Speaker bio page for Chiara Penzo

Bio

I am part of the Oncology Team at Willows Veterinary Centre & Referral Service and am passionate about teaching. I have a strong interest in advancing cancer care options for patients with advanced stage disease or unresectable tumours. I have a vast experience in electrochemotherapy and advanced electrochemotherapy techniques that I am lucky to be able to offer at Willows for the benefit of patients with incompletely resected or unresectable tumours or as a pet friendly alternative to radiotherapy or extensive surgery.

Alongside my referral clinical activity in small animal oncology, I work as an Honorary Lecturer for the University of Liverpool and I am a multilingual specialist consultant and lecturer at events in the UK and Europe. My focus is on postgraduate training in oncology and internal medicine and online education of pet owners and animal carers. I was a member of the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ECVIM) examination committee from 2010 to 2018. The aim of my clinical work and teaching is to provide Vets and owners on a daily basis with the most up-to-date information on cancer diagnosis and treatment options, so pets can spend more time with their families whilst protecting their quality of life and preventing suffering.

I graduated with laudem in 2003 and achieved a PhD in 2006 from University of Padua (Italy) that brought me for a short spell into the USA. I went on to complete a small animal rotatory internship at the University of Glasgow (2005-2006) and a residency in internal medicine and oncology at University of Edinburgh (2006-2009). In 2009 I was the first to be awarded by examination the title of European Veterinary Specialist in Oncology, ECVIM-CA(Oncology). I went on to lead the private referral small animal oncology service at Vets Now Referrals Hospital in Glasgow for 4 years (2009-2013) while offering online multilingual specialist consultations in small animal internal medicine and oncology for UK and Europe.

I have been living in the UK since 2005 and after ten years in Scotland, I now live in the East Midlands with my husband, also a vet, my 2 young boys and wee dog Tosca. I am also a certified seasonal yoga teacher, keen runner, swimmer (and weather cyclist!) and love reading thrillers and romance novels.