sometimes until midnight – including weekends – to get results in my experiments. It was quite difficult, but I learned a lot and obtained my doctorate. It is my greatest triumph. In 2019, I also received an individual research grant from the International Foundation for Science in Sweden, which gave me full academic freedom [to conduct] independent research. My most gratifying moment came when I was recognised as one of the winners of the OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards in 2023. It is a great honour, not only for me but also my research institute.

If you were to pursue another profession, what would it be?
An astronomer. Because I lived in a yurt with my parents in the countryside when I was a kid, in the evenings, I looked up at the stars in the sky through the upper frame of the yurt. It looked like a mystery. There are still very few women astronomers in the Mongolian Observatory – there’s a need for highly skilled female role models in this field.

What has been the best advice you’ve been given by mentors?
During my doctoral studies, the best advice that was given by a male mentor is you don’t need to do everything well, but you do need deep knowledge and specialty in at least one thing. Another great piece of advice always given to me by my mother, an excellent educator and mentor: you can do everything and don’t ever give up.

What are your favourite things to do outside work?
Travelling around the world. It might be related to our traditional nomadic lifestyle, but I love travel. Going to other countries lets me learn from different cultures and people, opens my mind to diverse viewpoints and helps me develop a broader world view.

pola.lem@timeshighereducation.com

CV

2001-06 bachelor’s degree in veterinary medicine, Mongolian University of Life Science (MULS)

2006-08 assistant researcher, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Mongolia (IVM)

2006-09 master’s degree in veterinary science, graduate school of MULS

2009-12 PhD in animal and food hygiene, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (OUAVM), Japan

2013-14 head of laboratory, IVM

2014-17 postdoctoral fellow in protozoan diseases, National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, OUAVM

2017- senior researcher, IVM

Appointments

The University of Salford has announced that Nic Beech will be its next vice-chancellor, taking over from Helen Marshall, who is retiring. Currently vice-chancellor of Middlesex University, Professor Beech – whose academic expertise is in business and management – was previously vice-principal of the University of St Andrews and provost of the University of Dundee. Salford’s chair of council, Keith Bradley, said Professor Beech was “an experienced leader in the sector with an accomplished academic record” and “he brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the university”.

Eleanor Shaw has been named the new head of the University of Glasgow’s Adam Smith Business School, replacing John Finch. She moves from the University of Strathclyde, where she is currently associate principal for entrepreneurship and education. Previously a professor in entrepreneurship, she took her PhD at Glasgow and said she was “looking forward to coming ‘home’, to connecting with familiar people, and getting to know new colleagues”.

Glasgow Caledonian University has appointed Ehsan Mesbahi its new provost and deputy vice-chancellor. He will join from Victoria University of Wellington, where he is pro vice-chancellor of the faculties of science, health, engineering, architecture and design innovation.

Stephen Rodda will be the inaugural pro vice-chancellor, industry and innovation at UNSW Sydney. He joins from the University of Adelaide, where he was chief innovation and commercialisation officer.

Princeton University has appointed Peter Schiffer its dean for research. A professor of applied physics at Yale University, he has been director for strategic projects at Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences since 2021.

Léon Laulusa will be ESCP Business School’s next executive president and dean, having held the position on an interim basis since February. He was previously ESCP’s deputy academic dean in charge of international development.