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Livestock Health and Production MSc | Diploma | Certificate |
RVC Experts
Christine Thuranira-McKeever
Distance Learning Programme Director
Christine graduated from the University of Kent in Canterbury and went on to read for a Masters degree in Development Economics at the University of Manchester, in 1995. She moved to the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi and Addis Ababa, and worked there for a number of years before leaving to undertake a PhD at the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine. Her research focused on the costs of livestock disease to small holder farmers in developing countries and the socio-economic factors influencing smallholders’ ability to productively keep livestock.
After completing her PhD, Christine worked as a research associate for a DFID-funded Animal Health Programme, based at the University of Edinburgh. This was a competitive grants programme that funded research into animal health issues in the developing world. During her time in Edinburgh University, Christine was also involved in teaching undergraduate students. Her research interests remain in the field of international development, mainly from a livestock and agriculture perspective. Christine was appointed to her current post in July 2008.
Dirk Pfeiffer
Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology
Dirk graduated in veterinary medicine in Germany in 1984. He worked as a field veterinarian in Colombia and with development projects in Kenya, Somalia, Malaysia and Thailand until 1988, being awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Tropical Veterinary Medicine in 1986. From 1988, Dirk was based for 11 years at Massey University in New Zealand, initially as Lecturer in Production Medicine and Epidemiology, and from 1996, as Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Epidemiology. In 1994, he was awarded a PhD in Veterinary Epidemiology. In 1999, he was appointed Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology at the Royal Veterinary College.
Dirk teaches epidemiology at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and has designed and taught international training courses in veterinary epidemiology, risk analysis and spatial analysis in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Malawi. His particular interest is the epidemiology and control of bovine tuberculosis.
His technical expertise includes field epidemiological and ecological research methods, advanced epidemiological analysis, spatial and temporal analysis of epidemiological data, risk analysis, computer modelling of animal disease, animal health economics and development of animal health information systems. Dirk provides consultancy expertise to the FAO, DEFRA and WHO, among others.
If you would like further information about any of the academics involved with the programme, then please do not hesitate to contact the Course Administrator at rchandler@rvc.ac.uk
