2023 Conference Programme

A Bristol graduate, Andrew 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. Andrew is 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.

After qualifying from Liverpool in 1984, David spent 16 years working as an assistant and partner in a mixed practice on the Welsh/Shropshire border, before joining the State Veterinary Service in the year 2000. Between 2000 and 2005, David was a case vet for multiple TB cases in Herefordshire, and – amongst various other responsibilities – was involved in many aspects of the national notifiable disease emergencies of the early 2000s. For ten years from 2005, he managed the national farm animal feed control programme relating to animal proteins, being recognised by Defra as a national expert in that subject. David has presented papers in Beijing at the UK–China Summit and the EU–China Trade Project on feed safety and feed incident investigation relating to animal proteins. He has also provided training at BTSF courses to EU delegates on farm animal feed sampling and animal by-products. David has been involved in the Vet Ops Team at the National Disease Emergency Centre in London in more recent avian influenza outbreaks.

In December 2015, David started his current role, which involves providing veterinary advice on TB to Welsh Government policy colleagues and to APHA field staff.

Mick graduated from Glasgow Vet School in 1988 and spent a year in farm animal practice before returning to Glasgow as a pathology resident. He then took on a research fellowship on genetic resistance of sheep to gastro-intestinal parasites, leading to a PhD. Mick then left Glasgow for seven years of mostly farm animal practice in Aberdeenshire and then Lanarkshire. Both the practices had MHS contracts and he contributed to the Official Veterinarian work.

Mick joined the State Veterinary Service in 2003 and has had a number of roles, including Veterinary Officer, Veterinary Business Partner for Scotland and Veterinary Head of Exotic Disease and Welfare. He is now Veterinary Lead for Scotland, covering South West Scotland. Mick is committed to developing the veterinary and technical teams in APHA and improving animal health and welfare through his role in APHA, delivering an effective multi-agency approach and actively engaging with veterinary profession, stakeholders and wider industry.

Ricardo graduated in 1990 from the school of veterinary medicine in Barcelona. After a brief stint in farm animal practice in his native Catalonia, he went on to complete a PhD in veterinary epidemiology at the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University. In 1996 he came to the UK as a post-doctoral fellow in the epidemiology group at Glasgow University Vet School. He left academia and joined the then State Veterinary Service in 1998 as a veterinary officer in West Wales, where he saw first-hand the ravages caused by the rising bovine TB epidemic in that endemic area of GB. In 2000 he joined the team of specialist vets and scientists advising the bovine TB policy team of Defra based in London.

In his capacity as a veterinary advisor to the bovine TB programme of Defra for more than 20 years, Ricardo has been directly involved in the development and adoption of many key disease control policies in England.

He was a member of the expert panel that designed the ongoing field trials of cattle TB vaccination and its companion DIVA skin test in England and Wales and continues to be involved in the design of the future cattle vaccination and DIVA test deployment policies for England.

Ricardo has been the lead author or co-author of some 20 peer-reviewed papers in the field of TB in cattle and other domestic species. He is also a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Public Health in the sub-specialty of Population Medicine.

Richard Ellis is head of genome analysis and molecular biology discipline champion at the Animal and Plant Health Agency. After completing his DPhil from Oxford, he spent over 10 years in academia studying bacterial ecology and population genetics before joining APHA.

His work now focuses on the application of high-throughput sequencing technologies for understanding the evolution and spread of pathogens (both bacterial and viral, including zoonotics), for investigating diseases of unknown aetiology, and the integration into disease surveillance programmes.

He oversees the laboratory teams responsible for routine disease testing required for both surveillance and trade, and the capacity to scale up testing in the event of a disease outbreak.

Adrian undertook and gained a PhD in molecular biology at Reading University on ‘The Acquisition of Neurovirulence in Polio Virus’ in 1995.

Adrian originally joined the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in 1996, working in the department of virology and biotechnology. He left in 2000 to join Genus Breeding before coming back to APHA in 2003. His work at APHA has involved laboratory management and programme management, as well as evaluating and introducing new laboratory diagnostic technology focusing on PCR; developing both the OIE-approved CSFV PCR and the recently introduced bovine TB PCR assay.

Since January 2022, he has been involved with the Cattle Vaccine Trial, acting as the project manager.

Jason studied biology at the University of Stirling and a PhD in the Department of Genetics at the University of Leicester. Two years at Brewing Research International were followed by three years at the Laboratory of the Government Chemist.

Jason moved to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in 2000. His work at APHA has involved evaluating and introducing new laboratory diagnostic technology, working towards ensuring the APHA is using up-to-date and modern testing methods, including PCR.

More recently, he has been involved with bovine TB vaccine and diagnostic research and is currently the workgroup leader for the Bovine TB research group in the Department of Bacteriology at APHA Weybridge. He is the named expert for the APHA WOAH reference lab for mammalian tuberculosis.

Jason lectures in veterinary diagnostic methods at the Royal Veterinary College and also carries out assessments of diagnostic test validation data as part of the test validation team at APHA which grants approval to tests prior to adoption as official UK veterinary laboratory tests.

As Laboratory Surveillance Operations Manager (LSOM) – TB Lead, Simon is responsible for delivery of TB diagnostics in APHA, with oversight of Gamma Interferon, TB Culture, PCR and Serology. The LSOM is also responsible for the Science teams and activities in the APHA labs/PM sites at Carmarthen, Starcross, Bury St Edmunds and Shrewsbury.

Simon has been with the Animal and Plant Health Agency for 24 years and managed labs as part of the APHA network undertaking various diagnostic testing including bacteriology, serology and parasitology.

He has also been involved in the different aspects TB diagnostic testing throughout his career at APHA, including the launch of Gamma Interferon as a diagnostic test in 2006 and the current rollout of TB PCR across the regional laboratories.

Sue qualified as a veterinary surgeon in 1996 from the RVC, where she also spent her first year working in the Large Animal Practice. She then moved to a busy farm and equine practice in Cornwall.

Sue started working as a Government vet in 1999 in what was then MAFF, mainly carrying out TB testing duties ‘’between jobs’; she intended to move into exclusively equine practice. However, she was soon tempted to apply for a more permanent position as a Government vet, attracted by the job security, flexibility, variety and particularly the camaraderie – she enjoyed being part of a very friendly, supportive team.

Sue has had many roles – field vet, investigatory role in a regional laboratory, Veterinary Advisor (VA) for TB, VA for Contract Management, Head of Careers and Education and now Veterinary Head of OV Regulatory Affairs. APHA also supported an extended career break, allowing her to come back to pursue her career whilst still maintaining the flexibility to support her family.

Sue’s current role was introduced to APHA in 2021 and it recognises the importance of the OVs that work with APHA. She wants to ensure that OVs can carry out their roles with confidence and that APHA can provide assurances, including to international trading partners, that our OVs are working to the highest standards. Sue is proud of the OV community upon whom APHA depends to deliver a wide range of work.

A Bristol graduate, Andrew 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. Andrew is 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.

Carlos qualified from Zaragoza (Spain) in 1992 and came to the UK in 1995 at the height of the BSE crisis. For over three years he worked on meat plants in the West Country as an OV, mainly running BSE-related schemes like the Over Thirty Month (OTM) and the Calf Processing Aid Scheme (CPAS).

After a move to Essex in 1999, Carlos started working for the City of London Corporation as an OV at the Border Control Posts (BCPs) of Tilbury and Thamesport, and at London’s Smithfield Meat Market.

In 2004, he went to Poland to help one of their new BCPs to get ready for the accession day, and to supervise its functioning on the first weeks of Poland becoming a new EU member state.

Since 2006, Carlos has been the Senior OV with the City of London Corporation, where he manages a team of (currently) ten OVs. During this time he has gotten involved in the development and construction of London Gateway Port and its BCP, which is now the second largest container terminal in the UK. He has also been involved in the preparations for Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) checks on EU cargo and – more recently – in the new SPS checks regime for EU and the Rest of the World.

Scott Reaney is the head of a veterinary and technical policy team responsible for the development and implementation of trade policy in the Defra. The team deals with imports for SPS animal and animal products into GB from both EU and non-EU trading partners and exports of these products from GB to the EU. This is a complex and diverse role covering all aspects of trade including impact of notifiable disease, risk mitigation, trade related official controls, issue resolution and trade negotiations. A significant part of the role over recent years has been to design and develop the future border regime. This has been a unique opportunity to challenge the previous EU approach to border controls and to redesign a risk based, proportionate, modern regime that meet the needs of GB.

After graduating with a Master’s Degree in Public Health and Animal Welfare from the University of Bucharest in 2013, Ioana started her career in veterinary medicine. Dedicated to animal welfare, she worked as a veterinary surgeon in a poultry farm in Romania before moving to the Sultanate of Oman and taking a voluntary position at a veterinary practice with an animal rescue charity.

Looking for a change in career, she then made the decision to come to the UK and work in public health. After successfully completing the Official Veterinarian course in Glasgow, Ioana began her career as an OV. Working in abattoirs in the north of England, Ioana demonstrated excellent skills and strong ambition which did not go unrecognised by her peers. Eager to develop her existing skills and industry knowledge, Ioana joined the team of export certification vets, focusing on exports to China and the USA.

Dedicated to bettering her skills, Ioana was promoted first to the role of Area Resource Manager (ARM), then to the role of Area Veterinary Manager (AVM) and later to Business Development Manager. The implementation of Brexit found Ioana stepping into the position of Acting Head of Exports. For the first two years post-Brexit she was responsible for the successful development of new processes, implementation of EU SPS requirements and delivery of certification across England, Scotland and Wales.

Ioana thoroughly enjoys playing such a key role in veterinary public health, safeguarding the welfare of millions of animals, ensuring food is safe to eat and enabling international trade to continue unfettered.

Neil graduated from the RVC in 1989. He spent 30 years as a Regular Army Officer, including being the Ministry of Defence’s Chief Veterinary and Remount Officer. He has also held the appointment of the Queen’s Honorary Veterinary Surgeon.

He has recently left the Home Office after four years.

His career has been eclectic, including an MSc in Food Science, OV at a very low through put abattoir, in the frontline during the 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak, and a number of human healthcare delivery roles. This included the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone in 2015.

He was RCVS President 2013–14 and spent a total of 16 years as an elected member of its Council.

Jan sits on the British Horse Council (BHC) and is employed by The Horse Trust, where she looks after the areas of research and policy. Jan, on behalf of BHC, works closely with equine sector bodies and government to inform policy change. This is carried out by ensuring that the outcomes of research that the equine sector has funded – as well as active stakeholder engagement in policy development – bring together a robust evidence base to underpin policy proposals.

Gideon qualified at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, in 1988. He moved to the UK in 1991 and has worked primarily in small animal practice. As an OV based in Portsmouth, Hampshire, a city with a busy ferry port, he serves an above average number of clients wishing to take their pets abroad.

Hanne graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2002 and started work as a small animal vet. She worked in first opinion practice until June 2021 when she started her role as OV Training Coordinator at Improve Veterinary Education. As part of her role, she answers questions from OVs about their OV training, as well as more technical export questions.

Mary-Anne qualified in 2004 at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She began her veterinary career in mixed practice, transitioning to small animal practice in London from 2010. She has a Certificate in Small Animal Medicine and a Masters degree in One Health.

Frustrated by how much time issuing Animal Health Certificates (AHCs) was taking, she created a website that helps vets by streamlining and automating the process, dramatically reducing the time and effort required. OVForm’s rapid growth is a testament to its ability to alleviate stress and enhance efficiency in AHC and, more recently, Export Health Certificate (EHC) procedures.

With a passion for simplifying and enhancing veterinary processes and helping her fellow vets, Mary-Anne is actively exploring novel ways to assist OVs who wish to provide services directly to the public or to practices lacking their own OV support.