School of Veterinary

Medicine and Science

Our Veterinary course is top

of the league…..

Veterinary Medicine has topped

The Times and Sunday Times

Good University Guide 2015.

This is the second year in a row

that Veterinary Medicine has

come top of its category.

Veterinary medicine has also

been consistently voted the

number one course in the

National Student Survey and

the Association of Veterinary

Students Survey’s since its first

graduates in 2011.

…and one of only 10

European Veterinary Schools

to gain accreditation

The School has received full

accreditation from the European

Association of Establishments

for Veterinary Education at its

meeting on the 10th December.

The School is now one of only

10 Schools across Europe to

receive accreditation, and only

the second in the UK.

The School was required to

demonstrate how responsibility

for quality is followed up with

actual quality assurance in all

areas of its operations from

undergraduate and

postgraduate admissions,

teaching, learning and

assessment through to clinical

services, continued professional

development and research.

Prof Gary England, Dean of

School said “We are very

pleased to receive accreditation

from EAEVE. This is a testament

to the terrific work conducted

by our staff and students at the

School. The student

experience we provide has now

been validated by both the

Royal College of Veterinary

Surgeons and EAEVE visitations

in 2014, and is recognised by

our students voting us top in

the National Student Survey

and Association of Veterinary

Students Survey. The School

also tops the league tables in

the Sunday Times/Times and

Complete University Guides as

well as the Research

Assessment Exercise 2008. We

are all very proud to be part of

the Nottingham success story”

Applications 2015 entry

This year we have had nearly

1900 applications for our 3

courses. We have now sent out

the majority of interview invites,

with a handful to follow in

January. We will be

interviewing 427 applicants in

January and February 2015.

Dean’s ’German Christmas

Market’ Cocktail Party

The annual Dean’s Cocktail

Party was held on 5th December

with over 250 invited students

attending. This year the theme

was a ‘German Christmas

Market’ with decorations

including a 14 foot Christmas

Tree, and a marquee with

coloured lanterns, pretzels,

candy canes, biscuits and

gingerbread houses! Cocktails

such as Santa-tini, Apple Spice

and Snowball Surprise were

served by staff with students,

all receiving an engraved glass

as a memento of the evening.

Students enjoyed the music

from the four piece band

‘Formosa’ who played a mixture

of old and new songs

throughout the night.

The Dean’s Cocktail Party is

always a night that students

talk about and remember for

years to come, with a final year

student commenting ‘Great

music, delicious cocktails and

the atrium looked amazing. The

ginger bread houses were a nice

touch! I’m just sad this will be

my last one’

Christmas clinic and party

for pets of the homeless

On the 10th December the

student-led ‘Vets in the

Community’ held its annual

Clinic Christmas party for the

homeless and vulnerable and

their pets.

The party was organised by

Year 3 and 4 students including

Grace Slater, Amy Glanvill,

Rosie Howson, Alice Manley,

Fiona Tomczynska and Victoria

Woods.

‘Vets in the Community’ was set

up in 2012 to provide free

veterinary care to pets

belonging to homeless and

vulnerably housed people in the

Nottingham area. The students

run a clinic once a month and

every Christmas they hold a

special party and clinic. Anyone

who uses or works with the

clinic is welcome.

The event was held at Sneinton

Old School Hall. There were hot

drinks and snacks and blankets

and clothing for humans, as well

as pet treats, toys, blankets and

winter coats for our four legged

friends.

‘Vets in the community’ is an

initiative led by students at the

School. Dr Jenny Stavisky, a

lecturer in Shelter Medicine at

the vet school, said: “The

students provide free health

care to pets belonging to people

who might not otherwise have

access to vets. Clients are

primarily homeless or

vulnerably housed, and some

are in recovery from drug and

alcohol abuse. The students also

help to provide healthcare for

pets in foster care, belonging to

people fleeing domestic

violence.”

The students run an open-

access clinic every fortnight in

the Big Issue offices in

Nottingham. Year 4 veterinary

student, Grace Slater said:

“Under the supervision of

qualified vets we mainly see

dogs and cats, although we

have occasionally seen more

exotic animals such as rabbits

and ferrets. We provide health

checks, vaccines, worm and flea

treatment and microchipping, as

well as treatment of minor

ailments.”

Through their partnership with

the Dogs Trust and Cats

Protection, the students can

issue vouchers so their clients

can get their pets neutered at

no cost. They are also able to

signpost other services where

appropriate. Through donations

from the public and from pet

food companies they are often

able to provide free pet food

and treats to their clients.

So far they have treated well

over 300 animals in the local

area. A student committee also

carries out outreach work at

local homelessness

organisations including HoMed,

a local Soup Kitchen which is

also run by students of the

University.

Veterinary Schools Council

launched

The Veterinary Schools Council,

a new body representing the

interests of seven UK schools of

veterinary education was

launched on 5th November.

Through its membership,

comprising the heads of these

veterinary schools, the Council

will be an authoritative voice on

matters relating to veterinary

Vets in the Community students

education, from the selection

and training of those who will be

the future of the veterinary

clinical profession, to the

academic researchers who are

so important to the health of

both the UK’s animal and

human populations.

The launch event at the House

of Lords, kindly sponsored by

Professor the Lord Trees, saw

speakers Professor Sir Peter

Rubin, Chair of the General

Medical Council and

representing the Medical

Schools Council, and John

Williams of the Wellcome Trust,

discuss the importance of

veterinary education to the

health of the nation. Attendance

from key organisations and

institutions across the areas of

veterinary education and

research, as well as regulatory

bodies, animal health charities

and organisations that

represent the veterinary

profession, shows the strong

links that the Veterinary Schools

Council has and will continue to

build on.

The Chair of the Veterinary

Schools Council, Professor Gary

England, says: ‘UK veterinary

schools are among the best in

the world, with so much to give

to wider society. We want to

make people aware of their

culture of excellence and see it

develop further through our

strategic focus of promoting

innovative education and

collaboration, facilitating the

underpinning science and

political engagement, and

monitoring data and best

practice.

‘The work of vets cuts across

many different sectors and the

work of the Veterinary Schools

Council will equally involve

many different areas, from

government to research

institutes. We look forward to

working with colleagues across

these areas and we know that

our values of championing

diversity while maintaining

collaboration and constructive

advocacy will lead to new and

exciting directions for veterinary

education.’

New staff

We have welcomed the

following new staff to the School

in 2014:

Dr Simon Archero Postdoctoral

ResearchAssistant

Dr Nick Bexfield

o Small Animal

Medicine and

Oncology

Rebecca Baucutt

o Postgraduate

Admissions

Administrator

Dr Sarah Blott

o Animal Breeding

and Genetics

Tyler Crofts

o Student

Placements

Manager

Simone De Brot

o Veterinary

Pathology

Dr Hannah Doito Postdoctoral

ResearchAssistant

Victoria Doggett

o Student Welfare

Assistant

Dr Jane Eastwood

o Small Animal

Medicine

Dr Sharon Egano Molecular

Microbiology Dr Katy Evans

o PostdoctoralResearchAssistant

Amelia Garcia Ara

o Veterinary Public

Health

Dr Tim Giles

o PostdoctoralResearchAssistant

Dr Peter Graham

o Clinical Pathology

and

Endocrinology

Dr Llorenc Grau Roma

o Veterinary

Pathology

Dr Naomi Harveyo Postdoctoral

ResearchAssistant

Dr Selene Huntleyo Postdoctoral

ResearchAssistant

Dr Vicky James

o Cancer Biology &

Gene Expression

Dr Heidi Janicke

o Clinical and

Professional Skills

Alan Lasslett

o Histology

technician

Louise Napthine

o Teaching

technician

Dr Richard Payne

o Veterinary

Anatomy

John Remnant

o Farm Animal

Health and

Production

Wayne Sanders

o Biobank

technician

Dr Ian Self

o Anaesthesia and

Analgesia

Dr Jenny Stavisky

o Shelter Medicine

Dr Mike Tildesley

o Infectious Disease

Modelling

Dr Fang Wano Postdoctoral

ResearchAssistant

Marlene Werkmano Postdoctoral

ResearchAssistant

Promotions

Congratulations to the following

staff who have been promoted

this year:

Jane Ackling

Yvonne Allen

Dr James Breen,

Simon Clifford

Dr Hany Elsheikha

Prof Sarah Freeman

Aggie Gasiorowska

Vanessa Gayton-Pollard

Kate Griffiths

Prof Jon Huxley

PhD successes

Congratulations to our new Drs!

Katy Brown

Pengxiang Chang

Donna Fountain

Tim Giles

Chris Hudson

Hiba Ibrahim

Ornampai Japa

Christina Kuhl

Paul Schroeder

Mansi Shah

Frank Wessely

Vet student makes

CBeebies big time

Year 4 student Jess French is

fronting a new wildlife series for

the BBC’s CBeebies channel.

The series ‘Minibeast Adventure

with Jess’ will prove you don’t

have to go all the way to Africa

to have an interesting animal

encounter. Jess explores the

amazing creatures that live

right on our doorstep.

Jess grew up with a passion for

the natural world, as her father

bred insects. She completed a

degree in Zoology at UCL before

starting her veterinary studies

at Nottingham. This knowledge

and experience has given her an

in-depth understanding of the

very smallest creatures which

she is enthusiastic to share with

the next generation.

‘Minibeast Adventure with Jess’

is a series of 20 nine minute

programmes which brings 20

amazing creatures into the

living rooms of the CBeebies

audience.

Jess encourages her viewers to

explore their local environment

and get close to the minibeasts

that live in the gardens, parks

and windowboxes around them.

In each episode, viewers visit

Jess’s treehouse where she

introduces them to her

minibeast of the day. From

there she sets out on a

‘Minibeast Adventure’ with

children to try and find that

day’s animal or insect.

A passionate zoologist,

naturalist and entomologist, her

in-depth understanding of the

importance of the smallest

creatures underpins her passion

for sharing her knowledge and

passing it on to the next

generation.

So does a TV career beckon?

Jess said: “At the moment I'm

managing to juggle both...just!

We shot the show in my

holidays and they were really

supportive of my vet studies.

The show airs the day before

my exams start so I hope I

won't be too distracted! I still

want to be a vet but who knows

where this may lead. I'm just

taking every day a step at a

time right now and enjoying

being a part of the movement to

get kids outdoors and caring

about the environment - if I

could do that and be a vet in my

spare time, that would be

ideal!"

Jess’s other TV credits include

Springwatch (BBC), Micro

Monsters 3D (Sky), Live ‘n’

Deadly (CBBC) and Deadly

Mission Madagascar (CBBC).

Dr Karen Braithwaite, Director

of Academic Support and

Administration at Nottingham’s

Veterinary School, said: “We

are very proud of Jess – this is

a fantastic opportunity for her.

She is great veterinary student

and an asset to the School. It’s

terrific that Jess can share her

love and knowledge of animals

with the next generation.”

Nottingham Vet School

comes to the aid of Danni

the poorly lion

Veterinary Neurologist, Dr Mike

Targett, made an appearance

on the CBBC series Junior Vets

in June. He joined the Junior

Vets and a team of experts to

carry out a full body scan of

Danni the poorly lion who

suffers from a damaged spine.

They wanted to find out if he

will ever get better.

Mike, who is a Clinical Associate

Professor in Veterinary

Neurology at the said: “I have

worked with Burgess

Diagnostics, an independent

company providing mobile MRI

services to the veterinary

profession, since they were

founded in 2003. When they

were asked to get involved with

scanning Danni the lion at

Yorkshire Wildlife Park in March

2010 I was invited along to help

with the examination and

acquisition and interpretation of

the MR images. We went back

again this year and although the

changes in his neck had

progressed, Danni is still happy

and functioning well.”

Mike has been using MRI in

animals since the 1990′s. He

has extensive experience in

interpretation of MRI images in

small animal species and has

previously been involved in

scanning exotic patients with

Burgess Diagnostics.

He said: “Alongside a teaching

and administrative role at the

School I undertake 2 days a

week of clinical work seeing

small animal neurology cases at

Dovecote Veterinary Hospital in

Castle Donington, which is one

of the School’s Clinical Associate

practices where we place final

year students. Dovecote

Veterinary Hospital has an in-

house dedicated MRI facility

which I use on a daily basis

whilst in the clinic.”

The dangers of colic – our

experts appear on TV show

exploring this equine illness

Experts from School of were

featured on Horse & Country on

Sky channel 280 in a

programme which took an in-

depth look at common equine

health issues.

Prof Sarah Freeman, Associate

Professor of Veterinary Surgery,

used a model of a horse’s

stomach and intestines to show

presenter Jenny Rudall how the

animals digest their food for the

TV programme Vet Essentials.

The programme centred on the

common digestive problem

colic, a potentially dangerous

condition which commonly

results from a twisted gut or

other digestive disorders.

Prof Freeman and her team

used a novel approach to

demonstrate anatomy by using

brightly coloured body paint to

daub vital organs on to the side

of the animals in the location in

which they would actually

appear inside their body.

Diagnosing colic can be tricky

and it can be difficult to pick up

the subtle changes in an animal

that could be the early

symptoms of the condition. In

the programme, Prof Freeman

talked through the range of

procedures and techniques that

vets use to establish the

potential cause of a horse’s

illness, including checking the

animal’s pulse rate and the

colour of its gums — a good

indicator of blood flow around

its body — and listening to its

gut sounds.

One of the less glamourous

parts of a vet’s job is also

potentially one of the most

dangerous in horses — the

rectal examination. Students at

the School learn the technique,

which can be one of the most

essential tests in diagnosing

colic, using a realistic scale

model in the safety of the

classroom.

Prof Freeman said: “Probably

the most important thing which

you can do as an owner is to

know what’s normal for your

horse, how it normally behaves,

what its routine is and if

anything changes or if you are

worried about anything then get

in touch and ask for some

advice. There are lots of

different types of colic and lots

of different signs of colic but if

you are concerned about

anything then the most

important thing is to get help as

early as possible.”

IVSA Winter Symposium

A team of Nottingham students

(Vicky Carliell, Mia Ball, Emily

McKenna, Orla Mcllduff and

Adam Stephens) are part of a

team that helped to organise

the 63rd International

Veterinary Student Association

(IVSA) winter symposium which

will be held jointly between

Edinburgh and Nottingham from

the 12th to the 20th December.

This is a fantastic opportunity

for the School to show 80

students studying at vet schools

around the world what it is like

to study in the UK and in

particular in Edinburgh and

Nottingham. In addition it has

given us a chance to forge

friendships with colleagues

studying at Edinburgh, RVC and

Liverpool who have also

contributed to organising the

event.

Students have worked together,

building professional skills, to

acquire corporate sponsorship,

formulate educational and social

programmes, manage a large

budget and organise

accommodation and catering

among other things.

Vicky Carliell

Year 4 student

Nottingham Advantage

Award

The Nottingham Advantage

Award is an innovative way of

building on some of the many

extracurricular opportunities

available to students and aims

to develop skills while making

students more employable.

Students must undertake 30

credits and can choose from

over 200 modules in areas as

diverse as volunteering, sport,

mentoring, career skills,

students union and business

skills.

A number of our students have

undertaken the award, including

year 4 student Shareen Akhtar

who says “the scheme shaped

me into a more confident,

ambitious and dedicated person.

I have no doubt that the skills

and experiences gained from

this award will advance my

employability skills and make

me a more desirable candidate

for any job.

The three modules I chose to

complete were the Students'

Union Volunteering Module,

Ambassador, IntoUniversity,

Mentor or Associate scheme and

the Part time jobs, vacation jobs

and volunteering.

A big factor in deciding which

modules to take was the time

obligation. My Vet course is very

intense which means the

modules that required a regular

commitment (training / lessons

/ experience etc) were out of

the question. I was pleasantly

surprised to find amongst the

amazing range of module

options that there were many

that fit perfectly with my busy

timetable.

The modules I chose all had a

training session or two and then

assessments to complete

followed by a final presentation.

The assignments consisted of

action plans, reflective logs and

mind maps; I found them fun to

do. There was plenty of time

before the submission deadline

which again took the pressure

off completing this award

alongside my full time course.

The presentations were a

fantastic opportunity to

showcase what I had learnt and

enjoyed about my module.

I chose these modules as they

all fitted in with my lifestyle and

were already things I was

doing. I had already been

elected as the course rep for my

year and was successful at

interview for the student

ambassador scheme for the

University of Nottingham. As vet

students we have to undertake

various placements and so the

volunteering module was

perfect for my course style.

The Nottingham Advantage

Award is a golden opportunity

for anyone that wants to stand

in my job world when they

graduate. It is a real chance for

you to shine in your own way. If

I had more time I would have

loved to explored some of the

different awards such as a

language or music award. There

is a plethora of modules to

choose from and ample support

and guidance to complete each

award to a high standard. They

are completed over 2 years and

so is a nice time frame to do

them.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my

modules and gained some

brilliant feedback on my CV,

presentation skills and written

work which I can now adapt and

learn from. I’ve improved my

communication and

organisational skills and

genuinely feel I have developed

as a person by having to think

critically and reflect on what I

have learnt and how I can

improve. I would recommend

this award to all students

without reservation – it is a

fantastic thing to do!

The fact I have completed this

award will demonstrate that I

have gone above and beyond

the minimum of my course. By

completing it, I have shown I

can multi-task and organise my

time to complete not only my

course and the award, but also

the roles I took the awards for,

so in my case being a course

rep and student ambassador. I

have improved my

communication, leadership and

management skills to complete

each award and these are all

vital key skills for any job. “

Vet School student

‘Loves Learning’

Year 2 student Sophia Beeley is

celebrating today after being

named one of the top runners

up in the Times UCAS Love

Learning competition.

The judges of the 2,500 video

and written entries couldn’t

resist the description of her first

year as a Vet School student at

The University of Nottingham.

Sophia was one of three runners

up in the essay section and has

been congratulated by Professor

Gary England, Foundation Dean

of the School of Veterinary

Medicine and Science and

School Manager, Karen

Braithwaite.

Karen says: “We are so proud of

Sophia – it is lovely that student

has been so inspired to write

about, and be rewarded for how

much she loves her course.”

In June UCAS launched their

Love Learning competition by

asking undergraduate students

from across the UK to ‘bottle

their enthusiasm for university

and express it in the form of a

500 word essay or a 30 second

video clip. The judges were

looking for originality, insight,

powerful expression and

advocacy of higher education.

Sophia clearly achieved that and

takes home a £1,000 cash

prize.

Here’s Sophia’s Essay……

A year ago, I embarked on what

is going to be a long, difficult

course, Veterinary Medicine.

I’ve just finished my first year,

and I have already been kicked

by a cow, been covered in

various disgusting fluids, had

milk sprayed into my eye

directly from the udder and

pulled a number of all-nighters

trying to cram in the ridiculous

amount of work we have. And I

love it. I love that some days of

the week, we’ll be crammed into

lecture halls listening to endless

facts, as of course no two

species are the same (that

would make things too easy for

us). Then other days, we will

dress in extremely unflattering

boiler suits and run around a

field trying to catch sheep. And

although at the time it seems to

me that I will never remember

enough and I’m in over my

head, I suddenly realise that

actually I have learnt more in

one year than I could ever have

imagined. There is that

incredible feeling when things

start to piece together, when I

actually think yes, I do know

this and actually yes I can do

this. I love my course as not

many other students have

sessions on how to catch a

chicken, or have to pass an

exam on tipping a cow on its

back. I especially enjoy

placements where even if I’m

sat in a shed, freezing cold and

soaking wet, I could have a

new-born lamb in my hands and

(at the risk of sounding very

cheesy) you just don’t care

anymore about the long hours

and the discomfort, all you can

do it grin stupidly in amazement

and you know it is all

worthwhile. You get chucked in

at the deep end very often and

it’s amazing how quickly you

learn.

It has made a huge change

from school, where I learnt

what I had to in order to pass

the year and get the grades I

wanted, to actually being

interested in what I am doing. I

have gone from memorising

endless information about

subjects I never really cared

about, to suddenly taking

pleasure in my lectures. I am

learning about a profession I

myself chose, where I actually

care about and am fascinated

by the lessons taught. It never

gets dull, my emotional state

ranges from pure terror when

I’m asked to do something I

couldn’t possibly imagine being

able to do, to pride when you

actually accomplish it. It has

made me realise that I am

going to make endless mistakes

(like claiming in an exam I could

hear a heartbeat when I hadn’t

even put the end of the

stethoscope in my ears, yes I

did that) but hopefully in

another 4 years’ time I will be

let loose in the veterinary world

with a slight idea of what I am

doing and the willingness to get

stuck in. As with all courses and

especially mine, the learning

never ends!

Using Twitter in teaching

We are used to doing things a

bit differently at Nottingham,

and always on the lookout for

new ways to teach and help

students learn. Recently, we

have been embracing Twitter

across the curriculum. This

gives us an extra way to deliver

information, and has led to

some interesting collaborations.

We have used Twitter in a range

of differing contexts.

Importantly, it is always as an

adjunct to learning, and not

compulsory, as we know social

media is not for everyone!

However, when it came to

revising for final exams, we felt

it was the ideal way to connect

faculty clinicians with final year

students while they were going

through the pain of learning for

finals. We set up the #vetfinals

sessions a couple of years ago,

and these have proved

tremendously popular. As they

are very open sessions, we have

had students joining us from vet

schools across the UK and even

further afield. We have also had

session leads from across the

country, including general

practitioners. After the sessions,

we use the Storify tool to collate

the session so that it is

preserved for future use. Last

year, we collaborated with the

RVC to take these sessions even

further, and we now have a

fancy logo and student reps to

help us.

This initiative led to others

looking at social media as a way

to identify useful links and extra

information, using various

different tags. One such area

where this works well is

veterinary public health. Dr

Rodrigo Nova is a big Twitter

fan and uses it to highlight news

and links to enhance his

teaching. We then struck upon

the idea of running a truly

interprofessional session on

Twitter – and #0157 was born.

This Twitter session was led by

academics from the medical

school at Dundee, and the vet

schools here at Nottingham and

at Bristol. Medical and vet

students discussed an outbreak

of E. coli on a petting farm and

leant lots from each other, as

well as understanding each

other’s roles in such a critical

situation.

We will definitely repeat this

idea again, and are also looking

at other ways of using social

media across the curriculum.

Dr Liz Mossop

Teaching, Learning and

Assessment Sub-Dean

Sim Heroes

The Association for Simulated

Practice in Healthcare (ASPiH)

held a competition called ‘Sim

Heroes’ at their national

conference in November, where

teams of 4 took part in

simulated emergencies using

the latest medical simulation

technology and medical actors.

There were several heats, with

scenarios including cardiac

arrest in the emergency

department, severe injury from

explosives, performing a

tracheotomy in a moving

ambulance and responding to

multiple patients at a bar fight.

Examiners were looking for

demonstration of team work,

communication, patient/public

safety as well as medical ability

and accurate decision making.

My team, consisting of two

medical students and two vets,

myself and Catherine Oxtoby

from the School (both PhD

students), won the competition,

and are now being treated to an

experience in a flight simulator.

Claire Vinten

PhD Student

Top Prize for the MSD

Connect Bursary Award

Hannah Simmonds (Year 4

student) received the top prize

for her work on a summer

project, funded by the MSD

Connect Bursary Award to

investigate genes important for

Streptococcus iniae infection in

fish. Hannah gave an

outstanding presentation about

her research at MSD in Milton

Keynes.

All attendees were extremely

impressed with her knowledge,

results, hard work and

enthusiasm for the research

project.

Hannah Simmonds receiving her

prize (far right)

Hannah won a trophy, and

£3,000 prize money.

Thermal Imaging technique

wins poster prize

Judges at the LASA Winter

Meeting in November 2014,

selected Lindsay Benson, DVM

student at the School to win a

prize for the poster with the

greatest impact on the 3Rs

(National Centre for the

Replacement Refinement &

Reduction of Animals in

Research). The poster was

entitled, “Validation of infrared

thermography with

radiotelemetry as a method of

assessing body temperature in

mice”.

Travel Grant Success

Laura Bennett, a PhD student

has won a Graduate School

Travel grant and will be using

the funds to attend the 10th

Elephant Endotheliotropic

Herpes virus workshop in

Houston, Texas, USA in

February 2015.

American Association ofEquine Practitioners

Conference

One of the highlights of the 60th

American Association of Equine

Practitioners Conference, held in

December in Salt Lake City is

The Kester News Hour, which is

held on Day 2 of the 4 day

conference, and highlights the

latest key scientific papers

within specific areas of equine

medicine.

A research article by

Nottingham member of staff, Dr

Gayle Hallowell on the

treatment of equine gastric

ulcers, and an article by former

PhD student Sarah Williams,

and staff members Prof Martin

Green and Prof Sarah Freeman

on the effects of management

change on equine

gastrointestinal function were

highlighted in this session. The

session also highlighted two

articles by clinicians at

Associate Practices, Bell Equine

(Professor Tim Mair and Ceri

Sherlock) and Chine House

(Safia Barakzai), bringing the

total of Nottingham linked

articles to 4.

VetEd Conference

The fifth annual Veterinary

Education Symposium took

place in July. Hundreds of

delegates from across the world

attended including veterinary

educationalists, veterinary

students, practitioners and

researchers. The symposium

was an opportunity to share

ideas about the veterinary

curriculum via key-note

presentations, workshops and

poster sessions. The two day

symposium was held at Bristol

Vet School and included a three

course meal at Bristol Zoo

Gardens (and an opportunity to

look around the zoo!).

This was the first year in which

a student stream was included.

To apply, students wrote an

abstract on a piece of their

research/an idea they had. Both

students and staff presented at

the symposium. In all 5

students presented from

Nottingham:

Helen Farmer - Could

cognitive behavioural

therapy be incorporated

effectively into

veterinary curricula?

Alice Croxford -

Nottingham Equine

Veterinary Society

(NEVS) - student lead

CPD initiative

Emma Drinkall - Creating

a Curriculum

Management System

Claire Vinten - The

Progression to Expertise:

Clinical Reasoning

Development in

Veterinary

Undergraduates

Fay Pooley - Perceived

barriers and motivators

of UK academics towards

a national examination in

farm animal medicine

and surgery

Helen Farmer with her poster

presentation

The two student winners were

from Nottingham: Alice Croxford

(Year 5) and Helen Farmer

(Year 4).

As a result of Helen’s research,

cognitive behavioural

techniques were incorporated

into the year 1 personal and

professional skills module.

Overall, it was a great event.

Helen Farmer,

Year 4 student

Nail beauty rules apply to

animals too

The daily trimming of fingernails

and toenails to make them

more aesthetically pleasing

could be detrimental and

potentially lead to serious nail

conditions. The research,

carried out at the School, will

also improve our understanding

of disease in the hooves of farm

animals and horses.

Dr Cyril Rauch, a physicist and

applied mathematician, together

with his PhD Student

Mohammed Cherkaoui-Rbati,

devised equations to identify

the physical laws that govern

nail growth, and used them to

throw light on the causes of

some of the most common nail

problems, such as ingrown toe

nails, spoon-shaped nails and

pincer nails.

According to their research,

regular poor trimming can tip

the fine balance of nails,

causing residual stress to occur

across the entire nail. This

residual stress can promote a

change in shape or curvature of

the nail over time which, in

turn, can lead to serious nail

conditions.

Dr Rauch also said: “Similar

equations can be determined for

conditions of the hoof and claw

and applied to farm animals

such as sheep, cattle, or horses

and ponies. At a time when

securing food across the world

is important, a better

understanding of the physics of

hoof/claw has never been so

essential to maintain the health

of livestock and to sustain

agriculture and food

production.”

In their study the researchers

focused specifically on ingrown

toe nails which, though

recognised for a long time, still

lack a satisfactory treatment as

the causes remain largely

unknown. When devising their

equations, the researchers

accounted for the strong

adhesion of nails to their bed

through tiny, microscopic

structures, which allow the nail

to slide forwards and grow in a

“ratchet-like” fashion by

continuously binding and

unbinding to the nail. By also

taking into account the

mechanical stresses and

energies associated with the

nail, the researchers came up

with an overall nail shape

equation. The equation

showed that when the balance

between the growth stress and

adhesive stress is broken — if a

nail grows too quickly or slowly,

or the number of adhesive

structures changes — a residual

stress across the entire nail can

occur, causing it to change

shape over time.

The results showed that residual

stress can occur in any

fingernail or toenail; however,

the stress is greater for nails

that are larger in size and have

a flatter edge, which explains

why ingrown toe nails

predominantly occur in the big

toe.

Although a residual stress can

be brought about by age or a

change in metabolic activity —

ingrown toenails are often

diagnosed in children/young

adults and pregnant women —

the equations also revealed that

bad trimming of the nails can

amplify the residual stress.

Dr Rauch said: “It is remarkable

what some people are willing to

do to make their nails look

good, and it is in this context

that I decided to look at what

we really know about nails.

Reading the scientific literature

on nails I quickly realised that

very little physics or maths had

been applied to nails and their

conditions.

“Looking at our results, we

suggest that nail beauty fanatics

who trim their nails on a daily

basis opt for straight or

parabolic edges, as otherwise

they may amplify the imbalance

of stresses which could lead to a

number of serious conditions.”

Rauch believes this research

can be applied to farm animals

and conditions associated with

their hooves, which can be life

threatening. He said: “I believe

that physics can make a

difference by promoting a new

type of evidence-based

veterinary medicine and help

the veterinary and farrier

communities by devising

trimming methods to alleviate

pain and potentially remove the

cause of serious conditions.”

Weighing up the secrets of

African elephant body fat

A research team from the

School has carried out the first

molecular characterisation of

the African elephant’s adipose

tissue — body fat. This new

information will form the basis

of future studies aimed at

securing the health and future

survival of captive elephants.

The population of captive

elephants, both Asian and

African, in Europe and North

America is not self-sustaining,

largely due to poor fertility,

resulting in a fewer baby

elephants being born. It is

acknowledged that if a solution

for these reproductive

difficulties cannot be found

quickly, captive elephants will

face demographic extinction in

North American zoos within the

next 50 years.

This new study, carried out by a

team of scientists at the School

will form the building blocks for

later studies that will help

scientists start to identify

important dietary components

for health and reproduction in

African elephants to enable

better management of this

species in captivity and in the

wild.

The research, Molecular

Characterization of Adipose

Tissue in the African Elephant,

led by Dr Lisa Yon, and in equal

part by her colleagues Dr Nigel

Mongan, Dr Richard Emes and

Dr Alison Mostyn, has been

published in the open access

journal PLOS ONE.

Using expertise in molecular

biology and bioinformatics and

with access to unique samples

from the African elephant

researchers were able to

explore some important basic

biological questions to achieve a

better understanding of

elephants.

Leptin — a hormone made by

fat cells to regulate the amount

of fat stored in the body – is a

crucial molecular link between

nutritional status, amount of

adipose tissue and fertility in

many species. This research has

shown that it has a similar

function in the African elephant.

Dr Yon said: “This research

provides important information

on the structure and function of

adipose tissue in the African

elephant, highlighting the

crucial genes and nutrients

present during different times of

life — particularly reproduction

and lactation.”

Since the discovery of Leptin,

adipose tissue has been shown

to play a key role in

reproduction, energy sensing

and regulation, and

inflammatory responses. It has

been linked with reproductive

activity both in terms of the

onset of puberty and in

maintenance of reproductive

function so it may play an

important role in building up

and maintaining the elephant’s

reserves to ensure health and

fertility.

This work forms an important

first step to help maintain a

healthy, reproductively viable

captive population. This would

also eliminate the need to catch

additional animals from the wild

to supplement the captive

population.

Dr Yon said: “The information

we gained can help us to know

how to better provide for

elephants’ dietary needs, and

what possible impact this may

have on their reproductive

success. These same methods

can be applied to further our

understanding on a range of

domestic or non-domestic

species.”

UK-India collaboration seeks

new cholera treatment

A UK-India research partnership

has won funding to tackle

cholera, a disease which causes

thousands of deaths around the

world, and which is becoming

increasingly difficult to treat.

The University of Nottingham

and the National Institute for

Cholera and Enteric Diseases,

Kolkata have won a grant from

the UK-India Education and

Research Initiative (UKIERI) to

use viruses which infect bacteria

(bacteriophages) to control the

highly infectious disease.

This disease remains a major

public health risk in India and

parts of Africa and Central

America.

It is believed that around 60 per

cent of Vibrio cholerae bacteria

isolated from cholera sufferers

are resistant to tetracycline, an

antibiotic often used to treat the

disease. That figure is likely to

increase and the research will

look into alternative treatments

for the acute intestinal infection.

Cholera is caused by the

bacterium Vibrio cholerae, and

it may be the most rapidly fatal

infectious disease that we know.

It is caused by ingesting food or

water that has been

contaminated by the bacterium.

A person can be entirely well

and then be infected and die

from choleric diarrhoea if proper

treatment is unavailable.

Professor Paul Barrow and Dr

Robert Atterbury, from the

School and Dr BL Sarkar, from

the World Health Organisation-

recognised National Institute for

Cholera and Enteric Diseases,

will work jointly on the

collaborative research study.

Both institutions are able to

share and benefit from each

other’s knowledge, developing

training in different techniques,

with Nottingham’s expertise in

molecular genetics and Dr

Sarkar’s knowledge of the

microbiology, epidemiology and

control of cholera in endemic

areas.

The project aims to use

bacteriophages to control

cholera infections in humans.

The main aims are to:

Isolate and characterise

bacteriophages from

both the countries that is

able to infect a broad

range of

epidemiologically

significant strains of

Vibrio cholerae.

Develop treatments

using these phages to

reduce the burden of

antibiotic resistant

cholera bacteria in India

and other endemic

countries.

Speaking at the launch of the

collaborative programme,

Professor Barrow said: “This

study is timely, as multi drug-

resistant bugs have become a

major global threat to health

and there is a clear need to

focus on a low-cost, biological

alternative to antibiotics.

“By working with the National

Institute for Cholera and Enteric

Diseases, we look forward to

learning from each other and

developing long-term

collaborative expertise in these

areas.”

Dr Sarkar added: “This is a

prestigious collaboration and

after working on cholera for

decades, I am excited that

there is a possibility for a

further research study in this

area.

“This has the potential to

benefit the health of people

across the globe, particularly in

Asia and Africa. I am hopeful by

the end of study that we can

find a ‘phage therapy’ as an

alternative of the antibiotic for

the treatment of cholera

disease.”

The initial project will last for

two years, with both institutions

hoping to collaborate further.

Experts warn of dangers of

veterinary pharmaceuticals

to wildlife

Experts from across Europe and

the USA are calling for a ‘one

health’ approach to the use of

veterinary pharmaceuticals

(VPs). In advance of a key

European Medicines Agency

(EMA) recommendation to the

European Commission on the

use of diclofenac in livestock,

they are warning of the dangers

that veterinary pharmaceuticals

pose to wildlife.

Dr Lisa Yon is the Chair of the

European Wildlife Disease

Association (EWDA). She said:

“It is clear from the lessons

learned on the profound impact

of diclofenac on vultures in

India that we need to take a

more integrated, ‘One Health’

approach to our use of VPs, and

the larger impact they have on

non-target species, and on the

environment. This is and will

continue to be an issue of

increasing concern for a wide

variety of VPs, and one for

which there needs to be greater

responsibility taken across the

range of stakeholders.”

Diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-

inflammatory drug, has already

been banned for veterinary use

in several South Asian

countries, but was recently

approved for use in Spain and

Italy. Traces of diclofenac in

livestock carcasses are lethal to

vultures who eat them, and

contamination of fewer than 1

per cent of dead animals led to

the near extinction of three

Asian species. Most vultures in

Europe are already endangered

and thus particularly vulnerable

to this threat.

The paper, “One Health

approach to use of veterinary

pharmaceuticals”, argues that

as the world’s consumption of

meat continues to rise, we must

take a holistic approach to

assessing the impacts of VPs

that accounts for all

environmental effects, including

contamination of the natural

food chain.

Prof Thijs Kuiken, Professor of

Comparative Pathology at the

Erasmus Medical Center and

lead author of the study, said:

“I was shocked when I first

heard that diclofenac had been

authorized for use in—of all

places—Spain, which is a

stronghold for vultures in

Europe. This example shows

that we need to radically change

the way we deal with

pharmaceuticals, both those

used in human and veterinary

medicine.”

The paper cites diclofenac as

the cause of rapid declines in

vulture populations to near-

extinction in Pakistan, India and

Nepal in the 1990s. Residues of

diclofenac remained in livestock

carcasses which were then

eaten by vultures. Even very

low concentrations of diclofenac

then caused renal failure and

death in some of the vultures.

In 2006, the government of

India enacted a ban on

production, importation and sale

of veterinary diclofenac

products, followed soon after by

Pakistan, Nepal, and

Bangladesh. Since then, vulture

population declines in South

Asia have slowed or reversed.

Vultures play a vital role in

European ecosystems,

especially in Spain where more

than 95 per cent of the

continent’s vultures reside.

Spanish vultures remove more

than 8,000 tons of livestock

carcasses per year, which helps

control disease and pests and

also serves to recycle nutrients.

These ecosystem services

provide an estimated economic

saving of 1.5 million Euros.

Antoni Margalida, researcher at

University of Lleida and co-

author of the article, said: “The

recent approval of the use of

diclofenac in Spain (holding

more than 95 per cent of

European vulture populations)

shows the gap between

conservation science and the

environmental impact

assessment for veterinary

drugs, making it necessary to

improve the dialogue between

scientists from different

disciplines with policymakers

and practitioners.”

The impact of diclofenac on

vultures is just one example of

a problem that has much wider

implications. In 2004, an

estimated 6,051 tons of

biologically active substances

were included in the production

of veterinary pharmaceuticals in

the EU. While these drugs may

benefit the health of domestic

animals and the efficiency of

livestock production, they can

contaminate the environment

indirectly. This is a threat to

non-target species, including

humans. The paper

recommends strengthening of

current procedures in assessing

risk of VPs to the environment

and the addition of a more pro-

active, holistic, One Health

approach applicable to all VPs.

The authors of the paper

advocate “cradle-to-cradle”

stewardship that promotes

environmental sustainability and

mirrors similar programs

proposed for human

pharmaceuticals. Linking the

effects on target species,

humans, and the environment

encapsulates the One Health

approach, which should guide

the way toward a more

sustainable future.

Parasitic expert digs the dirt

on the deadly parasitic that

infected two kidney

transplant patients

Halicephalobus gingivalis is a

soil-borne, free-living nematode

parasite. This saprophytic worm

was first identified 1954 and

since then sporadic cases have

been reported as a cause of

neurological disease in horses,

in many countries including the

UK, Japan, Canada, USA,

Iceland, Italy, and France.

In his interview with BBC Wales

Dr Hany Elsheikha, Associate

Professor of parasitology said:

“This organism is generally not-

pathogenic, but under certain

conditions can infect humans

and animals especially horses.

Human infection has been rare

but the outcome is always fatal

meningoencephalomyelitis. This

opportunistic parasite can cause

disease only in

immunocompromised

individuals that is having

impaired resistance. This

includes cancer patients, organ

transplant recipients and people

with HIV/AIDS.”

Dr Elsheikha also said: “The

recent and tragic experience

with fatality from

Halicephalobus gingivalis was

reported in Wales, where

infected kidneys were

transplanted to two recipients,

reminds us of how a benign

organism can transform into a

deadly parasite when the body's

immune defences are crippled

by the use of

immunosuppressive drugs in

patients receiving organ

transplants.”

All cases of human or animal

infections were found post

mortem. Disease caused by H.

gingivalis is difficult to treat due

to the tendency of the parasite

to migrate. Its high proliferative

ability and its ability to

reproduce parthenogenetically

(i.e. without male nematodes)

within the host, increases the

parasitic burden and

pathological damage in infected

tissues.

Halicephalobus gingivalis is able

to opportunistically colonise the

host in different ways, such as

oral infection via ingestion of

contaminated food facilitated by

lacerations of the buccal

mucosa, trans-placental

transmission from mare to foal,

percutaneous through breaks in

skin/open wounds, or through

the respiratory tract.

Weather and climate changes

may be affecting this parasite.

Dr Elsheikha said: “Any climate

change encouraging warm,

moist conditions is likely to

enhance environmental

populations of the saprophytic

nematode, with possible

increased exposure of animals

and human beings to potential

infection. Therefore, this

opportunistic parasite needs to

be considered in the differential

diagnosis of dysfunction of the

CNS and other body organs in

humans and horses.”

Twycross Zoo probes greatape heart disease

Vets and keepers at Twycross

Zoo have been the first to

record an electrocardiogram

(ECG) in a chimpanzee without

the need for general

anaesthesia.

Cardiovascular disease is

recognised as a major cause of

morbidity and mortality among

all four species of great ape;

bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas

and orangutans. However,

understanding about this group

of disorders and therefore

abilities to diagnose, treat or

prevent them, are limited.

Vets at Twycross Zoo frequently

perform routine health checks

on their apes. The health check

includes a full cardiac

assessment in which they

perform chest radiographs,

cardiac ultrasound, blood

pressure measurement and

ECG. However general

anaesthesia can affect the

results of these tests.

One of the twenty five

chimpanzees at Twycross Zoo

has been successfully trained to

present her chest to the bars,

and stay still for long enough to

allow specially designed probes

to be pressed gently against her

skin (see image below). These

probes measure the electrical

activity of the heart and

transmit the information to an

ECG machine. The findings will

allow vets to detect subtle

changes in the chimpanzee’s

heart structure and function

that might indicate early signs

of heart disease.

Sarah Chapman, Head of

Veterinary Services says:

“Diagnostic tests help us to

investigate the health of our

animals and prevent heart

disease. We are proud that we

have found a new way of

checking one of our chimps and

we are working with our other

chimps to achieve this with

them too". DVetMed student

Victoria Strong added "We are

really pleased with the results

so far, and are excited to see

what we can achieve in the

future. We are very grateful to

keeper Katie Waller, the rest of

the ape team and to Kris Hern

(animal training manager) for

their continued hard work on

this."

This work is part of a joint

project between Twycross Zoo

and the University of

Nottingham, led by Strong and

directed by Sharon Redrobe,

Chief Executive of Twycross Zoo

and European great ape vet

advisor.

Koalas in the news

School academics Dr Richard

Emes, Dr Jasmeet Kaler and Dr

Rachael Tarlinton have just

received funding to work with a

team of academics at the

Universities of Queensland and

Adelaide on the effects of

infection of koalas with koala

retrovirus (KoRV).

The overall project is funded as

part of a special funding

initiative on threats to the wild

koala population in Australia.

KoRV has recently entered the

koala population and is thought

to be responsible for leukaemia,

lymphoma and immuno-

suppression in koalas making

them more vulnerable to

diseases like Chlamydia.

Koala populations in many areas

of Australia are considered

vulnerable due to habitat loss

and disease and this virus adds

further complications to the

mix. The teams at Adelaide and

UQ will be examining sick and

injured koalas that are

euthanased at vet hospitals in

Brisbane and Adelaide,

conducting full post-mortems,

testing for retroviral and

chlamydial infection and

collecting lymph node samples

from animals with and without

KoRV infection to "deep

sequence" the koala

transcriptome (all the RNA in

the tissue) to look at which

parts of the animals immune

systems are altered by virus

infection.

The team at Nottingham will be

performing the analysis of the

transcriptome data through the

Universities Advanced Data

Analysis Centre (ADAC) and

constructing a risk model for

health outcomes in the koalas

using the data from the

Australian groups.

Dr Rachael Tarlinton

Lecturer in Veterinary

Cellular Microbiology

Silly Day at the Nottingham

Veterinary School

On November 21st a Silly Day

was held at the vet school to

raise money for LOROS, a

Leicestershire based hospice for

terminally ill patients and their

families. The day was held in

support of a bigger fundraising

campaign called “Random Acts

of Silliness” started by Lizzy

Strong, a terminal cancer

patient and sister of one of the

vet school’s postgraduate

students. Inspired by the “ice

bucket challenge”, the

campaign involves people

performing silly acts on camera,

sharing the videos, nominating

others to do the same, and

most importantly making a

donation. The Vet School “Silly

Day” involved a bake sale, vet

school staff and postgraduate

students dressed as animals

and cream pies being put in

members of staff’s faces! As you

can probably imagine, on the

day things got rather messy!

Paper plates brimming with

swirls of cream were launched

into the faces of some of the

Vet’s Schools silliest staff: Dr Liz

Mossop, Dr Barney King, Dr

Tracey Coffey, Dr Janet Daly, Dr

Julia Kydd and Prof Malcolm

Cobb! They took it in turns over

the lunch hours to be the target

of some silliness –some of them

even got their revenge on the

organisers too! Needless to say

it not only raised some raucous

laughter, but also a fantastic

amount of money for LOROS.

And let’s not forget the amazing

animal costumes we had on the

day: parrots, rabbits, monkeys,

lions… it was like a zoo (gone

wild) in the Vet School! But the

prize for the best costume has

to go to Janet and Julia, who

donned a hump each to become

the School camel, accompanied

in its travels around the offices

by Tracey Coffey dressed as a

crocodile and holding a

donations bucket and a whip!

We hear that people were giving

donations just to get the camel

leave them alone, making it a

very successful method of

raising money!

Prof Malcolm Cobb

having been ‘pied’

The day made a huge £807.03.

The organisers are very grateful

to all the staff that took part in

the pie-ing, everyone that

dressed up, those that baked

cakes and to everyone who

donated so generously.

If you would like to support this

campaign, please do so by

texting haha54 £5 (or any

amount) to 70070 or by visiting

https://www.justgiving.com/ran

domactsofsilliness/

By the “Silly Day” organisers

(Siobhan Simpson, Claire

Vinten, Amelia Pollard

and Vicky Strong)

The ‘Sutton BoningtonScience Cake Competition

2014’ raises £610 for SportRelief!

Somehow, a whole year had

passed since we first saw a

staggering array of cake-based

talent. This year’s SB Science

Cake Competition committee

consisted of academic members

of staff, under- and

postgraduate students from the

School of Bioscience and the

School of Veterinary Medicine

and Science. The committee

worked hard over the weeks

prior to the competition to

create posters to display around

campus, gather interest via

social media platforms, and

generate some ‘cake-spiration’

through regular teasers of

photos showing last year’s

entries.

At 7:30am on 13th March, the

cakes began to trickle in. Thirty

entries were counted, in

categories Animals &

Agriculture, Cakes for Animals,

Food & Nutrition, Infection,

‘Nerdy’ Science, Plants, Crops &

Environment, and Veterinary

Medicine. The creations were

phenomenal. An ‘expert’ panel

of uniquely qualified judges –

including ‘Mr Buffalo Brownies’

(James), a popular contributor

to the monthly on campus

Farmer’s market – assessed the

entries during the morning on

appearance, scientific accuracy,

creativity, and, of course, taste.

The winners were announced in

a short prize giving ceremony at

lunchtime, which was kindly

sponsored by the ‘Old

Kingstonian Alumni’.

A special category this year

were ‘Cakes for animals’; Emily

Blight, an undergraduate vet

student organised just before

the prize giving ceremony an

entertaining panel of teaching

dogs (Braid, Zahra and Riley) to

judge these cakes on tastiness,

which definitely created a lot of

laughter in the crowd who came

to the event. A silent auction

was held to sell off whole cakes

during the morning, with some

selling for over £30 each. All

other cakes were sliced and sold

for £1 in the afternoon. The

total raised was £610 for Sport

Relief.

The overall winner was Alex

Burgess with ‘Dave’s Allotment’.

She said “the idea came from

research and hobbies (both

being keen allotment

gardeners) and the competition

allowed us to express our

creativity.” Creativity combined

with attention to detail made for

some really ingenious entries;

we recommend you to have a

look at the following link:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjV8Ewbm.

The clear winner of the public

vote was ‘What cake first…the

chicken or the egg’, the top 5

from the online public vote are

shown in the photos. All the

winners in the different

categories are on the

www.sbcakeoff.org.uk website,

including the recipe of the

winning cake.

The Rucksack Project

Over the last few months a

group of vet students have

raised money and raided

cupboards for the Rucksack

Project. We were overwhelmed

by the number of people kindly

donating coats, jumpers,

sleeping bags and other warm

accessories. We stock piled

supplies and raised money via a

cake sale for the extra bits and

pieces to go into the rucksacks.

The aim of the Rucksack Project

was to provide a rucksack of

warm and clean supplies to the

homeless and vulnerably

housed people of Nottingham.

Each rucksack contained a hat,

scarf and gloves, a warm

jumper, a new pair of pants and

socks, a blanket or a sleeping

bag and a pasty and a packet of

chocolate biscuits. We also

wrote a Christmas card for

every rucksack.

What cake first…the chicken or the egg?

On 9th December we teamed up

with the HoMed soup kitchen

(who give out soup to the

homeless community outside M

and S in Nottingham every

Tuesday at 8pm, without fail!)

to give out 23 rucksacks.

We had barely put them down

before people were asking us

what they were for and if they

could have one. Everyone was

thrilled by the gifts, particularly

the Christmas cards! Two of the

individuals even refused

rucksacks (“Oh no, not for me, I

don’t need one”!) but were

delighted when they were

offered a Christmas card. One

gentleman took a rucksack and

returned 5 minutes later with

half of the contents, saying he

didn’t need these bits and

pieces and we should give them

to someone else.

I was overwhelmed by the

impact and how grateful these

people were for something so

simple. I just hope that this

project will continue to grow,

and be bigger and better next

year!

Thanks to everyone who was

involved, and Merry Christmas

all!!

Sinead Kenna,

Year 5 student

Vet Charity Challenge 2014

On 27th September a team from

Nottingham headed down to

Pewsey, Wiltshire to participate

in the Vet Charity Challenge,

2014. The VCC is a one day

sponsored team event, involving

6.5 hours of running, kayaking

and cycling, and also a series of

problem-solving challenges

along the way. You plan and

follow your own route, picking

up points for every checkpoint

you reach so it’s not just about

fitness and stamina (thank

goodness!).

This year nearly 50 teams

participated and the VCC raised

over £35,000 for the three

charities it supports – Hearing

Dogs for Deaf People, SPANA

and Cats Protection.

Our team, the Nottingham

Numbats (named after the

Australian marsupial… mainly

because they’re adorable and

also because all good teams

need an alliterative name),

donned our ears and whiskers

and came a not-too-shabby 11th

out of 47 teams, raising a grand

total of £516.25 for these great

charities. Our main achievement

of the day, however, was not

falling in the canal whilst getting

in and out of the kayaks… a feat

not achieved by all teams!

A massive thank you to

everybody who sponsored us,

and in particular to Marnie and

Paul who made up our excellent

support team. We are hoping to

compete again next year, and it

would be great to have a few

more SVMS teams to join us!

Elizabeth Cresswell,

PGCertificate student

School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, The University of Nottingham,

Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough,

Leicestershire, LE12 5RD

Tel: 0115 951 6116 veterinary-enquiries@nottingham.ac.uk@NottinghamVets

www.nottingham.ac.uk/vet

The Nottingham Numbats