Meet the Speakers

Graduated from Warsaw University of Life Sciences in Poland where a few years later obtained as well her PhD degree.
Dr. Urszula Bartoszuk performed her Residency Programme at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. After completion of the residency program in 2017, she took up the role of senior medical assistant in small animal cardiology at the University of Zurich.
From 2019 until 2021, Dr. Urszula Bartoszuk was senior lecturer in the Department of Small Animals Cardiology at the Small Animals Teaching Hospital, University of Liverpool, UK. Thereafter she moved to Hong Kong, where she is working until now in a multidisciplinary referral hospital leading a cardiology department.

Ben graduated from the University of Bristol, UK in 2009. After a couple of years in mixed general practice in rural Lancashire (northern England), he moved down to the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket where he completed a small animal internship, followed by a residency in veterinary ophthalmology. Following completion of the residency, Ben went to work for Dick White Referrals, a busy, multi-disciplinary private referral practice, where he spent 4 years helping to build the ophthalmology service. In 2019, Ben moved to the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, to establish a clinical ophthalmology department. Ben now splits his time between the busy ophthalmology service at the university, teaching undergraduate and postgraduate veterinary surgeons, and his various research interests.

Jon is a graduate of the Royal Veterinary College, where he is now an honorary lecturer and head of the behavioural medicine referral service. Apart from his clinical work, Jon has contributed to a number of books on behavioural medicine, has recently published papers on the human-animal bond, relinquishment and behavioural development, and is a regular speaker at international conferences. He is currently the newsletter editor for the Companion Animal Behaviour Therapy Study Group, and has co-authored a text book of behavioural medicine. Jon is involved in researching the biological basis of canine behavioural disorders. Jon has particular interests in developmental behavioural problems, compulsive disorders and cognitive ageing in dogs

Alenka graduated from the Veterinary Faculty in Ljubljana, where she also completed her PhD. She undertook an internal medicine residency at Ghent University, achieving European Specialist Diploma status in 2017 and RCVS Specialist recognition in 2018.
She has worked in several UK referral centres, including Langford Vets, Southfields Veterinary Specialists, North Downs Specialist Referrals, and Pride Veterinary Centre. Alenka now runs The Mobile Vet Specialist, providing specialist internal medicine support to general practices across the Midlands and Greater Manchester, and works part-time at Oakwood Veterinary Referrals in Cheshire.
Alenka has delivered CPD across the UK and Europe, authored and co-authored peer-reviewed publications and textbook chapters, and presented at European and US congresses. Her main clinical interest lies in supporting pets and their owners by working collaboratively with general practitioners within their own practices, delivering high-quality care at affordable costs.

Employment
Glasgow University Small Animal Hospital
Clinician in Small Animal Neurology, November 2021 – present
Glasgow University Small Animal Hospital
Resident in Veterinary Neurology, July 2018 – November 2021
Companion Care Vets Andover
Small Animal Veterinary Surgeon, April 2018 – July 2018
Glasgow University Small Animal Hospital
Junior Clinical Scholar (Rotating), February 2017 – March 2018
Companion Care Vets Andover
Small Animal Veterinary Surgeon, Augist 2016 – January 2017
Animal Ceneter, Small Animal Practice (Warsaw Poland)
Small Animal Veterinary Surgeon, November 2011 – August 2015
Quintiles (Warsaw Poland)
Clinical Research Associate, January 2010 – October 2011
Bialobrzeska Small Animal Practice (Warsaw Poland)
Small Animal Veterinary Surgeon, August 2006 – November 2009
Bemowo Emergency Small Animal Clinic (Warsaw Poland)
Part time Small Animal Veterinary Surgeon, January 2006 – December 2006
Anima Small Animal Practice (Warsaw Poland)
Junior Small Animal Veterinary Surgeon (intern), May 2005 – July 2006

Dr Lafuente graduated in Veterinary Medicine by the University of Zaragoza. Following a rotating internship at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, she completed a PhD on bone lengthening in dogs. She completed a rotating internship at the University of Florida and a residency in small animal surgery at Washington State University. Pilar became an ACVS & ECVS diplomate in 2009. Since then she worked as a lecturer in Small Animal Surgery at the Royal Veterinary College in London. In 2014 Dr. Lafuente became an ACVSMR diplomate and she led the Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Service at the RVC. In 2019 Pilar moved to Valencia where she worked as a lecturer and service chief in Small Animal Surgery and Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera. Nowadays she combines her teaching, research and clinical activities at Universidad Católica de Valencia and UNIR, and as a locum surgeon. Dr. Lafuente has published scientific papers nationally and internationally, and she has been an invited speaker in national and international conferences, and is a frequent lecturer of postgraduate programs. Dr. Lafuente is chief editor of the scientific journal Clínica Veterinaria de Pequeños Animales. Her interests include arthroscopy, tendinopathies, osteoarthritis, and sports medicine and rehabilitation.

Education and Postgraduate Training:

• Bachelor of Sciences (Animal Sciences) (1990-1993), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (1993-1997), Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
• Rotating Internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery (1997-1998), Angell Memorial Animal Hospital, Boston, MA
• Fellowship in Small Animal Emergency Medicine (1999-2000), School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
• Residency in Emergency Medicine and Critical Care (2000-2003), School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
• Doctor of Humane Letters (May 2017), Western University of Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Pomona, CA

Professional/Faculty Appointments:

• Instructor in Biomedical Sciences, Staff Veterinarian (Community Practice Service), Emergency Veterinarian (1998-1999), Cornell University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Ithaca, NY
• Adjunct Faculty (2007), St. Matthew’s University, School of Veterinary Medicine, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.
• Adjunct Faculty (2008), University of the West Indies, School of Veterinary Medicine, Trinidad & Tobago
• Assistant Clinical Professor (August 2003-September 2008), University of Minnesota, College of Veterinary Medicine, St Paul, MN.
• Associate Director of Veterinary Services (September 2008-September 2013), SafetyCall International/Pet Poison Helpline, Bloomington, MN.
• Staff Criticalist (April 2011-current) Animal Emergency & Referral Center of Minnesota, Oakdale, MN.
• CEO and Founder (July 2012-July 2021) VETgirl, LLC, St. Paul, MN
• College of Veterinary Medicine Advisory Council, Cornell University, July 2018-current
• Director of Medicine / Co-Founder (July 2021 – current) VETgirl/BluePearl, Tampa, FL

Specialty Certification:

• Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (DACVECC) - 2003
• Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology (DABT) - 2012

Honors/Awards:

• Small Animal Speaker of the Year (2011), North American Veterinary Conference (NAVC)
• Speaker of the Year (2012), Association des Médecines Vétérinaires du Québec (AVMQ)
• Small Animal Speaker of the Year (2015), North American Veterinary Conference (NAVC)
• Small Animal Speaker of the Year (2016), North American Veterinary Conference (NAVC)
• University of Minnesota, College of Veterinary Medicine, 2016 Graduation Commencement Speaker
• Western University of Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, 2017 Graduation Commencement Speaker, issued Doctor of Humane Letters

Smartphone applications:

• Content consultant for the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center app called “Animal Poisons” in 2017.
• Content creator of Pet Poison Helpline app called “Pet Poisons” 2012.

Vicky Lipscomb graduated from Cambridge University in 1996 and has spent time in both general and specialist referral practice in the UK. Vicky undertook an internship and surgical residency training at the Royal Veterinary College in London, becoming a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Surgery in 2002. Vicky returned the RVC as a Lecturer in 2003, where she is now Professor and has been Head of Small Animal Surgery since 2012. Vicky’s clinical interests extend to all aspects of soft tissue surgery and her major clinical research interests include the investigation and treatment of congenital portosystemic shunts in dogs and cats.

Dr. Schmidt graduated from the School of Veterinary Medicine in Hanover, Germany, in 2002. Following this, he pursued a doctoral degree in Vascular Biology & Tumour Angiogenesis and subsequently completed an ECVIM-CA residency in small animal oncology in the United Kingdom at VRCC. Since 2010 he is an EBVS® European Specialist in Veterinary Oncology (Diplomate ECVIM-CA (oncology)) and a German Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine. Dr. Schmidt serves as a senior consultant oncologist and head of the residency program in medical oncology at the Veterinary Clinic Hofheim in Hofheim, Germany. He is also the Programme Director of the ESAVS Oncology Certificate and Master's Program.

Emmelie Stock graduated as a veterinarian in 2012 from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Ghent University, Belgium. She subsequently completed an internship and a residency in Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging at the same university. During her residency, she also successfully completed a PhD entitled “The evaluation of kidney function in cats using non-invasive functional imaging.” In 2019, she became a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging (ECVDI).
She stayed at the university until beginning 2026 as senior clinician in small animal imaging. She currently works as imaging consultant, combining work in private referral practice and teleradiology.

Jaime Viscasillas has focused his professional career in the area of Veterinary Anesthesia. He is the Head of the Pain and Anesthesia unit service at Anicura Valencia Sur Veterinary Hospital.
His extensive experience in the specialty begins after his Bachelor's degree from the University of Zaragoza in 1998, where years later he obtained a position as associate lecturer in anesthesia at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the same University.
In 2009 he began working in the Anesthesia Service of the prestigious Royal Veterinary College of London where he combined clinical and teaching practice while completing the Specialist Diploma from the European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia (DipECVAA).
Leacturer in Anesthesia at the CEU-Cardenal Herrera University of Valencia from 2019 to August 2022.
Extensive contribution to the specialty through numerous articles in high-impact international journals as well as chapters in several books on veterinary anesthesia. She has participated in communications at national and international conferences , postgraduate training, courses and has been part of scientific research related to the specialty.
His training and experience have led him to stay in International Hospitals for both veterinary medicine and human medicine.
Member of the Anesthesia accreditation committee by AVEPA, secretary of the Spanish Society of Veterinary Analgesia and Anesthesia (SEAAV) and reviewer of scientific articles from several national and international journals.

Holger is currently Professor of Small Animal Diseases and the Head of Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover, Visiting Professor of Veterinary Neurology and Neurosurgery, Royal Veterinary College, London and Affiliate Professor of Veterinary Neurology, University of Copenhagen. He graduated from the University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover in 2001, where he also did his PhD in Neuropharmacology studying basic mechanisms of drug-resistant epilepsy. He then completed his specialist clinical education doing an internship and a residency in Neurology and Neurosurgery at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC). The RVC also provided him with the chance to not only excel academically and clinically, but also in his leadership skills, going through the reigns from lecturer to head of service, clinical director of the Small Animal Referral clinic and last as head of department of clinical science and services. Holger is internationally known for his work in the field of SARS-CoV-2 Medical Scent Detection Dogs, neuropathic pain and epilepsy. He was President of the European College of Veterinary Neurology and active in the Executive Board of Veterinary Specialisation as treasurer. Holger has been chairing the International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force, which published seven consensus statements for canine and feline epilepsy and was a co-chair of the recent published ACVIM consensus statement about medical treatment of epilepsy and emergency seizures, and ECVN consensus about movement disorders. He has been a recipient of several Jim Bee educator excellent in teaching awards, Professor of the year in Germany (2nd rank biomedical sciences, Unicum), the prestigious Bourgelat Award and also the Woodrow from BSAVA, and the International Canine Health Award from the Kennel Club, and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) International Award. In 2022, Holger became fellow of the RCVS for Meritorious Contributions to Clinical Practice. He has published multiple books and book chapters, >300 articles, >180 conference abstracts, and is a frequent flyer on the international conference circuit.

Zoran is a veterinary specialist in sports medicine and rehabilitation, primarily working with small animals, with a focus on physical therapy. He graduated from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, where he is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Radiology, Diagnostic Ultrasound and Physical Therapy. He is a Diplomate of the American and European Colleges of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. His main professional interests include rehabilitation of orthopaedic and neurological patients and sports medicine. Over the past several years, he has developed a strong passion for sled dog sports and works as part of veterinary teams at international sled dog races across Europe.