Vet professor wins prestigious award

Professor Julie Fitzpatrick OBE has been awarded the British Veterinary Association’s (BVA) prestigious Chiron Award.

Prof Fitzpatrick qualified from Glasgow University in 1982 as the McCall Award winner for most outstanding veterinary student throughout her course and after five years in mixed practice in Northumberland, she did her PhD at Bristol and returned to Glasgow, where she established herself as a dedicated veterinary teacher and researcher.

For the past ten years, she has been the Scientific Director of the Moredun Research Institute and Chief Executive of the Moredun Group while she also holds a Chair in Food Security in the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences at the University of Glasgow.

Prof Fitzpatrick’s research interests focus on livestock health and disease in the UK and in developing countries. She was also closely involved with BVA as a member and then Chair of BVA’s Veterinary Policy Group between 2003 and 2007.

Between 2007 and 2012, Prof Fitzpatrick was a member of the Wellcome Trust’s Veterinary Fellowship Panel while in 2013 she was appointed to the Research Excellence Framework Panel to assess veterinary, agricultural and food science areas in the higher education institute sector.

She is now a member of the BBSRC’S Food Security Strategic Advisory Panel and on the board of Quality Meat Scotland. Her international work also involves being co-chair of the Southern African Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance, where she plays a major role in knowledge exchange. In 2003 she was awarded the G Norman Hall Medal for research into animal diseases by the RCVS Trust, as well as a degree of Doctor of Science by Heriot-Watt University in 2013.

She was recognised for her contribution to animal medicine through an OBE in 2014. The Chiron Award, for outstanding contributions to veterinary science or services to the profession, was presented during an awards ceremony at the BVA Members’ Day in Manchester.

Professor Fitzpatrick said: “I was absolutely delighted to hear the news that I was to be the recipient of the Chiron Award from the BVA in 2014. I am very grateful indeed for the recognition and support of so many individuals and groups from across the breadth of the BVA membership.

“I accept this award on behalf of my colleagues at the Moredun Research Institute and the University of Glasgow, in addition to myself.

“The work we have undertaken in research, development, education and knowledge exchange is very much down to team effort and I have been fortunate to be involved in leadership of so many talented and committed people.”