Jan Slapeta, Professor of Veterinary and Molecular Parasitology, Sydney School of Veterinary Science. He is parasitologist who has mastered biology, identity, diversity and other unexpected traits of parasites of both medical and veterinary importance, as well as the free-living counterparts. He was educated in the Czech Republic. He completed 3 postdocs – NIH in New York, CNRS in Paris, and at UTS in Sydney before accepting an academic position at the University of Sydney in 2007. He combines state-of-the-art molecular applications with a deep historical knowledge of parasitology, to redefine existing parasitic species, to describe new parasitic species, and to understand their origin. To achieve understanding of host–parasite relationships he focuses on recognizing a role of parasites on host through their role within the microbiome community of a host or a vector. As a teacher and educator, Jan engaging students with contemporary examples of veterinary and public health situations to instill that critical thinking so necessary after graduation. Students say that Jan tends to ask ‘tricky’ questions. It is all to motivate students for self-directed study, to cope and learn from mistakes in a controlled environment. He is currently the Deputy Editor for the International Journal for Parasitology.