One Medicine: how human and veterinary medicine can benefit each other

Please can you introduce yourself, tell us about your professional background, and your role at Humanimal Trust?

I graduated in 1995 and then studied for a postgraduate degree in veterinary microbiology at the Royal Veterinary College (University of London). In 1996, I moved to the government's Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) to undertake a Ph.D. on the pathogenesis of E. coli in poultry. Upon completing my Ph.D. studies, I commenced a post-doctoral position at Royal Holloway, University of London, studying E. coli virulence factors and vaccine development.

Since 2001, my work has focused largely on understanding the pathogenesis of zoonotic bacterial pathogens to develop control strategies. I have led several commercial, Defra, research councils (BBSRC, MRC, EPSRC, AHRC, Innovate) and EU projects in this area.

My current research interests focus on the pathogenesis of food-borne pathogens with a particular interest in Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and the development of intervention strategies, including vaccines, rapid diagnostic, pre, and probiotics. I have published over 190 papers in the area of host-microbe interaction, with a particular emphasis on E. coli, Salmonella, vaccines, probiotics, and AMR.

In 2005, I was appointed Head of Pathogenesis and Control at the AHVLA, and in 2010, I was appointed Professor of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology at the University of Surrey. I gained the FRCPath in 2010, and in 2012, I was appointed the Associate Dean for Veterinary Strategy in the new School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Surrey. In 2014, I was appointed to the position of Head of the Department of Pathology and Infectious Diseases and Director of the Veterinary Pathology Centre. In 2019 I was appointed Deputy Head of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Surrey, and then in 2021, I was appointed Head of the School of Biosciences and Medicine.

I am the past president of the Med-Vet-Net Association and the Veterinary Research Club, the current Chair of Humanimal Trust, a member of the FSA ACMSF AMR sub-committee, a Trustee of the Houghton Trust, a member of the APHA Science Advisory Board and Chair of the Royal College of Pathologists Veterinary Pathology SAC. I am an Associate member of the European College of Veterinary Microbiology, and in 2020, I was awarded an Honorary Associateship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Humanimal Trust is a unique organization. Please could you tell us about the organization’s origin, purpose, and values?


Humanimal Trust is the only organization in the UK with the sole and specific purpose of progressing One Medicine.

It was founded in May 2014 by world-renowned orthopedic-neuro veterinary surgeon Professor Noel Fitzpatrick - otherwise known as the TV Supervet. As a vet, Noel Fitzpatrick experienced personally the deep divide between human and animal medicine and saw how unfair this was.


Frustrated by the lack of opportunities to share what he was learning from veterinary practice or to benefit from relevant learning from human medicine, he decided to create the platform himself. This laid the foundations for the work Humanimal Trust does today, removing barriers and seeking to close the divide between human and animal medicine.

Our five areas of work spell out I-CARE, which sums up the way we feel, our supporters feel, and we hope everybody will one day feel about One Medicine:Influence – we care about bringing together everyone who cares about One Medicine to create a road map for change in public policy, education, and at the clinical coalface.
Collaboration – we care about creating opportunities for human and veterinary professionals and students to learn from one another (in person and virtually) by demonstrating One Medicine at work.
Awareness - we care that people should know and understand the benefits of One Medicine for humans and animals, about non-animal alternatives to laboratory models, and how much human and animal medicine can learn from one another’s clinical practice – saving time, money, and lives.
Research – we care about research – funding it, facilitating it, shouting about it – that could benefit humans and animals without using laboratory animal models.
Education – we care about learning – every child learning about the connections between humans and animals; veterinary and human medical students learning with and from one another; practitioners learning continuously from their peers.
Visit : https://veterinary-conferences.pencis.com/


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