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In Memory of

Helen Roberts

In memory of our friend and colleague Helen Roberts.

Helen’s career reflected a lifelong dedication to science and public good.  She held a BSc in Zoology and a PhD in Parasitology from Imperial College, London.

Prior to joining the Civil Service, Helen spent a decade in academia in the UK, including extensive fieldwork in Colombia and a secondment in Australia, researching neglected tropical diseases.  She later worked with international health NGOs on human health issues such as malaria and schoolchildren’s health, bringing a global and compassionate perspective to her work.

Helen joined the Civil Service in 2007 as part of the National Epidemiological Expert Group during diseae oubreaks in the Veterinary Laboratories Agency, now the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).  In 2008 she moved to the Global Animal Health Team and became the Head of International Disease Monitoring and Risk in 2008.  More recently she has been Defra’s Senior Policy Adviser for non-livestock diseases, including wildlife, new and emerging diseases, and as science and risk adviser on exotic animal diseases and exotic zoonoses.

She led major research programmes, contributed to cross-government horizon scanning and biosecurity work, and played a key role in international and One Health fora, including chairing the UK Human Animal Infections and Risk Surveillance (HAIRS) group, served on the EFSA Animal Health and Welfare Panel working closely with the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Collaborating Centre on Risk Assessment and Modelling.  Her expertise was respected and valued not only across Defra and APHA but also by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Food Standards Agency (FSA), the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), the Pirbright Institute, the Government Office for Science, UK academic institutions and Internationally.

Above all, Helen will be remembered for her generosity with her time, her incredible knowledge, and her support for others.  She willingly shared her expertise when asked, mentored colleagues, and helped teams make sense of complex risks so they could make informed decisions quickly and with confidence.  Her work influenced policy, preparednes, and disease response in the UK and globally, and touched the lives and careers of many people.

Helen will be missed deeply by colleagues in Defra and all those who worked with her in government, academia, and the many people around the world, whose work, careers and lives were shaped by insight and kindness.  While her loss is immeasurable, her legacy will live on through the policies she influenced, the science she championed, and the people she taught, mentored, supported and inspired.

Book Owner: Gordon Hickman

Book Size:  1000 Messages

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Martyn Blissitt

I shared a taxi many times with Helen, and once we got going I wanted the journey to go on forever. One of the kindest, cleverest, most interesting and helpful people most of us will ever meet….
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Katherine Bowen (Grace)

Helen was one of the greatest minds in animal health. She could turn up to any meeting and would always be the authority on the subject. She was generous with her knowledge and taught so many of us about risk assessment and disease control. As a result of  her diligence, she has had a profound impact on the health of animals and people on a global scale and that legacy will live on. I am shocked and saddended that she is gone, but am so grateful to have known her and enjoyed a few drinks in Marquis of Granby.  Thank you for all that you did Helen! We will miss you …
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Shona O'Rourke

My sincere condolences to Helen’s family and friends.  I was very sad to hear the news of her passing.  I had the pleasure of working with Helen as part of the PATH-SAFE programme.  She was a fantastic collaborator.  She was always willing to support – a recent example springs to mind where I needed some help with an outreach programme for students from Lesotho.  It was a big ask at short notice and Helen volunteered with enthusiasm.  She shared her experience in HAIRs and we were all fascinated by the subject matter and her delivery.  She was a great help to me and provided a fantastic experience for the students.  There are plenty of other examples I can think of and so many more in this book of condolences from across various organisations where Helen and her work made such a significant an impact.  She will be sorely missed. …
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Rachel Cooper

Helen was the epitomy of quiet, committed and above all – ABSOLUTE – expertise. I joined the One Health community five years ago having given up biology at 14 years old – so a real subject-matter newbie! I heard Helen cited and revered by many before I finally met her – when she invited me to join her in person for a HAIRS meeting. Oh my word she knew her stuff – a true subject-matter EXPERT. But she was also wonderfully inciteful, engaging and accessible. I so enjoyed my subsequent dealings with her. She was generous with her time, pertinent in her contributions and always fun to work with. But beyond all the expertise, I’ll most miss her sense of humour and gentle twinkle in the eye.  She leaves a massive professional hole. But above all, I am truly so sorry that she has died so suddenly, without the chance to say goodbye, to acknowledge her impact and some time to enjoy, travel and reflect on a life really well-lived. I leave my profound condolences and thoughts to her family and friends. …
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Keith Hamilton

What terribly sad news. Helen was a wonderful person to work with. Unique in having such a deep understanding of risk analysis whilst being able to transform the inordinately complex into something applied and tangible. Professionally she will be sorely missed, but most importantly I will miss her as a lovely person with infectious good humor. Keith…
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Sam Holland

Such sad news and a great loss to all in the animal disease community, as well as friends, family, wider colleagues and all. Having first seen Helen giving a presentation at a surveillance forum, where I was in awe of her knowledge and manner, I was excited to get to work closely with her just a year later. The next several years brought many discussions, much learning (by me) and teaching (be her) and my certain knowledge that if I could become one tenth as knowelgeable and confident as Helen I’d be doing alright. Many have already mentioned her vast knowledge and kind and calm demeanor, which made her a pleasure to work with, as did a sense of humour and no reluctance to put you right when she considered you were wrong (and furstratlingly I usually was). I still have no idea how Helen found the time and energy to do all that she did but we all benefited from that enthusiasm. Outside of the workplace we shared some fun times in bars, restaurants, and a particualy fun day at the donkey sanctuary! Rest well Helen, you earned the break, things won’t be the same but we’ll do…
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William (Billy) Karesh

My deepest condolences to family and friends of Helen.  I only had the good fortune to benefit from her insights, experiences and wisdom though our work together as volunteers to the World Organization for Animal Health. While there were few interactions, each left me impressed, informed and inspired.  While sadly I and other colleagues cannot thank her again for her generous input and sharing, we can still thank all of you that supported her and encouraged her over the years in making the world a safer and better place for all of us.  …
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Alessandro Broglia

I still cannot believe, such a sudden news. Helen has been part of the EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare for many years, so many long discussions about so many topics. Even in the most complex situations, Helen could see the solution and had the door-opener input for that. Such a smart scientist, with so vast knwoledge on so many arguments and such a smart thinker with subtle and nice humour. I will miss you so much, the whole EFSA will miss you so much, your contribution to veterinary science will remain. In your memory, Alessandro Broglia….
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Amber Jones

It is hard to convey how devastating the loss of Helen is, not only to those who knew her, but to the scientific community. Helen was incredibly passionate and knowledgable about everything you could even think of, and was so enthusiastic about sharing that knowledge and expertise. She was also fantastically witty, with a wonderful sense of humour – she always had the quickest, funniest response to a piece of news! I feel privileged to have known Helen and got to see her work – she showed me not only how incredible her encyclopaedic knowledge was, but how to be a compassionate, kind and understanding line manager. Rest in peace Helen – you will be greatly missed x…
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Jo Jury

Such incredibly sad news. I only worked with Helen for a relatively short time, but she left a lasting impression. Despite her busy schedule, she enthusiastically welcomed questions of any kind, no matter how silly, and had a wonderful way of making people feel genuinely valued.   I loved Helen’s quick wit and humorous reactions to news stories, and I always enjoyed listening to her insightful contributions in wildlife meetings. They showed not only her depth of knowledge, but also her true passion for the subject. Helen is irreplaceable and will be greatly missed.  …
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Chloe Etherton

I am deeply saddened to hear of Helen’s passing, she will be terribly missed across the DEFRA and wider scientific community.  Throughout my Civil Service career, Helen always made time to support and had such insightful advice.  My condolences are with Helen’s family and friends. …
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Rick Mumford

On behalf of us all at the Food Standards Agency, I wanted to say how saddened we were to hear of Helen’s passing. So often she was the point of contact for us on all matters relating to animal health and her expertise and collaboration will be greatly missed. From a personal note, I have worked with Helen on numerous biosecurity related projects over the last 3-4 years from GAP-DC2, PATH-SAFE, NBN and Exercise Pegasus. Her depth of knowledge and commitment to the cause never failed to impress. She is a huge loss to the government science community and indeed, well beyond. Sincerest condolences to her family, friends and colleagues….
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Julia Thomas

I shared an office with Helen nearly 20 years ago back when she joined what was then VLA in Weybridge. She came to work on Salmonella reports, but we had both volunteered to help with the Foot and Mouth outbreak in 2007 and so were swiftly transferred up to Page Street together to piece together DCS surveillance visits with lab reports, those were the days before MoSS! I remember those summer months fondly, Helen loved to work in exciting, high-pressure environments and it was hard work with long hours and not many days off, but we really had such a laugh. However, Helen was destined for bigger and better things and not long after the outbreak was over, she moved up to the Global Animal Health Team, and I always missed her wonderful company in the office. I was lucky enough to still work with her through the years through the NEEG and was just so delighted to see how much she had achieved. She had such a wonderful work ethic, so knowledgeable and always helpful. She had a twinkle in her eye, even when talking about the serious stuff, that made you smile. I know how much she…
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Rosemary Sifford

A true hero of public health.  Helen will be greatly missed. Her impact has been felt globally….
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Gillian Armstrong

My deepest condolences to all Helen’s family and friends. I was devastated to hear the news. I worked closely with her for the last three years on challenging cross government issues, and on realising she is gone, the floor has just fallen from underneath me. Helen made navigatating these challenges do-able, and even fun! She was so kind yet no nonsense, so wise and insightful with such an intellect yet had all the time in the world to listen to and support new and junior colleagues and staff, and made everyone’s contribution feel valuable. Helen really prioritised relationships, and built up those around her, whilst brilliantly and boldly getting to the nub of the issue and speaking up. Helen was about solutions and making things work, and had a knack of cutting through the bureaucracy. She was incredibly dedicated to her work, and over her career has made such an enduring impact on public health, both in the UK and globally. I will really miss her, but feel so lucky to have had the chance to work with her….
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