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Prof Mandy Peffers BSc MPhil PhD BVetMed FRCVS
Following a degree in Animal Science at the University of Leeds, Mandy completed her veterinary degree at the RVC qualifying in 1995. She spent 11 years in industry and private practice before returning to do a PhD supported by the Wellcome Trust. Mandy is currently a Wellcome Trust Clinical Intermediate Fellow studying ‘The role of small nucleolar RNAs in cartilage ageing and disease’. Her research group studies the role of small non-coding RNAs in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis and the potential to use extracellular vesicles to treat osteoarthritis.

Dr Helen Warren
Helen achieved her primary degree in Animal Science from Aberystwyth University, Wales in 1999, followed by her PhD in fatty acids in beef from the Faculty of Medical and Veterinary Sciences at Bristol University. She spent five years lecturing degree students in animal and equine science before moving to industry. She is a trustee of the British Society of Animal Science, a qualified lecturer and a registered Animal Scientist. She currently works as a European Technical Manager for Ruminants and Horses for Alltech, initiating European research projects as well as delivering nutritional education and technical sales support.

Andrew Casserly FWCF
East Sussex based Andrew trained with Michael Cerullo RSS and passed his RSS in 1978. He achieved the AWCF in 1984. He has trained 15 apprentices including his two sons, Jack and Ben, who now run the family business and work closely with local equine vets in remedial cases. Andrew is a well known and successful competitor in shoeing competitions nationally and internationally. He is a Worshipful Company of Farriers examiner and judge and, gained his Fellowship of the Worshipful Company of Farriers in 2018. His dissection presentation will provide an opportunity to see the anatomy of the distal forelimb and, tendon origin, route and insertion will be discussed. External reference points will be identified for a more accurate shoe placement.

Dr Jane Nixon MA,Vet MB, BSc, MRCVS
Jane a consultant equine veterinary surgeon based in Maids Moreton, Buckingham. Since graduating from the University of Cambridge in 1978, Jane has worked in private equine practice with the well-known equine veterinarian and first Hon Vet to the RDA her late husband Stewart Hastie, and is now a freelance consultant to the re branded Buckingham Equine Vets, a variety of elite studs and world class training establishments and, other private clients.

Jane has always been passionately interested in the best management of the young developing horse through to adulthood and beyond to ensure fitness for purpose. Having produced/ridden all her life, from achieving the Pony Club A test to winning Working Hunter at HOYS, Master and Field Master of the Grafton Hunt for 10 years and now in her second term as British Equestrian Federation Director of Equine Development, including head vet to the Futurity & Bridge Schemes having examined on average 500 foals to 5 year olds annually, for over 10 years. Additionally Jane was Veterinary Surgeon to Towcester Racecourse since 1978, Senior Veterinary Surgeon since 2000 and Consultant Veterinary Surgeon to the Society of Master Saddlers. A Member of the Saddlers Company Steering Group & of AHT Industry Committee representing the BEF & SHBGB Chair BEF Horse Health Steering Group encompassing all equine stakeholders in the UK, promoting equine biosecurity.

Dr Debbie Guest BSc (Hons) PhD
Debbie completed a BSc in Genetics at the University of Leeds in 2002, followed by a PhD on the transcriptional control of neuronal differentiation in stem cells, which she completed in 2005. She then joined the Equine Fertility Unit in Newmarket as a post-doctoral scientist to derive and characterise equine embryonic stem cells. This work continued when Debbie moved to the Animal Health Trust in 2007, where she began to investigate the therapeutic potential of embryonic stem cells for treating horse tendon injuries.Her research group is now also conducting research to derive stem cells from horses and dogs with inherited diseases. These stem cells are being used to provide in vitro models to study the diseases and aid the future development of new drugs for their treatment.

Fiona Bloom MSc BSc (Hons) MCSP MHCPC ACPAT Cat A
Fiona qualified as a chartered human physiotherapist in 2007 and spent 2 years working in acute care in the NHS before completing her MSc in Veterinary Physiotherapy at the Royal Veterinary College, University of London in 2011. 

She continued to work in both human and veterinary physiotherapy, running her own physiotherapy business based in West Sussex and, travelling internationally for competition horses.

Fiona is currently studying her PhD in Lameness in Endurance Horses at Hartpury University, hoping to demonstrate that improving welfare ultimately optimises performance.

Dr.-Ing. Thilo Pfau Senior Lecturer in Bio-Engineering Royal Veterinary College
Thilo graduated in Information Technology from the Technical University of Munich. He undertook a PhD in the field of pattern recognition at the Institute of Human-Machine Communication at Munich, followed by a two year postdoc at the International Institute of Computer Science, Berkeley, California. He then joined the Structure and Motion Lab at the RVC as a postdoctoral fellow and worked on BBSRC, HBLB and  DEFRA funded projects investigating locomotion on compliant limbs, horse-surface interaction and automated lameness detection in dairy cattle.

In 2008 he became a Lecturer in Bio-Engineering in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences and was recently promoted to Senior Lecturer. He is now focusing on applied locomotor biomechanics with an emphasis on objective quantification of movement anomalies. Since being appointed Lecturer he has concentrated on pioneering a multi-sensor GPS-enhanced gait analysis system for field and clinical use.

Andrew Crawford Cert ES (Orth), Dip ECVS, MRCVS Director Sussex Equine Hospital
Andrew is a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons and an RCVS Registered Specialist in Equine Surgery, working predominantly in orthopaedics as an equine surgeon in West Sussex. Andrew graduated from the RVC in 2002 and, after completing an equine internship and working in racing in South Africa, he spent five years as an ambulatory vet in Sussex. Andrew returned to the RVC in 2008 to complete a three-year surgical residency and gained the RCVS Certificate in Equine Orthopaedic Surgery.

Andrew returned to Sussex in 2011 and became a director of the Sussex Equine Hospital in 2015. He has published in peer-reviewed journals on topics including orthopaedic surgery and regenerative therapy for musculoskeletal injuries, has co-authored a chapter on equine orthopaedics, and has presented at conferences both internationally and within the UK. 

Dr Dagmar Berner DrMedVet, Dipl. ECVDI, MRCVS Lecturer Equine Diagnostic Imaging RVC
After graduating from the University of Leipzig Dagmar finished her residency in diagnostic imaging in 2015. She worked at the University in Vienna before joining the Equine Referral Hospital of the RVC in 2017, where she works as a lecturer in large animal diagnostic imaging. Dagmar holds the Diplomate of the ECVDI and a DrMedVet. Her research interests are diagnostic imaging of orthopaedic diseases in the equine distal limb with different modalities.

Gavin Scofield D.O. Equine Osteopath
Gavin is an international equine osteopathic pioneer who has been working with performance horses throughout the world for the last 28 years, including over ten years with one of the British Equestrian teams. He has lectured extensively including 18 years for the European School Of Osteopathy (ESO), where he became a senior lecturer and examiner, including as an examiner for the final year students practical vivas. This work for the ESO took him throughout Europe and Russia, as well as teaching and developing students in the UK, he assisted in the establishment of new osteopathic courses and schools and, is a pioneer spreading osteopathy throughout the world.

Gavin has also lectured on Equine Science and Animal Science degrees for Imperial College and the University of London on functional anatomy; as well as numerous courses and lectures given to all aspects of the industry including vet schools, trainers' conferences and other therapists. He has run many courses throughout the world on his work, unique technique and the most modern understanding and research on biomechanics, a field in which he has been at the forefront.

Dr Jay Dudhia BSc (Hons) PgCert(VetEd) PhD FHEA
Jay graduated from Queen Elizabeth College University of London with a BSc Joint Honours degree in Biochemistry and Physiology and then gained a PhD in Molecular Biology at Queen Elizabeth College (Kings College London). He took up a postdoctoral position with Professor Tim Hardingham in the Department of Biochemistry at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology (London) to pursue interests in the molecular changes in articular cartilage with ageing and in osteoarthritis, and the cloning and sequencing of a number of extracellular matrix proteins.

In 1997 he joined The Royal Veterinary College as a Senior Research Fellow to continue studies on articular and intervertebral disc cartilages with Professor Mike Bayliss in the Department of Veterinary Basic Sciences. In further collaborative work with Professor Roger Smith in the Department of Clinical Sciences and Services (CSS) he has investigated biomarkers of early tendon disease and in 2003 he moved to CSS to take up the opportunity to work closely with the equine clinic and run the tendon biology research group.

He has established a Veterinary Medicine Directorate approved stem cell laboratory for the expansion and preparation of clinical grade MSCs for the equine and dog clinics to treat tendon and articular joint injuries. Jay acts as an examiner, both internal (University of London) and external for PhD or MSc/MRes oral  exams. He is currently external examiner for the MRes programme at the University of Liverpool.

Dr Jan Spaas PhD DVM Managing Director Global Stem Cell Technology
Jan obtained a PhD scholarship from Flanders Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) then completed his PhD research at the Department of Comparative Physiology and Biometrics in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University. He co-founded Global Stem cell Technology (GST) to develop regenerative therapies for the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases in horses and dogs. He established an Ethics Committee and large experimental animal unit with federal government recognition and GCP/GLP accreditation and created a stem cell production unit that was granted a manufacturing authorisation and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) license. He developed the first veterinary stem cell product that has been recommended for marketing authorisation in Europe. 

Jan Spaas is inventor of 8 patents and key author of more than 25 peer-reviewed scientific publications. He is a member of the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT), European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT) and International Veterinary Regenerative Medicine Society (IVRMS). He was appointed Associate Editor of Frontiers in Veterinary Science for the Veterinary Regenerative Medicine specialty and is a board member of the scientific society for equine health (WVGP) and VIA NOVA equine hospital.

Professor Stephanie Dakin PhD BVetMed MRCVS, University of Oxford
Stephanie graduated as a veterinary surgeon in 2003 from the Royal Veterinary College. After undertaking an internship specialising in equine orthopaedics at the Animal Health Trust (Newmarket), she then spent 5 years in practice as an equine veterinary clinician. In 2008, Stephanie commenced a PhD at the RVC researching the role of inflammation in equine tendinopathy, which was successfully completed in 2012.

To translate her research from horse to human, Stephanie moved to NDORMS, University of Oxford in 2013 and was awarded consecutive Fellowships from Arthritis Research UK and Oxford-UCB. In 2017 she was appointed Associate Professor and is the current Director of the Taught MSc in Musculoskeletal Sciences at the University of Oxford.