Speakers

Name

Bio 

 Mushtaq Bilal

 Rikke Buhl

Professor and head of Section of Medicine and Surgery, Department of Large Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. Additionally, she is Head of The Graduate School at The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences with more than 1900 PhD students enrolled. She has supervised 13 PhD students and four post docs. Research focus is on cardiovascular adaptations to exercise, often termed “Athlete´s Heart” in racehorses with focus on translational perspectives. Especially atrial fibrillation has high interest and the disease is disabling for both horses and people. The horse is an alternative animal model compared to traditionally used models such as rodents and pigs and we show that the horse and human have several similarities regarding this disease. The research with establishing this new animal model has been funded both by the Danish Research Council, Marie Curie Horizon 2020 ITN network, Marie Curie Horizon 2020 IF and recently the Danish Cardiovascular Academy. The research methods goes from different electrophysiological measurements, echocardiography, various cellular and molecular analysis with collaboration between clinicians and basic scientists.

 Janne Winther Christensen

Janne Winther Christensen is Associate Professor at the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark. She is also senior vice president of the International Society for Equitation Science (ISES). Janne has conducted a number of research projects in relation to horse behaviour, stress and welfare, incl. the effects of various training methods.

 Annelies Decloedt

Annelies Decloedt is an associate professor at the faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University (Belgium). Annelies graduated as an equine veterinarian in 2008 from Ghent University, Belgium. She immediately started a PhD fellowship in the field of equine cardiology at Ghent University funded by the Research Foundation Flanders, investigating new echocardiographic techniques such as tissue Doppler imaging and two-dimensional speckle tracking for quantifying cardiac function in horses. This PhD was completed in 2012 and was followed by continued clinical research as a postdoctoral research fellow of the Research Foundation Flanders in the field of equine cardiology, ultrasound and exercise physiology. The project focused on right heart function in equine athletes and horses with pulmonary hypertension due to equine asthma. As a member of the Equine Cardioteam Ghent, she is actively involved in research and clinical work in equine cardiology. She coordinates and participates in several research projects regarding improved diagnosis and treatment of mitral and aortic valve regurgitation and cardiac arrhythmias in horses.

In 2015, Annelies was appointed as assistant professor in veterinary clinical and communication skills at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University. She is responsible for the courses “Clinical and communication skills” which run from the second until the fifth year of the six year program of Master in Veterinary Sciences. She developed and launched the veterinary skills laboratory for teaching veterinary clinical skills at Ghent University. In the skills laboratory, dummy models and simulators are used for teaching various skills such as injections or surgery. Flipped classroom teaching and blended learning is an essential part of the skills laboratory training. Annelies is also responsible for developing and teaching the communication skills training program, which includes both theoretical classes as well as many practical exercises including peer-to-peer role play, video analysis and role play using volunteers as simulated clients.

 Sonia Gonzalez-Medina

 Sanni Hansen

Sanni Hansen graduated from University of Copenhagen in 2008 and defended her PhD within Immunosenescence, Inflamm-aging in the Equine Lower Airway Immune System in 2012. She became a diplomate of the ECEIM in 2023. She is currently employed as Associate Professor, at the Department of Large Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. Her research focus is on airway diseases, primarily equine asthma as well as within equine gastric ulcer syndrome, primarily in the development of non-invasive biomarkers.

 Ken Hinchcliff

 Stine Jacobsen

I graduated in 2003 from the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Denmark, and obtained my PhD degree in 2003. I was made full professor of large animal surgery at University of Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2015, and I became diplomate of the ECVS in 2016. I divide my time between clinics, research and teaching and have published more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers. My main research interests are inflammation (where I have published extensively on serum amyloid A in horses and cattle), joint disease, and soft tissue surgery - particularly wound management. I have supervised more than 15 PhD students and residents, and have held several positions of trust, including board membership of Independent Research Fund Denmark and World Equine Veterinary Association.

 John Keen

 Casper Lindegaard 

Casper Lindegaard graduated from University of Copenhagen in 2002 and has worked in mixed rural practice before returning to academia. Casper defended his PhD within pain assessment and pain management in horses in 2009 and became a diplomate of the ECVS in 2012. Casper was head of surgery at the Evidensia Helsingborg Equine Hospital from 2012 to 2018 before returning to academia where he is professor of equine orthopedics and Director of the Large Animal Teaching Hospital at the University of Copenhagen. Casper has done researched, published, lectured and advocated for better implementation of pain assessment and management I horses since 2005. In addition to pain, Caspers research interests are equine joint disease, upper respiratory surgery and diagnostic imaging.

 Alicia Lundby

Alicia Lundby is Professor of Cardiac Proteomics at the University of Copenhagen. She received a M.Sc. degree in Physics and a Ph.D. in Health and Medical Sciences from the University of Copenhagen. During her pre- and post-graduate studies she received training at University of California in San Diego, The RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan and at The Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. She was trained in quantitative phosphoproteomics strategies as a post doctoral fellow in the group of Prof. Jesper V. Olsen at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research. She established an independent research group in 2015, where her interest in deep proteomics investigation was combined with cardiac electrophysiology and multi-modal data integration strategies. Her research is focused on uncovering molecular mechanisms contributing to cardiac pathologies. Her group has established methods to quantify protein abundances and signaling pathways from patient heart samples, which in combination with functional studies in matched model organisms, enable data-driven strategies to identify dysregulated proteins and signaling networks characterizing cardiac disease states. The emphasis of her group is to apply unbiased large-scale experimental approaches combining state-of-the-art proteomics with orthogonal approaches, such as human population genomics, single cell transcriptomics, spatial transcriptomics or pharmacovigilance, to identify proteins of key importance in molecular cardiac pathology.

 Katharyn Mitchell

Dr Katharyn Mitchell graduated from Massey University, New Zealand, in 2003 and since graduating she has been on a journey with equine medicine that has taken her around the world. In addition to her first three years spent as an intern, and nearly 5 years in private mixed practice in Australia, Dr Mitchell completed her residency in large animal internal medicine at Cornell University, USA in 2010. In 2013, Dr Mitchell headed to Switzerland, where she completed a PhD in equine cardiology in 2018.
Currently Dr Mitchell is an Assistant Professor in Large Animal Internal Medicine at Cornell University in the USA where she is continuing to investigate equine arrhythmias and the role of the cardiovascular system in critically ill patients.

 Malcolm Morley

Malcolm Morley qualified from the University of Bristol in 1993. He started his career at the Liphook Equine Hospital, and has predominantly worked in first opinion ambulatory practice at Stable Close Equine Practice in the UK. He has been a council member of the British Equine Veterinary Association and chaired their Pre-Purchase Examination Committee. More recently he was President of the British Veterinary Association 2022-2023.

 Emil Olsen

 Tina Pihl

 Scott Pirie

 Chris Sanchez

Dr. Chris Sanchez is a Professor of Large Animal Internal Medicine and Associate Dean for Clinical Services, Large Animal Operations at the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Her research and clinical interests include equine neonatology and gastroenterology, with a focus on pain management. She is the past Specialty President for Large Animal Internal Medicine for the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

 Colin Schwarzwald

Colin C. Schwarzwald graduated in 1997 from the University of Zurich School of
Veterinary Medicine. Between 1998 and 2001 he was intern and clinical instructor at the Equine Hospital of the University of Zurich and worked on his doctoral thesis to attain the Dr.med.vet. degree. Between 2001 and 2004 he completed an ACVIM Large Animal Internal Medicine residency program at The Ohio State University. Concurrently, from 2001 to 2006, he was also enrolled in a PhD program and conducted several research projects in the field of equine cardiology, in cooperation with Dr. John Bonagura, Dr. Robert Hamlin, Dr. William Muir, and several members of the cardiology section. In 2006 he moved back to the Vetsuisse Faculty of the University of Zurich, where he was employed as a Senior Lecturer in the Equine Internal Medicine Section. In 2012 he was appointed to a full professorship in Equine Internal Medicine. He is currently the director of the Clinic for Equine Internal Medicine and Chair of the Equine Department at the Vetsuisse Faculty of the University of Zurich.
His academic and clinical interests include large animal and comparative cardiology, with emphasis on echocardiography, cardiac electrophysiology, cardiovascular pharmacology, and cardiac biomarkers. In 2023, he was accepted as a Fellow of the American Society of Echocardiography.

 Bianca Schwarz 

Bianca Schwarz, Dr. med. vet., DipECEIM
- 1996 – 2002 Veterinary medicine in Munich and Zurich
- 2002 – 2005 Doctoral thesis in Munich
- 2005 – 2006 Internship in Equine Studies, Royal Veterinary College, University of London
- 2007 – 2011 Residency in Equine Internal Medicine, Vetmeduni Vienna
- 2011 DipECEIM
- 2011 – 2018 Head of Internal Medicine and owner of a private equine clinic in Germany
- Since 2019 Equine Internal Medicine consultant: www.pferdeinternist.de
- Member (2012-2015) and chair (2013) of the examination committee of the ECEIM
- WEVA board member 2013–2018
- Member of various committees (Veterinary Chamber of the Saarland) (since 2014)

 Marianne Sloet van   Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan

Marianne M. Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan, DVM (1982, cum laude), PhD (1990), Dip. ECEIM (2001) and Dip. ECVSMR (2019), has retired on December 13th 2021 as professor of Clinical Equine Internal Medicine at Utrecht University. However, she continues research with five PhD candidates till December 2026.
Since December 2021, she works part-time as a specialist/consultant in Krommerijnstreek Equine Practice (Schalkwijk), as a resident supervisor in Emmeloord Equine Clinic (Emmeloord) and as a veterinary consultant in Eikenlust Equine Consultancy (Bilthoven), her own company since 2009.
Prof. Sloet was a founding member and the first president of the European College of Equine Internal Medicine (2002-2008), and past-president of this College (2008-2011). She was member of the Council for Animal Affairs (2013-2018) in the Netherlands, member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee for Equine Emerging diseases (2010-2022) and president of the Advisory Committee Equine Welfare (2016-2023). Since 2015 she is chair of the Animal Disease Group of the Sectorraad Paarden and also chair of the Equine Health Group of the Netherlands.
Prof. Sloet is honorary member of the ECEIM (2012) and honorary life contributor of the Royal Netherlands Veterinary Association (2017). In May 2022, she became Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau and received the golden pin of the Dutch Equestrian Federation (KNHS).
Prof. Sloet is veterinary advisor of the Dutch National Equestrian Federation (KNHS), the Dutch Warmblood Studbook (KWPN), the Royal Friesian Studbook (KFPS) and others. Since 2001 prof. Sloet is FEI Head Veterinarian for the Netherlands and acts as veterinary delegate on several FEI Events.

 Ramiro Toribio

Ramiro E. Toribio, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVIM

Ramiro Toribio is a full professor and chief of the Equine Medicine/Equine Field Service section of the College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University. He is board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM). His duties include research, clinical service, teaching, mentoring, outreach, and administration. He leads professional and graduate courses. Dr. Toribio directs research programs in equine endocrinology, equine neonatology, comparative medicine, and molecular biology. Throughout his career, he has secured >$5,000,000 in research funds, has >140 peer-reviewed publications, and numerous book chapters. He has collaborations with academic institutions, private practices, foundations, and industry, in the US and abroad. Dr. Toribio has trained residents, interns, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows. He also has interest in veterinary curriculum design. He is engaged on continuing education and outreach activities.

 Mette Uldahl

 Emmanuelle van Erck   Westergren

Emmanuelle graduated from the French Veterinary School of Maisons-Alfort. She obtained a PhD at the University of Liège (Belgium) and worked as a clinician at Equine Sports Medicine Centre in Liège where she specialized in the investigation of performance and poor performance in equine athletes of all disciplines. She contributed to developing the equine sports medicine unit in the CIRALE in France where she consulted as senior clinician.
In January 2010, she founded the ‘Equine Sports Medicine Practice’ (ESMP), a referral practice specialized in equine internal and sports medicine.
The Royal Belgian Federation of Equestrian Sports has appointed her as team veterinarian in 2015 and as veterinary expert for the FEI. She is president of the Belgian Equine Practitioners Society (BEPS).
Emmanuelle is boarded from the European College of Equine Internal Medicine (ECEIM) and the European College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation (ECVSMR).
She is co-editor for the 3rd Edition of ”Equine Sports Medicine and Surgery”.

 Gunther van Loon

Gunther van Loon graduated from Ghent University, Belgium, in 1992 and has worked at Ghent University, Department of Large Animal Internal Medicine, ever since. In 2004 he became ECEIM Diplomate and in 2011 Associate Member of ECVDI. In 2001 he finished his PhD on “Atrial pacing and experimental atrial fibrillation in equines”. He is author or co-author of more than 200 A1 publications and 24 book chapters, and gave about 240 presentations at international congresses. In 2015 he received the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) award for ‘Clinical Research’ (Liverpool, UK) and in addition the prestigious Merial Applied Equine Research Award for outstanding research regarding ‘Advances in Equine Cardiology’, awarded by the World Equine Veterinary Association (WEVA) (Guadalajara, Mexico). Gunther van Loon is head of the Equine Internal Medicine department at Ghent University and head of the Equine Cardioteam Ghent. He is Past-President of the Belgian Equine Practitioners Society (BEPS). His major interests are in the field of equine cardiology and vascular diseases with specific expertise in cardiac ultrasound (including 4D echo, intracardiac echocardiography), arrhythmias, electrophysiological studies, cardiac pacing and pacemaker implantation, 3D electro-anatomical mapping, radiofrequency ablation and cardiac biomarkers. Gunther has established the Equine Cardioteam Ghent which performs high level cardiac research and advanced treatment of clinical cases in a fully equipped lab.

 Ingrid Vervuert

 Kathalijne Visser

 Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein- Berleburg