“I chose sciences because from the age of 12, I have always wanted to be a veterinary doctor,” Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka recalls.

The Ugandan veterinarian has since won worldwide acclaim for her pioneering programme linking public health with conservation of the endangered mountain gorilla.

Her mission is to ensure that no human-borne disease crosses to the gorillas. She has carried out research on how diseases can pass between the great apes and humans. “Helping the gorillas is about helping people too,” she said.

“I find veterinary medicine fulfilling because I don’t like to see animals suffering. It also has an impact on many sectors including wildlife conservation and public health,” she said.

According to research findings by Dr Kalema-Zikusoka and her team two years ago, gorillas not only catch human diseases, but also pick up antibiotic resistance from humans.

Dr Kalema-Zikusoka’s efforts have won her a number of accolades.

In May 2009, her television scheme to protect mountain gorillas in Uganda won the £60,000 Whitley Gold Award — one of the world’s top prizes for grassroots nature conservation — for her work with local communities and mountain gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in southwestern Uganda.

The Whitley award recognised the work by Dr Kalema-Zikusoka and her Kampala-based charity, Conservation Through Public Heath (CTPH), which she co-founded in 2002 to change local attitudes to conservation and improve healthcare.

Dr Kalema-Zikusoka, a wildlife vet graduate from the Royal Veterinary College in London, has used the Whitley award prize money to strengthen her programme and expand into other areas where humans and gorillas come into contact, such as the DR Congo.

“We have set up systems to prevent and control disease transmission between people and gorillas through partnerships between Uganda Wildlife Authority, local communities, local government and health partners including Bwindi Community Hospital and conservation and public health NGOs,” she said.

The recipient of the 2008 San Diego Zoological Society’s Conservation Medal, Kalema-Zikusoka has been the subject of four television documentaries and a popular children’s book, Gladys Working as a Wildlife Vet. She frequently mentors young veterinarians.

Last April she received the 2011 Women of Discovery Humanitarian Award from the Wings World Quest in New York.

The award recognises women, who are making significant contributions to world knowledge through exploration.

As to the role of women in veterinary medicine Dr Kalema-Zikusoka argues, “It is the same as men’s. Women may not be as physically fit as men especially in handling large animals; but technique and determination are more important than strength. Women are good at looking after infant orphaned animals because of stronger nurturing instincts.”