2025 Conference Programme

The theme of this year's conference is 'One Health, One Welfare'

Wednesday 3rd September
AI and Veterinary Education
Session 1 will cover themes of education across the veterinary fields, kindly sponsored by AHDB.

08:30 - 09:00 |
Registration and welcome refreshments

09:00 - 09:05 | President's welcome address - Monica Bando, President of the AVTRW

09:05 - 09:30 | Conference opening and welcome to the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lancashire - Dr Heather Bacon OBE, Dean of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lancashire

09:30 - 10:15 | Keynote: Artificial Intelligence in Veterinary Medicine – the Revolution AND Evolution - Jonathan Williams, Head of Pathology, Royal Veterinary College

10:15 - 10:30 | Research presentations, TBC

10:30 - 10:45 | AnatomyAce: Is AI the tool to help Veterinary Nursing students digest Anatomy and Physiology content? - Hannah Callaghan, University College Dublin

10:45 - 11:30 | Refreshment break

11:30 - 11:45 | An evaluation of small group teaching at the University of Nottingham, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science - Charlotte Crosland, University of Nottingham

11:45 - 12:00 | What impact does your EMS choice have on your exam performance? - James Russell, University of Nottingham

12:00 - 12:15 | Creation and critical analysis of a Toolkit to increase applications to veterinary school by pupils from deprived areas of the UK - Erin O'Shea, University of Nottingham

12:15 - 12:45 | Reflection for employability in first opinion veterinary practice - Andrea Jones, University of Nottingham

12:45 - 14:00 | Lunch break: Tour of the School of Veterinary Medicine,University of Lancashire facilities and poster presentations
Surveillance
Session 2 will cover themes of surveillance across the veterinary fields.

14:00 - 14:45 |
Keynote From Village to Globe: equitable partnerships in infectious disease surveillance - Dr. Dey Tarusikirwa, Veterinary Clinical Lecturer in Applied Veterinary Sciences & Animal Husbandry, University of Lancashire

14:45 - 15:00 | AVTRW Diamond Jubilee Award for undergraduate research presentation, kindly sponsored by the HBLB Exploring Vaccine Uptake in UK Veterinary-Attended Horses Using Electronic Health Records - Lucy GreatRex, University of Liverpool

15:00 - 15:15 | AVTRW Diamond Jubilee Award for undergraduate research presentation The effect of clinical treatments to disruptand kill in vitro equine reproductive biofilm-forming pathogens (Escherichiacoli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Streptococcus.zooepidemicus) isolated from thoroughbred clinical cases - Áine McGrath, Munster Technological University

15:15 - 15:30 | AVTRW Diamond Jubilee Award for undergraduate research presentation Endometrial Cytology and Culture of Isolated Bacteria from Equine Uterine Lavage Samples to Determine UterineHealth in Thoroughbred Mares - Jagoda Lniska, Munster Technological University

15:30 - 16:15 | Refreshment break - Poster presentations

16:15 - 16:30 | Research presentation, TBC

16:30 - 16:45 | Proposing an Agent Based Model (ABM) to model bTB disease dynamics in a cattle herd in Northern Ireland - Kacper Borodziuk, Animal and Plant Health Agency

16:45 - 17:00 | Teaching Undergraduate Students About Wildlife Disease Surveillance Through the Design and Implementation of a Practical Research Module - Dylan Yaffy, Royal Veterinary College

19:30 onwards | Join us for the conference social evening at Mowgli Street Food, Preston.

All are welcome - this event is subsidised by the AVTRW, tickets are £20 for delegates and can be purchased through the events page of our website


Thursday 4th September
Forensics and Wildlife
Session 3 will be a collection of presentations focused on Forensics and Wildlife.

08:30 - 08:55 |
Arrival and refreshments

08:55 - 09:00 | Welcome to the second day of the conference - Monica Bando, President of the AVTRW

09:00 - 09:45 | Keynote Forensic Investigation: taking the lead - Dr. Catherine Tennick, Senior Lecturer in Forensic Science, University of Lancashire

09:45 - 10:15 | Research presentation, TBC

10:15 - 10:30 | Post-Mortem Metrics for Welfare Assessment in Captive Wild Felids - Natalia Bednarska, Royal Veterinary College

10:30 - 11:00 | Refreshments break

11:00 - 11:15 | Research presentation, TBC

11:15 - 11:30 | AVTRW Diamond Jubilee Award for undergraduate research presentation Pathological Review of Cardiomyopathies in the UK Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) - Sanya Nihalani, Royal Veterinary College

11:30 - 11:45 | Research presentation, TBC

11:45 - 14:00 | Lunch break - Tour of the University of Lancashire forensics teaching facilities
One Health, One Welfare
The final session will focus on presentations along conference theme of One Health, One Welfare.

14:00 - 14:45 |
Keynote A unified approach to equestrian sport safety - Dr. Heather Cameron-Whytock, Senior Lecturer in Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Lancashire

14:45 - 15:00 | Research presentation, TBC

15:00 - 15:15 | AVTRW Diamond Jubilee Award for undergraduate research presentation The effect of a probiotic supplement on the incidence and severity of diarrhoea and crypto in dairy calves - Philippa Shattock, University of Liverpool

15:15 - 15:30 | Anthelmintic usage of farms in the South West - Luke Gunter, Torch Farm Vets

15:30 - 15:45 | Refreshment break

15:45 - 16:00 | A One Health systems approach to the use of ectoparasiticide treatments in UK cats and dogs, Louise Whatford, Royal Veterinary College

16:00 - 16:15 | Future-Proofing Our Profession – The Sustainability Audit - Catherine Finnegan, University of Surrey

16:15 - 16:30 | Research presentation, TBC

16:30 - 17:00 | Conference closing and presentation of the award for best first presentation
AVTRW AGM
Join us for the AGM which will take place after the main conference closing.

17:00 - 18:00 |
AVTRW AGM (hybrid) - All members welcome

Join the AVTRW today

Connect with our vibrant scientific community
Upload UI element