The Blaine Award is sponsored by Royal Canin.
The Blaine Award is presented to veterinarians who are not client facing (e.g. pathology, clinical laboratory) for contributions to the advancement of small animal science in all aspects of non-client-facing sciences, including, but not limited to, laboratory based research, pathology, and epidemiology clinical laboratory work.
2025 Winner – Dr Eleanor Raffan BVM&S PhD CertSAM DipECVIM-CA MRCVS
Having qualified from the Dick Vet in 2002 Eleanor spent 7 years in full time practice with stints in both first opinion and teaching hospitals at Liverpool and Cambridge Universities, leading to RCVS and ECVIM specialist accreditation in small animal medicine.
A PhD in the genomics of severe insulin resistance syndromes in humans prompted her interest in the biology of obesity, eating behaviour and metabolism. Combining her veterinary and research training, Eleanor started the GOdogs research group in 2014 and has been working on veterinary genetics with a strong emphasis on translating those findings into human biomedicine. Her work has changed our understanding of the pathogenesis of obesity in dogs, and is of interest to non-vets because of the value of dogs as a model for human obesity.
Eleanor is Assistant Professor in Systems Physiology at the University of Cambridge, affiliated to both the physiology department and the Institute of Metabolic Science. Her professional focus is primarily on research, but she also offers a clinical obesity referral service and is enthusiastic about teaching undergraduate students about the fundamentals of medical science.
The recipients of 2025 will be celebrated at the BSAVA awards ceremony held at BSAVA Congress and Expo on Friday 21st March at Manchester Central. Book your tickets here