Prof Melanie Hezzell

Melanie qualified from Cambridge in 1997. She worked for 10 years in mixed and small animal practice in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, during which time she undertook the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Certificates in Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging and Veterinary Cardiology. As a result, she was inspired to continue her education in veterinary cardiology, starting with a rotating small animal internship at the Royal Veterinary College and followed by a PhD in the epidemiology of myxomatous mitral valve disease at the same institution. She then completed a residency in veterinary cardiology at the University of Pennsylvania, during which she was awarded an American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation Clinician Scientist Fellowship. She became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Cardiology) in 2016 and an RCVS Recognised Specialist in Veterinary Cardiology in 2018. Since her return to the UK in 2016, she has worked at the University of Bristol Veterinary School, where she is currently Professor of Veterinary Cardiology. She was awarded the Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in 2018 and a University of Bristol Research Fellowship in 2019. Her research is focussed on cardiovascular disease, with particular emphasis on myxomatous mitral valve disease, endothelial cell biology and the cardiorenal syndrome.