I am a research veterinary clinician specialising in the health and welfare of dairy cows. I began my career as a farm animal clinician, initially at Bristol Veterinary School and then in commercial private practice, almost immediately specializing in dairy cow health. Following a PhD on bovine mastitis, my first academic appointment was at the University of Bristol. In 2006, I became one of the founding members of academic staff at the University of Nottingham’s new Veterinary School. I made a major contribution to the ground up development of the School’s innovative and highly commended degree programme, both broadly across the curriculum and specifically in farm animal studies, for which I took the leading role. I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and have been an external examiner at the Royal Veterinary College, London and University College Dublin. I currently sit on the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Course Accreditation Visitations Panel. In 2018, I moved to Massey University to become Dean and Head of Tāwharau Ora – School of Veterinary Science.

In my clinical speciality I hold the RCVS Diploma in Cattle Health and Production and the European Diploma in Bovine Health Management and have supervised eleven certificate and diploma post-graduates in my discipline. My research interests are in the key endemic diseases of dairy cows and the impact of production on animal health and welfare. I have been an integral contributor to research and research infrastructure awards totalling to over $15M since 2006. My more recent research activities have focused on lameness in dairy cows, the welfare of cattle and the impact of dairy housing on health and production. Lameness is a significant health, welfare and production issue is developed dairy systems worldwide. My work has focused on furthering understanding of the aetiopathogenesis of claw horn disease and identifying practical treatment and prevention options for use on farm. I pride myself in delivering high impact solutions to the dairy industry and veterinary professions. In 2018, I was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons for meritorious contribution to clinical veterinary practice and in 2022, I was named amongst the top 2% of most highly cited scientists globally (https://elsevier.digitalcommonsdata.com/datasets/btchxktzyw/4).