Meet the Team: MSc Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia
Meet the friendly and dedicated team behind our online MSc Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia.
Juliet Duncan
Programme Director
Juliet (or Jules as she is known to most) graduated from Edinburgh in 2000. She spent 3 years in mixed general practice in her native South Wales where she also taught veterinary nurses at a local day release VN training centre.
After returning to the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies (R(D)SVS) to complete a residency in veterinary anaesthesia and Masters by Research, Jules gained her European Diploma in Veterinary Anaesthesia & Analgesia (DipECVAA) in 2008. Since then she has been involved and published in many aspects of veterinary anaesthesia including both clinical and research work.
Jules is an active member of the ECVAA and is involved in residency training and examination. She has an interest in veterinary ethics having participated in an ECVAA working party on ethics; been a member of the RDSVS Human Ethical Review Committee (HERC) and is currently a member of the RCVS Ethical Review Panel (ERP).
Recently she has completed a part-time PhD on veterinary and medical student attitudes towards pain.
In 2020 she took over from Eddie Clutton as Programme Director for the online MSc/PgDip/PgCert in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia (VAA) programme.
Rachael Gregson
Programme Coordinator
Rachael graduated from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and worked in mixed private practice for several years before returning to Edinburgh to complete a Residency in Veterinary Anaesthesia, where she developed a keen interest in production animal anaesthesia.
She has been working as an anaesthetist within the Roslin Institute Large Animal Facility since 2016 and became involved with the VAA MSc in 2020, where her role is to support Juliet, who, despite being amazing, can’t do everything.
Rachael’s research interests include pre-anaesthetic preparation of animals and the subsequent maintenance of homeostasis under anaesthesia.
Eddie Clutton
Course Organiser
Eddie graduated from the University of Liverpool 1981, and then stayed three years in the Department of Anaesthesia during which time he was awarded the Cert VA (RCVS) in 1983 and the DVA in 1988. This was followed by a post in the University of Virginia, Maryland, USA for 5 years as assistant professor in Veterinary Anesthesiology.
He has been a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia in 1996. Eddie was head of clinical veterinary anaesthesia at R(D)SVS (Edinburgh) from 1990 until 2015 and remains the academic torchbearer for the team.
Eddie has been a President of the Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists and was editor-in-chief of "Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia" for 5 years. He received the "Morpheus Award" from the ECVAA in 2018, and became a Fellow of the RCVS in 2019.
A member of the Veterinary History Society and the Animal Welfare Sciences, Ethics and Law Association, Eddie is currently head of the Wellcome Trust Critical Care Laboratory for Large Animals at the Roslin Institute.
Eddie’s research interests are in perioperative welfare of production animal species used in biomedical research, specifically: pain management and depth of anaesthesia monitoring in sheep and pigs.
His other concerns include ethics, specifically: standards of scientific reporting, the ethics of laboratory animal use, and the overtreatment and veterinary abuse of companion animals.
Gudrun Schoeffmann
Course Organiser
Gudrun graduated from the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria in 1998 and stayed at the university as a clinical veterinary anaesthetist. In 2003 Gudrun completed her doctoral thesis (DVM) in Vienna and in 2006 she was awarded the RCVS Certificate in Veterinary Anaesthesia.
In 2007 she started a residency in Veterinary Anaesthesia at Edinburgh and was awarded her Diploma of the European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia in 2011.
Gudrun then returned to Vienna as lecturer in veterinary anaesthesia in 2011. In 2012 Gudrun returned to Edinburgh as lecturer and in 2016 was appointed senior lecturer.
Gudrun’s research interests are pain assessment and pain management in small mammals and sheep as well as acid–base disturbances in horses during anaesthesia.
Miguel Gozalo Marcilla
Course Contributor
Miguel graduated from the University of León (Spain) in 2004. He undertook a 1-year internship in the equine referral Hospital Veterinario Sierra de Madrid in Madrid Spain, where he started to show an interest in equine anaesthesia, joining the staff for one more year.
From 2007 to 2014 Miguel moved to the University of Ghent, Belgium, where he gained his Diploma by the European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia (ECVAA). He also gained his PhD entitled “Dexmedetomidine for balanced anaesthesia in horses,” studying the use of constant rate infusions (CRIs) of alpha-2 agonists in anaesthetized horses.
After that, he went to the São Paulo State University (UNESP) of Botucatu, Brazil, were he continued with this research work in horses with a post-doctoral position from 2015 to 2018. He and this team evaluated the sedative and antinociceptive effects detomidine and methadone, which allowed simulation and development of CRIs for standing sedation in horses.
This work was performed in collaboration with other institutions like The Royal Veterinary College in London (RVC), and the University of Ghent, Belgium. Miguel joined the Department of Anaesthesia of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in September 2018, with special interests with special interests in clinical equine anaesthesia, teaching and research into pain management.
He is currently leading an international group of experts evaluating mortality in horses, donkeys and mules undergoing general anaesthesia and standing sedations, the so-called Confidential Enquiry of Perioperative Equine Fatalities (CEPEF4).
Sabina Diez Bernal
Course Contributor
Sabina graduated from the University of Zaragoza (Spain) in 2011. Following a strong interest in veterinary anaesthesia, she moved to the University Alfonso X El Sabio (Madrid, Spain), where she worked at the Anaesthesia Department from 2012 to 2015.
At this institution she undertook an MSc degree and developed her PhD project. In 2015 Sabina moved to Switzerland where she completed the European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia (ECVAA) residency at the University of Bern.
During her anaesthesia residency, Sabina became a Doctor in Veterinary Science after defending her PhD in 2017. In January 2020, Sabina joined the Department of Anaesthesia of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies.
Hannah Leigh
Course Contributor
Hannah graduated from the University of Glasgow in 2010; after a few years in general practice, an anaesthesia internship and time spent as a small animal ECC vet came to Edinburgh for a residency in anaesthesia in 2016.
Having completed the residency, she took a position as an anaesthesia lecturer at Edinburgh and is currently preparing to sit the ECVAA diploma exams.
Her specific anaesthesia interests focus on local anaesthetic techniques in all species, and ultrasound guided local anaesthesia - she has ongoing research projects in this field.
Sam Lord
Course Contributor
Sam graduated in 2011; he then spent 3 years in equine and farm animal practice in West Yorkshire developing a strong interest in anaesthesia and equine medicine. He then went on to complete a rotating internship in equine medicine and surgery at the University of Liverpool which further developed his interest in anaesthesia.
Following a further 6 months working as a locum in equine practice he returned to Liverpool as an intern in small animal anaesthesia.
After another short period working as a locum equine vet and a small animal anaesthetist he started residency in anaesthesia and analgesia at the University of Edinburgh which was completed in September 2020. He is now a lecturer in veterinary anaesthesia at the University of Edinburgh.
Stephen Greenhalgh
After qualifying as a veterinary surgeon, Stephen worked with a wide range of species in both private practice and during clinical positions at the University of Cambridge and the Royal Veterinary College, before moving to Edinburgh to undertake a Wellcome Trust-funded PhD on the cellular and molecular methods of liver regeneration.
In 2017, he became a Lecturer in Animal Bioscience at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. Stephen currently divides his time between the Large Animal Research and Imaging Facility and the specialist veterinary hospitals at the R(D)SVS.
As well as helping to design and undertake research studies in pigs, sheep and cattle, he is currently pursuing specialty training towards a European Diploma in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia.
His current research interests include the development of experimental large animal models and analysis of clinical datasets.
When not working, Stephen is learning Italian and wishes there were more hours in the day for sport and music.
Paul Wood
Paul graduated from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) in 2005 and spent 18 months working in mixed practice across Herts, Beds and Bucks. He then moved around doing small animal and exotic animal locum positions before starting a year long MSc in Wild Animal Health with ZSL London.
After completing this degree he returned to the RVC as a Farm animal clinician working in both the ambulatory and referral practices. After three years at the RVC Paul had a brief foray into industry, providing maternity cover as an Area Veterinary Manager for Pfizer Animal Health.
In 2012 he joined the farm department at the University of Cambridge where he developed the ambulatory, referral and consultancy services that were offered. During this time he completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Veterinary Education.
Since October 2016 Paul has taken up a role as Principal Clinician and Senior Lecturer in Farm Animal Practice at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh. Paul’s interests lay in Obstetrics and fertility, Surgery and Veterinary Education and Student Support.
Louise Clark
Louise is a European and RCVS recognised Specialist in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia and a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (FRCVS). She was awarded her Diploma in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia in 2003 following time in practice and then a residency at the University of Edinburgh R(D)SVS.
She was then part of a large Anaesthesia/ Critical care team at the Animal Health Trust before moving to Davies to Head the Anaesthesia team in 2007.
In 2014, Louise was awarded an MSc (Distinction) in the Clinical Management of Pain from Edinburgh University, one of only four Veterinary Surgeons to graduate that year.
She is currently Immediate Past President of the Pain Council at the Royal Society of Medicine and has been both an invited examiner on the European Diploma examination and a Treasurer of the Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists.
Matt Gurney
Matt graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2003 and spent several years enjoying mixed practice before returning to Liverpool to undertake a residency in anaesthesia & analgesia. From 2009 to 2018 he developed and led the anaesthesia service at Northwest Veterinary Specialists, a multidisciplinary specialist hospital in Cheshire.
Matt is a European Veterinary Specialist and an RCVS Recognised Specialist and is currently President of the European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia & Analgesia.
In October 2018 Matt returned to his roots in the south and joined Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists. His main interests lie in acute and chronic pain management; Matt is co-founder of The Zero Pain Philosophy, an educational resource for veterinary professionals.
Ian Self
Ian Self is Principal Clinical Anaesthetist at The Queen’s Veterinary School Hospital at the University of Cambridge, working with the Hospital team to deliver excellence in clinical care and student teaching. Ian graduated from Liverpool Vet School in 1995.
There followed a period in practice (mixed, small animal and emergency) around the South Manchester and Cheshire areas before Ian developed an interest in anaesthesia and analgesia. This resulted in a return into the university system in order to obtain a Diploma in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia.
Ian has spent the last few years running clinics and leading teams in university hospitals at the RVC and Nottingham.
Clinically, Ian enjoys carrying out high quality anaesthesia especially for critical patients and is also passionate about pain control. Ian will be launching and running pain management clinics in the hospital working closely with physiotherapists and specialists in other disciplines.
Keith Simpson
Keith started Vetronic Services in 1992 while working in Small Animal practice and has developed the company over the last 27 years to what it is today. After qualifying from Bristol University in 1986, Keith worked in mixed and then predominantly small animal work for 15 years.
At the same time Keith undertook further training and gained electronics qualifications and membership of the IET in 1996. In 2001 Keith made the move to develop the company full time and now has a portfolio of over 50 products sold worldwide.
Keith’s main interests are in anaesthesia monitoring and the design of mechanical ventilators with special focus on using emerging technology to develop new ventilation methods.
Tom Dutton
Tom graduated from Edinburgh University in 2011 and then completed a one-year rotating internship working extensively with exotic species (raptors and reptiles in particular), before starting his Residency in Avian Medicine at Great Western Exotics in 2012.
In January 2014 Tom successfully gained his RCVSCertAVP(ZooMed) and completed his Residency in Avian Medicine in 2015. He obtained his European diploma DipECZM(avian) and European specialist status in 2017.
Tom regularly lectures on all aspects of exotic animal medicine and care to both veterinarians and nurses. He also supervises the only UK-based European College of Zoological medicine avian residency programme, helping to train the specialists of the future.
Related Links
MSc Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia
Meet the Team: Clinical Animal Behaviour