Born and bred in the Argentine Pampas I graduated as a zoologist (Universidad Nacional de La Plata 1984), before heading off to East Africa. I joined WildCRU in its early days to study the behavioural ecology of Ethiopian wolves (DPhil Oxford 1994).

A conservation biologist interested in threatened species, disease dynamics, protected area management and human-wildlife coexistence, my experience spans four continents and many countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Mongolia, Mozambique, Niger, Peru and Senegal.

My work focus on the relationships between wildlife and rural communities, tackling the impact of viral diseases on wildlife, people and their livestock using a One Health approach. I promote the coexistence of wildlife and human interests and contribute whenever I can to biodiversity conservation policy and practices, and maximising the value of networks in conservation.

As the Director of our Postgraduate Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation Practice I aspire to train and inspire an inclusive and more diverse generation of conservation practitioners.

I am a keen naturalist and love nothing better than being out and about, whether on foot, horseback or driving in a rugged track. Taxonomically I’m drawn to all mammals, large and small, but I have a predilection for carnivores, particularly all wild canids. I am the founder and director of the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme and the chair of the IUCN Canid Specialist Group , the international body responsible for the conservation of wolves, jackals, dogs and foxes.