Speaker Information
Jon Cheetham, VetMB, PhD, Diplomate ACVS
Dr. Jon Cheetham graduated from veterinary college at the University of Cambridge in 1995 and
completed his internship in England prior to working in equine racing and performance horse
practice for seven years. He then completed a residency and PhD at Cornell University’s
College of Veterinary Medicine becoming a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary
Surgeons in 2007. The focus of his research team is in identifying upper airway disease at an
early stage and restoring function in the upper airway using reinnervation, electrical pacing and
tissue engineering techniques. Clinically he works predominantly on surgical problems of the
upper airway in horses. He is currently the equine surgeon and research scientist at Cornell.
Norm G. Ducharme, DMV, MSc, Diplomate ACVS
Dr. Norm Ducharme graduated from veterinary college at the University of Montreal in 1979 and
completed his internship and residency at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
He received his MSc from the University of Guelph and became a Diplomate of the American
College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1985. Dr. Ducharme is the James Law Professor of Surgery
and Medical Director of the Equine and Farm Animal Hospitals in the College of Veterinary
Medicine at Cornell University. He has served as President and chair of the board of the
American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2005-06. Dr. Ducharme has focused much of his
research on understanding the equine upper airway physiology during exercise. The focus of
his investigator group studies has been on methods of identifying and quantifying dynamic
upper airway obstructions, defining the anatomical structures and their function, and developing
surgical and other methods of treatment for upper airway diseases in the horse.
Padraic M Dixon, MVB, PhD, MRCVS
Prof PM Dixon is a graduate of University College Dublin. He obtained a PhD on equine
respiratory disease at The University of Edinburgh, where he has worked for most of his
professional life. He is a Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Specialist in Equine Surgery
(Soft Tissue). He is currently Professor of Equine Surgery at Edinburgh University, where his
main clinical and research interests are equine respiratory and dental disorders. He has
published over 200 referred publications, numerous book chapters and 3 books, primarily on
clinical research on these topics and has won 5 literary awards for these scientific publications.
He has lectured and tutored extensively around the world on these topics.
Chris Riggs , BVSc, PhD, DEO, DipECVS, MRCVS
Chris Riggs studied veterinary science at the University of Bristol in the early eighties. He then
received further training in equine surgery at the Royal Veterinary College, London and was
awarded a PhD for research into causes of racehorse fractures in 1991. He has worked at
several equine clinical centres, including the University of Liverpool, one of the largest equine
referral hospitals in the UK and Oakey Veterinary Hospital, a well-established equine hospital in
Eastern Australia. Chris has been Head of Veterinary Clinical Services at the Hong Kong
Jockey Club since January 2003. He is particularly interested and has specialist qualifications in
surgery and orthopaedics and has research interests in fatigue of bone and its role in racehorse
fractures. He has made numerous presentations on these and other related topics at
international meetings around the world and has contributed to over forty peer-reviewed papers
in scientific publications. His greatest professional achievement to date was to oversee the safe
competition of all horses that competed in the equestrian events of the Beijing 2008 Olympic
and Paralympic Games, for which he was veterinary services manager.
Gregory Sommerville, BVSc
Gregory Sommerville was born in South Africa and is a 2003 graduate from the Faculty of
Veterinary Science in Pretoria. For four years, he worked at Summerveld Equine Hospital in
Durban, which predominantly saw racehorses and referral cases. His special interests are in
diagnostic imaging and lameness evaluation, but he also has skills in managing infectious
diseases due to its high prevalence in South Africa. In 2008, Dr. Sommerville moved to the
United Kingdom to work for McGonnell & Gillatt – a small but quality orientated general equine
practice. A brilliant opportunity arose one year later at Rossdales Veterinary Surgeons in
Newmarket – the home of horseracing. Gregory joined the veterinary team for horses in training
as an assistant continuing his clinical work while being involved in the Remote Dynamic
Endoscopy Team. He was featured on the Channel 5 Documentary - “Inside Nature’s Giants –
The Racehorse” as an expert on dynamic endoscopy. In August 2011, he joined the Department
of Veterinary Clinical Services of the Hong Kong Jockey Club and continues to enjoy the
challenges of lameness diagnostics. Currently, Greg is undertaking a Certificate in Advanced
Veterinary Practice through the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. He will continue to work
on the evaluation of the upper respiratory tract using remote dynamic endoscopy and also
become involved in other field opportunities.