Uttara Kennedy has been a small animal veterinarian for 20 years across Australia and India. She has an MSc in International Animal Welfare, Ethics and Law and is a Member of the ANZVCS (Animal Welfare chapter). Alongside pursuing her PhD, she is a veterinarian at RSPCA Queensland’s largest city shelter. Her experience has given her deep insight into the issues pertaining to shelter medicine and control of endemic diseases in the shelter environment. Her PhD explores the epidemiology of feline upper respiratory infections in RSPCA shelters across Queensland. The work is vital in informing shelter policy to improve animal management practices to have a direct positive impact on animal welfare and shelter resource management worldwide. She loves disappearing into the bush on long hiking-camping adventures with her family when she is not working or studying.