Liam Brierley

Curriculum Vitae:

• 2011–Present: Postgraduate Research Assistant, Institute of Zoology.
• 2010-2011: MSc Modern Epidemiology, Imperial College London. Thesis: Emerging bat viruses, from taxonomic and spatial perspectives.
• 2010: Modelling Internship, EcoHealth Alliance (formerly Wildlife Trust), New York.
• 2007-2010: BA Natural Sciences (Zoology), Magdalene College, University of Cambridge.
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Research Interests:

My research interests are focused within infectious diseases, particularly their origins and emergence. Most human pathogens can be traced back to animal sources, including many high-priority global pathogens like HIV, SARS and pandemic influenza. The benefits of identifying and intercepting diseases as they emerge are obvious, however, we are only just beginning to understand how pathogens switch from animals to humans. Why is an even bigger question, though the recent surge in novel diseases is often linked to the expansion of human populations, industry and travel connections. My interest also extends to emerging infections threatening wildlife, such as chytrid fungus in amphibians and white-nose syndrome in bat populations, and how methods from both epidemiology and conservation can be united.

I am currently working with Kate Jones within the Disease Macroecology theme, upon a variety of topics including identifying the relative importance of different wildlife groups as reservoirs of pathogens, mapping the global distribution of emerging bat viruses and their associated drivers, and spatio-temporal analyses of surveillance data and first reported cases of pathogens.
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Collaborators:

Dr Peter Daszak, Dr Kevin Olival, and Carlos Zambrana, EcoHealth Alliance, New York City, NY, USA.
Dr Tiffany Bogich, Princeton University, NJ, USA.
Dr Maarten Vonhof, West Michigan University, MI, USA.