Professional Activities
Professional bodies, Expert groups etc (2015-present)
2024
Academic advisor, Commonwealth Scholarship Commission
2023
External advisory board, UKRI Tackling Infections strategic priority
Expert advisor in business interruption proceedings (confidential)
2022
Panel member, Planetary Health Advisory Committee.
Court appearance, 16/6/2022; Expert witness for DAC Beachcroft (representing defendants); STONEGATE PUB COMPANY LIMITED Claimant - and - (1) MS AMLIN CORPORATE MEMBER LIMITED (2) LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE EUROPE SE (3) ZURICH INSURANCE PLC
Invited contributor to UKRI Planetary Health event, March 2022; https://www.ukri.org/news/prioritising-future-research-funding-on-planetary-health/
Expert witness on Greggs Covid/Business interruption trial; consultancy for Clyde & Co
Expert witness on Stonegate Covid/Business interruption trial; consultancy for DAC Beachcroft.
2021
Member, BBSRC COP26 organising committee
2020
Consultancy provided for Clyde & Co.
Expert advisor to UKRI-BBSRC “Bioscience for an integrated understanding of health” Strategy Advisory Panel. Nov 2020.
Organising committee. Vector-borne diseases in the UK biannual meeting. November-December
2019
Panel member of HCERES (French evaluation agency) assessment panel of EPIA (Epidémiologie des maladies animales et zoonotiques), Clermont Ferrand, France (Dec 2019)
Panel member, BBSRC GCRF-ARUA funding meeting, Brussels, Sep 2019; Marrakech, Feb 2020
External advisory board member, GCRF One Chick Poultry Hub
Invited assessor of UoA6 REF outputs for UK university
Invited participant, N8/African Research Universities Alliance workshop, Accra, Ghana. May 2019
Invited delegate, Chatham House meeting on Operationalisation of One Health, London, 31/1-1 Feb
2018
External Advisory Board member, GCRF Tobacco control capacity programme.
Organising committee. Vector-borne diseases in the UK biannual meeting. Norwich
Invited delegate, International Conference on Operationalisation of One Health, Addis Ababa, 1-2 Oct
Invited presenter, 6-day Biology of VBD course, University of Idaho, US, June 2018
Invited delegate, Global Burden of Animal Disease workshop, Paris, March 2018
Invited participant, Salzburg Global Seminar on Targeting Interdisciplinary Research to Meet the Sustainable Development Goals. Salzburg, March 2018
2017
Invited participant & plenary speaker, ECDC Expert consultation in One Health Preparedness. Stockholm, 11-12 Dec 2017.
Invited participant & speaker on climate change, 40th European Commission on Agriculture, Budapest, 27-28 September (invited by Defra).
Invited participant, BBSRC Animal and Plant Health Challenge meeting, London 6-7 July
Chair, HCERES panel to assess VITROME research unit, Marseille, France.
2016
MRC GCRF panel member
Steering group member, Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network (SAVSNET)
Contributor to Defra report on Zika: Predicted establishment of Aedes sp. in the UK; in response to request by Oliver Letwin MP.
Contributor to Defra report: Risk assessment for Bluetongue Virus (BTV-8): risk assessment of entry into the United Kingdom. Qualitative risk assessment. Defra. February 2016.
2015
Led on workshop (Spatial and Temporal Methods in the Population Health Sciences), 14th ISVEE, Merida, Mexico. November 2015.
Member of UK US Researchers and Funders workshop (USDA-NIFA, BBSRC, UKRO, UKSciN-Houston, University of Maryland). Washington, June 2015
Contributing author on Adaptation Sub-Committee’s Climate Change Risk Assessment Evidence report: Chapter 5: People and the Built Environment) and Chapter 7: Global Security
Public engagement (2015 - present)
2022 Featured in book and film, La Fabrique des Pandémies, by Marie-Monique Robin.
2022 Speaker at Civil Service Environment Network event, Feb 2022
2021 Interview for BBSRC on climate and vectors: https://medium.com/@UKRI/biting-bugs-are-set-to-benefit-from-climate-change-heres-why-that-s-a-problem-58d032f93be2
2021 Panellist, BBSRC webinar for COP26. Climate change bites
2021 Multiple interviews (live TV/recorded TV, written press) for Pandemic Institute launch
2020 Commissioned Guardian article: Cutting UK overseas aid could harm the fight against future pandemics. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/dec/02/cutting-uk-overseas-aid-pandemics-pathogens-zoonotic-covid-ebola-sars [with Fiona Tomley, RVC]
2020 Commissioned Guardian article: The Covid-carrying Danish mink are a warning sign – but is anyone heeding it? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/10/the-covid-carrying-danish-mink-are-a-warning-sign-but-is-anyone-heeding-it
2020 BBC feature on my group’s work on emerging viruses: Coronavirus: Hunting for future killer viruses
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/health-52786714
2020 One Heath: talk to University of Bristol One Health Society. Bristol, Jan 2020
2019 Ticks and Lyme disease – speaker at Upton School, Wirral
2019 HBLB-funded meeting on risks of disease outbreaks in racehorses. Newmarket, Nov 2019
2019 MailOnline interview on climate change
2018 BBC and other radio interviews on BSE. Nov 2018.
2017 R School - 8 week course in R delivered at local secondary school
2017 From cows to cannibals: a history of prion diseases: Philosophy in the Pub, Southport
2016 Zika: Speaker at Wirral School
2016 Short history of prions: Speaker at Infectious Science in the Pub event, Liverpool,
2016 BBC Countryfile appearance – to discuss Lyme disease.
Invited talks (2015 - present)
2023 Invited plenary, EPIC meeting, Edinburgh. Oct 2023.
2022 Invited speaker, LivResCon7 (student organised conference in health & life sciences). Feb 2022.
2021 Invited speaker, AVACTA session, European Society of Clinical Virology conference, Sep 2021
2020 Invited speaker, Health & Wellbeing impacts of climate change; Is the UK on track to adapt to climate change? Committee on climate Change, 14-15 October 2020; online.
2020 Invited seminar, One Health society, Bristol University, Feb 2020
2019 Invited seminar, Roslin Institute, Edinburgh. May 2019.
2018 Invited talk at One Health National Student Conference 2018, Liverpool, November 2018
2017 Plenary talk, Vectors, Pathogens and Diseases. Keystone conference, Durban SA, Sept 2017
2017 Departmental seminar, The Pirbright Institute (March)
2017 Invited talk, Edinburgh University One Health society (March)
2017 Invited talk, Leeds Students for Global Health and the Infectious Diseases society, School of Medicine, University of Leeds (Feb)
2017 Keynote talk on Zika, modelling symposium, APHA, Jan 2017
2016 Invited talk at Federation of Infection Societies, Edinburgh, November 2016
2016 Invited talk at International Congress of Entomology, Florida, September 2016
2016 Invited talk at Bluetongue Control workshop, University of Lancaster. August 2016.
2016 Invited talk on Zika at British Society of Microbial Technology symposium. Colindale, May 2016
2016 Invited talk, Climate change session, Microbiology Society Annual meeting, Liverpool, March 2016
2015 Invited talk, EFSA 2nd Scientific Conference, “Shaping the future of food safety, together”. Milan, October 2015.
2015 Invited talk, University of Westminster, London, October 2015.
2015 Invited speaker, Climate Change and Human Health, CosmoCaixa Foundation and New York Academy of Science. Barcelona, May 2015.
2015 Invited speaker, British Society of Parasitology Spring meeting, Liverpool, April 2015.
2015 Invited speaker, Forecasting the future: emerging diseases in a changing climate. British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) Congress, Birmingham, April 2015.
2015 Invited speaker, Japanese encephalitis in Asia ISNTD Bites 2015, International Society of NTDs. London, March 15
2015 Invited lecture, Modelling spread of VBDs of livestock, John Innes Centre, Norwich, March 2015.
Internal Administrative or Committee Roles
- Chair of Global Challenges Strategy Group, University of Liverpool (2019 - present)
- Research Strategy Lead, Institute of Infection and Global Health (2015 - 2019)