Using a One Health approach to model snakebite risk in Kenya and support community-formed solutions to human-wildlife conflict
Eleanor is a PhD researcher at ZSL and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Her research focuses on mapping snakebite risk in Kenya using a One Health framework, which considers the connections between human, animal, and environmental health. Eleanor is developing a novel approach to predicting snakebite risk that does not rely on hospital records. If successful, this method could help identify high-risk areas in regions where health data are limited or incomplete.
Her work is interdisciplinary, combining environmental modelling with anthropological research to better understand how people and snakes interact. To ensure her research benefits the communities most affected, Eleanor uses the FARIER framework to centre local voices and support community informed solutions to human–snake conflict.
Eleanor's PhD is part of the OneZoo Centre for Doctoral Training.
2023-Present: PhD Researcher, ZSL Institute of Zoology and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
2023-2024: Guest Researcher at NIOO-KNAW
2022-2023: Research Assistant NIOO-KNAW
1) The Maasheggen project: studying the effects of land use and landscape elements on functional biodiversity and ecosystem services in an ancient hedgerow landscape
2) The Smart Parasitoid Project: Understanding the chemical and behavioural ecology of parasitoid wasps and applying this knowledge to develop a method for training parasitoids with pest related volatiles to improve their biological control efficiency in greenhouses
2021-2022: Research Assistant, Leiden University – Above-Below ground interactions focusing on the use of soil inoculation as a way to assist the process of afforestation
2018-2021: (MSc) Ecology and Evolution, Amsterdam University, The Netherlands
2017: Research Assistant, University of Newcastle: Nature Based Solutions to Manage the Highly Invasive Oak Processionary Moth Project
2013-2017: (BSc.Hons) Zoology, University of Glasgow
Velilla, E., Bellato, L., Collinson, E. and Halfwerk, W. (2025) Effects of Anthropogenic Vibratory Noise on Plant Development and Herbivory. Acoustics, 7(3), 45. https://doi.org/10.3390/acoustics7030045
Velilla, E., Collinson, E., Bellato, L., Berg, M. P., & Halfwerk, W. (2021) Vibrational noise from wind energy‐turbines negatively impacts earthworm abundance. Oikos, 130(6), 844-849. https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.08166