Dr Pip Beard

Pip joined The Pirbright Institute in May 2016 to take up the position of Group Leader. She leads a research group that investigates poxviruses and other large DNA viruses which have specialised to replicate in the cytoplasm of the cell, such as African swine fever virus (ASFV).

Pip obtained her veterinary degree from Sydney University and her PhD from the University of Edinburgh. She then worked at Cornell University in the US before being awarded a Wellcome Trust Clinical Fellowship to study poxviruses at Imperial College London. She spent one year in Ulaanbaatar as a specialist veterinary advisor to the Mongolian government before returning to the UK to The Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh. After spending 6 years in Edinburgh, which included a veterinary pathology residency, Pip took up a joint appointment between The Pirbright Institute (80%) and The Roslin Institute (20%).

The aim of Pip’s research is to understand the complex and unique interactions between poxviruses and their host, and translate this knowledge into clinical outcomes. She is investigating the three capripoxvirus species (lumpy skin disease virus, sheeppox virus and goatpox virus) which each cause severe disease in livestock in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. She is also studying the interactions of African swine fever virus with the cellular vesicle transport system and the miRNA machinery.

For more opportunities about Dr Beard's work and her team please visit the Large DNA Virus group page and the DEFEND website.  Pirbright is the consortium lead for DEFEND which is tackling the emergence of African swine fever and lumpy skin disease in Europe in partnership with 31 other consortium members including industry partners ID-VET and Zoetis. (EU H2020 research programme 773701).