Understanding wild animal disease and the implications on conservation outcomes
Becki's research aims to assess wildlife population health, and to improve understanding of disease effects on free-living wildlife populations, particularly where conditions have significant welfare or conservation implications.
Becki is also interested in the epidemiology of disease transmission between free-ranging wildlife, domestic animals and humans, and the role which anthropogenic activity may have on influencing these processes.
Becki's veterinary career began with treatment and rehabilitation of wildlife casualties and has subsequently focused on disease outbreak investigation and national health surveillance for terrestrial and marine species. Through collaborative programmes, Becki and her colleagues' goal is to optimise early warning systems for emerging threat detection; to safeguard health within a One Health framework; and to translate surveillance findings into conservation action by informing policy and habitat management for disease mitigation.
She is also involved with postgraduate teaching in the field, for example, as co-lead of the module on ‘Wildlife Disease Investigation & Surveillance’ for the MSc in Wild Animal Health and Wild Animal Biology courses (RVC/ZSL).
Professional history
- 2018–present: Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Zoology
- 2012–2018: Research Fellow and Wildlife Veterinarian, Institute of Zoology
- 2010–2012: Postdoctoral Research Assistant and Wildlife Veterinarian, Institute of Zoology
- 2004–2010: PhD Student and Wildlife Veterinarian, Institute of Zoology
- 2003–2004: Veterinary Assistant Pathologist; Wildlife Veterinary Investigation Centre
- 2002–2003: Seal Strandings Co-ordinator; Institute of Zoology
- 2001–2002: Veterinary Editor; Wildlife Information Network
- 2000–2001: Veterinarian; Orangutan Care & Quarantine Centre, Orangutan Foundation International, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
- 1997–1999: RSPCA Wildlife Internship; RSPCA West Hatch Taunton
Qualifications
- 2022: Fellow of Royal College of Pathologists by Published Works
- 2020: Fellow of Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons by Meritorious Contributions to Knowledge
- 2010: European Veterinary Specialist in Zoological Medicine (Dip ECZM Wildlife Population Health)
- 2010: PhD, University of Liverpool
- 1999–2000: MSc Wild Animal Health; Institute of Zoology & Royal Veterinary College
- 1991–1997: MA VetMB; St John’s College Cambridge University
Prizes, Awards and Other Honours
- 2026: Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to Wildlife Health
- 2017: British Trust for Ornithology’s Marsh Award for Ornithology
- 2012: Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Travel Fellowship
- 2010: British Veterinary Zoological Society Annual Prize for a Clinical Paper
Current Affiliations and Honorary Positions
- 2025: Member of the Defra Wildlife Disease Core Group
- 2020: Honorary Professor Royal Veterinary College
- 2020: IUCN SSC Wildlife Health Specialist Group
- 2017: Chair of the European Wildlife Disease Association’s Network for Wildlife Health Surveillance
- 2011: Member of the Great Britain Wildlife Health Partnership
Garden Wildlife Health (GWH)
Garden Wildlife Health is a collaborative project between the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), Froglife and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) which aims to monitor the health of, and identify disease threats to, British wildlife.
Our particular focus is on garden birds, amphibians, reptiles and hedgehogs. For this we count on the help of the public to submit reports of sick or dead wildlife and to submit samples for analysis.
For further information on the GWH, see here.
Vector-Borne RADAR (Real-time Arbovirus Detection And Response)
VB-RADAR is a multi-disciplinary, UKRI and Defra funded, One Health project, focused on understanding emergence and transmission pathways for zoonotic mosquito-borne flaviviruses of wild birds in the United Kingdom. VB-RADAR is a collaborative project between the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA), the BTO, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and ZSL. The project network encompasses molecular scientists, disease ecologists, wildlife veterinarians, population ecologists, medical entomologists and citizen scientists.
For further information on VB-RADAR, see here.