Dr Smithson is a dual-qualified Veterinary Surgeon and human Dental Surgeon. Director of Orosurgeon Ltd, he operates Veterinary Dental, Oral & Maxillofacial Referrals in North West England. First qualifying as a vet, Alex began his education in Veterinary Dentistry in 1999. He undertook six years of formal training in veterinary dentistry, oral & maxillofacial surgery, completing EVDC Diploma training and credentialing as he embarked on the human dentistry degree. Qualifying with honours as a Dental Surgeon, Alex developed his interest in emergencies, pain and oral surgery whilst working in hospital, clinic, private and NHS environments. Further study of pain, pulp and root canal treatment saw Alex gain the post-graduate human Certificate and Diploma in Endodontology.

Dr Smithson combines experience from veterinary specialist centres, human dental centres and hospitals; patients have ranged from cats, dogs and humans to tigers and gorillas. He is a member of the British Endodontic Society, British Small Animal Veterinary Association and British Association of Oral Surgeons and is a past President of the British Veterinary Dental Association. Alex has taught at Cambridge, Liverpool, Bristol, Glasgow and Nottingham University Veterinary Schools and devised the UK’s first fully intra-curricular undergraduate veterinary dentistry course and post-graduate Certificate in Veterinary Dentistry. He is a national advisor on oral and dental health to the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and Professor of Dental, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery at Nottingham University Veterinary School.

Alison qualified as a vet nurse in 2009 whilst working in a mixed practice in Bristol.

In 2010 she moved to Langford Vets at the University of Bristol as a rotating nurse.  She soon realised her passion for surgical nursing and became a theatre nurse shortly after.

Alison has remained at Langford Vets ever since.  In 2015 she became a teaching nurse where she taught undergraduate vets and vet nurses but returned to clinical work in 2018.  She is now head theatre nurse and leads and supports a large team of nurses and animal care assistants.  Her main interests lie in infection control, theatre practice and patient safety

A Bristol graduate, he worked in mixed practice in Wiltshire for 16 years. He joined MAFF “temporarily” in 2000, worked through the FMD epidemic of 2001 and became a Veterinary Officer. He left APHA after 14 years, which included a year seconded the Welsh Government as a Veterinary Advisor on bovine TB. Now a regional TB test assessor and has worked on OCQ(V)s for Improve International. He also continues to work part-time for a large practice in Wiltshire.

Anna has been a vet for more than thirty years.  Her career has included employment in mixed practice, UK government work – mainly involving animal welfare – and working for two large UK animal welfare charities – the RSPCA and The Donkey Sanctuary.  With her interest in the welfare of all animals and a particular passion for donkeys, she is now veterinary adviser to Safe Haven for Donkeys in the Holyland – a small charity working to improve the welfare of donkeys in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.  She also works part-time as a regional assessor for Improve International.

Chris graduated from the University of Bristol and spent several years working in first opinion mixed practice in the North Yorkshire Moors and Cumbria before deciding to focus on ophthalmology. Chris is a clinical director of Veterinary Vision, a dedicated ophthalmology referral practice with three centres across the North of England, and is a clinical fellow at Nottingham Trent University. Chris has presented clinical research at national and international veterinary ophthalmology conferences and has a particular interest in the topographical analysis of the cornea, corneal cross-linking, and intraocular vitreoretinal microsurgery.

BSc(Hons) MA VetMB PhD CertVC CertAVP(SAM) CertAVP(ECC) PgCert(VPrS) MRCVS

RCVS Advanced Practitioner in Emergency & Critical Care and Veterinary Cardiology

Referral Clinician in Internal Medicine, Emergency & Critical Care and Cardiology, Head of ECC

David qualified from Cambridge in 2003 having already completed a degree in Physiology and a PhD in Neuroscience. After graduation, he was a clinical scholar at Edinburgh Vet School seeing referral cases in cardiology and small animal medicine. He spent the next eight years in general practice during which time he gained the RCVS certificates in Cardiology and Small Animal Medicine and developed a referral service in both of these areas.

David became Principal Vet at Vets-Now Aberdeen in 2014 and subsequently gained his certificate in Emergency & Critical Care (ECC) and Veterinary Professional Studies. From 2014 – 2018, he divided his time between running the ECC service at Aberdeen, leading the referral service in Cardiology at Chestergates Referrals in Chester (as well as contributing to the Medicine Referral Service and seeing ECC cases) and provided a Medicine referral service at Albavet in Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy in Scotland. He also spent time at Lumbry Park Referrals as a medicine clinician during this time.

David started work at Eastcott Referrals in 2018 as Medicine referral clinician and also saw cardiology and ECC cases. He set up the ECC service and ICU at Eastcott which opened in February 2020. He is currently Head of the ECC Service at Eastcott while continuing to see Medicine and Cardiology cases.

David is interested in all areas of ECC and Medicine. He has a particular interest in diagnostic imaging, especially in its use for emergency and critical care cases. He also lectures widely and gives CPD courses in this area. He was formerly the Programme Co-ordinator and examiner for the BSAVA postgraduate certificate in ECC. He is currently an examiner for the BSAVA certificate exams in medicine and an RCVS Assessor for ECC. He is also a member of the team developing the new BSAVA certificate in diagnostic imaging.

David lives in Scotland and has three young children and a cat. In what time remains, he enjoys mountain biking, photography, travel, and the great expanse of the Scottish landscape.

Don Sheahan graduated from the University of Liverpool in 1995. He achieved the RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Surgery in 2000 and the ECVS Diploma in Small Animal Surgery in 2011. He is an ECVS and RCVS Specialist in Small Animal Surgery. Don is the founder and lead surgeon for Dogwood Referrals; an independent orthopaedic and neurosurgical referral practice in Manchester.

Fergus graduated as a vet in 1981, from the RDSVS. He spent over 35 years in companion animal practice, based on a high standard of client care and compassionate clinical expertise. This was underpinned by the strong ethos that “Every animal entrusted to our care is treated as if it was our own”.

Fergus has been offering a referral service in pain management for pets across Scotland since 2010, aiming to improve pets’ quality of life and to help them live happy, healthy lives. He has a particular interest in the osteoarthritis-related pain and in 2014 was awarded the MSc (Clinical Management of Pain) from the University of Edinburgh.

Georgie Hollis, Founder of the Vet Wound Library & Bandaging Angels – www.vetwoundlibrary.com
Georgie Hollis BSc is an independent specialist in wound management and dressing technologies. She has lectured widely, both nationally and internationally across equine and small animal disciplines and has authored many peer-reviewed articles across the UK and beyond.

Georgie’s day to day role is focused on running the Veterinary Wound Library (www.vetwoundlibrary.com). This site provides a resource for members to access specialist telemedicine support and further education in wound management for Veterinary professionals.

Georgie also heads up her team of ‘Bandaging Angels’ who deliver tailored in house CPD to help practices refine their dressing selection and overcome their bandaging demons.

Georgie is an independent specialist in wound technologies, particularly their transition from human to Veterinary use. She has consulted for many leading healthcare companies as well as lecturing on the subject of wound care at international level. She has authored over 30 articles published in both peer-reviewed and general Veterinary press and continues to deliver education via webinars and in-person (Covid allowing). Georgie is particularly keen to help promote the role of the Vet Nurse as a coordinator and key member of the wound care process.

At home, Georgie immerses herself in the outdoor life with her partner Richard on their small sheep farm near Diss, Norfolk. Her best time is spent riding her horse Zizou and hunting for mushrooms. A keen amateur mycologist Georgie is also a member of the British Mycological Society.

Ian is a practising Veterinary surgeon and co-owner of the Mount Veterinary Practice in Fleetwood. He has a Master’s degree in Veterinary Parasitology, is head of the European Scientific Counsel of Companion Animal Parasites (ESCCAP) UK & Ireland and guideline director for ESCCAP Europe. Ian has over 100 published peer-reviewed articles and papers and is an editorial board member for the Companion animal and Vet CPD journals. He continues to carry out research in practice including work on intestinal nematodes and ticks.

Jane has nearly 20 years’ experience in small animal soft tissue surgery and is a Royal College and European Specialist. She has also taught numerous veterinary students and general veterinary practitioners.  Over the last 10 years in addition to clinical work, she has focused on upper airway disease in dogs, particularly brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS). Whilst at the University of Cambridge, with Dr Nai-Chieh Liu, she devised a non-invasive method of assessing airway function and also introduced a clinical grading system for BOAS which is now available as The Kennel Club/ University of Cambridge Respiratory Function Grading (RFG) Scheme that was launched in 2019 to facilitate the breeding of healthy dogs in bulldogs, French bulldogs and pugs. The study also led to the validation of some new surgical techniques (laser turbinectomy, laryngeal surgeries) for upper airway disease. Jane will be continuing the Cambridge research in 2021 by looking at some of the other brachycephalic breeds in addition to continuing clinical work at Hamilton Specialist Referrals.

Kevin graduated from the University of Bristol in 2000. He then worked in small animal and mixed practice in Devon and Cornwall for three years. He undertook a small animal internship, PhD (in the field of locomotor biomechanics) and a three-year residency in small animal surgery at the Royal Veterinary College, London. Kevin attained his RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Surgery in 2009 and his European Diploma in Small Animal Surgery in 2011. Kevin moved back to Bristol in 2010, initially as a Senior Lecturer in Small Animal Surgery and more recently working for Langford Veterinary Services as an orthopaedic clinician within the University of Bristol small animal teaching hospital.

His clinical interests include all aspects of veterinary orthopaedics however he particularly enjoys the management of complex fractures, stifle surgery and total joint replacements. He has authored and co-authored scientific papers on a variety of subjects relating to small animal surgery and regularly speaks at national and international CPD events.

Kostas graduated from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He completed a PhD and a residency in Feline Gastroenterology, a residency in Clinical Pathology and was a Lecturer and a Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Clinical Pathology at the Bristol Veterinary School for more than 25 years. Kostas has been the Head of Clinical Pathology for Axiom Veterinary Laboratories and Finn Pathologists; has also worked as a Senior clinical pathologist and Scientific Standards coordinator for Idexx UK. He has published more than 100 scientific papers, research abstracts, professional articles and book chapters and lectures regularly in the UK and Europe.  He is the elected Vice-President of the European College of Veterinary Clinical Pathology (ECVCP).

Rosario Cerundolo graduated from the Veterinary School, Naples (Italy) in 1987. In 1995 he started a Residency at the Royal Veterinary College (London, UK). In 1997 he gained the Certificate in Veterinary Dermatology; in 1998 the European Diploma in Veterinary Dermatology; in 2000 the RCVS Specialist in Veterinary Dermatology. Until 2009 he was Associate Professor in Veterinary Dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania. Currently works at Dick White Referrals in Six Mile Bottom, just outside Cambridge, and also as a consultant at Bayswater Referral Clinic in west London. He is an Honorary Associate Professor of Veterinary Dermatology at the University of Nottingham. He has been the former President of the European College of Veterinary Dermatology, the Chair of the Scientific Organising Committee of two of the past Annual Congress of the ESVD-ECVD. He has been the treasurer of the WCVD7 (Vancouver July 2012) and the WCVD8 (Bordeaux June 2016).

Sebastien graduated from the Veterinary School of Toulouse, France in 2001. he same year he presented a veterinary thesis on ‘Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteins in
the Dog’, which received an award for ‘best thesis of the year’ from the French Companion Animal Veterinary Association and the University of Medicine Paul
Sabatier of Toulouse. The following year he performed an internship at Fregis small animal hospital in Paris followed by a three-year residency in Neurology
and Neurosurgery in the same hospital from 2002 to 2005. During his residency, he focused his research on cerebrospinal fluid analysis and inflammatory non-
infectious diseases of the central nervous system. Sebastien was awarded the Diploma of the European College of Veterinary Neurology in 2006 and the
following year he was recognised as an RCVS Specialist in Veterinary Neurology.

Sebastien is a past associate editor for the neurology of the Journal of Small Animal Practice and a past member of both the Education and Examination Committee
of the European College of Veterinary Neurology. Sebastien is part of the editorial board of Neurology and Neurosurgery for Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
Sebastien is currently head of the neurology-neurosurgery service at Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service (UK), one of the largest veterinary neurology service in Europe.

He has a special interest in advanced neuro-imaging and advanced spinal surgery with the use of 3D printing which has been pioneered at Willows with the support of Bill Oxley (Vet3D). Sebastien has authored numerous scientific publications and book chapters, also being a regular speaker at national and international CPD courses and conferences.

President of BVNA

Wendy, President of BVNA, started as a trainee Veterinary Nurse at a small animal practice in Surrey during 1991 and on qualifying moved to Yorkshire; working in a large mixed practice. She then left there as Head Nurse to have her first son and to also re-locate to Germany with her Forces husband.

Following a move to Devon and having had her second son, Wendy started work at a two-branch, small animal practice as a nurse, VN Assessor and then Practice Manager. Moving to the North West in 2002, she worked as a nurse in a small animal practice, before becoming the VNAC Co-ordinator at Myerscough College. After four years there, she then returned to practice as a part-time VN, which enabled her more time with her family.

She started working for Anthony Chadwick in 2007, initially as Nurse Manager, then as Practice Manager. During this time, The Webinar Vet was created. Once this became established, Anthony sold the practice and she remained with him as his Operations Manager.

In this role, Wendy organised CPD for Vets, nurses and SQPs. In addition, she dealt with Dermatology referral clients and spent at least one day a month working in practice. She joined BVNA Council in October 2016 and set up Malex Consulting Ltd in November of 2016 and now helps businesses with their online presence, as well as locum nursing. In March 2017 she became Junior Vice President of BVNA and then became President of BVNA in October 2017.

Owen graduated from Cambridge University in 2005 and worked in a rural practice for three years before undertaking a rotating internship and then two years of work for charities, at first in India and then back in the UK. In 2011 he moved to work in a large hospital practice and emergency centre where he focused on medical cases, and in 2014 he moved to the Royal Veterinary College to further specialise in veterinary oncology. After completing his residency term at the Royal Veterinary College he started work for Highcroft Referrals in 2017.

Owen passed examinations to award him membership of the Australian & New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists (chapter of Small Animal Medicine) in 2012 and passed speciality examinations of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in 2017. He was awarded American Specialist status in veterinary oncology in 2018 and RCVS specialist status in 2019. Owen holds a Master’s degree based on research into canine lymphoma and is interested in all aspects of medical oncology, especially haematopoietic malignancies, targeted therapy for cancer and paraneoplastic disease.

Jon is from a veterinary family and spent several years in general practice. He’s worked at the RVC, Cambridge and Edinburgh vet schools as a clinical academic and is now a Professor of Small Animal Surgery at the University of Nottingham. The majority of his clinical work is at Wear Referrals in the North East of England and he is active in postgraduate qualification training and examining. He likes nothing more than a good bit of surgery.

Will graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2010 and then completed an internship in a busy referral hospital in Berkshire. He subsequently worked in both first opinion and referral practices before starting a residency in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia at the University of Bristol. During his residency he completed an RCVS Advanced Certificate in Veterinary Anaesthesia, completing his residency in 2017. Will passed his specialist diploma exams in 2019 and is currently working towards a Masters degree via research.

Emergency & Critical Care clinician at Vets Now Referrals Manchester and previously Petmedics Manchester. Tom gained his AVP certificate in 2018 and has a decade of experience working in emergency hospitals.