I have been dedicated to improving the quality of life of diabetic cats and dogs and their humans for over 15 years. At the forefront of canine and feline diabetes research, I have published extensively on novel insulin therapies, insulin-alternatives and the pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus. My career goal is to develop diagnostic tests for prediabetes and find treatments that would delay and prevent the need for insulin therapy.

David obtained his veterinary degree from The University of Sydney and after graduation and a short spell in practice he was appointed as a small animal clinical instructor at The University of Sydney and then enrolled in a PhD programme in the Faculty of Medicine looking at various aspects of the pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus.

After completing his PhD, David was appointed as a member of faculty in small animal medicine at The University of Sydney rising to become Hospital Director of The University Veterinary Centre.

In 2001 David was appointed Chair of Small Animal Studies at the Royal Veterinary College and head of the newly formed Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences. Over the next 8 years the department grew to be one of the largest and most successful clinical departments in the world with substantial research grant funding and an outstanding reputation for clinical excellence.

David is currently Deputy Principal and Acting Vice Principal Clinical Affairs. Despite his heavy administrative load, David maintains a keen interest in small animal medicine generally and endocrinology in particular. His current research interests include insulin resistance states in diabetes mellitus and the use of ‘big data’ from general practice for managing animal health and welfare.

David is the author of over 150 scientific articles, numerous book chapters, is joint editor of the highly successful textbook “Small Animal Clinical Pharmacology” now in its second edition and the soon to be released textbook entitled “Logical Approach to Clinical Problem Solving.”

He has had an ongoing interest in relevant continuing education for practitioners and in particular the value of the problem-oriented approach to small animal medicine.

Federico Fracassi graduated in Veterinary Medicine (DVM) “cum laude” State University of Bologna. At the same Faculty he followed an internship. In 2005 he defended his PhD thesis. After the PhD he become a permanent staff member at the Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences - University of Bologna (Italy) where at present is Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and head of the unit of Internal Medicine. He completed a Residency in Internal Medicine at the Clinic for Small Animal Internal Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland and gained his status of European Specialist in Internal Medicine in 2012 (Diplomate ECVIM-CA-internal medicine). Duties include patient care, education (to students, post graduate training and training of interns and residents) and research in internal medicine of companion animals, with special emphasis on endocrinology. He is the president of the European Society of Veterinary Endocrinology (ESVE), past-president of the Italian Society of Veterinary Internal Medicine (SIMIV), board member of the executive committee of the ECVIM-CA congress and editor of “Veterinaria”, a peer review journal. His publication list consists of journal articles, research abstracts, case reports and book chapters. He is co-editor, together with Edward Feldman and Mark Peterson of the book “Feline Endocrinology”, Edra, 2019. His main research focus is the field of small animal endocrinology.

Dr Linda Fleeman is an internationally renowned expert on the treatment of diabetes in dogs and is regularly invited to write textbook chapters and speak on this topic at international and national forums. Throughout her career, Linda has worked in both university referral practice and general small animal practice, and her primary focus for more than 20 years has been on all aspects of diabetes in dogs and cats.

Linda graduated from the University of Queensland and completed a Small Animal Medicine Internship at Murdoch University and a Residency in Small Animal Medicine at the University of Melbourne.  This was followed by a PhD at the University of Queensland on the clinical management of diabetes mellitus in dogs.  She held positions as Lecturer in Small Animal Medicine at the University of Queensland and Senior Lecturer in Small Animal Medicine at the University of Sydney before deciding to return to private clinical practice in January 2010.