Research projects on rabies and sleeping sickness win 2024 Ker Memorial Prize

Supervisors:  Richard Mellanby, Stella Mazeri, Ian Handel, Mark Bronsvoort; Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies

About the work:  Rabies is unique in the world of infectious diseases for the degree of suffering it inflicts, both to the individuals infected and their families who bear witness to inevitable death once signs appear.

In his thesis, Andy used data-driven approaches to support the development of effective methods for rabies control in Goa State, India over a ten-year period through a collaboration between the Government of Goa and WVS. Andy led the creation of a mobile phone app which enabled project managers to coordinate the movement of vaccination teams and efficiently gather operational data about dogs vaccinated, children educated, and suspect rabid dogs investigated. His analysis of these data informed the iterative refinement of dog vaccination methods which resulted in the elimination of rabies across most regions by 2019. Goa was India’s first state to pass legislation to become a ‘Rabies Controlled Area’ in 2021.

Cost-effectiveness analysis supported the widespread adoption of this One Health approach, however operational constraints to scaling the vaccination method drove the exploration of novel approaches involving oral rabies vaccines (ORVs). His analysis of two pilot studies identified the potential for ORVs to advance rabies control at a national scale.

About Andy: Andy now leads the research and technology strategy at Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS), a UK-based international veterinary charity working to drive change in animal welfare and One Health.

He graduated in veterinary medicine from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) in London. After a time working in clinical practice Andy completed the RVC Small Animal Internship before volunteering on the 2013 launch of the Mission Rabies project in India. He went on to work in Goa and other project sites, supporting the development of dog rabies surveillance and vaccination methods and became the project lead for developing a smartphone app to monitor and direct field activities.

Andy began his part-time PhD at the University of Edinburgh in 2016 alongside his role at WVS, focusing on understanding the methods of rabies control in Goa, India, where he was deeply involved in project management and strategy.