The Team

Dr Cathryn Mellersh
Dr. Cathryn MellershORCID iD icon

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 Kennel Club Genetics Centre (KCGC) 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
Dr. Sally RickettsORCID iD icon

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. Louise Burmeister
Dr. Louise BurmeisterORCID iD icon

Research Associate

Louise is interested in a number of inherited diseases, with a current focus on Primary hyperparathyroidism in Keeshonds and Congenital hepatic fibrosis in Skye Terriers

Ellen Schofield
Ellen SchofieldORCID iD icon

Research Associate/Bioinformatician

Ellen handles all of our computing needs, from this website to the high-performance compute pipelines.

Dr. Katherine Stanbury
Dr. Katherine Stanbury

Research Associate

Kat mainly works on a project that researches genetically inherited eye disease in dogs, known as CRIEDD.

Chris Jenkins
Chris JenkinsORCID iD icon

Research Assistant

Chris focuses on research into inherited neurological diseases, including idiopathic epilepsy and movement disorders.

Louise Pettitt
Louise Pettitt

Research Assistant

Louise works on a variety of projects, providing lab support to other members of staff.

Bryan McLaughlin
Bryan McLaughlin

Genetics Research Coordinator

Bryan is involved in the recruitment and management of samples that are useful in our research.

Jim Johnson
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.