Olivia Dimov is a PhD candidate specializing in how restoration efforts influence biodiversity changes and zoonotic diseases in the tropical rainforests of Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda. As a veterinarian, she has a strong interest in animal-borne pathogens, which she is now combining with research on environmental factors and associated human health risks through the EU project RESTOREID. She investigates the drivers of zoonotic virus transmission by mosquitoes and their shift across different stages of forest progression. Additionally, she assesses biodiversity using various tools, e.g., by collecting vertebrate and invertebrate DNA from the environment, such as by swabbing leaf surfaces and taking water samples, and by detecting animal calls through acoustic monitoring. Her role at HIOH also involved veterinary work in projects focusing on bats, rodents and primates in Côte d’Ivoire.