Professor Andrew Cunningham is a veterinarian who has worked at the Zoological Society of London since 1988, initially as veterinary pathologist and latterly as Deputy Director of Science.
Andrew’s research includes investigating infectious and non-infectious disease threats to wildlife conservation, including the drivers of disease emergence and zoonotic spill-over. Andrew discovered a new epidemic ranaviral disease of amphibians in Europe and he published the first definitive report of the global extinction of a species by an infectious disease. He has led several international and multi-disciplinary wildlife disease research projects, including the investigation of vulture declines in South Asia and the international team that discovered the chytrid fungus that is currently causing global amphibian population declines and extinctions, for which he was awarded a medal by the CSIRO in Australia.
In 2010, he won a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award for his work on zoonotic viruses in African bats and in 2016 he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. In 2025 he was awarded the British Veterinary Association’s Advancement of Veterinary Science award (Dalrymple-Champneys cup and medal). He was a first term member of the Quadripartite’s One Health High Level Expert Panel, and a member of the WHO/Europe One Health Technical Advisory Group. He currently sits on the British government’s Wildlife Disease Core Group and on their One Health Vector Borne Disease surveillance group.
Perdi Welsh
Director of School of Veterinary Nursing, Royal Veterinary College
Perdi Welsh is the Director of Veterinary Nursing at the Royal Veterinary College, where she has spent much of her career shaping how veterinary nursing and veterinary students develop, demonstrate, and reflect on their professional competencies. She established the UK’s first veterinary Clinical Skills Centre at the RVC and led the creation of the BVetMed Day One Skills before going on to design the College’s online suite of distance‑learning qualifications in Advanced Veterinary Nursing.
Perdi’s work continues to focus on how professional competency and practice can be meaningfully developed through assessment that supports the growth of confident, capable practitioners. She is now exploring how emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, will reshape the skills and capabilities expected of future veterinary professionals. She is also an Editor for The Veterinary Nurse.
Dr Alexandra Thomas
Conservation Training Manager, Durrell Conservation Trust
Dr Alexandra Thomas leads the development and delivery of conservation-focused training programmes at the Durrell Conservation Trust. Her work centres on knowledge exchange and growth within conservation teams and supporting practitioners working closest to biodiversity challenges.
Alongside her role at Durrell, Dr Thomas conducts independent research specialising in the application of human forensic science to wildlife crime. Her work examines the underutilisation of established forensic techniques, such as touch DNA and fingerprint analysis, and identifies best-practice methods for their effective integration into wildlife crime investigations.
A strong advocate for cross-disciplinary collaboration, she works closely with forensic specialists, law enforcement, and academic researchers to promote holistic, evidence-based approaches to tackling wildlife crime.
Committed to empowering those on the front lines of conservation, Dr Thomas designs training programmes that prioritise knowledge exchange, practical skill-building, and multi-stakeholder developed solutions. Her approach emphasises evidence-based frameworks and meaningful partnerships, ensuring that training is both scientifically robust and grounded in real-world needs.
Dylan Yaffy
Wildlife Pathologist, Zoological Society of London
Dylan works at the Zoological Society of London as a Wildlife Pathologist, contributing to wildlife disease surveillance of species of conservation importance. This includes animals at all stages of translocations and reintroductions, including captive breeding right through to post-release health surveillance.
Prior to this he worked as a Lecturer in Zoo and Wildlife Pathology at the Royal Veterinary College, where he completed his veterinary degree, residency and became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathology. In addition to disease surveillance, he has a special interest in forensic pathology
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