Virginia graduated from Cambridge Veterinary School in 1984. She spent five years in practice (obtaining RCVS Certificates in Radiology and Small Animal Cardiology) before becoming a Lecturer in Veterinary Cardiology at the University of Edinburgh (obtaining the RCVS Diploma in Veterinary Cardiology in 1992). She was awarded the PDSA Scholarship between 1992-1995 towards a PhD in the echocardiographic assessment of canine dilated cardiomyopathy, and gained RCVS Specialist status in Veterinary Cardiology in 1994.

Virginia moved to the University of Missouri, Columbia as an Assistant Professor in 1997, and then in 2001 became a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine until joining the Royal Veterinary College in 2004. She was awarded the British Small Animal Veterinary Association Woodrow award for outstanding contributions in the field of small animal veterinary medicine in 2006, and was Chair of the Cardiology Specialty of the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine from 2012-2018.