Residents in clinical pathology

Zoe Miller

Zoe graduated from the University of Warsaw in 2016. She worked in private and charity small animal veterinary practice for 3 years. Zoe is interested in all areas of clinical pathology, especially cytology.  

Charlie Matthias

Charlie graduated from Bristol University in 2017, and worked in small animal charity practice in London for two years. Previous to this, he had gained an intercalated BSc in Cancer Biology and Immunology in 2015, also at the University of Bristol. In 2019, he returned to Bristol to undertake an internship in clinical pathology. Having thoroughly enjoyed this year, he began his specialist training in clinical pathology at the RVC. Charlie is interested in all aspects of clinical pathology; however, he has a particular interest in cytology.

Residents in anatomic pathology

Jordan Mitchell

Jordan graduated with distinction from the University of Edinburgh in 2015 and then spent a year working in small animal first opinion practice. He returned to Edinburgh to complete a PhD in feline tuberculosis diagnostics at the Roslin Institute, for which he was awarded the William Dick Vet Medal for Postgraduate Research, which included studies on the histopathological and immunohistochemical characterisation of feline tuberculous lesions and the use of digital pathology for image analysis. He then worked as a postdoctoral research fellow using chicken enteroid models to assess host-pathogen interactions and immune responses. His interests lie in feline pathology, ocular pathology, digital image analysis, and all aspects of mycobacterial disease.      

Fabian Lean

Fabian graduated from the University of Queensland in 2015, followed by the completion of a PhD in Bluetongue virus pathogenesis at the University of Melbourne and the Australian Animal Health Laboratory CSIRO in 2019. Subsequently, he worked as a veterinary pathologist with the Animal and Plant Health Agency, UK, focusing on diagnostic and experimental epizootic and zoonotic viral diseases across a range of RNA viruses and on various host species, including mosquitoes, avian, and mammalian species. His interests lie in the field of infectious diseases and comparative pathology, particularly in the context of animal modelling for animal and human health.

Dylan Yaffy

Dylan graduated with honours from the Royal Veterinary College in 2020, following completion of a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Science from McGill University in 2016. He elected to immediately pursue an anatomic pathology residency at the RVC, having previously gained field and laboratory experience with a variety of wildlife species in the boreal forests of Northern Canada. Dylan’s particular interest is wildlife disease ecology, and he aims to merge the epidemiology skillset he developed during the Leadership Program for Veterinary Students at Cornell University in 2019, with his ongoing training in comparative pathology.  

Tamara Dolenšek

Tamara graduated at the Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2013 as the best graduate in her year and initially started her career as a small animal practitioner in a first opinion clinic. After a year in practice, she returned to the Veterinary Faculty in Ljubljana after obtaining the position of Assistant in Veterinary Pathology. There she was involved with teaching undergraduate students, research work and diagnostic pathology services for 5 years. During this time she collaborated both with human pathologists at the Faculty of Medicine in Ljubljana as well as veterinary pathologists at the Animal and Plant Health Agency in Weybridge, UK and Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Her main fields of interest are oral pathology and neoplastic diseases in companion animals, especially as possible translational models.  

Our previous residents have used their training in pathology at The Royal Veterinary College to develop their careers in a variety of diagnostic and academic posts:

Gordon Davidson

Gordon graduated from the University of Glasgow in 2014 with a Bachelor’s in veterinary medicine and surgery. He spent  2.5 years in a busy first opinion veterinary hospital followed by 3 years as a trainee pathologist working in toxicological pathology involved in pre-clinical safety studies. Since 2019 he has been involved in a joint RVC/Finn Pathologists anatomic pathology residency. He has an interest in a wide range of subjects in pathology but has a particular interest in exotic (reptile, avian) pathology.

Jen Irving

Jen graduated from The RVC in 2009 and has returned to us after 9 years is small animal practice. In 2006 Jen gained an intercalated honours degree in Biomedical and Environmental Sciences from King’s College London and spent the summer of 2008 participating in The University of Cornell Veterinary Medicine Leadership Program; which is where her interest in pathology and research developed. In 2014 Jen passed the GP certificate in feline practice and her expertise lie heavily in this field, but she is enjoying being exposed to all species again whilst training to become a specialist in anatomic pathology. 

Alexandros Chardas

Alexandros graduated in 2011 Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Greece, from the School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM). He worked for 3 years in small animal referral hospitals and as a state veterinarian. He enrolled in the Greek army (compulsory conscription) as an army vet performing routine food hygiene and sanitary controls and clinical work with army dogs. He completed a 3-month externship in veterinary pathology, in Australia, at the Charles Sturt University. In 2016, he joined the research team of Prof. Poutahidis in the Laboratory of Pathology, SVM, AUTH, on projects in collaboration with the DCM of MIT. He is interested in the comparative pathology of inflammation and neoplasia and the use of animal models.

Kevin O’Brien

Kevin graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in 2019, following completion of a BA in Biology and Chemistry from NYU in 2013 and a biology fellowship in the United Arab Emirates from 2013-2015. After graduation, he transitioned straight into the RVC residency where his particular pathology interests are comparative pathology through the use of animal models viewed through a One Health lens.  

Christine Dubeau

Christine graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2015 and spent 2 years in small animal practice. This was followed by an internship in clinical pathology in Bristol, which she completed in 2018, before beginning her training at RVC to become a specialist in clinical pathology. Christine is enjoys all aspects of clinical pathology, with particular interest in cytology and endocrinology.

Suzanne Bussey

Suzanne graduated from The University of Liverpool in 2011. After spending time volunteering at the PDSA and working in private small animal practice for two years, she is training to be a specialist in clinical pathology. Suzanne is interested in all aspects of clinical pathology, particularly haematology and cytology.

Alex Penrose

Alex graduated with distinction from The University of Bristol in 2015 and spent 2 years working in private small animal practice before coming to the RVC to commence her specialist training in clinical pathology. In 2012 she undertook an intercalated master’s degree in Equine Science at the University of the West of England, during which she worked in the laboratories at Hartpury College as a Graduate Assistant. Alex enjoys all aspects of clinical pathology, with a particular interest in cytology.

Camille Longué

Camille graduated from the University of Edinburgh veterinary school in 2014, following completion of a BSc in Physiology from McGill University in 2010. After graduation, she spent time working in private small animal practice. Her particular pathology interests are emerging infectious diseases and wildlife pathology.

Alwyn Jones

Alwyn graduated from the University of Glasgow veterinary school in 2007 and spent the following five years working as a veterinary practitioner in mixed practices in Yorkshire, New Zealand and North Wales. Alwyn spent the following four years as a veterinary investigation officer at the SAC in St Boswells in the Scottish borders where he developed a keen interest in farm animal surveillance pathology. Alwyn is interested in all aspects of pathology but has a particular interest in neuropathology.

Simon Spiro

Simon graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2010 with an MA in Pathology and a VetMB. He received a Wellcome Trust scholarship to do a DPhil in Infection, Immunology and Translational Medicine at the University of Oxford, where his thesis centred on the use of antiviral drugs in the treatment of HIV and Ebola. His post-doc was with Prof Venu Nair at the Pirbright Institute and focussed on developing novel vaccines for Marek’s Disease in poultry. He is joint funded by the British Egg Marketing Board Trust and the Animal and Plant Health Agency, where he spends 25% of his time. His particular interests are infectious diseases and avian pathology.

Alejandro Suarez-Bonnet

Alejandro graduated from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in 2005 and after a short period in small and large animal practice he enrolled in a PhD programme investigating the pathogenesis of canine mammary tumours. On completion of the PhD he gained a post-doctoral scholarship to continue his research on cell cycle regulators and comparative oncology. Since 2009 he participated in the Anatomic Pathology Diagnostic Service with Professors A. Espinosa and P. Herraez in the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Alejandro joins the Anatomic Pathology Residency Programme at the RVC with a 4-year Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) Clinical Scholarship and will perform a research project investigating infectious upper airway disease in Thoroughbred horses. His particular interests are equine pathology and comparative oncology.

Hannah Wong

Hannah graduated as a vet from Cambridge in 2008 with a BA in Biological Anthropology. After a stint in Morocco working with equids for SPANA, she settled into first opinion small animal practice for 3 years. Hannah was awarded a 6-year Wellcome Trust Veterinary Integrated Training Fellowship in 2011, funding a PhD at Cambridge University followed by an anatomic pathology residency at the RVC. In November 2015, Hannah successfully defended her thesis ‘Activation of Toll-like receptors by human and horse strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae’. Hannah has a particular interest in the pathophysiology of infectious diseases, specifically the interaction between the host and pathogen and the use of molecular signalling in the control of the innate immune response.  

Charalampos Attipa

Charalampos graduated with first class honours from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, in 2011. During his undergraduate studies he completed a short research internship at Cambridge University on canine genetics. After graduation, he moved to Cyprus and worked for 3 years in a small animal referral hospital followed by an internship in clinical pathology in Bristol. During that time he developed an interest in all aspects of clinical pathology and especially molecular diagnostics of tick-born and zoonotic disease. Having completed his training  to become a specialist in veterinary clinical pathology, Charalampos has now commenced a PhD studentship.

Rachel Pittaway qualified from The University of Bristol in 2013, having previously completed an intercalated degree in veterinary pathology at the RVC in 2011. After graduation she completed a small animal junior clinical training scholarship (internship) at the RVC followed by some time working in small animal veterinary practice. She returned to the RVC in July 2015 as a Senior Clinical Training Scholar in Anatomic Pathology. Rachel enjoyed all aspects of pathology but her particular interest was in comparative pathology and tumour diagnosis and classification.

Becca Terry BSc BVSc MVetMed PhD DipACVP MRCVS qualified as a vet from the University of Bristol in 2007 with an intercalated BSc in Anatomy. She spent a year as a Thouron Scholar (intern) in Equine Medicine and Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania followed by a year in equine practice in Buckinghamshire. She was awarded a 6 year Wellcome Trust Veterinary Integrated Training Fellowship in 2009, funding a PhD and residency at the RVC. Her PhD entitled, “Modification of skeletal muscle phenotype to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy” was awarded in 2013 and she then completed her residency. Becca was recently successful in achieving DipACVP in anatomic pathology and has taken up the post of Veterinary Pathologist at Beaufort Laboratories in Newmarket, Suffolk.

Dr Melanie Dobromylskyj BSc Vet Path (Hons)  BVSc PhD FRCPath MRCVS qualified from Bristol University in 2004, having also intercalated a BSc in Veterinary Pathology at the RVC in 2002. Following a small animal internship at the Animal Health Trust, she completed her PhD in bovine molecular immunology at the Institute for Animal Health, Compton, and the University of Cambridge in 2009, studying the receptors expressed on natural killer cells. She then spent a year as an anatomic pathology resident at Glasgow University before joining Finn Pathologists, Norfolk in 2012, where she continued her training as an anatomic pathologist in conjunction with a part-time residency at the RVC. She passed the Fellowship examinations of the Royal College of Pathologists in 2014, and is now a full-time diagnostic histopathologist at Finn Pathologists. She has recently been given the role of developing further her particular interest in feline pathology, something she is especially excited about. 

Stephen Cahalan MVB DipACVP FRCPath MRCVS: "I was a senior clinical training fellow in anatomic pathology at the RVC from 2012 to 2014. My supervisors were inspiring teachers and great communicators and I couldn't recommend the residency program more highly. The program is actively focused on passing board examinations from day one, although at the same time, research and personal development are actively encouraged.  The necropsy and biopsy caseload at the RVC is really varied and I gained experience in animal welfare, greyhound racing, laboratory animal, farm animal and companion animal pathology. I became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists in September 2014 and I passed the Royal College Fellowship examinations in veterinary pathology in November 2014. I'm currently working as a locum veterinary pathologist and I aspire to starting a PhD program in the near future. If I had a chance to repeat my residency at the RVC, I would do so without hesitation!"

Dr Kerstin Erles Dr med vet MVetMed FRCPath DipACVP MRCVS joined the pathology residency program in 2011 having previously spent many years at the RVC as a research fellow and later as a lecturer in veterinary virology. Kerstin undertook a 4-year residency in veterinary anatomic pathology funded by the HBLB. She became a fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists in 2013 and a Diplomate of the ACVP in 2014. She has now joined a diagnostic pathology laboratory in Bristol. 

Libby Browne BVSc (Hons) MVetMed MANZCVS (Path) Dip ACVP: "I was fortunate to begin my career in pathology at the RVC, first as a Veterinary Investigation Officer in collaboration with DEFRA, and then as a resident in anatomic pathology.  For personal reasons I finished my residency at Charles Sturt University in Australia, but the experience I gained, and the support from colleagues at the RVC, were crucial to my future successes in this field.  After becoming a diplomate of the ACVP, I secured a position in a private pathology laboratory in Melbourne where I currently enjoy an integrated approach to diagnostic pathology and the daily challenges this specialty presents." 

The College offers an Intercalated BSc in Comparative Pathology that is designed for undergraduate veterinary students interested in pathology as a career. Further details on the course are available from Lisa Harber, Course Administrator (lharber@rvc.ac.uk) or Dr Simon Priestnall, Course Director (spriestnall@rvc.ac.uk)