Jul 1, 2026 · 37 min · 17 segments
In this additional series, I talk to Miranda Poulson from AHDB about how her initial dream of being a vet would ultimately set her on a different career path. Follow this mini-series every fortnight…
Miranda PoulsonGuestBevHostDoes what you're doing today in AHDB correlate with your veterinary experience?
So I do n- my current role, it's not necessary that I'm a vet, so there's others in my team that do...
Right.
Mm-hmm.
So in the same way that they might have a bachelor's degree in agriculture, or they've di- they've studied epidemiology or something like that, my bachelor's degree is in that related field.
So part of what I've kind of tried to work internally on since I stopped practicing six years ago, so I stopped practicing during COVID in 2020, um, is trying to get my head around the fact that ultimately it's a bachelor's degree.
It might took me longer to obtain it, but it's the same as everybody else's bachelor's degree.
Yeah.
Okay.
So tell me a bit then about what it is that you do at AHDB.
AHDB, so my job title is Senior Animal Health and Welfare Scientist, but I think that the word scientist is possibly a bit of a misnomer.
I do do some science, and I manage research projects that are related to animal health and welfare, but a lot of what I've done over the last 12 to 18 months has been about working with and alongside the whole of the supply chain.
So that's farmers, processors, you know, right the way through to government and policymakers, specifically looking at preparing the whole of the pork and pig industry for what we hope will never happen, which is an outbreak of African swine fevers.
Mm-hmm.
But if we did get it here, how would we manage? What would dealing with it look like, and how would we recover from the outbreak? So th- that's my primary area of work at the moment is working with and engaging with the whole sector to work on preparedness, and that includes prevention, mitigation, and recovery.
Does what you're doing today in AHDB correlate with your veterinary experience?
So I do n- my current role, it's not necessary that I'm a vet, so there's others in my team that do...
Right.
Mm-hmm.
So in the same way that they might have a bachelor's degree in agriculture, or they've di- they've studied epidemiology or something like that, my bachelor's degree is in that related field.
So part of what I've kind of tried to work internally on since I stopped practicing six years ago, so I stopped practicing during COVID in 2020, um, is trying to get my head around the fact that ultimately it's a bachelor's degree.
It might took me longer to obtain it, but it's the same as everybody else's bachelor's degree.
Yeah.
Okay.
So tell me a bit then about what it is that you do at AHDB.
AHDB, so my job title is Senior Animal Health and Welfare Scientist, but I think that the word scientist is possibly a bit of a misnomer.
I do do some science, and I manage research projects that are related to animal health and welfare, but a lot of what I've done over the last 12 to 18 months has been about working with and alongside the whole of the supply chain.
So that's farmers, processors, you know, right the way through to government and policymakers, specifically looking at preparing the whole of the pork and pig industry for what we hope will never happen, which is an outbreak of African swine fevers.
Mm-hmm.
But if we did get it here, how would we manage? What would dealing with it look like, and how would we recover from the outbreak? So th- that's my primary area of work at the moment is working with and engaging with the whole sector to work on preparedness, and that includes prevention, mitigation, and recovery.
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