AVSPNI Spring Conference – All You Need to Know – Oncology and More…

Crown Plaza Hotel Belfast, 4-6th April

Oncology and more – that’s the theme of the AVSPNI Spring Conference – for both vets and veterinary nurses.

You can register here: AVSPNI Spring Conference 2025

Everything you need to know can be found here:

AVSPNI Spring Conference – 4th & 5th April 2025

Speakers include:

• Aaron Harper
• Jon Hall
• Sophie Conway
• Inge Breathnach
• Nicola Lakeman

The two day event starts on Friday morning for vets with Aaron Harper on ‘What is cancer – and how do I diagnose it?’ followed by a talk titled ‘Why bother with staging?’

Following the Break, Jon Hall will deliver a talk on Haemoabdomen – with an oncology bias.

The pre-lunch session offers you either Visceral Biopsy with John Hall or join Aaron Harper for ‘What do all these drugs do anyway?’

All the information you need is here:AVSPNI Spring Conference – 4th & 5th April 2025

And of course, don’t miss the Party Night with free cocktails and mocktails in the Trade Hall.

Below you will find the programme for vets:

Below you will find the programme for Veterinary Nurses:

Speaker Biographies:

Medical & Surgical Oncology plus LabWork

Aaron Harper BA VetMB CertAVP(SAM) DipECVIM-CA MRCVS

Aaron began his career in general practice in Northwest England in 2008 after graduating from the University of Cambridge. In 2016,he completed a residency in small animal oncology at the University of Liverpool and during that time he completed the Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice (Small Animal Medicine). Aaron achieved the European Diploma in Veterinary Internal Medicine (Oncology) in 2017 and became a European and RCVS recognised Specialist in Oncology. His most recent qualification was a postgraduate certification in medical education (oncology) from the University of Dundee in 2023.

Aaron’s main areas of interest are in haematological cancers and the medical management of these
conditions. He is also interested in novel therapies for dogs and cats with cancer, along with the management of side-effects in these cases and his research to date has been on this subject. He has spoken extensively on a variety of medical oncology topics at local and national CPD events. Aaron has also contributed to over 15 research publications in veterinary oncology and has served as an associate editor for Vet Record Case Reports. He is currently on the editorial board for the Journal of Veterinary Oncology.

Aaron has sat on the BSAVA Congress Programme Committee and the ECVIM Oncology Exam Committee.He iscurrently the Subject Matter Expert for medical oncology on the Linnaeus Clinical Board and also serves on the Mars Veterinary Health Oncology Advisory Board.
Outside of work, Aaron’s spare time is taken up entertaining his two cats, Rou and Mischief and his mini-Dachshund, Penfold.

Aaron began his veterinary career in General Practice in North West England after graduating from the University of Cambridge. In 2016 he completed a residency in small animal oncology at the University of Liverpool, where he completed a Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice (Small Animal

Professor Jon Hall MA VetMB CertSAS DipECVS SFHEA FRCVS

Head of Soft Tissue Service – European and Royal College Specialist in small animal surgery, Fellow of the RoyalCollege of Veterinary Surgeons, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Jon grew up in the veterinary world as his parents owned a practice near Wigan, Greater Manchester. He graduated from the University of Cambridge and spent several years as a primary care vet in Lincoln. He then completed an internship at the Royal Veterinary College and a residency at Cambridge, becoming Diplomate ofthe European College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2015. Jon stayed at Cambridge  for a couple of years as an affiliated lecturer, moved to the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies as a Senior Lecturer in 2017 and then started as Head of Soft Tissue Surgery at Wear Referrals in 2021. He has been a Professor of Small Animal Surgery at the University of Nottingham since 2020. Jon’s contribution to teaching and clinical excellence within the veterinary profession have been recognised by his admittance as a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He regularly speaks at National and International conferences and courses; he has a passion for helping vets achieve the best that they can for their patients. His goal is to provide the highest level of compassionate care for the animals he treats within the expert soft tissue team at Wear Referrals.

Sophie Conway BVetMed MRCVS

Sophie Conway; graduated from RVC in 2019, spent 2 years practicing at home (PDSA Belfast and a small animal practice in Antrim), before completing a rotating internship back at RVC and currently in final year of Internal Medicine residency at Langford, Bristol

For vet nurses

Inge Breathnach DipVn DipAVn PgCert AVN VTS/VNS RVN

Inge qualified in 2007, spending 8 years in small animal practices in Ireland andAustralia. In 2015 she relocated, working as both a surgical and medicaloncology referral nurse in Surrey for 5 years while also achieving her advanced diploma in veterinary nursing. She helped to set up a new oncology service in
Buckinghamshire in 2020, further specialising with a post graduate certificate in oncology, before moving to Bristol in 2023 to work across medical and radiation oncology. There, she achieved her veterinary technician specialist qualification in oncology, a qualification that fewer than 10 RVNs in the UK hold. Inge is currently the lead oncology RVN at London Vet Specialists, working with a proudly passionate and patient-focused team to provide exceptional cancer care. Inge has developed a deep passion for supporting pet carers and helping enhance patient quality of life, inspired by her personal experience of losing her beloved dog, Erik, to cancer in recent years. She is also a firm advocate for
veterinary nurse development and education and enjoys sharing her oncology knowledge with others via her Instagram page @OncologyRVN.

Nicola Lakeman RVN
Nicola has been employed by IVC Evidensia as their Nutrition Manager since 2022. She graduated from Hartpury College with an honours degree in Equine Science, and subsequently qualified as a veterinary nurse in 2002. She started working as a VN at Plymouth Veterinary Group in 2002, after working
previously in mixed, farm and equine practices. Nicola recently gained a Master’s degree in Advanced Veterinary Nursing with Glasgow University.

Nicola has undertaken consultancy posts at the VMD and sat on various committees for BVA, BSAVA and BVNA. She has also written for many veterinary publications and textbooks and is the editor of Aspinall’s Complete Textbook of Veterinary Nursing and one of the Consultant Editors for The
Veterinary Nurse.

You can register here.

And as always AVSPNI Spring Conference is accompanied by its superb trade exhibition – which includes Trade Stands as follows – and more: