Dr Rodolfo Cappello, our founding neurologist, has been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
He is one of 39 new Fellows announced on 7 August, and one of 18 elected under Meritorious Contributions to Clinical Practice. The Fellowship will be formally conferred at Fellowship Day on 26 November.
The Fellowship is not an examination. It is an assessment by peers of a whole career, and the clinical practice category recognises sustained contribution to the standard of care rather than research alone. Rodolfo’s career includes a PhD on canine intervertebral disc degeneration, a lectureship at the Royal Veterinary College where he established the neurology service, 15 years leading neurology at a large multidisciplinary referral hospital, published work on syringomyelia in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, and the use of 3D printing to plan complex spinal surgery. He is still publishing, with a paper on presurgical imaging of the lumbosacral spine out this year.
Francesca Taylor, Referrals Director, said:
“Rodolfo will not make a fuss about this, so I will. Three decades in, he is still excited by a new case and still feels responsible for every single one, even at the end of a mad week. That is what the Fellowship is actually recognising, and it is a large part of why people want to work here.”
Rodolfo said:
“It is recognition of a career rather than another exam, and the part I value most is the platform it gives for working with other people. Nothing changes about how we look after a case on Monday morning.”
Once the Fellowship is conferred in November, South East Vet Referrals will have three Fellows of the Royal College among its clinicians, alongside Dr Sarah Mason and Ane Uriarte, together with four RCVS Specialists.
Make a referral or speak to one of our clinicians about a case.