BVMS, PhD, Dip.EVPC, Dip.ECRSHM, CBiol, MRSB, graduated from Glasgow in 1976. After six years in practice, he joined first the British State Veterinary Service for three years  before joining the Central Veterinary Laboratory in Weybridge (later to become VLA), where he worked for 18 years, specialising in parasitology.  In 2002 he moved to the Central Science Laboratory in York. He is currently a private veterinary consultant and a visiting professor in Veterinary Parasitology  at  the  Royal  Veterinary  College, a Diplomate of the European Colleges of Veterinary Parasitology and Small Ruminant  Health  and  Management and a former editor-in-chief  for the  journal  Veterinary Parasitology As well as numerous scientific publications, he is first author of the textbooks Veterinary Parasitology (3rd and 4th editions) and has been involved with writing various technical and advisory manuals including the Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep (SCOPS) technical manual editions for the UK.