THE HUMANIMAL TRUST - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Treasurer, Trustee and Chair of the Income Generation, Finance and Audit Committee
Dineke moved to the UK from The Netherlands around 30 years ago. Following 14 years in hotel management across London and Oxfordshire she has built her career in finance and business management. She has worked as a consultant to Professor Noel Fitzpatrick and his associated businesses for around ten years, where she has supported and advised through the unprecedented growth and expansion that has seen the hospital enterprise develop to become the thriving centre of excellence it is widely recognised as being today.
Dineke is one of the original Trustees of Humanimal Trust, appointed when the charity was started in May 2014.
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Trustee, MBBS FRCP PHD DTM & H
Dr Ben Marshall is a consultant respiratory physician at the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. He has worked there for around 15 years and leads sub specialist services in tuberculosis and interstitial lung diseases.
His research interests also lie in these disease areas and he collaborates with scientists at the University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine and in the internationally renowned National Institute of Health Science Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit (NIHR BRU) on a number of projects and themes working to identify the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms responsible for causing progressive lung damage. He plays an active role in the teaching of undergraduates at the Faculty of Medicine as well as in the teaching of postgraduate doctors and nurses.
He now devotes 30% of his week to education and research and is passionate about delivery of high quality teaching and scientific discovery.
Job Titles:
- Trustee, MBBS, BSC, PGCERT ( RES ), FRCS ( PAEDS )
Job Titles:
- Communications and Development Manager
Job Titles:
- Schools Education Manager
Rachel worked as a primary school teacher for 28 years teaching many age groups, from nursery up to year six. She has trained as a dog trainer alongside her role as a teacher, her own dogs have led her on a learning path, and she became a Tellington TTouch Method Instructor, working with dogs and other species who have problems coping with everyday life. Subsequently, she qualified as a veterinary physiotherapist for companion animals, having had a keen interest in canine behaviour and physical well-being for many years. These latter two jobs have led to her teaching seminars and workshops to dog and horse guardians of all ages in the UK and beyond.
Her background also involves 23 years as a volunteer in the animal welfare sector, predominantly sighthound rescue. Alongside this, in striving for better animal welfare, she is a volunteer assessor for the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of Trustees
- Chairman of the Royal College of Pathologists Veterinary Pathology SAC
- Head of Pathogenesis and Control at the AHVLA
Roberto graduated in 1995 and then went on to study for a post graduate degree in veterinary microbiology at the Royal Veterinary College (University of London). In 1996 he moved to the government's Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) to undertake a PhD on the pathogenesis of E. coli in poultry. On completion of his PhD studies, Roberto commenced a post-doctoral position at Royal Holloway, University of London, studying E. coli virulence factors and vaccine development.
In 2005, Roberto was appointed Head of Pathogenesis and Control at the AHVLA and in 2010 he was appointed Professor of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology at the University of Surrey. He gained the FRCPath in 2010 and in 2012 was appointed the Associate Dean for Veterinary Strategy in the new School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Surrey. In 2014 he was appointed to the position of Head of the Department of Pathology and Infectious Diseases and Director of the Veterinary Pathology Centre. In 2021 he was appointed Head of the School of Biosciences at the University of Surrey.
Roberto is the Chair of the Royal College of Pathologists Veterinary Pathology SAC, Chair of Trustees for Humanimal Trust, a Trustee of the Houghton Trust, a member of the APHA Science Advisory Board, a member of the FSA ACMSF AMR sub-committee and the past president of the Med-Vet-Net Association and the Veterinary Research Club.
Roberto's current research interests focus on AMR and understanding the pathogenesis of zoonotic bacterial pathogens. Roberto has a particular interest in the development of control and intervention strategies, including rapid diagnostics, vaccines, and probiotics for the control of pathogens such as Salmonella, Brachyspira and E. coli in food producing animals. Roberto has published over 200 peer reviewed papers in the area of microbiology and pathology.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising
- Operations and Relationships Manager
Sarah was originally a violinist and went on to train as a Music Therapist focusing on the field of child psychiatry. She subsequently trained as a nurse and specialised in Intensive Care Nursing. She also worked as a volunteer for the Terrance Higgins Trust Helpline for many years.
Her background also involves 18 years of experience in the animal welfare sector as a volunteer and managing a rescue centre. She is passionate about raising welfare standards within the rescue sector and is a member of the Standards and Welfare Committee and assessor for the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes.
Sarah is a member of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, and holds their Diploma in Fundraising Management. This role will allow her to bring all her charity experience together to help both humans and animals alike. She shares her life with her canine companion, Beau.