Scientific Advisors
Research Director - Prof. Roger Smith MA VetMB PhD MRCVS DEO DipECVS
Roger Smith is currently Professor of Equine Orthopaedics at the Royal Veterinary College. He qualified as a Veterinary surgeon from Cambridge University in 1987 and after 2 years in practice, returned to academia to undertake further clinical training as a Resident in Equine Studies at the Royal Veterinary College. Following his residency he undertook a 3 year research project culminating in the award of a PhD for his studies on the extracellular matrix of equine tendon. He remained at the Royal Veterinary College since being appointed to Professor in Equine Orthopaedics in December 2003. He holds the Diploma of Equine Orthopaedics from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and is both a Diplomat of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons, and a Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Specialist in Equine Surgery.
He currently divides his time equally between running a specialist orthopaedic service within the Royal Veterinary College and continuing to direct research into equine tendon disease. His main area of research is on the pathogenesis of tendon disease but also has projects investigating the epidemiology of tendon disease in the horse, development of a serological assay for tendonitis, and stem cell therapy in conjunction with a commercial company, VetCell Biosciences which he helped establish and which is now a subsidiary of Quy Biosciences.
MedCell Director - Paul Ripley BVM&S MRCVS
Paul Ripley is a veterinary surgeon, widely experienced in animal health product development and registration, both pharmaceutical and immunological, and in the conduct of veterinary clinical trials. Following a period in a mixed veterinary practice, Paul worked in the R&D departments of the animal health divisions of a number of international pharmaceutical companies - Welcome (now GlaxoSmithKline), Rhone-Merieux (now Merial) and more recently, Novartis. In 2005 he set up an independent consultancy, working with new biotechnology companies, conducting and managing clinical trials, and advising on development and registration in an area where the technology is new and the regulatory framework evolving.
Veterinary Advisor - David Mountford MA VetMB MRCVS
David is an equine veterinary surgeon with a special interest in stem cell treatment. He joined the Royal Army Veterinary Corps after graduating from Cambridge University and served in the UK, Hong Kong and Cyprus before returning to London with the King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery. On leaving the Army, David joined the ILPH (now World Horse Welfare) as Director of Operations and Veterinary Advisor, managing the charity’s activities in the UK and overseas. After four years he left to set up VetCell. David has been involved in the management of the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) since 2002 and has been veterinary representative to the British Horse Industry Confederation since 2006. Any spare time David has is spent ferrying his children and ponies to competitions around East Anglia, or coaching at the local rugby club. Please use the VetCell Contact page to get in touch with David.
Veterinary Advisor - Tim Beauregard MRCVS
Tim is an equine vet with experience in application of stem cell therapy since 2004. He was involved in development of the method of collection of bone marrow from the tuber coxae, and is available to assist practitioners in learning this procedure as well as sternal sampling. He can help with ultrasound guided implantation of stem cells or PRP into lesions if required. Tim is also available to talk to your vet regarding the possibilities for your horse's treatment. Please use the VetCell Contact page to get in touch with Tim.
Veterinary Advisor - Charlotte Avella BVSc Phd Cert EP Cert ES (Orth) MRCVS
Charlotte Avella qualified as a vet from Bristol University in 2000. She did an internship in an equine practice and then worked as an ambulatory equine vet for a further year. She then completed a three year Senior Clinical Training Scholarship (‘residency’) in Equine Orthopaedics at the Royal Veterinary College. During this time she joined a research team investigating fractures and tendon injuries in National Hunt racehorses in training funded by the Horserace Betting Levy Board. During her residency Charlotte worked under the supervision of Professor Roger Smith who was pioneering stem cell therapy as a treatment for tendon injury.
Having established a particular interest in tendon injury Charlotte subsequently studied for three and a half years to complete her PhD which investigated the effects of mechanical loading on tendon matrix protein release. Charlotte is now a Staff Clinician in Equine Diagnostic Imaging at the Royal Veterinary College Equine Referral Hospital; this encompasses standing MRI, standing CT, scintigraphy, radiology and ultrasonography. In addition Charlotte is a duty veterinarian at various BE and FEI Horse Trials including Aston-le- Walls and Blenheim International Horse Trials and will shortly be undertaking FEI training. Please use the VetCell Contact page to get in touch with Charlotte.
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