Richard qualified from Cambridge University in 1994. After two years in private equine practice he moved to the USA and completed a residency in equine internal medicine at The Ohio State University and a Master of Science degree in muscle physiology and disease. He returned to the UK to complete doctoral training in molecular and cellular biology of neuromuscular diseases as a Wellcome Fellow at the Dubowitz Neuromuscular Centre, Imperial College, London from where he attained his PhD. Richard is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. He is a Reader in Comparative Neuromuscular Disease at the Royal Veterinary College and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at Imperial College and University College. Richard's clinical work involves horses with neurological and neuromuscular diseases; he runs a veterinary neuromuscular diagnostic laboratory and his research group focuses on equine and canine myopathies and neuropathies.