Prof Philippa Beard

Professor Beard is Head of the School of Life Sciences and Professor of Viral Pathology at Keele University. Professor Beard leads a research team that studies poxviruses that cause disease in livestock such as lumpy skin disease virus, sheeppox virus and goatpox virus.
Professor Beard was awarded her veterinary qualification from the University of Sydney and her PhD from the University of Edinburgh. For the past twenty years her research has focused on finding out how poxviruses cause disease. She has studied the molecular interactions of the virus with the host, described the pathological and immunological changes that occur in response to infection with a poxvirus, and most recently investigated the transmission of the poxvirus lumpy skin disease virus by insects.
Professor Beard’s research has been rewarded with a Wellcome Trust fellowship (2004), the Speciality Research Medal from The Royal College of Pathologists (2014), and the Journal of Comparative Pathology Medal (2018). She was the World Organisation for Animal Health expert for sheeppox, goatpox and lumpy skin disease from 2016-2022, currently leads the European Commission-funded international research consortium DEFEND (2018-2023), and is a member of Wellcome Trust Pathogen Biology and Disease Transmission Discovery Advisory Group (2022-2024). She has been supported through her career by exceptional research scientists and students within her team.