Prof James Wood

James Wood is a veterinary epidemiologist with more than 25 years’ experience.

He leads the Disease Dynamics Unit (DDU) at the University of Cambridge, where he conducts multidisciplinary research on infectious diseases, taking a ‘One Health’ approach, largely on disease issues in sub-Saharan Africa. He works on zoonotic bovine tuberculosis control in Ethiopia and India, as well as the UK, and emergence of zoonotic viruses from fruit bats in Ghana.

Wood has been involved in infectious disease policy for more than 10 years and currently chairs the Defra Science Advisory Council Exotic Disease sub-committee, also sitting on Defra SAC. He has sat on Defra’s TB Eradication Advisory Group (responsible for the production of the published Government Bovine TB 25 Year Strategy) since 2012 and on the UK Department of Health’s Fleming Fund Technical Advisory Groups.

He works with the Ethiopian government on zoonotic disease control. He sits on the Science Advisory Boards of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and the Roslin Institute. He chairs the UK Veterinary Schools Council AMR working group.

Wood co-chairs the University of Cambridge Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Infectious Diseases, is a leader of the Cambridge-Africa Programme, which focuses on building links between Cambridge University and African Institutions. He has published ~250 papers in international peer reviewed journals. He has successfully supervised 17 PhD students.