Dr. Vicki Adams’ research interests focus on the study of diseases of importance in companion animals. With our pets living longer, the chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes have become ever more important, particularly due to their effects on quality of life and outcomes (such as reasons for euthanasia). What we are doing in small animal epidemiological research is similar to what has been done in human research into chronic diseases with the difference that we are some years behind the human medical epidemiologists in terms of what we know about the prevalence and incidence of disease, the risk factors for disease, efficacy of treatments and preventive measures, and prognosis or predicted outcome for many of the important conditions in our pets.
Vicki grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She attended the University of British Columbia where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences. Vicki went on to attend the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where she graduated with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1990. She then went on to complete a small animal internship at the University of Minnesota’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital for one year. Vicki returned to Vancouver and worked in several small animal practices and a 24-hour animal emergency clinic for several years. Personal reasons took her back to Saskatoon in 1995 where she continued to work in small animal practice until a Master of Science program in epidemiology lured her back to the University of Saskatchewan in 1997. Vicki completed a Master of Science degree in 1998 after doing research on the epidemiology of rabies in wildlife. After working as a special lecturer and researcher at the WCVM for 8 months Vicki started a Doctor of Philosophy project in small animal epidemiology investigating owner compliance with veterinary recommendations and prescribed medications.
Vicki came to the UK to start working at the Animal Health Trust (AHT) in January 2003 as a Small Animal Epidemiologist with James Wood who was the Head of the Epidemiology Unit. As her position was jointly funded by the Feline Advisory Bureau (FAB) and the AHT, Vicki planned and undertook specific studies in the epidemiology of feline diseases in collaboration with the FAB and the clinicians in the Centre for Small Animal Studies at the AHT. Vicki also worked on several studies of canine diseases in collaboration with AHT clinicians and she has spent a great deal of time working on the design, implementation and analysis of results of the 2004 Purebred Dog Health Survey with the Kennel Club/British Small Animal Veterinary Association Scientific Committee. During 2005 and 2006, Vicki worked hard on getting the nationwide study of Longevity, Mortality and Morbidity of UK Cats up and running. This study was funded by a grant from the PetPlan Charitable Trust and it aimed to describe current pet ownership in UK households, to determine how long the average cat lives and to estimate with what frequency common disease conditions are occurring. Additional funding from Pfizer Animal Health and the Pet Care Trust was used to carry out the postal survey of pet ownership. The cat health survey has provided valuable information on what kinds of diseases are common and how frequently UK cats suffer from them as well as information on how long cats live and common causes of death. In 2007, Vicki became Head of the newly formed Small Animal Epidemiology Unit at the Animal Health Trust. Vicki supervised Rachel Dean as a Defra funded PhD student investigating the epidemiology of feline injection site sarcomas. Vicki also supervised Katy Evans as a Kennel Club funded MSc student working on diseases of purebred dogs. After 6 very busy years, Vicki left the Animal Health Trust in 2009 to start her own consulting business.
Vicki has provided FAB with epidemiolgocial guidance and statistical support on several projects since 2003, including analysis of the data collected from cat owners about their cats’ personalities (published by FAB as the link ) and advice on the design of several questionnaires for an FAB membership survey, a survey of veterinarians about their preferences for continuing professional development course and a survey of members of the European Society of Feline Medicine (ESFM). Vicki also helped to develop a questionnaire to look at palatability issues to see how taste, size and consistency of feline medicines might be improved to ensure that a cat completes a course of medication. This questionnaire is now being distributed to cat owners via veterinary practices. As part of her work with the feline expert panel, Vicki also helped to develop a questionnaire to collect information on the experiences of veterinary practitioners performing blood transfusions. This survey was carried out at the ESFM conference in Prague in 2007 and results of this study were presented to the fep in April 2008.
“Working with FAB for the last 6 years has been very rewarding and I continue to be excited about all the good work that FAB does although I was sad to have to leave my FAB funded post at the AHT. Since beginning my work with FAB in 2003, I have continually been impressed with the level of commitment that FAB has towards education and research and how our activities help improve the health and welfare of all cats. I couldn’t have asked for any nicer people to work with and I really appreciate their support and encouragement. I enjoy and look forward to the time that I spend working with FAB staff and post holders and the feline expert panel. It is very rewarding to be involved in promoting education and research to improve the health and welfare of cats.” Vicki J Adams, 2009
On a personal note ... Vicki has been living in the UK for more than 6 years and she views it as home even though there is at least one trip per year back to Canada to visit family and friends. Her two cats, Saffron and Sidney, enjoy living the good life in the country and continue to rule her cottage although there is a rumour that a whippet may soon join the family!
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