2002 IRIS Award Winner

Harriet Syme, Bsc, BVetMed, PhD, MRCVS, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ECVIM
Professor of Small Animal Internal Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences and Services,
The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, Herts

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 and the Dame Olga Uvarov award for clinical research in 2008

Research

Hattie's main research interests are diseases of the geriatric cat; namely chronic kidney disease, hypertension and hyperthyroidism. She is also interested in urological diseases of dogs including urolithiasis and incontinence.

Q&A with Harriet Syme

Describe the work for which you received the IRIS award

In 2002 I was extremely honoured to receive the IRIS award as an individual starting my career in veterinary nephrology. The prize was given for the work that had formed the basis for my PhD studying 'The epidemiology and aetiology of systemic hypertension in the cat'. The clinical material that formed the basis for this work was obtained by visiting first-opinion and charity clinics on a weekly basis. This means we were able to recruit large numbers of cats to our studies that have renal disease, hypertension, hyperthyroidism, or at times a combination of these problems. Most cats with chronic kidney disease do not get referred to specialist veterinary hospitals for further evaluation because the diagnosis of kidney disease, and institution of appropriate treatment, is well within the expertise of veterinary surgeons in general practice. As a result of this there is a paucity of information available about cats with naturally occurring renal disease.

How have you used the IRIS Award?

The IRIS award has allowed me to continue to participate in these studies, in spite of moving on to a new position as a small animal internal medicine lecturer, located at a different campus within the Royal Veterinary College. With the computer software that I have been able to buy with the funds from the award, I can now access our database of clinical case material, even though I am located at a different site. It has also meant that I have funds to do initial pilot studies without first having to apply for external funding. One of the first of these projects was to evaluate the clinical significance of urinary protein excretion in cats that were not azotaemic. The results of this work led to a number of subsequent studies of the importance of proteinuria in cats with kidney disease.

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