Dr. Cathryn Mellersh
Senior Research Associate
Cathryn is driven by a passion to understand the genetic basis of inherited diseases in dogs and develop and deliver DNA tools that dog breeders can use to reduce the prevalence of disease in future generations of dogs and that veterinary surgeons can use to help diagnose disease.
Head of the Canine Genetics Centre (CGC) group, Cathryn has worked in the field of canine genetics for nearly 30 years and has co-authored over 120 peer-reviewed scientific papers.
In 2015 Cathryn was recognised for her contributions to veterinary science and canine health as the co-winner of the International Canine Health Awards (International Prize), run by the Kennel Club Charitable Trust and in 2016 was awarded the PetPlan Charitable Trust Scientific Award.
Cathryn is a member of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association Hereditary Disease Committee, the Kennel Club Health Screening & Genetics Sub-Group and the Kennel Club Dog Health Group.
Dr. Sally Ricketts
Senior Research Associate
Sally has a strong general interest in complex diseases in dogs, with a particular focus on neurological disorders and diseases with an immune component.
Dr. Katherine Stanbury
Research Associate
Kat mainly works on a project that researches genetically inherited eye disease in dogs, known as CRIEDD.
Ellen Schofield
Research Associate/Bioinformatician
Ellen handles all of our computing needs, from this website to the high-performance compute pipelines.
Dr. Chris Jenkins
Research Associate
Chris focuses on research into inherited neurological diseases, including idiopathic epilepsy and movement disorders.
Louise Pettitt
Research Assistant
Louise works on a variety of projects, providing lab support to other members of staff.
Bryan McLaughlin
Genetics Research Coordinator
Bryan is involved in the recruitment and management of samples that are useful in our research.
Jim Johnson
Idiopathic Epilepsy Study Co-ordinator
Jim works on expanding our collection of cheek swab DNA samples from dogs with and without idiopathic epilepsy as well as developing surveys to obtain background information.
Bruno Lopes
Part-time PhD Student
Bruno is a qualified veterinary neurologist who is under-taking a part-time PhD at the University of Cambridge on the genetics of intervertebral disc disease.
