Alhad Mahagaonkar received the award for years of excellent service to the University of Auckland and the zebrafish community, and his key leading role in the creation of the Australasian Association of Aquarium Professionals (ANZAAP).
Alhad has been instrumental in the expansion of the FMHS zebrafish facility. Over the last 15 years the facility has grown from a basic unit supporting one research group to a large sophisticated facility supporting multiple research groups and initiatives across faculties. It is estimated that over $24,000,000 in grants have been received for research associated with the facility.
Along the way Alhad has also helped form a sizeable but close knit zebrafish husbandry community. He has presented at many international conferences and has been sent to two Australian Universities as a consultant. The only other NZ facility was established by a former FMHS researcher that spent several years in the FMHS facility. This role was recognised in 2018 in FMHS with Alhad receiving an Ian Houston Award for Sustained Excellence.
Through his roles in the Zebrafish Husbandry Association and later ANZAAP Alhad has changed the focus personally and in the wider community from a small part of an academically focussed community to a practically focussed community of professionals encompassing other aquarium professionals and veterinarians across Australasia. To the best of our knowledge this is a unique community which can provide a huge resource for the field of fish husbandry by combining the expertise of so many professionals focussed on the best outcomes for those involved. Alhad’s leading role in this has been confirmed by his election as Vice President in the formation year of ANZAAP (2018) and his current tenure as President in 2019.