25th Anniversary For Feline Fellowship

Pictured left to right: Julian Kupfer, National Veterinary Manager at Zoetis, Philippa Welsh and Victoria Crossley, past and current Feline Fellows, Professor Tim Gruffydd-Jones, Professor of Feline Medicine, University of Bristol and Dr Jane Murray of the Bristol Feline Unit Alumni of the Bristol Feline Fellowship and Prof. Tim Gruffydd-Jones, Professor of Feline Medicine, University of Bristol attended a Zoetis hosted lunch last month to celebrate the silver anniversary of the Feline Fellowship. A collaboration created 25 years ago between the Feline Centre at the University of Bristol School of Veterinary Sciences and Solvay-Duphar (one of the companies to precede Pfizer Animal Health and now Zoetis), the Feline Fellowship is still going strong. An important partnership, it offers veterinary surgeons the opportunity to develop their interest in feline medicine at the start of their career and become involved in a feline project, gaining an insight into the field of research. The very first collaborative study in 1987 looked at Chlamydophila felis because a vaccine was available but very little was known of the importance of this organism as a cause of disease in cats in the UK. Solvay-Duphar funded the investigation undertaken by Jo Wills as her PhD study to develop diagnostic tests to screen for infection to determine its importance as a cause of disease and reassess the efficacy of the vaccine in providing protection. From the success of this first study, the Feline Fellowship was born. In addition to the Fellowship, the collaboration produces Feline Update, a newsletter which provides practical information on topical, controversial and key issues in feline medicine relevant to the general practitioner. For the past 25 years, this publication has been posted to veterinary practices across the UK but demonstrating the collaboration’s aim to stay relevant and to meet demand, the newsletter is now available online at www.felineupdate.co.uk. Prof. Tim Gruffydd-Jones commented at the silver anniversary lunch; “When John Hanley, Vice President and General Manager for Zoetis, and I first created the Fellowship in the 1980s, he as Marketing Manager for Solvay-Duphar and myself, a lecturer at the Vet School, I’m sure neither of us thought we would one day be celebrating a silver anniversary. Through the years we have been fortunate to have had an outstanding group of Feline Fellows, most of who have continued their interest in feline medicine and made major contributions to the subject. I strongly believe the Fellowship has delivered a great service to feline medicine and we hope to one day reach the golden anniversary.” Fellow instigator of the partnership, John Hanley from Zoetis, hosted the lunch and was equally delighted to be celebrating the twenty five year success story. He commented; “Zoetis is committed to strategic partnerships which will ultimately benefit all sectors of the veterinary community. The success of the Fellowship proves the importance of these partnerships and I very much hope that we will be celebrating another twenty five years in 2038.” Previous Feline Fellows; 1987 Dr Cherida Hopper Retired Research Fellow in Social Medicine Department at the University of Bristol. 1988 – 90 Dr Andy Sparkes RCVS Specialist in Feline Medicine, Veterinary Director FAB/ISFM. 1991 Hilary O’Dair Feline Dermatology referral service in South West England. 1992 Lorraine Fleming Ophthamologist at Grove Referrals, Norfolk and Director of Eye Know How Ltd. 1993 Dr Kit Sturgess RCVS Specialist in Small Animal Medicine. 1994 Prof. Danielle Gunn-Moore RCVS Specialist in Feline Medicine, Professor of Feline Medicine and Head of Companion Animal Sciences, University of Edinburgh. 1995 Dr Ann Robinson European Director, Companion Animals, Zoetis. 1996 Dr Sarah Caney RCVS Specialist in Feline Medicine, Director of Cat Professional. 1997 - 98 Caroline Blundell Principal of The Oxford Cat Clinic. 1999 Jasine Huebner Diagnostic virologist in Germany. 2000 Wanda Owen Goddard Veterinary Group, London. 2001 Paula Fisher Queen’s West Animal Hospital, Canada. 2002 – 05 Dr Rachel Dean Clinical Associate Professor in Feline Medicine, Director of the Centre for Evidence-based Medicine, University of Nottingham. 2006 – 07 Anita Schwartz Previous Resident in Feline Medicine, University of Edinburgh School of Veterinary Science. 2008 – 09 Gabriele Habacher Raddenstiles Veterinary Surgeons, Devon. 2010 Samantha Taylor RCVS Specialist in Feline Medicine, European Veterinary Specialist in Internal Medicine. 2011 Anna Brunetti Veterinary Surgeon in small animal practice, Manchester. 2012 Philippa Welsh Senior Clinical Training Scholar in Small Animal Internal Medicine (Feline) University of Bristol 2013 Victoria Crossley Current Feline Fellow at University of Bristol Feline Centre.

More from

• IVC Evidensia assembles expert team to run new £10m referral hospital
• Home delivery service can increase pet health plan sign-ups by 25%
• Research reveals vital clues to help fight anthelmintic resistance
• Lifetime Achievement Award recognises Harrogate vet’s dedication to improving the health and welfare of rabbits
• Bake sale at Leicestershire vet practice for good cause