How I Got Here: Veterinary viroligist, Robyn Hall
Posted on
In this edition of How I Got Here, Canberra vet Dr. Robyn Hall shares her journey from animal science to the frontline of public health, biosecurity, and pandemic response.
When you picture a veterinarian, you probably think of puppy vaccinations, treating the family cat, or perhaps a midnight calving on a rural property. You probably don’t think of border security, pandemic frontlines, or genomic sequencing.
Enter Canberra-based Dr. Robyn Hall. As Australia’s only board-certified veterinary virologist, Robyn has spent her career protecting Aussies from behind the scenes, pivoting her skills from animal health to advising the ACT Government on public health crises like COVID-19.
For this instalment of How I Got Here, we sit down with the frontline defender to find out how a love for animals led to a career protecting the nation’s biosecurity – and why vets are the unsung guardians of human health.
Existential crisis time: Who are you and what do you do?
I like to describe myself as a discoverer of things. I’m an intensely curious person with a deep interest in the natural world. What that looks like right now is I’m a bushwalker, geocacher, and an orchid nerd. And professionally, I’m a veterinary virologist and epidemiologist, and the Director of a consultancy called ViroEpiVet.
My career has moved across clinical veterinary practice, research, diagnostic virology in a state government laboratory, and epidemiology roles in both the national and ACT COVID‑19 responses before transitioning into private consultancy. Across all of that, my work has focused on understanding disease risks and supporting better decision-making in animal and public health.
Let’s go back to when you were a kid – have you always dreamed of working in this industry?
I was one of those kids who always wanted to be a veterinarian. I thought for sure I would spend my career in clinical practice. But once I started working as a vet, I found myself with more and more questions to answer and things to discover.
I became fascinated with infectious diseases (particularly viruses) and disease ecology. How something so tiny can have such profound effects on individual animals and entire populations. Despite millions of years of immune system evolution, these pathogens keep finding ways to adapt.
That curiosity took me into the lab, where I completed a PhD studying poultry viruses and vaccines and where I fell in love with research. Over time, I realised I wanted to focus on research that translates into real-world outcomes. So, I found my way into the consultancy world.
Tell us about when you were first starting out – what set a fire in your belly to get here, and how did you do it?
It always comes back to curiosity! As a kid, I really wanted to learn how to fix sick animals. That curiosity then expanded into bigger questions about how pathogens cause disease, how they spread through populations, and how they evolve to overcome our defences.
Naturally, from there, you get to thinking, what can we learn from these pathogens? Viruses can be used to kill cancer cells, or even act as gene therapy vectors to cure genetic diseases. Understanding how infections spread and change over time is key to preventing or predicting disease outbreaks.
Looking back, I’ve just followed the questions that interested me most, put in the work to build the skills I needed, and taken opportunities where they’ve arisen. Over time, that curiosity has shaped my entire career.
Recall a time when you wanted to chuck it all in; what did you tell yourself when it got too hard?
I think there’s a difference between pushing through challenges and recognising when something genuinely isn’t the right fit. Your mind is an incredibly powerful problem solver and thinking machine, and if it says something isn’t right, then it’s worth considering why that is.
I always assumed I’d spend my career in clinical practice, but over time, it became clear that I was ready for a new challenge. And that transition was really hard – giving up on the life I thought I’d wanted from a really young age.
But that led me into research. Later, even with a permanent research role, I had the opportunity to move into private consultancy, applying my skills differently and pursued that. And at some point, I felt ready to take on more of a decision-making and leadership role, and so I took the leap and started my own business.
Opportunities and choices. I don’t think those moments were about giving up. They were more about listening carefully, making deliberate choices, and backing myself to grow into the next role.
What was your biggest break?
In many ways, the COVID-19 pandemic was a big turning point for me, I’d have to say. It made a set of skills I’d been using in the veterinary virology space for years suddenly highly relevant to a very visible problem.
I think there’s this misconception or lack of awareness about what veterinarians can do. A recent survey by Boehringer Ingelheim found that only one-third of Australians could link veterinarian work to human health, which, in some ways, is disheartening. And only 41% of their respondents could recognise what we do in relation to exotic disease outbreaks.
Beyond clinical work, we’re trained in population health, statistics, risk analysis and more, which means we can contribute across government, research, emergency responses, and so much more. During the pandemic, my experience working with genomic sequencing of animal viruses became directly applicable to the public health response, and it was an incredible opportunity to be able to contribute in that way.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
One of the most valuable pieces of advice I’ve received was to take the time to really understand my core values. That’s been incredibly useful for me in guiding my decision-making around choosing opportunities, setting boundaries and navigating uncertain or challenging situations. It’s given me a much stronger sense of direction and helped me understand why some things ‘fit’ and others didn’t.
What is it about your industry that you love, and what makes you want to pull your hair out?
I love how multifaceted the veterinary industry is. The reality is that it’s much more than just clinical practice, although that’s what most people picture when they think of a veterinarian.
There are so many different pathways and opportunities, and so many ways to have meaningful impact. The vets I know are deeply motivated and purposeful people who care enormously about the work that they do and their contribution to society, either at the individual animal level or at a systems level.
What frustrates me is that I think the profession can be really undervalued. We see this in clinical practice through unrealistic expectations or, at times, outright hostility from some clients who may not fully appreciate the complexity, constraints and emotional burden of the job.
There’s also a lack of awareness of the critical role veterinarians play beyond clinical practice, in areas like public health, food security and border biosecurity. That disconnect between contribution and recognition can be challenging.
What was your biggest ‘pinch me’ moment?
Starting a business has been a pretty wild ride! I never saw myself as a business owner, but here I am! Realising that I’ve built something from scratch, and that people trust me and my expertise enough to work with me, still feels pretty surreal at times.
Tell us how you ‘stay in the know’, what media do you consume?
I’m a big fan of BlueSky. I love nerding out on there about what’s happening in the world of virology and One Health, the unifying approach that recognises the link between the health of people, animals and ecosystems. I also rely heavily on podcasts – This Week in Virology and This Podcast Will Kill You are two of my long-time favourites!
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I learned a long time ago not to be too prescriptive about five-year plans. Looking back, it turns out most of my career has been unpredictable! I’m much more interested in staying open to opportunities that align with my values and allow me to keep doing meaningful, impactful work. Looking back, that approach usually leads me somewhere interesting.
Why should people follow in your footsteps?
I think everyone has their own path. What is worth paying attention to is understanding your core values (mine are curiosity, purpose, competence and integrity) and staying true to them. Whenever I’ve pushed against them, it’s felt like forcing a square peg into a round hole.
What advice would you give your past self?
Things will work out in the end. It may not be the neat, tidy timeline and checklist that you had so carefully planned. But it will certainly keep life interesting!
