PetSavers reports and interviews
PetSavers is the fundraising and grant awarding arm of BSAVA, aiming to drive excellence in veterinary practice to improve the health and welfare of small animals.
In this collection, read about the journeys and successes of those in veterinary practice who have undertaken research through PetSavers funding.
Updated 2025.
Collection Contents
21 - 40 of 40 results
-
-
PetSavers research
Canine intervertebral disc disease: how much do we really know? 
In 2019, Paul Freeman received a BSAVA PetSavers grant of £13,000 (including £5,000 donated by The Debs Foundation) for a project entitled Recovery of ambulation in medically-managed non-ambulatory Dachshund dogs with thoracolumbar intervertebral disc herniation at the University of Cambridge Queen’s Veterinary School Hospital with Sam Khan.
-
-
-
PetSavers research
BOAS research 
University of Cambridge vet student Sze Lynn Yuen, reports on her research project entitled Effect of pterygoid bone medialization on nasopharyngeal narrowing and surgical outcome in dogs with brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome.
-
-
-
PetSavers research
Exploring vaccination uptake trends in UK companion animals 
Professor Gina Pinchbeck, at the University of Liverpool, received partial funding from BSAVA PetSavers for a PhD entitled A mixed methods approach to quantifying and characterising vaccine uptake and vaccine hesitancy in UK companion animals. PhD student Shona Bloodworth describes the background to, and initial findings of, the study.
-
-
-
PetSavers interview
Meet the researcher 
Professor Clare Rusbridge of Wear Referrals and the University of Surrey has been a recipient of many PetSavers grants. Her most recent was for the undergraduate project Cytological and MRI evaluation of the soft palate and tonsils in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels with Chiari-like malformation.
-
-
-
PetSavers research
Preoperative microbial load considerations 
Rebecca Verhoven BSc (Hons) RVN, and lecturer Kat Hart, report on their PetSavers-funded research undertaken while Rebecca was a student vet nurse – Cotton wool versus non-woven gauze swabs: comparatively, which is more efficacious for minimizing the preoperative microbial load on the ovariohysterectomy surgical site in bitches?
-
-
-
PetSavers research
Acute canine polyradiculoneuritis 
Angie Rupp received BSAVA PetSavers funding in 2014 to investigate serological markers (and potential geographic differences for their sero-prevalence) for acute canine polyradiculoneuritis at the University of Glasgow. Here she describes her project.
-
-
-
PetSavers research
Chronic GI upsets in cats – environmental and behavioural risk factors 
Dr Emily Blackwell and Dr Aarti Kathrani were awarded funding from BSAVA PetSavers for a Master’s Degree by Research to investigate the environmental and behavioural risk factors of chronic gastrointestinal upsets in cats, using data collected from the longitudinal prospective cohort study The Bristol Cats Study at Bristol Vet School. Anna Garvey describes her experience as a Master’s student.
-
-
-
PetSavers research
Investigating biomarkers of feline chronic kidney disease progression 
Jack Lawson, a lecturer in small animal internal medicine at the Royal Veterinary College, discusses his PetSavers funded research: Urinary extracellular vesicles as a source of biomarkers in feline chronic kidney disease and hypertension.
-
-
-
PetSavers interview
Meet the researcher 
Dr Sophie Binks has received BSAVA PetSavers funding for a project entitled ‘Improving recognition, diagnosis and treatment of cats with seizures due to autoantibodies of the central nervous system, a treatable cause of feline seizures and status epilepticus’.
-
-
-
PetSavers research
Perioperative use of acupuncture in dogs 
Hanna Machin and Chiara Adami provide a report on their BSAVA PetSavers funded investigation into the analgesic effect of dry needle acupuncture on dogs undergoing surgical treatment of type I intervertebral disc extrusions.
-
-
-
PetSavers interview
Meet the researcher 
Dr Penny Watson has been the recipient of several BSAVA PetSavers grants for undergraduate student projects and clinical research projects. Her most recent funds a Master’s student in a project entitled An investigation of novel immunohistochemical markers and serum auto-antibodies in cats with chronic biliary tract disease.
-
-
-
PetSavers research
Feline subclinical bacteriuria 
Christina Maunder at Bristol University received funding for a Master’s Degree by Research project as part of the BSAVA 60th anniversary celebrations. The Master’s student, Josh Kennils, investigated diagnostic approaches to feline subclinical bacteriuria and urinary tract infections, and the responsible use of antimicrobials.
-
-
-
PetSavers research
Pancreatic islet microenvironment – an unexplored therapeutic target 
Valeria Bergomi investigated the islet microenvironment in canine and feline diabetes mellitus as a BSAVA PetSaversfunded Master’s Degree by Research at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Kate Hughes, and with support from Lucy Davison. Read on to find out what their research revealed.
-
-
-
PetSavers research
Understanding the stability of thyroxine in feline blood samples 
Tim Williams and Nick Bexfield received BSAVA PetSavers funding for the student research project (SRP) entitled A study to determine the effects of time and storage conditions on the stability of total serum thyroxine in feline blood. Student Rory Scrace describes the project and its findings.
-
-
-
PetSavers interview
Meet the researcher 
Alexander Davies undertook a BSAVA PetSavers student research project (SRP) entitled Feline lymphoma of the nervous system: a retrospective study (2003–2018) at the Royal Veterinary College under the supervision of Elsa Beltran.
-
-
-
PetSavers research
PetSavers supporting antimicrobial resistance research 
Gavin Paterson is currently Senior Lecturer in Molecular and Applied Microbiology at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh. He was awarded PetSaversfunding to supervise a Master’s Degree by Research project entitled Exploiting the healthy microflora to develop new treatments for Staphylococcus pseudintermedius infection in canine atopic dermatitis.
-
-
-
PetSavers interview
Meet the researcher 
Tim Williams has been awarded several PetSavers grants, including clinical research projects and student projects. His most recent is for an undergraduate project entitled ‘Can we use bacterial outer membrane vesicles as a novel antibacterial therapy?’
-
-
-
PetSavers research
Corneal cytology and canine ulcerative keratitis 
Negar Hamzianpour and collaborators Christine Heinrich, Rachael Grundon and Rose Linn-Pearl, from the Eye Veterinary Clinic, Leominster, Herefordshire, have been awarded PetSavers’ funding to explore whether the use of corneal cytology is a reliable tool for identifying the type of bacteria involved in cases of canine ulcerative keratitis, using culture as the ‘gold standard’.
-
-
-
PetSavers interview
Meet the researcher 
Aarti Kathrani is currently working on the PetSavers-funded study ‘Defining the duodenal mycobiota in dogs with chronic enteropathy’. She has also just been awarded a new PetSavers clinical research project grant for a study entitled ‘The characterization and clinical significance of intestinal fibrosis in cats with chronic inflammatory enteropathy’.
-
-
-
PetSavers research
The GENDEER study GENetic associations with dilated cardiomyopathy in DEERhounds 
Emily Dutton from Cheshire Cardiology, Professor Jo Dukes-McEwan from the University of Liverpool and Professor Ottmar Distl from the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Institute for Animal Breeding and Genetics, have been awarded PetSavers funding to investigate genetic associations with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in Deerhounds.
-