MAJOR APPOINTMENT AS LINNAEUS GROUP CREATES TOP ROLE
6 years ago 
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The Linnaeus Group has appointed a leading Professor of Feline Medicine as its Chief Medical Officer.
Professor Séverine Tasker BSc BVSc PhD DSAM DipECVIM-CA FHEA MRCVS has been appointed to the newly-created role, which will oversee the development and execution of the Linnaeus Group’s clinical aims for the provision of quality medicine in all of its practices and hospitals across the UK.
An RCVS Recognised Specialist in Internal Medicine and Feline Medicine, Prof Tasker is also a European Veterinary Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine. She has been on the academic staff of the University of Bristol since 2002.
In her role as Chief Medical Officer for Linnaeus, Prof Tasker will also have responsibility for the group’s medical education strategy and programmes such as Linnaeus’ Graduate Academy and its growing number of residency programmes and internships.
Linnaeus Chief Executive Lynne Hill said: “I’m delighted to welcome Séverine to the Linnaeus Group. She brings a wealth of clinical and academic knowledge to Linnaeus and in her role she will provide leadership and representation of the organisation’s clinicians at Senior Leadership Team level.
“In her work with our medical education strategy, Séverine will help our associates to grow and be supported in lifelong learning, from new graduates through to specialists and all positions in between.”
Professor Tasker said: “It’s a great privilege to be joining Linnaeus in this new and exciting role. I would like to use my experience in academia to help clinicians throughout the Linnaeus Group to develop their full potential in a supportive environment.
“I am particularly motivated by the company’s forward-thinking values in leadership, innovation and clinical care and I am looking forward to working with staff in a mutual commitment to excellence. It is a very exciting time for Linnaeus and I’m delighted to be playing a part in the further development of the group.”
Prof Tasker graduated as a vet from the University of Bristol in 1994 and worked for the PDSA before moving to the University of Edinburgh to complete an iCatCare-funded Residency in Feline Medicine in 1999.
She then moved back to the University of Bristol, where she completed a PhD investigating feline haemoplasma infections in 2002.
In 2008, Prof Tasker was awarded the BSAVA Woodrow Award for outstanding contributions in the field of small animal veterinary medicine, while in 2013 she was presented with the PetPlan
Charitable Trust Research Award for outstanding contributions in the field of veterinary research.
Prof Tasker will take up her position with Linnaeus, which has recently been taken over by Mars Petcare’s Veterinary Health Group, in October.
For more information about the Linnaeus Group, visit www.linnaeusgroup.co.uk.
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