Professor Kelly Blacklock (BVM&S DipECVS SFHEA PGCert PhD FRCVS)

Professor of Small Animal Soft Tissue Surgery. Research Fellow, Patton Group

Background

Kelly graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2005 and after 18 months in small animal general practice, completed a rotating internship at the Royal Veterinary College and a three-year ECVS approved residency programme in the Small Animal Surgery at the University of Bristol. Kelly joined the Animal Health Trust in 2011 and was awarded a PhD from the University of Liverpool for studies into the genetics of metastasis in canine cancer. In 2019, Kelly returned to the R(D)SVS, where she is involved in the clinical service, teaching, and research into the genetic basic and functional aspects of canine cancers. She is a Research Fellow at the Patton Lab in the Institute of Genetics and Cancer, where she studies metastasis of canine oral melanoma. 

Kelly is a Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and EBVS® European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery. She works within the soft tissue surgical service, providing cutting-edge specialist surgical care for small animals, and has a particular interest in surgical oncology.  She provides tuition of small animal surgical theory and practice to veterinary undergraduate and postgraduate students, and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a mentor of other staff on the Edinburgh Teaching Award. 

Qualifications

2020  Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Liverpool

2019  Edinburgh Teaching Award, Level 3 (SFHEA)

2013 Diploma of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons (Small Animal) (DipECVS)

2005 Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, University of Edinburgh

 

Responsibilities & affiliations

Chair of the Clinical and Education Career Development Committee. 2020-present.

Member of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. 2020-present.

Member of the Improving Culture Facilitation group. 2021-present.

Chair of the HfSA Infection Control Committee 2020-2024

 

Undergraduate teaching

Modules:

  • Integrated Clinical course: Cat and Dog Course (BVM&S / 3rd Year) /Soft Tissue Surgery (8 lectures PA, 2019 – present)
  • Clinical Foundation Course (BVM&S / 3rd Year) (1 lecture per annum, 2019 – present)
  • Clinical Foundation Course (BVM&S / 3rd Year) (2 practical sessions (4 hours), 2019 – present)
  • Small Animal Soft Tissue Surgery (Final year rotation, selective, 18-26 weeks per annum, 2019 - present)

Postgraduate teaching

Modules: 

  • Surgery of the thoracic and abdominal cavity (CertSAS) (3 lectures and 3 practical sessions per annum, 2015 – present)
  • External examiner for PG Certificate in Small Animal Surgery (caselog assessment, BSAVA)
  • Member of the examining team for PG Certificate in Small animal Surgery (BSAVA)
  • External examiner for PG Certificate in Small Animal Surgery (University of Liverpool)

Open to PhD supervision enquiries?

Yes

Areas of interest for supervision

Surgical Residents:

Primary supervised

  • Fui Yap (Dip ECVS)
  • Ian Faux (Dip ECVS 2019 – 2023)
  • Jamie-Leigh Thompson (2019-2023)

Secondary supervised

  • Sofia Garcia-Pertierra Garcia (DipECVS 2019 – 2023)

Current PhD students supervised

Anna Wallis (PhD student) 2024-present

Past PhD students supervised

Cameron Davis- MSc Student (2023)

Qingxuan Qian- MSc Student (2023)

Shivani Vigneswaralingam- Honours Student (Biomedical Sciences)(2023)

Hay Thi Tin Win - Honours Student (Medical Sciences)(2023)

 

Research summary

  • Oral mucosal melanoma 
  • Veterinary clinical soft tissue surgery
  • Veterinary surgical education
  • Veterinary infection control 
  • Women in veterinary surgery

Current research interests

Translational oncology: oral mucosal melanoma in humans and dogs

Affiliated research centres

Project activity

Novel targets and rapid translational models for metastatic mucosal melanoma

Current project grants

2020-2023 Kennel Club Charitable Trust Grant: Defining the genetic and transcriptomic landscape of canine oral melanoma
2021-2024 Dog Trust's Canine Welfare Grant: Investigation of microRNA (miRNA) as biomarkers of chronic hypoxia in brachycephalic dogs (Co-PI)
2022-2023 European College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists: Can the transcriptomic landscape of progressive feline diffuse iris melanoma inform novel anti-cancer drug discovery?
2023-2026 PetPlan Charitable Trust: Development and characterisation of a novel model of feline injection site sarcoma (Co-PI)

Past project grants

2019-2020 Student Experience Grant: Development of Veterinary Clinical Case Scenarios website (www.CasePALs.vet.ed.ac.uk)
2020-2021 Wellcome Institutional Partnership Award (Wellcome iTPA): Is canine oral melanoma a faithful clinical model of human mucosal melanoma?