Biography
I graduated from UCW Aberystwyth in 1985 with a degree in Agriculture. Following graduation I went on to work with the National Pig Development Company, specialising in the selection and evaluation of animals for the hybrid breeding market. After two years working in industry I completed a Certificate in Education at Wolverhampton Polytechnic in 1988. I was then recruited by the British Council to teach agriculture to secondary school students in the Kalahari Region of Botswana. It was during this experience that I discovered my passion for teaching practical subjects, and was instrumental in developing the learning facilities of the school. These included extensive garden development, biogas generation facilities and livestock housing. After leaving Botswana, I worked in several Further Education Colleges of Agriculture in the UK, before coning to Edinburgh in 1991 to study for an MSc in Tropical Animal Production and Health at the Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine (CTVM). Graduating with a distinction in this subject, I was retained as a research associate at the CTVM. I worked here for the next twelve years carrying out research into improving the health and welfare of working animals in Africa and South America. I joined Aberdeen University as a teaching fellow in 2003, where I taught livestock science to undergraduates and supervised several research degrees. I joined Edinburgh Napier University in 2007, where I was mainly involved with the development of the veterinary nursing degree programme. I am now programme leader for Biological Sciences in the School of Applied Sciences at Edinburgh Napier,