Wilna is a research scientist who obtained her PhD in 1998 at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.  She has worked on foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) for 30 years, starting in southern Africa, where she was employed at the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute.  There she investigated the complex epidemiology of FMD in Africa where the African buffalo act as maintenance host for the disease and have caused a number of outbreaks in cattle at the wildlife-domestic interface and in impala where close contact occurs.  She also worked on emerging animal disease diagnostics and FMD vaccine production and research.

Since 2008 she has worked at the CSIRO-Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) and is currently a Principal Research Scientist responsible for the FMD research programme at AAHL, and more recently for the larger Rural Research and Development for Profit project that uses FMD as a model for Improved Surveillance, Preparedness and Return to Trade for Emergency Animal Disease Incursions.  This project spans various business units within CSIRO as well as external collaborators. 

Wilna serves as one of 7 international members on the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) FMD ad hoc Group on the Evaluation of FMD Status of Member Countries and is the CEO of the Global FMD Research Alliance.

She has published more than 65 papers in international scientific journals and written 4 chapters for books.  Wilna is often invited to present plenary lectures and other invited talks at national and international meetings.