Dr Alex Hawkins
BSc, BVSc, MVetMed, PGCertVetEd, FHEA, DipECVS, MRCVS
Lecturer in Equine Surgery
Department: Clinical Science and Services
Campus: Hawkshead
Research Groups: Musculoskeletal Biology
Clinical Groups: Equine Surgery
Alex is a Lecturer in Equine Surgery as well as an Equine Surgeon in the RVC Equine Referral Hospital. He is an ECVS Diplomate in Equine Surgery and holds the Masters in Veterinary Medicine (MVetMed). He is an RCVS and EBVS® European Specialist in Equine Surgery. Alex holds additional teaching qualifications, including Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and a Postgraduate Certificate in Veterinary Education (PGCertVetEd).
Alex graduated from the University of Bristol in 2015 with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSc), having also intercalated and graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science (BSc, First Class Honours) in Pathology and Microbiology. He initially worked for six months with the PDSA (People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals) charity before relocating to Florida, United States, where he completed an 18-month rotating internship at the Equine Medical Center of Ocala, a busy private equine hospital in the “horse capital of the world,” Ocala.
Upon returning to the UK, Alex spent two years in an ambulatory role at a first-opinion equine practice in Surrey, after which he undertook a three-year Senior Clinical Training Scholarship (residency) in Equine Surgery at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) while simultaneously completing a Master’s in Veterinary Medicine (MVetMed), which he finished in June 2022. He subsequently spent six months at a private equine hospital in Leicestershire before returning to the RVC as a Staff Clinician in Equine Surgery in January 2023. In February 2024, he was appointed Lecturer in Equine Surgery following successful completion of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons (ECVS) specialist board examinations, becoming an RCVS and EBVS® European Specialist in Equine Surgery. Alex holds additional teaching qualifications, including Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and a Postgraduate Certificate in Veterinary Education (PGCertVetEd).
Alex is interested in all aspects of Equine Surgery - particularly minimally invasive surgical techniques as well as lameness and poor performance investigations. His specific clinical and research interests include cervical conditions in the horse, particularly cervical radiculopathy, and disorders of the digital flexor tendon sheath. He is also actively involved in research focused on the development of novel devices to seal intrathecal tendon tears.
Alex’s current research focuses on the development of innovative devices for sealing intrathecal tendon defects, supported by an AOVET/ARI Collaborative Grant. In parallel, he is engaged in a collaborative project investigating the equine cervical intervertebral foramen, with particular relevance to uniportal endoscopic foraminotomy.
Hawkins, A. & Smith, R. 2025. Carpal sheath hernia in a cob: Unusual case, unorthodox fix. Equine Veterinary Education.
Spiesshofer, P., Hawkins, A., Berner, D., Previdelli, RL., Fiske-Jackson, AR. 2024. Surgical treatment of headshaking by removal of a paracondylar process fragment via modified hyovertebrotomy approach: A detailed anatomical and surgical description in an adult horse. Veterinary Surgery.
Perez, B., Hawkins, A., Fiske-Jackson, A., Jiminez, C., 2023. Opioid-free anaesthesia protocol for standing spinal surgery in a horse. Veterinary Record Case Reports.
Looijen, M., Hawkins, A., Berner, D., Irving, J., Williams, J., Farr, R., Smith, RK., Fiske-Jackson, A, 2022. Successful treatment of an aneurysmal bone cyst in the third metacarpal bone of a foal. Equine Veterinary Education.
Hawkins, A., Chapman, L., Meter, M., Smith, RK, 2021. Ultrasound-guided tenoscopic decompression of digital sheath synoviocoeles in 10 horses. Veterinary Surgery.
Hawkins, A., O’Leary, L., Bolt, D., Fiske-Jackson, A., Berner, D. and Smith, R., 2021. Retrospective analysis of oblique and straight distal sesamoidean ligament desmitis in 52 horses. Equine Veterinary Journal.
Ho, N., Morgan, R., Bolt, D., Hawkins, A., Veres-Nyéki, K., 2020. Caudal inferior alveolar nerve block in a Bennett’s wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus). Veterinary Record Case Reports.
In his 70% clinical role at the Equine Referral Hospital, Alex is extensively involved in rotational teaching, guiding final-year veterinary students during their Equine Surgery placements. He also plays an active role in the education of postgraduate trainees, including interns and residents, and delivers lectures on the locomotor and skin strands within the BVetMed programme. Alex holds additional teaching qualifications, including Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and a Postgraduate Certificate in Veterinary Education (PGCertVetEd).
Alex is one of the Equine Surgeons at the Equine Referral Hospital, with expertise spanning all aspects of equine soft tissue and orthopaedic surgery. He has a particular focus on minimally invasive techniques and recently led the introduction of uniportal endoscopic foraminotomy for the treatment of cervical spinal nerve compression - an initiative made possible through a grant obtained from the RVC Animal Care Trust (ACT), the Betty Phillips Charitable Trust, and the Follett Trust. His professional interests also include the management of injuries to the digital flexor tendon sheath, as well as advanced lameness diagnostics and poor performance investigations.