Ms Sophie Mahendran
BVMedSci BVMBVS(hons) MSc DipECBHM FHEA MRCVS
Barham Benevolent Foundation Lecturer in Farm Animal Health and Welfare
Department: Pathobiology & Population Sciences
Clinical Groups: Farm Animal Health
Research Centres: RVC Animal Welfare Science and Ethics
Lecturer in Farm Animal Health and Welfare
Sophie Mahendran qualified from The University of Nottingham in 2012 with a degree in Veterinary Medical Sciences, Medicine and Surgery. She then went on to complete an internship followed by a three year residency program at the RVC in Production Animal Medicine. During this time she also undertook a Masters in Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health, which she received in 2016. During this prostgraduate training, Sophie developed a keen interest in both cattle lameness and calf health, and studied to become an ECBHM diplomate, which she received in 2018. This enabled her to become an RCVS Specialist in Cattle Health and Production in 2019.
Sophie worked as a Teaching Fellow at the Surrey University for 18 months, before returning to the RVC to take up a role as a Lecturer, as well as completing a part-time PhD in calf health which finished in 2024. She completed her postgraduate certificate in Veterinary Education in 2021, and has a keen interest and active role in educating future farm vets, with particular involvement in final year rotations and links with the offsite teaching partners Synergy Farm Health.
Externally, Sophie is a past president of the AVTRW (2021-22), and continues to be strongly involved with the Association. She is also an associate editor for Veterinary Evidence (the RCVS knowledge journal).
Mahendran, S.A.; Huxley, J.N.; Chang, Y.-M.; Burnell, M.; Barrett, D.C.; Whay, H.R.; Blackmore, T.; Mason, C.S.; Bell, N.J. Randomised Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Effect of Foot Trimming before and after First Calving on Subsequent Lameness Episodes and Productivity in Dairy Heifers. Vet. J. 2017, 220, doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2017.01.011.
Mahendran SA, Booth R, Bell NJ, Burge M: Randomised positive control trial of NSAID and antimicrobial treatment for calf fever caused by pneumonia. Vet Rec 2017, 181(2):45.
Mahendran SA, Booth R, Beekhuis L, Manning A, Blackmore T, Vanhoudt A, Bell N: Assessing the effects of weekly preweaning health scores on dairy calf mortality and productivity parameters: cohort study. Vet Rec 2017, 181(8):196.
Mahendran, S.A.; Booth, R.; Bell, N.J. Randomised Control Trial of NSAID and Antimicrobial Treatments for Pyrexia Caused by BRD. In Proceedings of the BCVA Cattle Practice; Remnant, J.G., Ed.; Southport, 2017; pp. 259–266.
Mahendran, S.A. Use of Fever Detection in Combination with Thoracic Ultrasonography to Identify Respiratory Disease, and Compare Treatments of Antimicrobials and NSAID: A Randomised Study in Dairy Calves. Vet. Rec. Open 2020, 7, e000415, doi:10.1136/vetreco-2020-000415.
Mahendran, S.A.; Wathes, D.C.; Booth, R.E.; Blackie, N. The Health and Behavioural Effects of Individual versus Pair Housing of Calves at Different Ages on a UK Commercial Dairy Farm. Animals 2021, 11, 612, doi:10.3390/ani11030612.
Mahendran, S.A.; Wathes, D.C.; Booth, R.E.; Blackie, N. A Survey of Calf Management Practices and Farmer Perceptions of Calf Housing in UK Dairy Herds. J. Dairy Sci. 2022, 105, 49–423, doi:10.3168/JDS.2021-20638.
Mahendran, S.A.; Blackie, N.; Wathes, D.C.; Booth, R.E. Comparison of Environment Quality Measurements between 3 Types of Calf Housing in the United Kingdom. J. Dairy Sci. 2023, 106, 2461–2474, doi:10.3168/JDS.2022-22613.
Mahendran, S. A., Wathes, D. C., Booth, R. E., & Blackie, N. (2024). Effects of the Individual and Pair Housing of Calves on Long-Term Heifer Production on a UK Commercial Dairy Farm. Animals, 14(1), 125. https://doi.org/10.3390/ANI14010125
Mahendran, Sophie A., Richard E. Booth, D. Claire Wathes, and Nicola Blackie. 2025. "Comparison of Activity Levels Around Disbudding Between Individually and Pair-Housed Dairy Calves" Dairy 6, no. 2: 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/dairy6020016
Swift, B.M.C.; Denton, E.J.; Mahendran, S.A.; Huxley, J.N.; Rees, C.E.D. Development of a Rapid Phage-Based Method for the Detection of Viable Mycobacterium Avium Subsp. Paratuberculosis in Blood within 48 H. J. Microbiol. Methods 2013, 94, 175–179, doi:10.1016/J.MIMET.2013.06.015.
Manning, A.D.; Mahendran, S.A.; Hurst, B.S.; Blackmore, T.L.; Bell, N.J. Effect of a Prewash on Footbath Contamination: A Randomised Control Trial. Vet. Rec. 2017, 180, doi:10.1136/vr.103922.
Prior, S., Blackie, N., Fishwick, J., & Mahendran, S. A. (2023). Randomised Control Trial Investigating the Efficacy of Meloxicam and Sodium Salicylate Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs for Calf Cautery Disbudding. Animals, 13(11), 17668. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13111768
Fitzsimmonds, H. M., Fishwick, J., & Mahendran, S. (2024). Survey assessing foot trimmer involvement in managing lameness in UK beef cattle. The Veterinary Record, 195(1), no. https://doi.org/10.1002/VETR.4151
Angel, T. R., & Mahendran, S. A. (2024). Comparison of manual and automated body condition scoring of commercial dairy cattle. Veterinary Record, 195(7), no-no. https://doi.org/10.1002/VETR.4535
Fitzsimmonds, H. M., Tunstall, J., Fishwick, J., & Mahendran, S. A. (2024). Assessment of the Intra- and Inter-Observer Reliability of Beef Cattle Mobility Scoring Performed by UK Veterinarians and Beef Farmers. Ruminants 2024, Vol. 4, Pages 463-475, 4(4), 463–475. https://doi.org/10.3390/RUMINANTS4040033
Britten, N., & Mahendran, S. (2024). Environmental sustainability and ruminant production: A UK veterinary perspective. Veterinary Record, e4703. https://doi.org/10.1002/VETR.4703
Britten, N., Blackie, N., Reader, J., Booth, R. E., & Mahendran, S. A. (2025). Analysis of Cattle Foot Lesions Recorded at Trimming in the Southwest of England. Animals 2025, Vol. 15, Page 829, 15(6), 829. https://doi.org/10.3390/ANI15060829
Non-refereed Journals:
Mahendran, S.; Bell, N. Lameness in Cattle 2. Managing Claw Health through Appropriate Trimming Techniques. In Pract. 2015, 37, doi:10.1136/inp.h2011.
Mahendran, S.A. FeverTags: Engaging Technology in the Battle against Bovine Respiratory Disease. Livestock 2018, 23, 118–121, doi:10.12968/live.2018.23.3.118.
Sophie has a keen interest in education, with an active role in educating future farm vets through involvement in final year rotations and links with the offsite teaching partners Synergy Farm Health.