Animal Soft Tissue Surgery
Meet the Team
Find out more about the committee
As we are first and foremost a non-profit organisation, the committee of AVSTS is made up of unpaid volunteers driven by a genuine passion for animal soft tissue surgery.
Here you can find out more about the AVSTS committee and the constitution at the centre of our veterinary community.
PRESIDENT Prue Neath
BVetMed BSc DipACVS DipECVS FRCVS
RCVS Specialist in Small Animal Surgery (Soft Tissue) & EBVS® European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery
Prue graduated from the RVC in 1993, undertaking surgery specialist training at Uni of Penn, Philadelphia, and becoming a Diplomate of the American & European Colleges of Veterinary Surgeons in 2000. She has worked in private referral practice since 2005, enjoying working alongside a wide range of specialists and general practitioners. She has been a member of committees for RCVS Surgery Certificate and ECVS Surgery Diploma exams, and greatly enjoys teaching postgraduate surgical skills to both residents and general practitioners. Prue has a particular interest and expertise in Surgical Oncology, but enjoys all aspects of surgery and critical care.
Over the last decade, Prue has developed a growing interest in how positive workplace cultures improve treatment outcomes as well as enhancing colleagues' quality of life, and her current role as Clinical Director of a referral hospital has allowed her to continue developing skills in this fascinating area.
SECRETARY Mark Gosling
MA BSAVA PGCertSAS VetMB DipECVS MRCVS
RCVS & EBVS® European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery
Mark completed the BSAVA surgical certificate during his time in general practice and at the time was sure that he wanted to be an orthopaedic surgeon! He then undertook a surgical residency between Wear Referrals and Willows Referrals and during this training he realised that soft tissue surgery was his true interest. Since gaining the ECVS Diploma he now leads the soft tissue surgery service at Bridge Referrals in the north east, where he continues to have a wide surgical interest and particularly enjoys hepatobiliary surgery.
Mark became involved with AVSTS to help organise one of the northern meetings and strongly believes in the role of the association in bringing together like-minded colleagues from across the country to collaborate, learn and socialise! He took on the role of Secretary in 2024 as he “enjoys organising things”.
TREASURER Will Robinson
BVetMed MSc BSAVA PGCertSAS DipECVS MRCVS
RCVS & EBVS® European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery
‘I qualified from the Royal Veterinary College in 2010 and undertook an ECVS surgical residency at the University of Bristol from 2016-2019. I am currently an EBVS European and RCVS Specialist in small animal surgery and lead the soft tissue surgery team at Willows Referral Service in Solihull. My clinical interests lie in management of oropharyngeal stick injuries in dogs alongside thoracic surgery.
I joined the AVSTS committee in 2022 and took on the position of treasurer at the beginning of 2024. During my time on the committee, I hope to be able to raise awareness of AVSTS and what it can offer to the soft tissue surgical community both in the UK and further afield.'
AVSTS ADMINISTRATOR
Alison Young
DipAVN (Surgical) RVN
Alison is the Senior Theatre Nurse at the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals (QMHA) which involves allocating the theatres, ensuring there are enough nurses for each case and that the equipment is always ready. Her organisational and planning skills extend into her work for AVSTS.
Alison keeps us all organised and is absolutely instrumental in ensuring that the association continues to run smoothly and that deadlines are met!
Julia Riggs
MA VetMB AFHEA DipECVS MRCVS
RCVS & EBVS® European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery
Julia became interested in small animal surgery during her final year at university, and after some time in first opinion practice, she undertook an internship and surgical residency. She passed the qualifying examinations and became an ECVS and RCVS specialist in 2018.
Julia has worked as a soft tissue surgeon in both private referral and university teaching hospitals, and in her current position at Cambridge, she combines clinical work with teaching undergraduate and postgraduate veterinarians and clinical research.
Erika Villedieu
DVM DipECVS MRCVS
RCVS & EBVS® European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery
I have been a member of the AVSTS committee since 2022 and an AVSTS member for several years before that, having also had the opportunity to present my abstract to an AVSTS meeting when I was a surgical intern. I graduated in 2014 in Toulouse, France and undertook my surgical residency at Willows Referral Centre, where I currently work as a specialist. I have particular interests in minimally invasive surgery, thoracic surgery and wound management.
I have always enjoyed the AVSTS meetings and am grateful to be part of such a friendly community. I have recently joined the AVST ARC (AVSTS Research Committee) sub-committee, which helps promote research projects between institutions.
Tom Hernon
BVSc CertAVP (GSAS) DipECVS MRCVS
RCVS & EBVS® European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery
Tom Graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2014. He completed a residency training program and Langford Vets in 2022 and became a EBVS European Specialist and RCVS recognised specialist in Small Animal Surgery in 2023. Since then, he has remained at Langford Vets and is now one of Soft Tissue Surgeons. Tom enjoys all aspects of surgery with a particular interest in the management of urogenital cases and minimally invasive techniques.
AVSTS meetings are a great opportunity for like-minded surgeons to get together for social events and to learn from surgeons at the top of their fields.
Daniela Murgia
DipECVS MRCVS
TBC
Charlotte Howes
BVSc CertAVP (GSAS) DipECVS MRCVS
Charlotte graduated from the University of Bristol in 2013 and following graduation worked in general practice in Lincolnshire. She completed her surgical residency at the University of Bristol and became a European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery in 2022. Charlotte currently works at Bristol Vet Specialists and enjoys all aspects of soft tissue surgery, with a particular interest in thoracic surgery and managing emergency and critical care patients.
Charlotte joined AVSTS as a general committee member in 2024 and is excited to be part of a brilliant team creating a collaborative environment for current and future soft tissue surgeons.
Alastair Franklin
MA VetMB FANZCVS CertSAS MRCVS
TBC
The AVSTS Constitution
More Than Fostering Networking and Education, AVSTS Exists to Reward Hard Work
Each in-person summit spring meeting for our veterinary community includes a reward ceremony for the Peter Holt Award, given in recognition of outstanding research in the field of soft tissue surgery. Cash prizes are also included along with a physical awarduniquely designed trophy to keep.
Whether you are looking to amass presentation hours as part of your ongoing training as a veterinary surgeon accreditation or are looking to share valuable findings following a paper publication, we make sure that your work isn't just recognised but rewarded.
Tap into talent with our online job board
AVSTS runs an exclusive job board, where members from across the UK can share vacancies and research opportunities for entry-level internships all the way up to full-time positions for animal soft tissue surgery for veterinary surgeons, training programmes and veterinary nurses.
Become a member of AVSTS here to get started.
Have any questions or concerns about AVSTS?
Please reach out to us at admin@avsts.co.uk