About Vittoria Elliott

Vittoria has almost 30 years’ experience working in conservation and has worked across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems on various species. She has had the pleasure of working with wildlife and local communities in many remote places across the globe. Vittoria holds a PhD in molecular ecology and conservation and has conducted research and conservation with Conservation International, WorldFish, the Institute of Zoology (ZSL), and the Smithsonian Institution.

As a research associate with the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of Natural History, Vittoria helped to develop techniques for better understanding and monitoring biodiversity, including developing and applying environmental DNA techniques for assessing biodiversity of fish in the lower Mekong.

Vittoria also has extensive experience in capacity building, monitoring evaluation and learning, ecosystem services, sustainable development, and biodiversity surveys. As an interdisciplinary researcher, she has developed expertise across statistical analysis, conservation genomics, food-web ecology, coupled human-natural ecosystems, climate change, and ecosystem modelling, which she uses to enhance our understanding of how to ensure both people and nature can thrive.