Prof. Jacqui Matthews qualified as a veterinary surgeon before completing a PhD in parasitology at the University of Glasgow. She then worked in academia for over 25 years, leading a range of interdisciplinary projects focused on helminths of ruminants and horses.

During this time, she taught many undergraduates and postgraduates in the subject area, and was awarded more than £15 million in competitive funding for research. She has published over 160 peer-reviewed research papers and reviews. Her research has primarily focused on vaccine and diagnostic test development to underpin sustainable parasite control. She has written numerous lay articles, given seminars and workshops to stakeholders promoting best practice control practices, and for many years, was technical advisor to the Control of Worms Sustainably in Cattle initiative and parasitology expert on the UK Veterinary Products Committee. She sits on several sub-groups of the CANTER initiative, set up to develop and promote best practice guidelines for parasite control in horses and has authored several chapters in the guidelines. 

Jacqui was conferred fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary surgeons for meritorious contributions to knowledge in 2017, and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, the Royal Society of Edinburgh and is a RCVS recognised specialist in Veterinary Parasitology. One of her inventions, a blood test for equine small redworms, was commercialised by Austin Davis Biologics in 2019 and, in 2022, she moved to this company as Director of Veterinary Science, where she leads the research and development programme and works closely with end-users in promoting evidence-based worm control in horses.