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School of the Biological Sciences

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The Department of Veterinary Medicine at Cambridge is at the forefront of veterinary science and education and is a centre of excellence for teaching and research. Veterinary Medicine is a large, multidisciplinary department whose scientific activities are fully integrated into the whole University.

The Department hosts Undergraduate and Postgraduate students and it operates small animal and equine hospitals and equine and farm animal clinical services in order to provide clinical teaching material. The majority of the research groups are housed in Department buildings on the University’s West Cambridge Site, and others are based across the Schools of Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences and Clinical Medicine.

The mission of the Department of Veterinary Medicine is to improve the health and welfare of animals and people in the context of the environment they live in and share through the provision of excellence in education, research, clinical practice and outreach. The Department is committed to the delivery of a world-class education that is based on scientific scholarship, and makes use of cutting edge instructional methodologies that are validated through outcomes assessment. Our researchers work at the forefront of the biomedical sciences, undertaking cross-disciplinary research to address the pre-eminent One Health challenges[1]. Our graduate and post-graduate training programmes prepare the next generation of researchers, clinicians and clinician-scientists, and our clinics deliver state of the art medical and surgical treatments for companion animals, equines and food producing animals. The Department is committed to outreach activities that disseminate the results of our scholarship, that attract the best and the brightest students irrespective of background, and that inform and shape the future of veterinary medicine.

Learn more about the Department of Veterinary Medicine.

 
[1] There are a number of ‘One Health’ definitions available. The two World Health Organization’s (WHO) definitions of ‘health’ and ‘veterinary public health’, combined with others, reflect the Department’s commitment and contribution to ‘One Health’. WHO (1948) defines ‘health’ as ‘a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’. WHO (1999) defines Veterinary Public Health as ‘The sum of all contributions to the physical, mental and social wellbeing of humans through an understanding and application of veterinary science.’

 

Wider Impact

Reduction of antibiotic use and MRSA in livestock

Learn how Cambridge and its partners make a positive impact around the world.

Acting Head of Department:

Professor Mark Holmes

Dean of the Veterinary School

Dr Jane Dobson


Departmental Administrator

Lucy Matthews (Interim)