BVA Congress 2012 - Professor Brian Perry Receives The Trevor Blackburn Award

Professor Brian Perry working in his study in the Rift Valley Professor Brian Perry was today (Thursday) announced as the winner of the Trevor Blackburn Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to animal health and welfare in Africa, Asia and Latin America, the impact of his work in fostering the integration of veterinary epidemiology with agricultural economics, and his personal commitment to poverty alleviation by tackling diseases of global significance. The announcement came during the Awards Ceremony at the British Veterinary Association’s Annual Congress in Liverpool. Since graduating from the University of Edinburgh Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in 1969, Professor Perry has had a strong interest in, and commitment to, tropical veterinary medicine. His career has spanned a wide range of activities from rinderpest control in Ethiopia to global animal health. Described by a colleague as ‘one of the giants of British overseas veterinary work whose contributions are immense’, Brian Perry’s particular interests lie in the role of livestock in development, and how disease control strategies can be designed to achieve maximum impact in terms of growth, development and poverty reduction. For 20 years he led multi-disciplinary programmes at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi. He is an Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh, a Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford, and an Honorary Professor in the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He also chairs the Scientific Advisory Board of ‘Afrique One’, a Wellcome Trust funded consortium of 11 African universities and research institutes adopting a One Health approach. A prolific author of scientific articles and books, Professor Perry is regularly invited to present his work in forums across the world. In 2002 Brian Perry was appointed OBE for services to veterinary science in developing countries, and in 2004 became the first veterinarian to receive the International Outstanding Scientist Award from the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). On learning that he was to receive the Trevor Blackburn Award, Professor Perry said: ”I am indeed deeply honoured and privileged to be awarded the Trevor Blackburn Award for 2012 by the BVA Overseas Group; I am very proud of my 43 year membership of the BVA, and value highly the leadership role played by the organisation in framing policy and standards in animal health and welfare. Very many thanks indeed for this recognition of British veterinary contributions to sustainable and inclusive economic development in emergent nations of the world.”

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