Our expertise and links with the global livestock community are crucial for success.
The team
SEBI-Livestock is uniquely positioned to close the livestock data gap, with expertise in veterinary science, data science and communications, as well as through our engagement with the global community of livestock data producers and users.
Dr. Karen Smyth
Program Director
Dr. Fiona Allan
Research WriterFiona is a postdoctoral research writer, contributing to the peer-reviewed publication effort of SEBI-Livestock. Her role within SEBI-Livestock includes writing up and publication of recent research and development work results, including field projects and systematic reviews, in peer-reviewed journals and other reports for external consumption. Fiona is a veterinarian with specialist knowledge of the current challenges facing smallholder producers in LMICs. She has a PhD in Infection and Immunity from the Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, and has multidisciplinary experience of study design and implementation, rural field work, molecular techniques, questionnaire design, and focus group workshops with smallholder farmers in Tanzania.
Dr. Louise Donnison
Senior Data ScientistAs Senior Data Scientist, Louise leads the delivery of the data component of the SEBI-Livestock project. She is committed to delivering data solutions focused on stakeholder needs. Louise previously worked in the IT industry for over 10 years delivering complex projects in multiple sectors (finance, telecoms and government) and countries (mainly New Zealand, Canada and UK). She has also managed data for a salmon genomics project and critically appraised evidence for a water quality systematic map project. She has a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Oxford, a PhD in Grassland Soil Ecology from the University of Aberystwyth, and a diploma in Business Analysis from the British Computer Society.
Isla MacVicar
ResearcherIsla joined the SEBI-Livestock team as a University of Glasgow graduate in 2019, with a BSc (Hons) in Veterinary Bioscience and an MSc in Biomedical Sciences. Isla is currently involved in the development of the livestock evidence base. She has a keen interest in evidence synthesis methodologies, animal health and veterinary science, data analysis and gender dimensions in the livestock sector. While studying at Glasgow University, she was involved in an equine nutrition project and she also conducted research in the fields of neuroscience, prosthesis and engineering.
Vanessa Meadu
Communications and Knowledge Exchange SpecialistVanessa leads communications and knowledge exchange activities for SEBI-Livestock as well as for the Livestock Data for Decisions (LD4D) Community of Practice. She has a deep interest in sustainable development communications, particularly in the agricultural sector. She previously led communications for the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) based at the University of Copenhagen, and was a Communications Officer at the World Agroforestry Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.
Alap Mehta
Data ScientistAlap is a Data Scientist at SEBI-Livestock. He initially joined the team while doing his Masters degree, developing a prototype process for data extraction using novel data science tools. Alap has keen interests in building algorithms and designing experiments to merge, manage, interrogate and extract data to supply insights to colleagues, customers or the wider organisation. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, and Masters degree in Data Science.
Carol Morgan
LD4D Development ManagerCarol leads on developing the Livestock Data for Decisions (LD4D) network. Her role is to ensure LD4D continues to be a thriving and active network that is focused on meeting the data needs of livestock decision makers in low-and middle-income countries. Carol comes to SEBI-L from an NGO background and has spent over a decade leading health, humanitarian, education and governance programmes in Africa, as well as spearheading communications and coordination for global initiatives addressing the intersection of innovation and good governance. She has a keen interest in helping organisations turn policy into practice and is focussed on bringing together multi-disciplinary teams to create tangible impact for the communities who need it most.
Prof Andy Peters
Prof Peters provides strategic scientific advice to the SEBI-Livestock programme. He is Professor of Tropical Veterinary Medicine at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh. His areas of interest include veterinary vaccine development, reproductive endocrinology and immunology and production medicines. Prof Peters was previously the Program Director for SEBI-Livestock. He was also Professor of Animal Health and Production at the Royal Veterinary College, London. He has also worked in the private sector, as Head of European Vaccine R&D with Pfizer Animal Health. He is a veterinarian with PhD and DSc degrees in animal science. He has published some 160 scientific papers and two books on Vaccines for Veterinary Applications and Reproduction in Cattle respectively.
Carys Redman-White
PhD CandidateCarys is a PhD candidate using interdisciplinary data-focused methods to investigate antimicrobial use and resistance at the livestock-human interface in sub-Saharan Africa, working with SEBI-Livestock and the Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security. She is exploring how existing data covering a range of biological, socioeconomic, and environmental factors can be mobilised to fill gaps in knowledge in resource-poor locations where direct surveillance of antimicrobials is challenging. Carys holds degrees in Veterinary Medicine and Zoology from Cambridge University and worked in clinical practice before returning to university to gain an MRes in Epidemiology from Newcastle University. She is studying with the EASTBIO Doctoral Training Partnership and is supervised in her PhD by Professor Dominic Moran, Professor Andy Peters, and Dr Adrian Muwonge.
Antonia Robb
SEBI Administrative OfficerAntonia is responsible for leading SEBI-Livestock’s administrative and financial services. This includes the project’s administrative function, co-ordinating the financial management of the project budget and organising international meetings and workshops. Antonia brings extensive experience in administration, having worked in administrative roles within Edinburgh University since 2006. She has previous experience working within the finance and travel industries.
Dr. Frances Ryan
Researcher (Livestock and Environment)Frances is currently supporting SEBI-Livestock to build an evidence base, focused on the connections between livestock production and the environment. Frances has a varied environmental and biological science background. Previous work has involved researching chemicals in the environment as well as monitoring pollen. Frances has also explored the relationship between India’s mandatory corporate social responsibility spend and smallholders, who supply rice to large companies. Frances holds a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, in conjunction with Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), where she developed a nutrient budget assessment approach for livestock and arable systems in Scotland covering a 31 year period.
Dr. Gareth Salmon
Senior ResearcherGareth currently supports a range of SEBI-Livestock’s activities including monitoring and evaluation, the development of the livestockdata.org website, and research on livestock production and economic modelling. He has experience working with livestock production in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, and also practical experience of livestock farming in the UK. Gareth holds a PhD from The University of Edinburgh and Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), where he investigated productivity and GHG emissions intensity of Senegalese dairy production systems.
Dr. Christian Schnier
EpidemiologistChristian helps to develop and implement SEBI-Livestock’s scope of activities in the collection, analysis and publication of livestock related data and information. He obtained a PhD in Veterinary Epidemiology from the University of Helsinki and has since been working on the frontline of both veterinary and human epidemiology and public health. He has published several epidemiological studies using information from large national health data sets. Christian has got a keen interest in agriculture and runs a small holding farm in the Scottish Borders.
Xiawen Wang
Data ScientistXiawen joined the SEBI-Livestock team as a Data Scientist to provide data processing support for the project datasets. Xiawen is interested in programming and providing technical solutions to make large-scale data more accessible and understandable. She holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Genetics and an MSc degree in Bioinformatics from the University of Edinburgh. She has research experience in processing and analysing genome-wide association data and large-scale chromatin structure imaging data.
Dr. Johanna Wong
Monitoring & Learning (M&L) Outreach OfficerJohanna is an interdisciplinary researcher interested in livestock, food systems and human nutrition. She is committed to working towards improving the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in resource-poor areas. Her PhD explored the contributions of village chickens to maternal and child nutrition in rural Timor-Leste. Johanna has experience in the design and implementation of field surveys, mixed methods research and data analysis. She has also worked on aquaculture and livestock policy analysis in Bangladesh and Nigeria. Johanna holds a degree in Veterinary Science, and a PhD in Food and Nutrition Security and Veterinary Science from the University of Sydney.
Our partners and collaborators
Partnerships are critical to our success. We work with partners directly through collaborative data improvement activities, and indirectly through supporting monitoring in livestock projects on the ground.
Academic partnerships: We draw on local expertise through collaborations with the University of Edinburgh’s Bayes Centre and Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation livestock grantees: In SEBI-Livestock’s monitoring and learning (ML) activity, we support the foundation’s livestock grantees to improve and harmonize data and share learnings with them through the LD4D community of practice. We also share data, evidence and experiences other livestock initiatives supported by the foundation including the Global Burden of Animal Diseases (GBADs) and the Global Livestock Advocacy for sustainable Development (GLAD) initiative.
RTI: MPACT Consortium: SEBI-Livestock’s ongoing engagement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation AgDev MPACT initiative ensures compatibility of the outputs as well as shared learnings and insights from our ongoing work.
International collaborations: Through the Livestock Data for Decisions (LD4D) community of practice, SEBI-Livestock has engaged with key actors in the livestock development community. These include the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), OIE – World Organisation for Animal Health, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the CGIAR Big Data in Agriculture Platform, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (formerly DFID), the US Agency for International Development (USAID), plus numerous governments, universities and the private sector including animal health companies and digital animal health service providers.
Acknowledgments
SEBI-Livestock is the continuation of the Supporting Evidence Based Interventions (SEBI) programme (2017-2020). Visit the archived SEBI website for information on that project.
SEBI-Livestock is awarded to The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at The University of Edinburgh and is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.