Emma Shrestha

How stressors in an urban environment impact grey squirrel disease risk and transmission.

Emma’s PhD research focuses on the impact of urbanisation on grey squirrel ectoparasite burden and disease risk. Using squirrel populations across an urbanisation gradient Emma aims to understand how urban stressors such as pollution, high disturbance, and differing food availability, influence wildlife health and susceptibility to disease. This project will also investigate the role grey squirrels may have in urban Lyme disease transmission.

Through her PhD Emma will collect data using squirrel carcasses, molecular techniques, and camera trapping in order to model and map grey squirrel disease risk.

Emma’s research is funded through the SCENARIO DTP, and she is based at the Institute of Zoology and the University of Reading.