Published: 20 Jul 2023 | Last Updated: 20 Jul 2023 09:32:31

The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has appointed Simon Priestnall, Professor of Veterinary Anatomic Pathology, as Head of the Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences (PPS). In this role, Professor Priestnall will continue driving forward PPS’s mission in excelling in understanding, diagnosing and educating about animal disease, embracing One Health principles, with the ultimate purpose of enhancing human lives and livelihoods through improved animal health and welfare.

Professor Priestnall brings vast experience and expertise in the field holding Fellowships of the Royal College of Pathologists, Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, Royal Society of Biology and the Higher Education Academy. Professor Priestnall is a recognised Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Specialist in Veterinary Pathology - with diagnostic and research expertise in respiratory, gastrointestinal and experimental histopathology. He is also a Senior Examiner for the Royal College of Pathologists and Chair of the Anatomic Pathology Examination Assembly and Administration Committee of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists. Professor Priestnall also previously served as President of the British Society of Veterinary Pathology.

The Department of PPS is home to academic staff with a broad spectrum of professional interests and networks. It is renowned for its expertise in the production of animal medicine, animal welfare, epidemiology, economics and veterinary public health, clinical and anatomic pathology, virology, bacteriology, immunology and parasitology. This broad spectrum of expertise enables Departmental researchers to consider disease processes from the molecular and cellular level through to the whole animal and animal populations. The effects of disease on welfare and the impact of disease on human-animal interactions and human health are fostered by this multidisciplinary approach.

The Department also provides extensive undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, including residency programmes in pathology, epidemiology, production animal practice and zoo health management and wildlife population health and runs a large diagnostic service for clinical colleagues within the RVC and further afield.

Professor Priestnall will succeed Professor Ken Smith, who will be taking on a new role as Head of the RVC’s Graduate School, in July this year.

Professor Stuart Reid CBE, RVC President & Principal, said:

“I am pleased to welcome Professor Priestnall as our new Head of the Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences (PPS). Simon has a broad range of experience and will be bringing his skills and leadership from an international view of our sector. The diversity of PSS and the position of its disciplines at the centre of our curricula make Simon’s appointment an important one for the RVC.”

Simon Priestnall, RVC Professor of Veterinary Anatomic Pathology, said:

“I am delighted and honoured to take up this role leading a dynamic and diverse Department full of very talented people. I look forward to building on the successes we have already achieved as a Department and university and to new collaborations both nationally and internationally.”

Notes to Editors

For media enquiries, please contact:

• Jasmin De Vivo devivo@plmr.co.uk or rvc@plmr.co.uk
• Press Line: 0800 368 9520

About the RVC

• The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is the UK's largest and longest established independent veterinary school and is a Member Institution of the University of London.
• It is one of the few veterinary schools in the world that hold accreditations from the RCVS in the UK (with reciprocal recognition from the AVBC for Australasia, the VCI for Ireland and the SAVC for South Africa), the EAEVE in the EU, and the AVMA in the USA and Canada.
• The RVC is ranked as the top veterinary school in the world in the QS World University Rankings by subject, 2023.
• The RVC offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in veterinary medicine, veterinary nursing and biological sciences.
• The RVC is a research-led institution, with 88% of its research rated as internationally excellent or world class in the Research Excellence Framework 2021.
• The RVC provides animal owners and the veterinary profession with access to expert veterinary care and advice through its teaching hospitals and first opinion practices in London and Hertfordshire.