Dr Alex Hawkins
BSc, BVSc, MVetMed, 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. 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 graduated from the University of Bristol in 2015 with a Bachelors (BVSc) in Veterinary Science as well as having intercalated and graduated in 2013 with a Bachelors (BSc with First Class Honours) in Pathology & Microbiology. He then worked briefly for 6 months for the PDSA (People's Dispensary for Sick Animals) charity. Following this, he relocated to Florida, United States, to successfully complete an 18 month rotating internship in a busy, private equine hospital (Equine Medical Center of Ocala) in the "horse capital of the world", Ocala. He then returned back to the UK and undertook an ambulatory role in a first opinion equine practice based in Surrey for a further 2 years. After this, he then completed a 3 year specialist Senior Clinical Training Scholarship in Equine Surgery and simultaneously obtained a Masters in Veterinary Medicine (MVetMed) at the Royal Veterinary College finishing in June 2022. He then moved to a private equine hospital for 6 months in Leicestershire before returning back to the Royal Veterinary College as a Staff Clinician in Equine Surgery in January 2023. He then became a Lecturer in Equine Surgery in February 2024 after having successfully passed the European College of Veterinary Surgeons (ECVS) specialist board examinations, thereby becoming an RCVS and EBVS® European Specialist in Equine Surgery. He is interested in all aspects of Equine Surgery (particularly minimally invasive surgery), as well as lameness and poor performance investigations.
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.
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 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.