Dr Bryony Armson

Bryony completed her undergraduate degree in (Bio)Veterinary Science at the Royal Veterinary College, London. Following this she worked as an animal keeper at West Midlands Safari Park and then began her career in viral disease research with a move to the APHA in Weybridge. 

She moved to the Pirbright Institute in 2011, working in both the serology and virology department of the World Reference Laboratory for Foot and Mouth Disease (WRLFMD), before beginning her PhD in 2015. Her PhD investigated the use of milk as an alternative approach for FMDV surveillance. 

In 2019, she moved to the University of Surrey, working in vHive, on several projects as part of the ALPHA initiative (African Livestock Productivity and Health Advancement), and for the One Health European Joint Programme as a project manager. Alongside these roles, she held various part-time positions including assisting with COVID-19 diagnostics at Basingstoke Hospital, a secondment in the COVID-19 National Testing Validation Programme, Department of Health and Social Care, a diagnostic consultant with OptiGene Ltd., and as a technical specialist in the EuFMD and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 

In 2022, Bryony returned to the vesicular disease reference laboratory (VDRL) at the Pirbright Institute, to investigate the first outbreaks of Seneca Valley virus in the UK, performing diagnostic and epidemiological analysis. In 2025 she moved to the Applied Epidemiology group, where she is currently involved in several projects including investigating alternative surveillance approaches and assessing the performance of veterinary vaccines.