The RCVS Impact Award recognises veterinary professionals who've made significant contributions to the profession, animal health and welfare, or public health. Established by RCVS Council in 2017, this prestigious award celebrates innovation and dedication across all career stages and specialisms.
RCVS Members (MRCVS) or Registered Veterinary Nurses (RVNs) who have made an impact through any veterinary field including clinical practice, research, education or veterinary politics.
Nominations can be made by any MRCVS or RVN, excluding current RCVS Council and VN Council members.
This award is also open to self-nomination. If you are nominating yourself, please be sure to complete the form in the third person using your own name and preferred pronouns in place of 'I' to avoid bias.
You can nominate any veterinary professional whose work has created meaningful impact in:
To make the nomination, download and complete the PDF nomination form. Do provide as much detail as possible about why the nominee deserves the award.
Completed forms should be submitted via our Honours and Awards web form.
Professor John Innes FRCVS
John was honoured for spending 20 years developing, validating and promoting the use of client-reported outcomes measures in canine orthopaedics and chronic musculoskeletal pain. His method – Liverpool Osteoarthritis in Dogs – is now widely used internationally by researchers and practitioners.
Dr Dan O'Neill FRCVS
Dan was recognised for his critical role in the development of VetCompass. VetCompass is a search engine that indexes millions of clinical records collected from primary practices and referral centres, allowing researchers to create an evidence-base that can be used by veterinary professionals in clinical practice.
Dr Eve Hanks MRCVS
The impact of her entrepreneurship and innovation on the world of veterinary diagnostics is the reason Eve received this award. She created a platform technology that diagnoses pre-clinical disease and predicts progression and response to treatment.
Thom Jenkins MRCVS
His role as CEO and co-founder of PetsApp earned Thom this award. PetsApp is a veterinary engagement and communication platform that assists veterinary practices and their clients with a variety of tasks including appointment booking, reminders, payments and chat functions.
Mark Morton MRCVS
Mark was given this award for his work as the initiator and clinical lead for the Canine Cruciate Registry (CCR). CCR is a database which aims to improve outcomes for dogs with cranial cruciate ligament ruptures, one of the most common causes of lameness in dogs.
Dr Mark Little MRCVS
This award was given to Mark for his work as the president of the British Veterinary Association’s (BVA) Northern Ireland branch and the Northern Ireland Veterinary Association (NIVA) for 2021/2022. During his time as president, Mark recognised the need for, and spearheaded the response to, the concerning issue of veterinary medicine supply to Northern Ireland at the end of the Brexit "grace period" in December 2022.
Dr Collin Willson MRCVS
Collin was honoured for his long and impactful career in veterinary public health and food safety, including providing expertise and policy input to the BVA and its divisions. In particular, Collin’s work with the Halal meat industry, ensuring the right balance is struck between animal welfare concerns and respect for religious and cultural practices, was recognised.
Dr Liz Barton MRCVS
Liz was given this award because of her work championing women leaders within the veterinary professions. She has enhanced the wellbeing of the professions through the WellVet Initiative she co-founded and used social media to develop sources of professional and personal support for working mothers within the veterinary professions.
Professor Clare Rusbridge FRCVS
Her research and clinical work on Chiari-like malformation and syringomyelia (CMSM) is the reason Clare was honoured with this award. Clare discovered CMSM in King Charles Spaniels in 1997. Since then, she has published scholarly articles on CMSM and developed a CMSM treatment algorithm. This has been translated into several languages and is regularly updated to allow dogs without easy access to veterinary neurologists to receive optimal care.
Alison Lambert MRCVS
Alison’s work as the founder and owner of Onswitch is the reason she was given this award. Onswitch is a veterinary consultancy business that helps other veterinary businesses create customer-centred practice so that pets, horses and livestock receive the best care.
Dr Gwenllian Rees MRCVS
Gwenllian was given this award for her involvement in the Arwain Vet Cymru (AVC) project. AVC is a collaborative national antimicrobial stewardship program for all farm vets in Wales. Gwenllian has also trained a network of Veterinary Prescribing Champions (VPCs) across Wales. They now promote responsible medicine use and introduce antimicrobial stewardship policies into their practices, translating into real, practical, on-farm change.
Dr Rosie Allister MRCVS
Rosie was honoured as a leading campaigner for and researcher about veterinary mental health. The nomination also referenced her work as a veterinary educator, manager of the Vetlife Helpline and a member of the RCVS Mind Matters Initiative Taskforce. Through these roles, Rosie has made substantial contributions to research, awareness-raising and tackling stigma around mental health.
Hannah Capon MRCVS
Co-founder and director of Canine Arthritis Management (CAM), Hannah’s contributions to raising awareness of canine arthritis amongst the profession and public is the reason she received this award. CAM is a self-funded social enterprise that provides advice to both other veterinary professionals and animal owners on the treatment and management of arthritis in dogs.
Professor Sarah Louise Freeman FRCVS
Sarah’s work developing the ‘REACT now to prevent colic’ educational programme with The British Horse Society is the basis for her receiving this award. Her work has had a significant impact on equine welfare, public awareness and the veterinary profession.
Professor Paul Damien McGreevy FRCVS
Paul received this award for showing how the training of veterinary surgeons can lead to remarkable international impact on animal health and welfare.
Jade Statt MRCVS
Jade’s work as co-founder of charity StreetVet is the reason she was honoured with this award. The charity provides free and accessible veterinary care to homeless pet owners. Jade appeared on our podcast, speaking about the difference StreetVet has made to the homeless community and their companion animals.
