Graduated with Distinction from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh in 1976. Following completion of a Research Studentship and a subsequent two year period as a Lecturer in Veterinary Surgery at the University of Edinburgh he was awarded a PhD in equine immunology and protein genetics.  After a period spent in Equine Practice in Warwickshire he returned to Scotland to take up a position as director of the Equine Department in a large mixed practice in Ayrshire, working in the areas of general practice, internal medicine and ophthalmology. He was responsible for veterinary care at Ayr Racecourse, Scotland’s premier track, for over 20 years. From 2005-2017 he was appointed veterinary examiner for the Worshipful Company of Farriers, latterly acting as Senior Veterinary Examiner. Now retired from practice he is based in Angus, Scotland and is focussing on referral eye cases and teaching. His primary and long term clinical interest is in Equine Ophthalmology, in particular ocular immunobiology. He has co-authored several textbooks on the subject in addition to having been sole or senior author of over 35 peer reviewed papers, and in 1991 was awarded the BEVA Richard Hartley Clinical Prize for published work. He was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1994, and in 2004 became a Diplomate of the European College of Equine Internal Medicine. In 2011 he became one of only two individuals to be awarded honorary Membership of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists. He is an honorary faculty member of both the University of Edinburgh and University of Glasgow Veterinary Schools, and has lectured regularly both in the UK and internationally. He was awarded honorary lifetime membership of the British Equine Veterinary Association in 2013. From 2012-2014 he was President of the International Equine Ophthalmology Consortium. In 2018 he will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Association of Veterinary Ophthalmologists.