Speakers

Tom graduated from the University of Bristol, working for five years in general practice. He undertook a PhD on the epidemiology of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in horses at the National Centre for Zoonosis Research (University of Liverpool). Following this, he undertook a residency in Diagnostic Imaging at Liverpool, being recognised as an RCVS specialist and appointed senior lecturer in 2015. Tom has research interests in the epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance and all research aspects of imaging. He is a member of the Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease and Associate member of the Institute of Global Health, currently supervising five PhD students in these research institutes. He has provided statistical support for over 30 research projects both within the University and externally. 

Sandra graduated from the Autonomous University of Barcelona in June 2013. After graduation, she undertook a general internship at the small animal teaching hospital from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and worked for six months in a referral emergency hospital. From 2016   to 2019 she completed an oncology internship followed by an ECVIM approved oncology residency at the Small Animal Teaching Hospital from the University of Liverpool. Sandra worked as a lecturer in small animal oncology at the same institution until 2020. She was awarded the ECVIM-CA Diploma in Oncology in 2021, becoming a European recognised Specialist in Veterinary Oncology. She is currently a lecturer in Oncology at the Royal Veterinary College.

Kevin graduated from University College Dublin Vet School with first class honours. He then worked in small animal first opinion practice in the UK for over 2 years. This was followed by 18 months as a small animal vet in Sydney, Australia. He then undertook a rotating internship at the University of Liverpool, UK, followed by a 3-year residency in Internal Medicine in the same institution. He subsequently remained as a lecturer in Internal medicine for a further 18 months.

He returned to Sydney and worked as an internal medicine specialist for 1 year. He came back to the UK in May 2017 to take up a position as internal medicine specialist at Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists, Winchester, where he remained until September 2019. He was then appointed assistant professor at UCD.

Kevin was awarded the RCVS certificate in Internal Medicine in 2012 (Cert SAM), the European Diploma in Internal Medicine in 2016 (Dip ECVIM-ca) and was subsequently was awarded RCVS recognised specialist status in 2017.

His main areas of interest include emergency medicine, acute kidney injury, GIT disease and hepatic disorders

Joe graduated as a veterinarian from the Royal Veterinary College, London and after some time in general practice in Derbyshire, he returned to the RVC to complete an internship and then a residency in Veterinary Neurology and Neurosurgery. He subsequently became board certified by the European College of Veterinary Neurology in 2015 and following this stayed at the RVC, where he is now a Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Neurology and Neurosurgery. Alongside his day-to-day clinical work, research and teaching, Joe currently performs regular hypophysectomy procedures at the RVC on both cats and dogs with pituitary tumours.

Graduating from Glasgow University in 2011, having completed an intercalated honours degree in Veterinary Pathology at the Royal Veterinary College, Fiona spent two years in first opinion small animal practice in Somerset before starting her Clinical Pathology residency in 2013 with the Veterinary Pathology Group. During her residency she took part in externships at the Royal Veterinary College and Colorado State University. After passing the American College of Veterinary Pathologists diploma in 2016, Fiona worked as a Veterinary Clinical pathologist at VPG Hitchin and then became the Laboratory Director in 2018 and has now become Managing Director for SYNLAB VPG in August 2021. Fiona is fully committed to ensuring animals are at the very heart of everything VPG does, delivering high quality actionable diagnostics, helping vets to provide the best possible care they can for their patients and delivering on expectations in terms of excellence, flexibility and client centricity.

Following graduation, James worked in small animal practice for 2 years, prior to undertaking an internship and residency in oncology at the University of Liverpool. He earned the RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Medicine, the ECVIM diploma in oncology and became an RCVS-recognised specialist in veterinary oncology.  After several years in private practice, James undertook a second residency at North Carolina State University to study radiation oncology. He received advanced training in all aspects of modern radiation therapy, including the planning and delivery of highly sophisticated modes of radiation treatment (intensity-modulated radiation therapy and stereotactic radiation therapy). He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, acted as associated editor for a veterinary journal and is the co-author of the neuro-oncology chapter in the BSAVA manual of Neurology. He has also served as an examiner for several years for both the RCVS and also for the ECVIM oncology diploma. He enjoys all aspects of clinical work, particularly using his skills in both medical and radiation oncology to design custom treatment plans. His goal is to try and improve the quality and length of life of his patients, with as few adverse effects as possible. 

Jeremy graduated from Toulouse veterinary school in 2008 and subsequently performed a rotating internship followed by an internal medicine internship. He then spent 3 years in private practice before starting an ECVDI residency at Liverpool veterinary school. Jeremy obtained specialist status in 2017 and has worked as a senior lecturer at the university of Liverpool as well as a radiologist for VetCT until 2021. He also started a PhD with the University of Liege in 2018 on the topic of perfusion computed tomography applied to tumours of the head in dogs. Jeremy is currently head of the diagnostic imaging service at Alfort veterinary school in Paris and supporting radiologist at VetCT. 

Lubna completed her PhD at University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK after which she worked as a post doctoral researcher in companion animal oncology at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow. Lubna was subsequently appointed as a lecturer in Veterinary Biosciences and promoted to Professor of Comparative Oncology in 2010. Lubna has spent the majority of her academic career engaged in cancer biology research  with a focus on the canine cancers and the  pathobiology of virally induced tumours in equids.  As well her research interests, Lubna has been teaching cancer biology to both undergraduate and postgraduate for over 20 years. 

Ben completed his undergraduate degree in Veterinary Science at Melbourne University, before going on to complete his Masters in Veterinary Medicine at the Royal Veterinary College. He worked as a mixed animal vet in rural Australia for 2 years prior to moving to the UK to start the road to specialisation. He completed his residency training at the Royal Veterinary College and worked there as a Lecturer in Small Animal Surgery. Ben’s passion is in soft tissue surgery which has lead him to having a tremendous amount of experience with some extremely complex cases. Ben is enthusiastic about performing BOAS surgery in order to help breeds who suffer with Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome most commonly seen in French bulldogs, British Bulldogs, Boston terriers, Pekinese and Pugs. Surgical options such as shortening the soft palate, widening the nostrils and removing the laryngeal saccule can dramatically improve the health and quality of life for such breeds. His other surgical interests include oncological surgery and thoracic surgery. Alongside this Ben also performs orthopaedic surgeries such as fracture repairs and also with neurosurgery including spinal surgery. He looks forward to offering a range of different surgical options at HSR for complex conditions, particularly in the area of minimally invasive surgery.

Alejandro graduated from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) in 2005. After graduation he worked in small and large animal practice and enrolled in a PhD investigating the pathogenesis of canine mammary tumours. On completion of his PhD (2011) he gained a post-doctoral scholarship to continue his research on cell cycle regulators and comparative oncology. Since 2006 he participated in the Anatomic Pathology Diagnostic Service at the ULPGC being responsible of the Biopsy Diagnostic Service from 2009 until 2015. In 2016 he gained a Clinical a Scholarship to undertake a residency in Anatomic Pathology at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), funded by the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB). He became Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists (ACVP) in 2019 and was appointed as Lecturer in Comparative Pathology at the RVC. Alejandro is also responsible for the comparative pathology at the Francis Crick Institute, London. He is a RCVS-recognised specialist in Veterinary Pathology, regular reviewer of several scientific peer-review journals, council member of the Spanish Society of Veterinary Pathology and has authored over 60 peer-review publications. His main area of interest include, tumour diagnosis, immunohistochemistry, dermatopathology and ocular pathology.