Veterinary Educational Development
 

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Fiona Lovatt

Clinical Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences

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Biography

Fiona Lovatt graduated from Bristol University in 1995 and until 2012 worked as a farm vet in a first opinion mixed veterinary practice serving 500 farms based in the Barnard Castle area of north east England. Whilst in practice she was particularly interested in sheep flock health and undertook a number of small clinical research projects. Following expeditions to both the Arctic and Antarctic, she began research in conservation genetics of South Georgia reindeer on a part time basis and was awarded a PhD by Durham University in 2007.

In 2012, she was awarded a Diploma in Sheep Health and Production by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and became a diplomate of the European College of Small Ruminant Health Management. Since 2014 she hahs been a RCVS- and European- Recognised Specialist in Sheep Health and Production.

Fiona runs the sheep veterinary consultancy business, Flock Health Ltd (www.flockhealth.co.uk) which works collaboratively with veterinary surgeons, farmers, processors, retailers and pharmaceutical companies in both UK and abroad. She is particularly passionate about getting pro-active veterinary involvement on sheep farms and spends a lot of her time enthusing both vets and sheep farmers to interact better through both proactive individual flock health planning and Flock Health Clubs.

She is a past president of the Sheep Veterinary Society and currently chairs the UK sheep industry antibiotic group having been a member of the RUMA (Responsible Use of Medicine in Agriculture) Target Task Force, responsibility for setting and delivering responsible use targets for the sheep industry.

Teaching Summary

Fiona is involved in undergraduate teaching across all aspects of clinical sheep production medicine. She has developed a number of CPD courses for veterinarians in the UK and abroad as well as… read more

Research Summary

Fiona is a veterinary clinician with a particular interest in research of sheep flock health issues and in transferring research findings to the veterinary profession and the sheep industry.

  • Understanding farmer attitudes and behaviours towards management of scab to identify successful behavioural interventions Co-investigator (Funded by Defra itt_4981 - Project 23900 - VMD Research Requirements (Lot 2 - Antiparasitic Resistance: Sheep Scab)
  • SPILaMM-Sheep Performance Improvement through Lameness Monitoring and Management Co-Investigator (Funded by Innovate UK) 2015-2019 (Dunbia and FarmWizard Industry partners)
  • A study to quantify usage patterns and understand perceptions towards antimicrobial use on sheep and beef farms (Co-Investigator) (PhD studentship Funded by AHDB Beef and Lamb 2017-2020)

  • Optimising the use of footbathing for control and prevention of lameness in sheep (Co-Investigator) (PhD studentship Funded by AHDB Beef and Lamb 2017-2020)
  • Evidence Based Decisions for Lamb Production. (Co-Investigator) (PhD studentship Funded by AHDB Beef and Lamb). 2016-2019 Industry partner: Sainsbury's​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
  • Senior Clinical Training Scholarship (Residency) in Farm Animal Pathology' project (2017-20) Co-supervisor (Funded by AHDB Beef & Lamb and MSD Animal Health)

Recent Publications

Fiona is involved in undergraduate teaching across all aspects of clinical sheep production medicine. She has developed a number of CPD courses for veterinarians in the UK and abroad as well as training sessions and workshops for sheep farmers.

In 2018 she was awarded a Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.

Veterinary Educational Development Research Theme

The University of Nottingham
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science
Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire, LE12 5RD


telephone: +44 (0) 115 951 6116
email: Email our Research Theme Leader