Hannah Davies
Conservation Scholar Alumna
- Qualifications BSc (Hons) Veterinary Biosciences, University of Surrey, UK
-
Focus area
Populations
-
Location
At the Zoo South Asia
I’m a virologist with an interest in viruses of veterinary importance, during my undergraduate I completed an industrial placement year at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) where I was able to utilise molecular techniques to study viruses from various animal species. It was during this time that I first became involved in Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV) research. Currently, I am working on my PhD which focuses on applying molecular and cell culture techniques to improve understanding of the biology of EEHV in European Asian elephant collections.
Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus poses a threat to Asian elephant conservation globally due to its ability to cause acute, often fatal, haemorrhagic disease in juvenile Asian elephants and its presence in wild and captive populations.
The project is a collaboration between the University of Surrey, APHA and various zoological institutions including Chester Zoo.
Supervisors:
Professor Falko Steinbach- Animal and Plant Health Agency and University of Surrey
Dr Tanja Maehr- Animal and Plant Health Agency and University of Surrey
Dr Akbar Dastjerdi-Animal and Plant Health Agency
Previous Publications:
Simpson, V., Everest, DJ., Dastjerdi, A., Davies, H., Hargreaves, J. (2017) ‘Unusual presentation of myxomatosis’, Veterinary Record, 181, pp 350-351. https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.j4450
Everest, D. J., Tolhurst-Cherriman, D. A. R., Davies, H., Dastjerdi, A., Ashton, A., Blackett, T., Meredith, A. L., Milne, E., Mill, A., and Shuttleworth, C. M. (2019). ‘Assessing a potential non-invasive method for viral diagnostic purposes in European squirrels.’, Hystrix, the Italian Journal of Mammalogy, 30(1), pp.44-50. https://doi.org/10.4404/hystrix-00128-2018