Having always been fascinated by the world of herpetology, I first obtained my Master of Zoology degree in Bangor University in 2016. Working under the supervision of Dr Wolfgang Wüster, I investigated the hybrid zone between Crotalus scutulatus and Crotalus viridis, studying the presence of toxin genes on both sides and within the hybrid zone. 

Following the completion of my undergraduate degree, I travelled throughout south Asia learning about the devastating effects of snakebite on the poorest communities. During this time I formed Captive & Field Herpetology Ltd, a peer-reviewed journal and research focussed expedition team which now carries out snakebite related work in India and various other expeditions across Europe. I am also part of Dr Anita Malhotra’s BITES group which has carried out extensive snakebite focussed work in India.

Outside of academia I have been deeply involved in herpetoculture since before the age of ten. I currently maintain a collection of over 150 reptiles and amphibians which have been used for research, conservation breeding efforts and I am one of the largest breeders of Indonesian sailfin dragons, of the genus Hydrosaurus, globally. 

My interest in venomous snakes, ultimately led me to pursue a PhD at Bangor. I’m currently studying our native adder, Vipera berus and what future climate change, population fragmentation and habitat loss implications will likely arise, using novel methods to determine population genetic health and diversity.

• PhD: Using Novel Genomic Methods to Assess the Genetic Health of the UK's Herpetofauna
  Bangor University, 2025
• MSc: Master of Zoology (MZool)
  Bangor University, 2016

The adder, Vipera berus is the only venomous snake found in the United Kingdom and suffers due to severe habitat fragmentation and habitat loss. Surviving in small isolated populations likely reduces genetic diversity and makes obtaining large sample sizes for genetic research difficult. My PhD project will attempt to utilise novel methods, developed for analysing ancient DNA to advance conservation genetics through the analysis of pseudohaploids. Our study will attempt to determine the genetic health of isolated populations, regardless of small sample sizes throughout the UK and what the future holds for this small, yet iconic viper.

I am heavily involved with snakebite related work in India. Primarily in the Himalayan regions where I am interested to learn about the diversity of venomous snakes which are involved in human-snake conflict.

2025

• CyhoeddwydThe genome sequence of the common adder, Vipera berus (Linnaeus, 1758): [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]
  Owens, J. B., Wüster, W., Mulley, J., Graham, S., Morgan, R. & Barlow, A., 14 Ion 2025, Yn: Wellcome Open Research . 10, 11, 13 t.
  Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl
• CyhoeddwydUtilising snake rescue data to understand snake–human conflict in Hooghly, West Bengal, India
  Kuttalam, S. R., Owens, J. B., Santra, V., Ahmed, M. T., Das, B., Das, S., Koley, A., Koley, R., Barlow, A. & Malhotra, A., 3 Ion 2025, Yn: Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
  Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid

2024

• CyhoeddwydNew locality records and notes on the scalation of the Alpine Punjab skink, Eurylepis taeniolata Blyth 1854, from Himachal Pradesh, India
  Owens, J. B., Kuttalam, S. R., Santra, V., Graham, S., Wüster, W., Mukherjee, N., Bharti, O. & Malhotra, A., 24 Rhag 2024, Yn: Reptiles & Amphibians. 31, 1, t. 1-2 2 t., e21541.
  Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid

2023

• CyhoeddwydGenomics reveals broad hybridization in deeply divergent Palearctic grass and water snakes (Natrix spp.)
  Schöneberg, Y., Winter, S., Arribas, O., Di Nicola, M. R., Master, M., Owens, J. B., Rovatsos, M., Wüster, W., Janke, A. & Fritz, U., Gorff 2023, Yn: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 184, 9 t., 107787.
  Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
• AnfonwydHigh standing diversity masks extreme genetic erosion in a declining snake
  Pozzi, A., Owens, J. B., Üveges, B., Major, T., Morris, E., Graham, S., Togridou, A., Papadopulos, A. S. T., Wüster, W. & Barlow, A., 21 Medi 2023, (Anfonwyd) t. 1-28, 28 t. (bioRxiv).
  Allbwn ymchwil: Papur gweithio › Rhagargraffiad
• CyhoeddwydMultilevel comparison of Indian Naja venoms and their cross-reactivity with Indian polyvalent antivenoms
  Deka, A., Bhatia, S., Santra, V., Bharti, O., Lalremsanga, H., Martin, G., Wüster, W., Owens, J. B., Graham, S., Doley, R. & Malhotra, A., 1 Ebr 2023, Yn: Toxins. 15, 4, 24 t.
  Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
• CyhoeddwydNaja naja Reproduction
  Kuttalam, S. R., Owens, J. B., Das, B., Koley, A. & Santra, V., 2 Mai 2023, Yn: Herpetological Review. 54, 1, t. 141 1 t.
  Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid

2022

• CyhoeddwydConfirmation of Liopeltis rappi (Günther, 1860) in Himachal Pradesh
  Kuttalam, S. R., Santra, V., Owens, J. B., Ahmed, M. T., Bharti, O., Selvan, M., Mukherjee, N. & Malhotra, A., Hyd 2022, Yn: Hamadryad. 39, 1-2, t. 85-88
  Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
• CyhoeddwydGenetic ancestry of introduced populations of sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) in Wales
  Owens, J. B., Wilkinson, J. W., Wüster, W., Barlow, A. & Papadopulos, A. S. T., 11 Hyd 2022, Bangor: Natural Resources Wales. 32 t. (NRW Evidence Report; Rhif 596)
  Allbwn ymchwil: Llyfr/Adroddiad › Adroddiad Comisiwn › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
• CyhoeddwydPhylogenetic and morphological analysis of Gloydius himalayanus (Serpentes, Viperidae, Crotalinae), with the description of a new species
  Kuttalam, S. R., Santra, V., Owens, J. B., Selvan, M., Mukherjee, N., Graham, S., Togridou, A., Bharti, O., Shi, J., Shanker, K. & Malhotra, A., 13 Rhag 2022, Yn: European Journal of Taxanomy. 852, 1, t. 1-30 30 t., 1.
  Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
• CyhoeddwydTackling Snakebite Through Training: an Indian example
  Malhotra, A., Graham, S., Owens, J. B., Bharti, O. & Santra, V., 31 Awst 2022, Yn: Herpetological Conservation and Biology. 17, 2, t. 331–342
  Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
• CyhoeddwydUtilizing Snake Rescue Data For Understanding Snake-Human Conflict
  Kuttalam, S. R., Santra, V., Das, B., Koley, A., Dhara, A., Owens, J. B., Barlow, A. & Malhotra, A., 19 Tach 2022.
  Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gynhadledd › Murlen

2021

• CyhoeddwydMolecular phylogenetic analysis of the genus Gloydius (Squamata, Viperidae, Crotalinae), with description of two new alpine species from Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China
  Shi, J.-S., Liu, J.-C., Giri, R., Owens, J. B., Santra, V., Kuttalam, S. R., Selvan, M., Guo, K.-J. & Malhotra, A., 4 Hyd 2021, Yn: ZooKeys. 1061, 1061, t. 87-108 22 t.
  Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
• CyhoeddwydPromoting co-existence between humans and venomous snakes through increasing the herpetological knowledge base
  Malhotra, A., Wüster, W., Owens, J. B., Hodges, C. W., Jesudasan, A., Ch, G., Kartik, A., Christopher, P., Louies, J., Naik, H., Santra, V., Kuttalam, S. R., Attre, S., Sasa, M., Bravo-Vega, C. & Murray, K. A., 1 Tach 2021, Yn: Toxicon: X. 12, November 2021, 18 t., 10081.
  Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid

2019

• CyhoeddwydConfirmation of Naja oxiana in Himachal Pradesh, India
  Santra, V., Owens, J. B., Graham, S., Wüster, W., Kuttalam, S. R., Bharti, O., Selvan, M., Mukherjee, N. & Malhotra, A., 1 Rhag 2019, Yn: Herpetological Bulletin. 150, t. 26-28
  Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
• CyhoeddwydPrevention is better than cure : snakebite education in India
  Trogridou, A., Graham, S., Santra, V., Owens, J. B., Bharti, O. & Malhotra, A., 2019, Yn: Episthmes Agogis . t. 75-96
  Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid

2016

• CyhoeddwydIs Hybridization a Source of Adaptive Venom Variation in Rattlesnakes? A Test, Using a Crotalus scutulatus x viridis Hybrid Zone in Southwestern New Mexico
  Zancolli, G., Baker, T. G., Barlow, A., Bradley, R. K., Calvete, J. J., Carter, K. C., de Jager, K., Owens, J. B., Price, J. F., Sanz, L., Scholes-Higham, A., Shier, L., Wood, L., Wuster, C. & Wüster, W., 16 Meh 2016, Yn: Toxins. 8, 188, t. 1-16 16 t.
  Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
• CyhoeddwydReproductive and parental care notes for Norops beckeri (Boulanger, 1891) in northern Guatemala
  Owens, J. B., Carter, K. C., Chablé Tesucún, C. S. & Griffin, R., 1 Rhag 2016, Yn: Mesoamerican Herpetology. 3, 4, t. 1007
  Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid

2024

• 10th World Congress of Herpetology

  5 Awst 2024 – 9 Awst 2024

  Gweithgaredd: Cymryd rhan mewn cynhadledd Academaidd (Siaradwr)