Meet the Experts
Welcome to the directory of staff working in the Field Programmes, the International Centre for Zoo Science, and the Policy teams, as well as heads of department.
This is where you can get to know the team members and their areas of specialism, and find links to their research and professional profiles.
The team members listed here are happy to discuss their areas of interest with journalists. Email r.waller@chesterzoo.org to arrange.
Meet the Experts
Paul began his career as a zookeeper before moving into conservation education and science communication, and from there into project management.
He has travelled, lived and worked extensively in Latin America, including twelve years in Chile and two years in Ecuador.
He is a member of the IUCN SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group.
Areas of interest: Latin American wildlife and conservation (cactus, anteaters, andean bears, tapirs, freshwater fish and amphibians); conservation education and science communication; conservation planning.
Cat leads our deforestation-free commodities work. She oversees field projects and research in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brazil, addressing land-use change associated with key forest risk commodities. Her work drives sector change in producer and consumer countries, working with stakeholders from local communities to governments, certification schemes and manufacturers. Cat holds multiple roles within BIAZA, EAZA and WAZA on conservation and sustainability, and leads her team on global advocacy campaigns.
Areas of interest: sustainable agriculture, deforestation, forest risk commodities (palm, soy, cocoa, coffee, cattle), sustainability, supply chains, landscape conservation, south east Asian biodiversity (orangutans, elephants)
Mayukh is the Regional Field Programme Manager for conservation projects in Mainland Asia.
Trained as an anthropologist and a wildlife behavioural ecologist, he draws extensively from these two fields to understand and address complex conservation problems involving people and wildlife – such as human-wildlife conflicts.
He has worked for over a decade to help communities coexist with wildlife.
Areas of expertise: Asian mammals (terrestrial carnivores, elephants, primates), human-wildlife conflict (in Asia and globally), technology in conservation (e.g., drones and camera trapping).
Rob draws on the zoo’s expertise to shape policy at local, national, and international levels. He has over 10 years’ experience in politics, including as a senior policy advisor in Parliament and running a local Government community engagement campaign.
Rob works to advance policy change through collaboration, most recently powering efforts to raise awareness of the regulatory and logistical barriers affecting the movement of animals, plants and specimens for conservation purposes.
Areas of interest: UK wildlife; international conservation; conservation transfers; conservation education; deforestation; sustainability; peatland recovery.
Rob Comley | LinkedIn
Katie oversees the zoo’s lab facilities in the International Centre for Zoo Science. She develops and applies physiological biomarkers to understand animal reproduction, health and wellbeing, providing evidence to support conservation ex situ and in situ. With 20 years’ experience in Conservation Physiology with a variety of taxa, she is Chair of the International Society of Wildlife Endocrinology.
Areas of interest: conservation physiology, wildlife endocrinology, reproductive management, cryopreservation, elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus, sustainable populations, conservation innovation
Katie Edwards | LinkedIn
Katie Edwards | ORCID
Katie Edwards | ResearchGate
Areas of interest: sustainability, deforestation mitigation, sustainable palm oil, deforestation-free commodities, sustainable agriculture.
Iri has worked in zoos since 2007, dedicating his career to herpetology, particularly snakes and crocodilians. He joined Chester Zoo in 2017, where he delivers strategic and operational management of ectotherms. He utilises research and field evidence to inform management practices, evaluating husbandry techniques, and aligning zoo expertise with in-situ and ex-situ initiatives. He has developed training resources and a course to support best practices across institutions and contributes to the international advancement of herpetology. He currently serves as Chair of the Species Advisory Group and Trustee for BIAZA.
Areas of interest: herpetology, snakes, crocodilians, human perceptions of reptiles, promoting safe management of venomous snakes in zoos.
Elena holds a degree in Conservation Biology & Ecology and has gathered fieldwork experience in Cyprus and Kenya, in addition to a previous placement with the Behaviour and Welfare team.
Elena supports research to monitor animal behaviour and welfare, informing evidence-based husbandry to enrich zoo animals individuals’ lives.
Her work contributes to publications improving welfare across zoos globally. She has collaborated with colleagues on scientific papers.
Areas of interest: Animal behavioural monitoring, animal welfare assessments, conservation fieldwork skills.
Elena Gough | LinkedIn
John is the Conservation Scientist for the Conservation Physiology & Reproduction team. Trained as a zoologist, with a master’s degree in molecular biology, he blends these fields to better understand the complex physiology of animals, with a particular focus on wildlife endocrinology. He carries out hormone analysis to support animal reproduction and wellbeing, supporting husbandry decisions made by vets and keepers at Chester Zoo and across Europe through the Endocrinology Diagnostic Service offered at the zoo.
Areas of interest: wildlife endocrinology (reproduction and wellbeing), molecular biology, population sustainability, anoa, banteng and okapi endocrinological health, elephant EEHV testing.
She is responsible for the implementation of the Action Indonesia Global Species Management Plans. With a background in zoo-based conservation since 2013, she has experience in animal care, population management, and project coordination. She is also the EEP Coordinator and Studbook Keeper for Javan banteng and Co-Vice Chair of the EAZA Population Management Advisory Group.
Areas of interest: Banteng, anoa and babirusa conservation, Indonesian conservation, in and ex-situ conservation breeding projects.
With experience in animal behaviour, welfare and physiology, Lisa’s work promotes a holistic approach to zoo animal welfare, focusing on the application of novel behavioural monitoring techniques.
Lisa is the Vice-Chair of the BIAZA and EAZA Animal Welfare Working Groups and sits on the zoo’s Ethical Review Committee. She helps develop strategic policy and practical guidance documents for other zoos, and collaborates with colleagues to undertake multi-institution research.
Areas of expertise: Animal Behaviour, Animal Welfare Assessment, Animal Ethics, Workshop Facilitation and Project Design.
Areas of interest: nature connection, wellbeing, greenspace, global biodiversity targets, human dimensions of conservation
Rebecca holds an MSc with the Royal Veterinary College and ZSL London Zoo and a PhD from the University of Manchester.
She works on population-level research both in- and ex-situ.
Her work uses data-based approaches to inform management and conservation, often using secondary data sources, such as zoo records.
She has a strong background in bioacoustics research and is active in the study of sound in zoos and animal vocal communication.
Areas of interest: Bioacoustics, animal population management, experimental design, data analysis, ZIMS data, the Java sparrow
The Estate Biodiversity team oversees a diverse range of habitats across the wider estate, including woodlands, wildflower meadows, reedbeds, marshy grassland, and an extensive network of ponds and hedgerows. This involves coppicing, planting, hydrology management and hedge-laying, and year-round monitoring of habitat quality and wildlife populations.
Jacqui has a BSc Animal Behaviour & Welfare, an MSc Conservation Biology and a PhD in Conservation Biology. She applies a multi-disciplinary approach and integrates practical field techniques with spatial and population modelling in her role.
With over a decade of experience addressing conservation challenges across Eastern and Southern Africa, she has expanded her work to promoting human-wildlife coexistence in Asia. Explore some of her work here.
Areas of interest: animal telemetry, habitat selection and movement ecology, species distribution and occupancy modelling, population density estimates, Earth observation techniques and human-wildlife conflicts
Andy has three broad research interests: the educational and societal value of zoos; understanding how zoos can play a more significant role in global conservation governance; and trying to help solve in-situ conservation problems related to people.
Areas of interest: Social research (design, methods and analysis), Global conservation policy (e.g. the Global Biodiversity Framework), Role of zoos (for both species and society).
Andrew Moss | LinkedIn
Andrew Moss | Researchgate
Laura combines her training as a behaviourist and her passion for data to develop novel ways to monitor the behaviour of species at the zoo.
This allows her to contribute to the creation of longitudinal data for poorly researched species, increasing the knowledge scientists have of behavioural ecologies of endangered wildlife.
She has contributed to published papers on Sumatran tiger infancies, fruit bat behaviours and welfare, and tail-shedding as a defensive behaviour.
Areas of interest: behavioural monitoring, study design, technology in conservation, analysis of behavioural data
Her background in mechanical engineering and microbiology led to a PhD working in materials science and virology (both human and animal viruses).
Her experience in the field and interest in broadening her research scope has brought her to Chester Zoo as the EEHV researcher on team. Find out about our EEHV project here.
Areas of interest: Animal health and welfare, elephant health, EEHV, diagnostics, virology, microbiology, molecular biology, mammalian and insect cell culture, and biomaterial synthesis.
Heléna is our Research Officer, responsible for the coordination and facilitation of all research activities conducted on site. She manages the zoo’s research and ethical review processes, oversees the scholars and fellows programme, coordinates biological sample requests, and engages with external research enquiries.
Heléna holds a PhD in the Conservation and Ecology of the Critically Endangered Bermuda Skink (Plestiodon longirostris), and continues to contribute to global conservation efforts as a Regional Coordinator for the IUCN Skink Specialist Group.
Areas of interest: project management; human and animal ethics, field survey and monitoring techniques, reptile and amphibian conservation, skinks.
Mark has worked with birds in both the zoological and avian conservation sector for over 25 years. Starting at Chester in 2014, he was initially part of the keeping team but now works as General Manager, focusing on the operational delivery of the Bird Department.
He previously worked at Rode Bird Gardens, Cotswold wildlife park, RSPB Cymru, the latter as a farmland advisor, implementing nature friendly practices for native species into farm business models. Mark is the current chair of the BIAZA Bird Working Group, EAZA EEP Co-ordinator for Wrinkled Hornbill and Grosbeak Starling, and IUCN Hornbill Specialist Group Member.
Areas of Interest: Hornbills, Aviculture, Avian Conservation, Landscape Scale Conservation, Nature Friendly Farming
Annabel has a BSc in Wildlife Conservation. She now assists with multiple EAZA Ex situ Programme (EEP) wide projects. She is currently completing a Masters of Research at Manchester Metropolitan University in collaboration with Chester Zoo, focusing on the reproductive physiology of Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo. She is also part of the Trainee Affairs Committee within the International Society of Wildlife Endocrinology.
Areas of interest: Wildlife endocrinology (reproduction), Marsupial reproductive physiology, Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo, gut microbiome health, interactions between gut microbiome and reproduction, methodology development and validation.
Areas of interest: Wildlife reproductive management, cryopreservation, biobanking, endocrinology, embedding zoo science into species conservation, the role of zoos in society, conservation training, industry placements, professional courses, HE undergraduate, graduate and fellowship opportunities.
Liz Webb has nearly two decades of teaching and conservation experience. She manages and develops professional and higher education courses, from design to evaluation, and helps develop apprenticeships and placements at the zoo. Liz has Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) accreditation, is a registered member of the Society for Education and Training and is a trained apprenticeship assessor with experience in internal verification, quality monitoring and external examining for degree validations. She is also an honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Chester.
Areas of interest: Conservation training, professional and higher education teaching, countryside management, animal conservation, animal husbandry and biodiversity.
Charles Wheeler holds an MSc in Global Wildlife Health & Conservation and has more than five years’ experience in tropical field research. He currently serves as Project Manager for Chester Zoo’s Madagascar & Mascarenes programme, supporting our three Malagasy NGO partners with habitat restoration, species monitoring, and community conservation initiatives. He received training in Conservation Standards for conservation project design, management, and monitoring. Previously he worked in Costa Rica, and remains passionate about protecting terrestrial biodiversity in partnership with local stakeholders.
Areas of interest: freshwater fish, forest restoration, amphibian conservation, Malagasy landscapes
Leah has twenty years experience in avian conservation science and behavioural ecology, and leads the Population Biology Research Programme working across in-situ and ex-situ projects with a focus on population sustainability.
She manages a small team of scientists and supervises several PhD students from different universities.
Leah is also a vice-chair of the EAZA Population Management Advisory Group and is the EAZA Ex-situ Programme (EEP) coordinator for the blue-throated macaw.
Areas of interest: Conservation science, ornithology, field and zoo-based research, population management, technology in conservation (camera trapping, bioacoustics)
He is a qualified chartered manager, leading a highly effective team delivering evidenced conservation impact.
Areas of interest: global conservation, project design & management, conservation partnership & stakeholder management, conservation in mainland asia, south east asia, south america, the UK, mainland north Africa and Madagascar.