SPEAKERS

Dr. Grint graduated from the Bristol Veterinary School in 2000 and stayed on to undertake an internship and then a residency in veterinary anesthesia. In 2005, she moved to Liverpool Vet School to undertake a three-year lectureship post, becoming head of division in2007. After leaving Liverpool, Nicola locumed at the Animal Health Trust, the Royal Veterinary College, and Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. She has completed her PhD at Bristol University and holds the RCVS certificate and diploma in veterinary anesthesia. Nicki is also a European diplomate in veterinary anesthesia and analgesia. She currently runs the anesthesia service at Cave Veterinary Specialists near Wellington.

Dr. Oriana Leong is an Emergency Veterinarian at the Animal Emergency Service, Australia. She discovered her passion for Emergency and Critical Care during the early years of her veterinary study. Oriana graduated from the University of Queensland in 2013. She started working in an emergency practice as a new graduate and has gained essential clinical experience through these years within the industry. Oriana attained her memberships in Emergency and Critical Care in 2017 and became part of the AES family. She has a keen interest in all things critical care as well as diagnostic imaging, particularly ultrasonography. She loves the collaboration between the different departments in a multi-disciplinary specialist hospital as well as general practices to attain the best possible outcome for a patient. In 2018, Oriana spoke at the annual ANZCVS Science Week conference regarding her publication on “Severe acute pulmonary hemorrhage and hemoptysis in 10 dogs following Eastern Brown Snake envenomation” in Toxicon.

Outside of work, Oriana spends her free time with her two feline friends, Popcorn and Pancake, enjoying some couch and TV time. She is a self-declared “Foodie” and enjoys exploring all kinds of cuisines.

Dr. Davies is an RCVS and American Specialist in Veterinary Oncology who spent a decade in general practice before specializing.  He is a Diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in oncology, a Member of the Australian & New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists in small animal medicine and holds a Master’s degree based on research on canine lymphoma. Owen now works as a medical oncologist at Highcroft Referrals in Bristol and is interested in all aspects of oncology, in particular hematopoietic malignancies, haemangiosarcoma and paraneoplastic disease.  

After graduating from Glasgow University Veterinary School in 1992, Dr. Murisonworked in private mixed veterinary practice for 3 years before undertaking a clinical training scholarship in anesthesia at the University of Edinburgh. She subsequently worked at the University of Bristol in the roles of lecturer and senior lecturer, obtaining the European Diploma in Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia in 2000, the RCVS Diploma in Anesthesia in 2005, and a PhD in novel analgesia for cats in 2011. During this time, Pamela was involved in the curriculum review and introduction of new practical student evaluations in the third and final year. In 2014, Pamela returned to the University of Edinburgh and was instrumental in the creation of a new online MSc program in veterinary anesthesia and analgesia. She was appointed as Professor of Veterinary Anesthesia at the University of Glasgow in 2018. Pamela’s research interests include monitoring anesthesia, analgesia, and factors affecting ventilation during anesthesia.

Dr. Padrid graduated from veterinary school at Cornell University in 1985. He completed a Residency in Small Animal Medicine at UC-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 1988, and continued as a Fellow in Pulmonary and Critical Care medicine at UC-Davis School of Medicine in 1990. From 1990-2000 Dr. Padrid served as an Associate Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. Since 2000 Phil has additionally been Associate Professor of Small Animal Medicine (adj) at the Ohio State University.

Dr. Padrid moved in 2007 to New Mexico to become the Regional Medical Director for the VCA hospitals in the southwest. He is currently the Medical Director for Specialty Services at VCA VCAHRC and he is the Regional Medical Director and Regional Vice President for VCA Specialty Hospitals in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and San Diego. He lives in Corrales with his wife Roxi, their three pugs, a mastiff, a Siamese cat, and a horse.

Dr Philomena Kwong is an emergency vet based at Animal Emergency Service in Underwood, just 30 minutes from Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. Having always gravitated to animals for as long as she can remember, Philomena sent her early years in Hong Kong – a concrete jungle where wildlife in most parts of the city was limited to sparrows, pigeons and rats. Philomena used to escape reality by immersing herself in endless animal documentaries.

Philomena’s first real encounter with animals was at her grandmother’s house, who lived in one of the few remaining villages in Hong Kong. It was commonplace for these households to keep cats to keep the mice/ rat population down, and since neutering and spaying wasn’t common practice back then, there was always a lot of unwanted kittens. Cat flu was rampant due to the high level of stress as a result of scarcity of resources and the dense population. Young kittens would often succumb to cat flu and the mortality rate was high. As a child, Philomena felt helpless not being able to do anything. After hearing of veterinarians treating sick animals, she was determined to be a vet one day. At the time, Philomena was six years old.

Originally wanting to volunteer at the University of Queensland Veterinary clinic (St Lucia) when she was a third-year vet student, Philomena wasn’t able to do this due to her study workload – mostly during the day. Instead, Philomena started volunteering at an emergency clinic that operated from the same building after hours. When she saw the type of critical and challenging cases, Philomena knew she could never settle for anything less than working in emergency veterinary care.

When asked about her most meaningful case, Philomena was quick to tell us of a cat that presented to her with third-degree chemical burns to almost 50% of its body, including some first degree burns to his tongue and a chemical-induced pneumonia. “To this day he was one of the most critical patients I have treated; everything was touch and go for the first couple of weeks, not knowing whether he would pull through. It really highlighted to me the importance of practicing gold standard emergency and critical medicine to give our patients the best outcome possible. It took him a little over 8 weeks to recover, including repeat surgeries to remove the devitalized skin. But he made it and has an impressive scar to tell the tale. Seeing the smile on the owner’s face when this cat finally went home is the reason why I’ll always be an emergency and critical care vet.”

I graduated from the veterinary school of Nantes in France and completed a small animal internship at Purdue and a small animal surgery residency at Colorado State University. I have completed a surgical oncology fellowship at University of Florida in 2010. I spent 6 years as a small animal surgeon at university of Prince Edward Island in Canada. I am currently associate professor of surgery at University of Minnesota. My main professional interests are soft tissue surgery, surgical oncology and total hip replacement.

After graduating in Veterinary Medicine with honors at the University of Ghent in 2001, Dr. Pieter Nelissen completed his internship in Small Animal Surgery, which reinforced his interest in this field. In 2003 he joined a small animal private practice, where he worked as a surgeon for 3 years. Dr. Nelissen gained his RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Surgery during this period.

In February 2007, he joined Dick White Referrals as an Intern, prior to commencing a three-year residency training in Small Animal Surgery in this institution. Dr. Nelissen was appointed as a consultant in small animal surgery in 2011 and he gained his diplomate status in 2012. Since then he has been working as a soft tissue surgeon and embraced a new role as a lecturer in several training programs, which consolidated his passion and skills as a continuing education speaker.

At the beginning of 2018, after 10 years as an important member of DW Referrals surgical team and several important professional achievements, Pieter became the head of soft tissue surgery at the referral hospital, Tierklinik Haar, in Munich, Germany, position that he occupies currently.

Pieter Nelissen is a world-renown speaker in the veterinary field. He has led several continuing education programs in Europe, the United States, and Japan with different CE providers. He is also a head speaker at Improve International, where he has held sessions on both certificate and advanced certificate courses.

Dr. Nelissen has also produced impressive work in the field of veterinary investigation. He is author and co-author of several articles published in international peer-reviewed journals, with a particular interest in small animal surgery, and of many book chapters in this area.

After 17 years of intensive experience in veterinary practice and educational programs, Pieter Nelissen is now one of the most proficient veterinary surgeons. His particular field of expertise is Soft Tissue Surgery, with a particular focus on wound management, thoracic surgery, and minimally invasive surgery.

Dr. Burrow graduated from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), London in 1991 and after several years working in mixed practice she returned to the RVC in 1995 to complete a residency in small animal soft tissue surgery. Dr. Burrow worked at Liverpool University between 2001 and 2016 as Lecturer in soft tissue surgery before moving to North West Surgeons to expand her experience. She returned to Liverpool University in Jan 2018.

Dr. Burrow graduated from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), London in 1991 and after several years working in mixed practice she returned to the RVC in 1995 to complete a residency in small animal soft tissue surgery. Dr. Burrow worked at Liverpool University between 2001 and 2016 as Lecturer in soft tissue surgery before moving to North West Surgeons to expand her experience. She returned to Liverpool University in Jan 2018.

Dr. Pollard attended Washington State University for her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine.  She then moved to New York for a 1-year internship at the Animal Medical Center.  Dr. Pollard moved to Davis, CA in 1997 to complete the 4-year residency in Diagnostic Imaging at the University of California, Davis.  She then completed a PhD in Comparative Pathology and is currently a Professor of Diagnostic Imaging at UC Davis.  Her areas of research focus primarily on quantitative imaging techniques using both contrast enhanced computed tomography and contrast enhanced ultrasound to evaluate tumor blood flow.  Additionally, she has a clinical interest in dynamic imaging techniques such as contrast fluoroscopy with a focus on swallowing disorders. Dr. Pollard is also a level 1 professional telemark ski instructor.

Randi graduated from the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany in 2001. Randi spent time in private practice before pursuing her Diagnostic Imaging residency at the University of Wiconsin-Madison, USA. She became board certified with the European College of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging and American College of Veterinary Radiology in 2008. Randi then pursued an alternative training program in Veterinary Radiation Oncology at the University of Wiconsin-Madison, USA and became board certified with the American College of Veterinary Radiology (Radiation Oncology) in 2012.
She held a clinical assitant professorship and was section head of the diagnostic imaging section at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wiconsin-Madison, USA before relocating to the RVC in London where she is leading the small animal diagnostic imaging section.
She is a member at large of the board of the ECVDI and member of the radiation oncology education and credentials committee establishing an add-on Training program in Radiation Oncology for Diplomates of the ECVDI and ECVIM colleges.

Raquel graduated in 2004 from Universidade de Tras-os-Montes e Alto Douro in Vila Real, Portugal. Raquel subsequently moved to the UK where she completed an internship at the Animal Health Trust followed by a residency at Glasgow University Veterinary School.  Raquel was awarded her European Diploma in Veterinary Neurology in 2010. Raquel gained experience at a specialist referral centre in the Midlands before joining SCVS in 2015.

In 2014 Dr Rob Webster became a specialist in veterinary emergency medicine and critical care. Rob has been working full-time as an emergency vet for 14 years, and his training was conducted from 2006 to 2012. His mentors were both world regarded specialists: Dr Steven Haskins (emergency medicine and critical care) and Dr Bruce Mackay (internal medicine). Rob is the first veterinary specialist in this field in Queensland, and one of only five veterinarians in the country with this qualification.

Dr. Robert “Jeff” Mayo was born in Virginia, and moved to Idaho in 1978. He attended college in Boise, and moved to North Carolina briefly, then returned to the northwest (Oregon) to attend veterinary school. Since graduation, he has made Lynnwood, Washington his home.

Dr. Mayo graduated from Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1994 with honors as well, he has a second Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Washington State University. Prior to veterinary school, Dr. Mayo was a respiratory therapist at Duke University Medical Center, and received his training in that field from Boise State University, graduating with a degree in 1986. He practiced many different facets of respiratory therapy until 1990, at which he entered veterinary school full time. Dr. Mayo holds 5 college degrees from three major Universities. Dr. Mayo has published over 30 titles in allied health science education.

Dr. Mayo purchased his first veterinary practice in 1995 in Lynnwood, Washington, and his second practice in 2000, also in Lynnwood. Dr. Mayo devoted much of his practice time to learning new procedures in rigid endoscopy, orthopedics, and radiosurgery. He began his mobile surgical practice, Mayo Veterinary Services, in early 2006. In 2007, Dr. Mayo began teaching orthopedic courses throughout the United States and abroad in small animals.

He passed the certification program administered by the Veterinary Laser Surgical Society in February 2005. This program certifies competency amongst veterinarians for proper use and understanding of lasers in small animal surgical applications.

In November of 2007, Dr. Mayo earned his Diplomate status in the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, with certification in Canine and Feline Practice. For more information, go to their website, www.abvp.com.

From to 2008 to now, Dr. Mayo has flown and taught internationally in Japan, Germany, Bulgaria, Italy, Australia and several other countries. Dr. Mayo has trained hundreds if not over a thousand Veterinarians on laser surgery, radiosurgery, orthopedics and soft tissue surgery as well as regenerative medicine and alternative therapies.

Dr. Mayo has lectured at dozens of national and international veterinary conferences further sharing his knowledge to other veterinarians to better serve the patients and communities.

As of 2018, Dr. Mayo performs surgery, primarily orthopedics, in the western Washington area.

Dr. Mayo’s peak interests includes knee surgeries, fracture repairs, second opinions, radiosurgery, alternative sterilization and regenerative medicine.

Romain Pariaut has been practicing veterinary cardiology since 2002. He received his DVM from the National School of Veterinary Medicine (ENVL) in Lyon, France. After a small animal rotating Internship, he continued as an Instructor in Emergency and Critical Care. He completed a residency in Veterinary Cardiology at Cornell in 2005. Before coming back to Cornell as an Associate Professor and Cardiology Section Chief in 2015, Dr. Pariaut was an Associate Professor and Service Chief of Cardiology at Louisiana State University. He has also been an Associate Editor of the Journal of Veterinary Cardiology for the last 10 years. He is currently working on developing a cardiac electrophysiology laboratory to diagnose and treat via radiofrequency catheter ablation of arrhythmias, and designing innovative cardiac devices in collaboration with students from the Nancy E and Peter C Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Pariaut is the author of 40 peer-reviewed scientific papers, 13 book chapters, and is a co-author of a textbook “Electrocardiography of the dog and the cat, 2nd edition” published in 2018. He is also a regular speaker at National and International Veterinary Conferences.

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 DickWhiteReferrals in Six Mile Bottom, just outside Cambridge, and also as a consultant at Bayswater Referral Clinic in west London. He is a 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).

His areas of interest are: Canine and feline dermatology

Dr. Raskin received her DVM from Purdue University, spent 6 years as a small animal practitioner and the next 32 years in academia. She received her PhD in pathology from Michigan State University and focused her research on hematolymphatic neoplasms. As an educator, Dr. Raskin taught clinical pathology at Michigan State University, University of Florida, and Purdue University. As a Professor Emerita she continues to provide locum assistance to private laboratories and veterinary institutions around the world since her retirement from Purdue University in 2014. She has written over 60 peer-reviewed publications, 36 textbook chapters, and delivered over 120 international presentations.

Dr. Raskin served as President of the American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology and received from this society their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. Dr. Raskin is co-editor of Canine and Feline Cytology. A Color Atlas and Interpretation Guide, now in its third edition.

Sally Turner is a graduate of Cambridge University and spent 2 years in general practice, then did her ophthalmology training as a resident at the Animal Health Trust. Currently in private referral practice in London, Sally regularly lectures to vets and nurses and has written two books on veterinary ophthalmology. She is an RCVS Recognised Specialist in Veterinary Ophthalmology.

​

Sam graduated from the Royal Vet College in 2002 and completed internships in private referral practice before starting a Feline Advisory Bureau Residency at Bristol University. She was awarded the RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Medicine in 2006 and the European Diploma in Veterinary Internal Medicine in 2009.  In 2011 she became an RCVS Recognised Specialist in Feline Medicine and in 2019 was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Sam is the Feline Specialist Advisor for ISFM, and the Head of the ISFM Academy of Feline Practitioners. She also works in clinical referral practice at Lumbry Park Veterinary Specialists in Hampshire, is editor of the BSAVA journal ‘Companion’ and is a tutor on the University of Sydney Feline Medicine course as well as an examiner for the Membership of the Australia and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists (Feline Medicine).  She is an editorial board member for The Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery and has authored 2 books and numerous book chapters as well as publishing a number of papers on both canine and feline internal medicine.

Sam graduated with a Pharmacology degree from the University of Aberdeen in 1998, and with a Veterinary degree from the University of Cambridge in 2003. After four years in mixed practice she undertook an internship at Dick White Referrals and a Surgery Residency at the University of Edinburgh. She worked at the University of Edinburgh as a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Small Animal Surgery until 2019. She is now Clinical Director and Soft Tissue Surgeon at Veterinary Specialists Scotland. Sam enjoys all aspects of soft tissue surgery with a keen interest in wound management and reconstruction and oncologic surgery.

Dr Sara has always had a love for animals and science, so a career in veterinary science was the perfect way to combine these two loves into a career. She obtained her Veterinary technology degree in 2007 and worked as a veterinary nurse before starting her Veterinary science degree.

During her Veterinary degree, she was able to work as an emergency nurse which really cemented her passion for the field. After graduating from Veterinary Science she spent almost 2 years in small animal general practice before coming back to the field of Emergency and critical care where her true passion lies.

“The team at AES are amazing, as both friends and colleagues. Continuing education is prioritized and gold standard medicine is expected. There is always someone there for you when you need them. We are like a very big family. Emergency can be incredibly emotional and stressful. We see pets and owners at their greatest time of need and we have to be there for both of them. It is comforting to know that I can rely on my team to do their absolute best to get our beautiful patients healthy and well and back home to their pet parents.”

Her level of knowledge is admired by her peers and she is able to think on her feet when managing complex medical cases. Her love of surgery is clear and her skills are what excellent. She is also not afraid to ask for help when a confusing case walks through the door and she cares so much for her patients and her clients. Sara’s communication skills are valued by clients and other medical staff – she is fearless and calm in the face of difficult clients and explains what is required in each consult well. As a person, she is a joy to work with, brings humor to tough situations and is a rock to rely on during a tough shift.

Following graduation from Edinburgh in 2007, Scott worked for the PDSA and Vets Now before starting his residency at the University of Edinburgh in 2012, obtaining his European Diploma in Small Animal Internal Medicine in 2017. Scott has also completed a Master’s Degree looking in to the pathogenesis of canine liver disease.

BVMS CertSAS DipECVS MRCVS
RCVS Recognised and European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery

Scott is the Surgical Specialist who heads the team at frank.. After graduating from Glasgow University Vet school in 2001 his first job was as a Temporary Veterinary Inspector during the Foot and Mouth Epidemic of that year. He then spent six years in general practice, both mixed and small animal, before moving to Croft Veterinary Hospital in Northumberland to work with Malcolm Ness and undertake an ECVS Residency. He completed his RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Surgery in 2009, became a European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery in 2013 and an RCVS Recognised Specialist in 2014.

In 2013 Scott moved to North Downs Specialist Referrals, a large multidisciplinary referral hospital based in Surrey, before moving to Willows Referral Services in Solihull in 2015, which is one of the largest multidisciplinary referral hospitals in Europe.

Scott is actively involved in clinical research and CPD provision. He has published extensively in the veterinary literature and has lectured widely in the UK, Europe, USA and Australasia.

He left Willows in 2017 to pursue his dream of establishing his own surgical referral hospital with the aim of working in partnership with local vets to provide accessible veterinary specialist surgery to the pet owners of Yorkshire and beyond.

Dr. Behr graduated from the Veterinary School of Toulouse, France in 2001. The same year, he presented a veterinary thesis on "Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteins in the Dog", awarded by the French Companion Animal Veterinary Association and the University of Medicine Paul Sabatier of Toulouse. 

He then performed an internship the following year in Fregis Small Animal Hospital in Paris, the largest private small animal hospital in France. Dr. Behr later undertook and completed 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.Dr. Behr was awarded the Diploma of the European College of Veterinary Neurology in 2006 and the following year he was recognized as an RCVS Specialist in Veterinary Neurology.

He moved to the United Kingdom in 2005 to join the multidisciplinary team at Davies Veterinary Specialists where he worked as a neurologist and neurosurgeon before joining Willows Referral Services as a senior clinician in March 2010. Dr. Behr especially interested in idiopathic inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system, advanced neuro-imaging, and spinal surgery.

He is the past associate editor for neurology of the Journal of Small Animal Practice and a member of the Examination Committee of the European College of Veterinary Neurology.

Dr. Silvia Funes is a board-certified Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. She is originally from Spain where she received her DVM from the University of Zaragoza. After doing several externships in Ohio and Florida, she completed her rotating small animal and surgery internship at Oregon State University in 2014. She continued at Oregon State University where she finished a 3-year Internal Medicine residency program and became board-certified in 2017. Her clinical interests include gastrointestinal disease, endocrine and infectious diseases. She is also interested in endoscopy and Interventional Radiology (IR). Dr. Funes is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP). Dr. Funes works in a specialty and emergency hospital in the Bay Area of California. She enjoys running and outdoor adventures. She shares her house with her partner, two dogs (Nico and Peluso) and a gorgeous orange cat called
Mouse King.

Dr. Simon Platt received his veterinary degree from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1992, following which he undertook an internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph and a 2 year period in private practice in the England. Dr. Platt completed a residency in neurology and neurosurgery in 1998 at the University of Florida and afterwards spent 2 years as an assistant professor of Neurology at the University of Georgia. In 2000, Dr. Platt returned to the UK where he was Head of the Neurology/Neurosurgery service at the Animal Health Trust until 2006, from which time he has been at the Dept. of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the University of Georgia where is currently a Professor.  Dr. Platt received the AAVC National resident of the year award in 1998, the BSAVA Blaine award for outstanding contributions to small animal medicine and surgery in 2005, the UGA Clinical Research Award in 2010, the David Tyler Award for Innovative Teaching in 2012 and 2017, College of Veterinary Medicine Teaching Award in 2013 and 2018 and the University of Georgia Creative Teaching award 2018. Dr. Platt was made a fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2018. Dr. Platt has authored or co-authored over 200 journal articles and 50 book chapters and is the co-editor of the BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Neurology and the Manual of Small Animal Neurological Emergencies. Dr. Platt is Past-President of the ACVIM Neurology Specialty and Founder member of the South Eastern Veterinary Neurology (SEVEN) group in the USA. Currently, Simon serves as Editor in Chief of the NAVC journal Today’s Veterinary Practice.

Simon graduated from the University of Cambridge and after two year in small animal practice under took a Residency at the University of Bristol in Small Animal Medicine and

Intensive Care. He gained the European Diploma in Small Animal Medicine and currently working at Dick White Referrals seeing medical and emergency cases. Simon gained an ISVPS General Practitioners Certificate in Small Animal Practice himself in 2004!

​

Dr. Stanley Kim is Associate Professor in Small Animal Surgery at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida. Dr. Kim received his veterinary degree from the University of Sydney in 2003. After 2 years in general small animal practice, he completed an Internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the Ontario Veterinary College in 2006. Dr. Kim undertook a combined MS / Residency in Small Animal Surgery at the University of Florida, which was completed in 2010. Dr. Kim has since remained at the University of Florida as a faculty member in small animal surgery, with a focus in orthopedics.

Dr. Kim is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. He has authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications, and several book chapters. He has been the recipient of numerous teaching and research awards, including the 2017 Zoetis Distinguished Teacher Award. His research interests are in the field of minimally invasive orthopedic surgery, fracture repair, joint replacement and orthopedic biomechanics.

Stephanie Sorrell graduated from the RVC and undertook her residency in Internal Medicine at Edinburgh University. She is a European Internal Medicine Specialist and RCVS Feline Specialist. She is currently a Senior Consultant at Virtual Veterinary Specialists and also provides locum internal medicine and feline medicine cover to private and university-based referral practices.

She has a passion for teaching and has lectured internationally as well as publishing original research papers in journals. She is also an examiner for the Australian and New Zealand Membership exams in Feline Medicine. She is interested in all aspects of internal medicine, particularly feline geriatric medicine and infectious diseases.

Dr. Jones grew up outside Dublin in Ireland. He attended Veterinary school at University College Dublin. After receiving his Veterinary Medicine degree in 2009, he moved to Hollywood, Florida to complete both rotating and specialty surgery internships, at the Hollywood Animal Hospital. From there, Dr. Jones moved to Gainesville Florida where he completed a combined residency in small animal surgery and masters program at the University of Florida. After completion of his residency in 2015, Dr. Jones moved to Columbus, Ohio where he joined the joined the faculty rank as an Assistant Professor of Small Animal Orthopedics at The Ohio State University. Dr. Jones is a Diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. He has written and published numerous scientific papers and abstracts and lectures all over the world. His special interests include minimally invasive fracture repair, medical and surgical treatment of joint disease, arthroscopy, and surgical management of angular limb deformities.

Dr. Susan Little received her BSc from Dalhousie University (Nova Scotia, Canada) and her DVM from the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph. She has been in feline practice since 1990 and achieved board certification in Feline Practice in 1997. She is part owner of two feline specialty practices in Ottawa, Canada. She is a past president of the American Assoc. of Feline Practitioners and the Winn Feline Foundation. She is currently an International Council for Veterinary Assessments board member. She is a peer reviewer for veterinary journals as well as the author of many journal articles. Dr. Little is the recipient of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Assoc. Small Animal Practitioner Award (2010), the NAVC Small Animal Speaker of the Year Award (2013), and the International Society of Feline Medicine/Hill's Pet Nutrition Award for outstanding contributions to feline medicine (2013). She is the editor and co-author of two textbooks: The Cat – Clinical Medicine and Management (2012) and August's Consultations in Feline Internal Medicine, Volume 7 (2015).

Susana graduated from the University of Porto (Portugal) in 2001 and, after working a few years in first opinion practice, I started an internship in a private practice in Essex.

Susana obtained her Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Small Animal Certificate (CertSAM) in 2007 and finished her residency training program at the University of Bristol in 2009.

In 2010 Susana obtained the European Diploma in Small Animal Internal Medicine (DipECVIM-CA)

After finishing her residency, Susana worked in several referral centres in the south of England. Susana is an internal medicine consultant for IDEXX Laboratories and also works as a consultant for Virtual Veterinary Specialists (VVS).

Susana is a regular lecturer for Improve International and has also been an examiner for the International School for Veterinary Postgraduate Studies (ISPVS).

Apart from being a mum to a busy 4 year old boy and a 13 year old JRT, Susana is a keen gardener that grows her own vegetables in her allotment.

Dr McCarthy received his DVM from Colorado State University in 1969, became Board Certified by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1978, and earned a PhD in surgery from Colorado State University in 1981. He currently practices at VetMIST in Beaverton, Oregon. Dr McCarthy performed his first endoscopy in 1982 and since that time has performed over 5000 endoscopic procedures, and has developed many endoscopic techniques that are becoming commonplace in small animal practice today. Dr McCarthy has published numerous articles on small animal endoscopy, has lectured nationally and internationally, and published a major textbook on small animal endoscopy.

Dr. Tams received his DVM from The Ohio State University in 1977 and was in mixed general practice for a year prior to entering an internship program in Los Angeles.  After interning at the West Los Angeles Veterinary Medical Group, he completed a residency in internal medicine at Colorado State University.  Dr. Tams was a staff internist at the Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston from 1981-84, and achieved board certification in internal medicine in 1982.  Dr. Tams returned to Los Angeles in 1984.  In January 1987 West Los Angeles Group became the first VCA (Veterinary Centers of America) hospital. He is currently Chief Medical Officer for VCA Inc., as well as a part-time staff internist at VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital. VCA owns and operates nearly 900 hospitals in the U.S. and Canada.

Dr. Tams was named as a Distinguished Alumnus of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2000.

Dr. Tams has published two textbooks:

1. Small Animal Endoscopy (Mosby/Elsevier), second edition published November 1998, and a third edition in 2011.
2. Handbook of Small Animal Gastroenterology (Elsevier).

Dr. Tams has presented numerous seminars and wet lab courses in the U.S. and abroad on his special interest areas of gastroenterology and GI endoscopy.

Dr Vanessa Grose was schooled in Brisbane, Australia, with school holidays spent on a sheep and cattle property near Dirranbandi. Animals have always been a huge part of her life. “We had a big hobby farm with every animal imaginable over the years.”

Dr Grose always wanted to be a vet but at the end of high school, she felt it was unattainable and started a Bachelor of Science. It soon became evident there was nothing else she wanted to do so after completing her Science degree, she enrolled in to vet school.

“During vet school I worked with a General Practice and as an Emergency Nurse at AES. Working as a nurse was invaluable and set me up well for graduation.” Vanessa went on to work in general practice for a few years and in 2014, she commenced with Animal Emergency Service.

“The stars aligned and I have not looked back. I love emergency medicine, being at the forefront of best practice medicine and continually learning. Saving lives gives me purpose.”

When not at work, Vanessa likes sleeping “my most favorite past time”, training and studying.

Dr. Vincent Wavreille graduated from the University of Liege, Belgium, in 2006. He worked for one year in a private practice in Angers, France, performing mainly emergencies. In 2008, he completed a rotating internship at the University of Liege, Belgium, followed by a specialized internship at Fitzpatrick Referrals, Godalming, the UK. He completed a small animal surgical residency at The Ohio State University and concurrently finished a Master of Sciences degree in 2014. Then, Dr. Wavreille performed a surgical oncology fellowship at the University of Florida. He is currently an assistant professor in surgical oncology at The Ohio State University. He is Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) and ACVS Fellow in Surgical Oncology. His areas of main interest are invasive oncologic procedures, limb sparing procedures and development of new treatment approaches (microwave ablation…).

Dr. Forcada graduated from the University of Madrid. After working in private practice, she undertook an Internship at the RVC and a residency at the University of Liverpool. Yaiza became a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in 2008. She returned to the RVC to complete a PhD in genetics and pathophysiology of feline diabetes mellitus. After time in private referral practice, Yaiza became Lecturer in Small Animal Internal Medicine at the RVC. She is a caring, dedicated teacher and became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.  She is particularly interested in identifying the link between diabetes and pancreatitis, as well as optimizing treatment protocols for these patients.

Yaiza graduated in 2002 at the University of Madrid. After a short time in private practice, she moved to the United Kingdom, where she undertook a Small Animal Internship at the Royal Veterinary College. She then accepted a residency in Feline Internal Medicine at the University of Liverpool and she gained her Diploma of the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in 2008. Following this, she returned to the Royal Veterinary College to do a PhD about the genetics and pathophysiology of Feline Diabetes. She discovered the first gene associated with feline diabetes. Although she enjoyed her research years, Yaiza always wanted to return to clinical practice, where she could interact with students, fellow clinicians and patients. After her PhD, she became a Lecturer in Small Animal Medicine at The Royal Veterinary College. Most recently, Yaiza has moved to The Netherlands with her family and is now The Director of Veterinary Specialist Consultations, a service that provides specialist help and support for veterinary clinicians. Yaiza is also an integral part of the Internal Medicine Team at de Medisch Centrum voor Dieren in Amsterdam, where she is the director of the residency program and enjoys seeing patients and training residents while providing high-level clinical care to her patients. Yaiza likes all aspects of internal medicine, although she has a passion for endocrinology, gastroenterology and all aspects related to feline medicine.