Since 2020, Camilla Benfield has worked as a Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) Specialist and member of the PPR Global Eradication Programme Secretariat, within FAO’s Animal Production and Health Division (NSAH). In this role, she helps to coordinate the implementation of the Global Eradication Programme for PPR, a viral disease of small ruminant livestock which contributes to food insecurity and is targeted for eradication by 2030. She received a Soulsby Fellowship in 2018 to support her research on PPR and capacity building activities for PPR diagnosis in Tanzania.
Prior to working in NSAH, Camilla spent 9 years at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), where she held a tenured Senior Lectureship in Virology. Camilla led RVC’s MSc in One Health as Course Director and ran a research program in comparative antiviral immunity and the host range of multi-host and zoonotic viruses, including PPR virus and influenza viruses.
Camilla qualified as a Veterinary Surgeon from the University of Cambridge in 2004 and subsequently worked in mixed animal practice for two years. She then completed a PhD in Molecular Virology at the University of Cambridge (Department of Veterinary Medicine). She also holds a Master of Arts in Zoology from the University of Cambridge and a Masters-level Postgraduate Certificate in Veterinary Education from the University of London. Her postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Prof Geoffrey Smith FRS focused on developing improved vaccinia-vectored vaccines.
