Working together to reduce cattle lameness

About the Team

The Healthy Feet Project team consists of -

(from left to right)

 

Clare Maggs BSc, MSc (Research Technician) – Clare studied Animal Science at Seale-Hayne Agricultural College before completing a MSc at Edinburgh university. The subject of her dissertation was the effect of cow track quality on dairy cow locomotion.

Zoe Barker BSc, PhD (researcher and education officer) – Zoe studied animal science at Edinburgh university before working on a large EU funded lameness project. As part of this study she investigated various risk factors for lameness and claw lesions.

Nick Bell MA, VetMB, MRCVS (Veterinary Advisor) – Nick qualified at Cambridge Veterinary school in 1999. He has just completed a 4 year DEFRA funded research project, working with groups of vets and farmers at reducing lameness in 1st lactation heifers. The project focused on many of the methods used by the current Healthy Feet Project. He has spent a few years working as a large animal practitioner in Devon, Dorset and Hampshire before specialising in lameness and herd health advisory work.

Katharine Leach BSc, PhD (Scientific coordinator) – Katharine is an experienced lameness researcher, spending several years on lameness work at the Scottish Agricultural College. Katharine has studied the effects of nutrition on claw health. She is equally knowledgeable on the subject of mastitis after 2 years on a research project.

Anouska Bell BSc, MSc (Research Technician) – Anouska did her MSc in animal behaviour at Exeter University and graduated in 2004. She has also worked on a dairy farm prior to her MSc.

Additional members of the team are:

Jessica Stokes BSc, MSc Our PhD student studied for her BSc and MSc at Exeter university and is now looking at digital dermatitis and ways of improving techniques of visual diagnosis in the parlour.

Madeleine Neale BVMS, MRCVS (Vet Advisor for the Soil Association)

Liz Paul BSc, PhD (Psychologist and researcher)

Becky Whay BSc, PhD (Project Lead on strategy and researcher)

John Webster MA, VetMB, PhD, MRCVS (Consultant researcher)

David Main BVetMed, PhD, CertVR, DWEL, MRCVS (Principal Investigator and researcher)