Today we are delighted to have Dr Dan O’Neill joining Brian and myself in our remote studio. Dan is Senior Lecturer in Companion Animal Epidemiology here at the RVC and leader of the VetCompass Programme. Dan eloquently describes his story. After twenty-two years in general practice wanting to find evidence for treating or informing clients on the common conditions that he saw, he took a leap to find those answers. After leaving the keys to his practice as he left one Saturday, he started a...

Today we are delighted to have Professor Jim Usherwood remotely recording with Brian and myself all appropriately social distancing in our homes (or shed). Jim is a Welcome Trust Senior Fellow and Professor of Locomotor Biomechanics here at the Structure and Motion Laboratory at the RVC. Jim has examined the locomotion of a variety of different species, from mice to pigeons, horses to barn owls, mayflies, ibis, cockatiels and even dogs and humans. We hope that you enjoy.   To find out more...

Today we are delighted to have Professor Richard Kock remotely recording with Brian and myself all appropriately social distancing in our homes. Richard is Professor here at the RVC in Wildlife Health and Emerging Diseases. Apt timing perhaps to record this perhaps. Richard is the last person known to diagnose a case of Rinderpest in the world and assisted with his team to help eradicate this virus. Richard has been involved in many other projects globally and he speaks about a few of them...

Today we are delighted to have Dr Tierney Bennett (nee Kinnison) with Brian and myself in the studio. Tierney is one of our Lecturers in Veterinary Education, based at the LIVE centre here at the RVC (Lifelong, Independent Veterinary Education). Tierney has had an interesting route, a winding path as she refers to her PhD and we are delighted that she spent the time with us to share her thoughts about the different paths available in research and how you never know what you might end up...

Today we are delighted to have Dr Amy Barstow with Brian and myself in the studio. Amy has been finishing up at the clinical skills centre here after completing her PhD in equine biomechanics investigating shock absorption and load distribution in horses exercising on hard surfaces We discuss that and her interest in farriery which has gone on for her to be involved in the Graduate Diploma in Equine Locomotor, to engage farriers with research and address the dearth of farriery related...

Welcome to the RVC research podcast, where we are joined by Dirk Werling, Professor of Molecular Immunology about the microbiome and why we should all be interested in it. We hope that you enjoy listening to our conversation as much as we enjoyed recording it. To find out more about Prof Werling’s work, use the following link  https://www.rvc.ac.uk/about/our-people/dirk-werling   If you have any comments about this podcast, please get in touch: email [email protected]; tweet @dombarfield....

For Episode 56 we talk to Dr Rowena Packer who is a BBSRC Research Fellow here at the RVC. We discuss what led her interest in perusing animal welfare science, and how she came to do her PhD at the RVC and what this has led to along the way.  Her research into breed confirmation and why people might choose those breeds is on-going and fascinating. She has now moved into looking at canine epilepsy and behavioural co-morbidities. We hope that you enjoy listening to our conversation as much as...

For Episode 55 we talk to Dr Troy Gibson who is a senior lecturer here at the RVC in Animal Welfare Science. He discusses his journey from the land of the long white cloud to the RVC. His research is in animal welfare of livestock during routine husbandry, and it is fascinating. We hope that you enjoy listening to our conversation as much as we enjoyed recording it, inspiring, interesting and informative. To find out more about Troy’s work use the following...

For Episode 54 we talk to Jessica Roach who is currently just beginning her research career here at the RVC, under the supervision of Dr Mandi De Mestre who we spoke to on the last podcast. She discusses her journey so far after starting off as a new graduate with a heavy clinical commitment. We hope that you enjoy listening to our conversation as much as we enjoyed recording it, inspiring, interesting and informative. To find out more about Jess’s work in Dr De Mestre’s team, use the...

For Episode 53 we talk to Dr Mandi De Mestre, a Reader in Reproductive Immunology here at the RVC. She discusses her career and research that she has followed in three different continents. We hope that you enjoy listening to our conversation as much as we enjoyed recording it, inspiring, interesting and informative. To find out more about Dr De Mestre’s work, use the following link   https://www.rvc.ac.uk/about/our-people/mandi-de-mestre     If you have any comments about this podcast,...

For Episode 52 we talk to Dr Stuart Patterson, who successfully completed his PhD last year and when we recorded this podcast was working as a lecturer in Dairy Medicine here at the RVC. He has now taken a permanent post at the RVC as a Lecturer in Wild Animal Health. We discuss how he has managed his career and aligned it with his interests as well as taking advantage of opportunities when they presented themselves. We hope that you enjoy listening to our conversation as much as we enjoyed...

Welcome back to the RVC podcast, where we are going to focus on the researchers and their research. For our 51st episode we talk to Dirk Werling, Professor of Molecular Immunology about how he started his research career, what research he is currently involved with and advice to those people interested in pursuing a career in research. We hope that you enjoy listening to our conversation as much as we enjoyed recording it. To find out more about Prof Werling’s work, use the following link...

A number of diseases arise because the immune system begins to attack the body’s own cells. Here Dr Oliver Garden describes how these diseases arise and his research into the role of a particular type of immune cell, the regulatory T cell, in this phenomenon across species.

The possibility of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) infection is now a concern for many patients receiving hospital treatment. However, accumulating evidence shows that MRSA can also be carried by animals and then passed on to people in contact. Here Professor Katharina Staerk and colleagues describe their research to identify novel methods of preventing MRSA infection and transmission as part of an EU consortium.

Anal furunculosis is a particularly unpleasant disease of the rear end that particularly affects German Shepherd dogs. Here Dr Brian Catchpole and Prof Susan Gregory outline the traditional way the disease is identified and treated, their recent findings on how it may be caused, and how these findings inform current best treatment practices.

Methods of locomotion vary greatly across the animal kingdom according to size, number of legs and evolutionary niche. However, it seems that there are a great many common themes between species. Here Dr Andrew Spence discusses the latest ideas in locomotion research, with particular reference to the dog... and the cockroach!

A foetus presents an immunological, as well as a nutritional, challenge to its mother. Here Dr Mandi de Mestre describes how the equine placenta, hormonal and immune systems interact to handle these challenges and how her research is revealing the mechanisms involved.

Diseases caused by parasitic worms are a common problem in humans and animals, especially in the developing world. Here Dr Rachel Lawrence describes how filarial infections occur and manage to evade the immune response of the host.

Heart murmurs in young dogs are a fairly frequent finding in small animal practice, but in some cases they may reflect severe congenital abnormalities. Here, Professor Dan Brockman describes the treatments available for these dogs, with particular reference to the surgical repair of pulmonic stenosis.

Dr Claire Russell discusses the molecular basis and the clinical impact of a series of inherited degenerative neurological diseases – the neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCLs) - of humans and dogs, with particular reference to her studies aimed at identifying the genetic defects implicated and ameliorating their effects.

Badgers are often blamed for the persistence of tuberculosis in cattle herds in parts of the UK. Here Dr Julian Drewe describes his research on the dynamics of UK badger populations and meerkat communities in Africa and the potential importance of this for the spread of TB within and between species.

The prevalence of tuberculosis in cattle is increasing again in the UK. Here, Dr Steven Van Winden discusses the nature of the disease, its epidemiology and current methods of control.

In our second recording on the subject of Swine Flu, Prof Colin Howard describes the nature of the influenza virus, how new strains arise so frequently and how we can ameliorate the impact of new strains through vaccination and antiviral therapy (recorded 10 September 2009).

The latest influenza strain, Swine Flu, has been making headlines around the world in 2009. Professor Katharina Staerk explains the nature of the pandemic and the threat it poses (recorded 01 September 2009).