This page is just to give a bit of background about myself (as opposed to the rather stuffy CV which is also linked to on this site). I was in two minds whether or not to post the CV as by definition it sometimes seems a bit arrogant & of course self-promoting. But if you can't sell yourself on your own web pages then you may as well give up I guess, so bear with me as it was the easiest way to tabulate my professional history.
OK, so to explain myself, I have recently submitted my PhD thesis in Stirling in my home country of Scotland. I suppose I'm what you'd class a 'mature' student (born 1971), although I don't feel much above average age amongst my peers (many others seem to fall into PhDs after previous careers). My undergraduate education was in my native city at Glasgow University Veterinary School. Like many others, I always felt a great affinity & affection for animals & partly due to the writings of a certain previous Glasgow graduate named Alf Wight (aka James Herriot) I developed a strong desire to become a veterinary surgeon.
It's hard to believe now, but at the time when I was applying to vet school (1988) - despite the fact that there was a chronic shortage of veterinarians in the UK - both Glasgow & Cambridge Vet Schools were under threat of closure. This rather paradoxical scenario followed the findings of the Riley Committee which was investigating cost-cutting strategies in higher education on the Government's behalf. In response to a massive public outcry in Scotland - culminating in the presentation to Downing St. of a petition of over 650,000 signatures - in 1989 the Government decided to keep all 6 UK vet schools open & in fact significantly increased the intake of students (in fact a new UK vet school will soon be established in Nottingham: then there were seven). Bureaucracy!
So, my cohorts & I started
our vet education in 1989 and over the next 5 years we developed into a
closely-knit bunch, being let loose on the animal population in 1994. I, like
most of my friends decided to work in mixed-species general practice which
resulted in my employment in Stranraer situated on the idyllic peninsula in
SW Scotland
known as the Rhins of Galloway. I'm very glad that I chose to work in Stranraer,
as not only did it nurture my interest in production animal medicine, but I was
also fortunate enough to meet my future wife Sarah, who was also employed as a
vet in the practice. Following our wedding, we moved north to Lanarkshire,
initially to Strathaven (confusingly pronounced as Stra’ven in Scotland) and then on to
Airdrie.
It was around this time that I started to think about my long-term career and came to the decision that although mixed practice has many positive attributes, I was keen to specialise in a particular facet of veterinary science. With a well-established interest in farm animal production I considered the possibilities, although the combination of rationalisation of the dairy industry and major disease impacts (including the media favourite, BSE) made ruminant medicine less appealing than in Herriot's days.
A few factors came together at this moment & started to make sense. We were now living within commuting distance of Stirling, and I was well aware of the aquatic vet course on offer at the university, thanks to Stirling alumnus Hogne Bleie - a Norwegian friend from vet school days. The more I discovered, the more appealing it became, & thanks to the major sacrifice that Sarah undertook in financially supporting our family (now with 2 small people in tow), I enrolled for the MSc course in Aquatic Veterinary Studies. I fully expected to be looking for gainful employment following the year-long course, but as tends to happen, circumstances changed & I discovered through my MSc research project that I was interested in continuing in research. Thus, I was fortunate enough to commence a PhD project in the very strong Aquatic Vaccine Unit in the Institute of Aquaculture, working on the intriguing parasitic condition known as proliferative kidney disease of salmonid fish.
The PhD experience has been thoroughly enjoyable, exposing me to spheres of interest which I hadn’t previously considered. I’ve also been lucky enough to be involved in the current MSc courses, acting as a part-time teaching assistant, served as treasurer of the Aquaculture Students Association (ASA) and am inaugural president of the Whisky Appreciation Society in Aquaculture (WASA). The longer I’ve been involved with aquaculture, the more I’ve come to realise what a friendly environment it is: most people being very gregarious & willing to share experience & expertise. I'm therefore very pleased to be remaining at Stirling as a postdoctoral research scientist.
In hindsight, I’m very glad that I followed my specific career path, even although some people cannot understand why anyone would want to leave behind working as a vet in general practice (Rolf Harris has a lot to answer for). I’m certainly pleased that I studied veterinary medicine & surgery as I learnt a tremendous amount - both at uni & in practice, and do have to admit to occasionally missing dealing with cows (& the farmers) or carrying out challenging surgical procedures. On the other hand, I emphatically don’t miss being called out of my bed in the middle of the night to end up lying in a freezing field for 2 hours trying to calve a fractious limousin heifer! In the end, things seem to have a habit of working out OK, so fingers crossed for the future.
At Pitlochry fish ladder