IN her office deep inside the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences at Glasgow University – past the specimen cases, a musty-smelling library and the raft of tightly packed shelves filled with antiquated tomes – Professor Sarah Cleaveland hands me a wine glass.
Have I stumbled upon the party department of the university? Cleaveland gives a hearty laugh. "Oh dear, I'm afraid this is giving you the wrong impression," she says, smiling.
I hasten to add that my tipple is merely water but Cleaveland, a veterinary surgeon and Professor of Comparative Epidemiology, certainly has good reason to celebrate: she was recently elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of her globally-renowned work on infectious diseases.