Alumni profile: Professor Elspeth Milne

Professor Elspeth Milne first graduated from the Dick Vet in 1979, almost forty years later she is delivering her inaugural lecture back at Easter Bush.

Tell us about your time at the University of Edinburgh

As a local girl, Edinburgh was the obvious university to apply to, but I quickly realised that it was a good decision. We worked hard and played hard and were just as familiar with the library as with Edinburgh’s pubs. I remember it as a challenging but hugely enjoyable time.

The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, known universally as “The Dick”, was like an extended family in which everyone knew everyone else, even across the year groups. Happily, it has largely maintained that atmosphere, despite the higher number of students these days.

Working on the farm

Instead of the conventional part-time bar job, I worked at Easter Bush Farm for 2 years as weekend stockwoman, mainly in the piggery.

Emptying the muck barrow into the midden was especially interesting in icy weather. I recall one occasion when the momentum of the barrow carried me over a 6 foot drop, but at least the landing was soft.

The benefits of this job were more than financial; it taught me time management and self-reliance at an early stage. I also learnt to persuade pigs that what I wanted them to do was really their idea – perhaps a useful lesson for a future role involving people management.

I was involved in the Dick Vet Exmoor Pony Trekking Section and one of my best memories of student days was our two day ride from Edinburgh to the summer trekking area in the Borders, following the drove roads and byways.

Tell us about your experiences since leaving University

Much of my career has been spent at The Dick, which is a very special place to me.

My career path has been very varied, starting with a PhD, then three years in the Small Animal Hospital. I then worked as a Large Animal Clinician, also at The Dick, where I developed an interest in equine gastroenterology, especially equine grass sickness, a disease that I am still studying 30 years later.

The grass sickness work involved a lot of pathology and I decided to pursue this as a career, so in 1996 I moved to the Scottish Agricultural College Disease Surveillance Centre in Dumfries and became Centre Manager in 1999.

Foot and mouth disease outbreak

This allowed me to gain wide experience of pathology and disease investigation. My time there coincided with the 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak. It was very hard to see the disease marching across Dumfries and Galloway, wiping out the livestock of farmers we knew.

Back to Easter Bush

In 2002 I had the opportunity to move back to The Dick, as a pathologist this time, and became Head of Pathology in 2004. I was awarded Diplomate status of the European College of Veterinary Clinical Pathology in 2002, a Personal Chair in Veterinary Clinical Pathology in 2008 and Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists in 2011.

My current work involves managing the department, participating in the diagnostic service, teaching clinical pathology to undergraduate veterinary and postgraduate students, and research.

I have a particular interest in the development of clinical pathology as a specialty in Europe through the European College of Veterinary Clinical Pathology, and in training the next generation of clinical pathologists.

I have never forgotten my clinical roots and often remind the students of the need to have a good clinical grounding before specialising in a subject like pathology.

Alumni Wisdom

You will spend a lot of your life at work so make sure you do something you enjoy and don’t be afraid to re-invent yourself to maintain your enthusiasm.