Professor Hattie Syme
BSc BVetMed PhD FHEA MRCVS D-ACVIM D-ECVIM
Professor of Small Animal Internal Medicine
Department: Clinical Science and Services
Campus: Hawkshead
Research Groups: Cardiovascular and Renal Biology, CPCS (Research Programme)
Clinical Groups: Small Animal Internal Medicine
Harriet is Professor of Small Animal Internal Medicine. She is currently director of the Royal Veterinary College’s Internal Medicine residency (SCTS) programme and supervises several PhD students working on clinically-based research projects in the areas of endocrinology, renal disease and hypertension. She is also Senior Clinical Tutor (for BVetMed years 3-5, interns and residents).
Harriet graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 1994 and then completed a Junior Clinical Training Scholarship at the RVC. She went on to do a Small Animal Internship and then a Small Animal Medicine Residency at Purdue University in the USA from 1995 to 1999. She studied for a PhD at the RVC from 1999 to 2003. Harriet gained her Diplomate ACVIM in 1999 and her Diplomate ECVIM-CA in 2002.
She was awarded the International Renal Interest Society (IRIS) Award in 2002 for her contribution to the field of veterinary nephrology & urology, the Dame Olga Uvarov award for clinical research in 2008, the Blaine award from BSAVA in 2015 and Petplan Charitable Trust Research Award in 2020.
Harriet’s main research interests are diseases of the geriatric cat; namely chronic kidney disease, hypertension, hyperthyroidism and hyperaldosteronism. She is also interested in urological diseases of dogs including urolithiasis, UTI and incontinence.
The bulk of Harriet’s didactic teaching is to the fourth year BVetMed students in the urogenital system module. She also provides a small amount of teaching on other years of the BVetMed. In addition Harriet supervises a number of clinical research projects done by final-year students, masters students, PhD students and residents (SCTSs). It is this, one-to-one teaching, together with the informal teaching that is done while on clinics that she most enjoys.
Harriet is involved in some RVC CPD courses, both in the form of conventional lectures and also via the internet, mainly in the fields of nephrology/urology and endocrinology.
Harriet enjoys all areas of clinical medicine but particularly nephrology, urology and endocrinology. She is particularly keen to increase the urology caseload through offerring minimally invasive techniques, including laser lithotripsy treatment of stones and endoscopic treatment of ectopic ureter.
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Feline Chronic Kidney Disease Research
Kidneys filter the blood and produce urine and so problems with kidney function can result in a variety of health problems for a cat. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the persistent loss of kidney function over a period of time. CKD is the most common kidney disease affecting cats as they get older. The RVC’s Geriatric Cat Clinic was established in 1992 with the aim of researching the common conditions of older cats and to help with the care and medical management of the cats that attend the clinic.