Marianne Lomberg, BVSc (Hons)

Dr. Marianne Lomberg qualified as a veterinarian in South Africa and began her career in an urban small animal veterinary clinic. She later returned to the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Pretoria—her alma mater—where she lectured in veterinary nutrition and behavior. 

After four years in academia, Dr. Lomberg began an 18-year career in the veterinary industry. Her roles spanned regulatory affairs and compliance, technical training, marketing, sales, and business management across the pet food, veterinary equipment, pharmaceutical, and distribution sectors. She has worked with teams across Africa, Europe, and the United Kingdom.

In 2021, Dr. Lomberg joined Nestlé Purina PetCare as head of the pet care business for Eastern and Southern Africa, leading the launch of Purina diets in sub-Saharan Africa. In April 2026, she joined the company’s global strategic business team to lead the Purina Institute.

James A. Serpell, MA, PhD

Dr. James Serpell is professor emeritus of animal welfare at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. He received his BSc in zoology from University College London and his PhD in animal behavior from the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom. In addition to teaching courses on animal ethics and welfare at Penn Vet, his research has focused on the behavior and welfare of dogs and cats, human attitudes toward animals, and the history and psychology of the human–animal bond. 

He has published more than 250 articles and book chapters on these and related topics and is the author, editor, or co-editor of several books, including Animals & Human Society: Changing Perspectives (1994), In the Company of Animals (1996), Companion Animals & Us (2000), and The Domestic Dog (2016). He also created the C-BARQ, currently the world’s most widely used canine behavioral assessment instrument (http://www.cbarq.org).

Gregory Berns, MD, PhD 

Dr. Gregory Berns is the Distinguished Professor of Neuroeconomics in the Psychology Department at Emory University, where he also directs the university’s MRI Center. Trained as a biomedical engineer, he later practiced psychiatry in Emory’s Department of Psychiatry and became one of the founding members of the field of neuroeconomics, using fMRI to study mechanisms of decision-making in humans. In 2011, he launched an effort to train dogs to cooperatively participate in fMRI studies, resulting in the first demonstration of the feasibility of awake-dog neuroimaging. Since then, Dr. Berns has trained and scanned 100 dogs across a wide variety of cognitive paradigms.

Dr. Berns is the author of six books, including the New York Times bestseller How Dogs Love Us: A Neuroscientist and His Adopted Dog Decode the Canine Brain (2013); Iconoclast: What Neuroscience Reveals About How To Think Differently (2008), named one of the best business books of 2008 by Fast Company; The Self Delusion (2022); Satisfaction (2004); and What It’s Like to Be a Dog (2017), which was selected by Smithsonian magazine as a top-ten science book of 2017. His latest book is Cowpuppy: An Unexpected Friendship and a Scientist’s Journey into the Secret World of Cows (2024). 

Sandra Lyn, PhD 

Dr. Sandra Lyn is a leading expert in pet behavior and welfare and serves as the senior manager for global pet behavior and welfare research at Nestlé Purina. Since joining the company in 2000, Dr. Lyn developed and led Nestlé Purina’s pet feeding behavior research program, which later expanded into global pet behavior research. Her work has encompassed product development, pet welfare, behavior and nutrition, feline elimination behavior, and the human–animal bond.

Dr. Lyn holds a BA in psychology and history from Illinois Wesleyan University, and an MA and PhD in psychology from the University of Florida, where her research focused on ingestive behavior in rodents. She has also conducted research on food preferences, aversions, and the influence of reinforcement schedules on behavior.

With more than 31 years of experience in animal behavior research, including 18 years specializing in the feeding behavior of cats and dogs, Dr. Lyn is recognized as a seasoned expert in her field. She frequently presents on canine and feline behavior to scientific, veterinary, and consumer audiences.

Erin Jones, PhD, IAABC-ADT, CDBC, CPDT-KA, CANZ-ATI, CANZ-ABC

Dr. Erin Jones is a behaviour consultant, researcher, and educator based in Christchurch, New Zealand. She directs the IAABC Foundation Journal and teaches flagship courses with the IAABC Foundation and its allied programmes. She completed her PhD in human–animal studies at the New Zealand Centre for Human–Animal Studies (NZCHAS), University of Canterbury. Her earlier degrees include an MSc in anthrozoology, a PGDip in animal welfare, and a BSc (Hons) in anthropology and psychology.

Dr. Jones’s research and consultancy focus on fostering dialogue as a relational practice through the development of agency and relational autonomy in dog–human interactions. She founded the Merit Dog Project in 2016 after serving as resident behaviour consultant at Companion Vet Clinic, with the goal of translating scholarship into pragmatic tools for caregivers and professionals. She presents internationally and mentors behaviour practitioners.

Dr. Jones is the author of Constructing Canine Consent (CRC Press, 2024) and co-editor of Topics in Non/Human Coexistence (Lantern, 2025). Forthcoming titles include Beyond Behaviour: Ethical Dog-Centred Training (CRC Press, under contract) and, with Dr. Nik Taylor, A Research Agenda for Animals and Society (Edward Elgar). She has also authored peer-reviewed articles and book chapters across welfare science, ethics, and applied behaviour.

Patrick Flynn, DVM, MS

Dr. Patrick Flynn received his veterinary degree from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine in 1994. He practiced companion animal medicine and surgery for 13 years before transitioning to industry, joining Pfizer (now Zoetis) in 2006.

His passion and curiosity for the scientific study of the role other animals play in our life and vice versa led him to pursue a Master of Science degree in anthrozoology at Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y., which he completed in 2019. He is one of very few veterinarians with this qualification. 

Dr. Flynn is president of the Human Animal Bond Association and is human–animal bond certified through NAVC Institute, where he contributes content. He is also a Certified Compassion Fatigue Professional.

He has completed graduate work in the One Health program offered by the Department of Environmental and Global Health within the University of Florida’s College of Public Health and Health Professions.

In 2024, his short story about meeting Dr. Jane Goodall for the first time was published in a commemorative book produced for her 90th birthday.

Marianne Lomberg, BVSc (Hons)

Dr. Marianne Lomberg qualified as a veterinarian in South Africa and began her career in an urban small animal veterinary clinic. She later returned to the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Pretoria—her alma mater—where she lectured in veterinary nutrition and behavior. 

After four years in academia, Dr. Lomberg began an 18-year career in the veterinary industry. Her roles spanned regulatory affairs and compliance, technical training, marketing, sales, and business management across the pet food, veterinary equipment, pharmaceutical, and distribution sectors. She has worked with teams across Africa, Europe, and the United Kingdom.

In 2021, Dr. Lomberg joined Nestlé Purina PetCare as head of the pet care business for Eastern and Southern Africa, leading the launch of Purina diets in sub-Saharan Africa. In April 2026, she joined the company’s global strategic business team to lead the Purina Institute.

Audrey Ruple, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVPM, MRCVS

Dr. Audrey Ruple is the Dorothy A. and Richard G. Metcalf Professor of Veterinary Medical Informatics at the Virginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech. She joined Virginia Tech in 2021 as an associate professor of quantitative epidemiology with tenure, focusing on the application of informatics and data science to veterinary medicine. 

Her research encompasses advanced computing, data sciences, and informatics, with particular relevance to One Health issues. Dr. Ruple is a co-principal investigator of the Dog Aging Project, the largest animal health research initiative to date, and a founding member of Fetch Forward, a veterinary insurance data analytics program. 

Dr. Ruple has published extensively on informatics and veterinary big data, including notable contributions to Nature and Science. She is the lead author of the PetSORT initiative, the first reporting guidelines for clinical trials involving owned cats and dogs. She is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Her honors include induction into Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society; the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health; and fellowship in the National Academies of Practice.

M. Kit Delgado, MD, MS

Dr. Kit Delgado is the faculty director of the Penn Medicine Nudge Unit, the world’s first behavioral design team embedded within a health system; executive director for transformation science and behavioral insights at the University of Pennsylvania Health System; and associate director of the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE). An emergency physician and associate professor of emergency medicine and epidemiology at Penn's Perelman School of Medicine, he draws on his frontline clinical experience to design interventions that guide better health decisions.

Under Dr. Delgado’s leadership, the Nudge Unit and his research teams have measurably improved the implementation of evidence-based care across emergency department, inpatient and outpatient settings. They have also advanced public health by reducing distracted driving, increasing seat belt use, and promoting safer firearm storage. As co-director of Penn’s training program in learning health system science, Dr. Delgado mentors the next generation of clinician-scientists working to transform healthcare delivery.

Richard D. Kealy, PhD

Dr. Richard D. Kealy is a former research fellow with Nestlé Purina PetCare Company, where he worked as an animal nutritionist for 35 years. He earned his BS in agricultural education and his MS in poultry nutrition from the University of Nebraska, and later completed his PhD in animal nutrition at the University of Arkansas.

Dr. Kealy served on the National Research Council panel on feline nutrition. He holds several patents, including two related to nutritional influences on canine hip dysplasia and another for a novel cat food flavoring. During his career at Nestlé Purina, he authored or co-authored more than 800 studies on the nutritional needs of dogs and cats, including the company’s landmark 14-year diet restriction and longevity study. His expertise lies in orthopedic nutrition in dogs, and he has lectured widely at veterinary conferences and veterinary schools in the United States and internationally. Dr. Kealy’s work has had a lasting influence on the understanding of nutrition’s role in canine orthopedic health and longevity.

Brittany Vester Boler, PhD

Dr. Brittany Vester Boler is the innovation and renovation platform lead for Purina R&D, based in Switzerland. She earned her BSc from Purdue University and her MS and PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where she focused her research on companion animal nutrition. She continued her work in comparative nutrition through a postdoctoral fellowship examining dietary fibers and the microbiome.

Since joining Nestlé Purina in 2014, Dr. Vester Boler has held roles in nutrition research, clinical trial management, and applied nutrition. As director of applied nutrition, she led efforts to translate foundational science into innovative nutritional solutions for pets. In her current role, she guides long term innovation pipelines, leveraging advanced technologies from Purina R&D across the entire Purina product portfolio.

Zoe Belshaw, MA, VetMB, PhD, CertSAM, Dip ECVIM-CA, AFHEA, FRCVS, RCVS and European Recognised Specialist in Small Animal Medicine

Dr. Zoe Belshaw is a veterinary surgeon with a clinical specialism in small animal internal medicine. She earned her PhD from the University of Nottingham in 2017 for research on welfare assessment in canine osteoarthritis. In 2020, she received the BSAVA PetSavers Award for her contributions to clinical aspects of small animal practice in its broadest context by a qualified veterinarian, and in 2025 was awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons for meritorious contribution to clinical practice.

Dr. Belshaw has worked in general practice, referral clinics, university teaching hospitals and charity practice, and has chaired the WSAVA Continuing Education Committee. She currently undertakes collaborative mixed-methods research exploring how veterinary professionals, owners and families make health and welfare decisions about “pandemic puppies,” brachycephalic dogs, dogs with chronic illnesses such as epilepsy, and elderly pets. She also recently collaborated on research characterising veterinary professionals’ experiences of infertility and pregnancy loss.

Natasha Janke, MSc, PhD

Dr. Natasha Janke is an assistant professor and director of the Veterinary Communication for Professional Excellence program at Colorado State University (CSU). After receiving her MSc (2017) and PhD (2021) in veterinary epidemiology from the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC), she served as a clinical communication lecturer at OVC from 2021 to 2025. 

Dr. Janke completed a postdoctoral fellowship at CSU (2021–2022), where she examined clinical communication training within veterinary practices. She then returned to OVC as a postdoctoral fellow (2022–2025) researching team-based veterinary medicine. Her work focuses on outcomes associated with clinical communication and the social dimensions of the veterinary profession, employing both quantitative and qualitative methods. Notably, she was the first veterinary communication scholar accepted into the Putnam Scholars Program by the Academy of Communication in Healthcare (2022–2024).

Jason B. Coe, DVM, PhD (he/ him/ his)

Dr. Jason Coe is a professor at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College and a leading expert in veterinary clinical communications. After graduating as a veterinarian in 2001, he worked in mixed-animal practice before returning to the Ontario Veterinary College in 2008 to complete his PhD in veterinary communications. That same year, he joined the college’s Department of Population Medicine, where he established an active research program exploring the human–animal bond and the influence of interpersonal communication on veterinary care outcomes. In his current role, Dr. Coe co-coordinates the clinical communication curriculum across all four years of the veterinary program and teaches students about the relationships that connect people and animals.

Over the past two decades, Dr. Coe has developed an international reputation for his leadership in veterinary communications, primary care veterinary education, and the study of the human–animal bond. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and co-authored the book Developing Communication Skills for Veterinary Practice. He currently holds the VCA Canada Chair in Relationship-Centred Veterinary Medicine (2021-2026) at the Ontario Veterinary College and, in 2022, founded the Relationship-Centred Veterinary Medicine research program at the college (https://rcvm.uoguelph.ca/).

Shawn Wilkie

Shawn Wilkie is a serial entrepreneur and lifelong technologist with more than two decades of experience building companies that solve real problems for real people. He has founded six companies to date, including Talkatoo—the first AI company purpose-built for the veterinary industry. Shawn also cohosts the globally recognized “Veterinary Innovation Podcast,” where he explores the ideas and technologies shaping the future of animal health, from emerging AI applications to new models of care and practice sustainability.

Brennen McKenzie, MA, MSc, VMD

Dr. Brennen McKenzie has been a small animal general practitioner for 25 years. He is a member and past president of the Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine Association and the author of the SkeptVet blog. Since 2021, he has continued his clinical practice while also serving as the director of veterinary medicine for Loyal Animal Health, a biotechnology company developing drugs aimed at extending healthy lifespan in dogs.

Brittany Vester Boler, PhD

Dr. Brittany Vester Boler is the innovation and renovation platform lead for Purina R&D, based in Switzerland. She earned her BSc from Purdue University and her MS and PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where she focused her research on companion animal nutrition. She continued her work in comparative nutrition through a postdoctoral fellowship examining dietary fibers and the microbiome.

Since joining Nestlé Purina in 2014, Dr. Vester Boler has held roles in nutrition research, clinical trial management, and applied nutrition. As director of applied nutrition, she led efforts to translate foundational science into innovative nutritional solutions for pets. In her current role, she guides long term innovation pipelines, leveraging advanced technologies from Purina R&D across the entire Purina product portfolio.

Emily McCobb, DVM, MS, DACVAA

Dr. Emily McCobb is professor of clinical accessible veterinary care and the PetSmart Charities Endowed Chair in Accessible Veterinary Care at the University of California, Davis. Prior to joining the faculty at UC Davis, she served as an associate clinical professor of anesthesiology and community medicine at Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, where she directed the shelter medicine program and on-campus spay neuter clinic, and helped establish the low-cost student training clinic, Tufts at Tech.

A board-certified anesthesiologist, Dr. McCobb has expertise in community medicine, anesthesia and pain management, and animal welfare and policy. She is a past chair of AVMA’s Animal Welfare Committee and is a founding member of the editorial board for the Journal of Shelter Medicine and Community Animal Health. Her recent scholarship has focused on strengthening the evidence base for low-cost, effective veterinary care.

Alison Lambert, BVSc, CMRS

Following her qualification from Liverpool University in 1989, Dr. Alison Lambert worked in clinical practice for several years before pursuing a business career with Hill’s Pet Nutrition and MARS. During this time, she discovered a passion for customer experience—an area in which her award-winning company, Onswitch, is renowned for today. Established in 2001, Onswitch promotes customer-centred practice to ensure pets, horses and livestock receive the best care and provides research, marketing, CPD and business consultancy with an effective, innovative, straight-talking and client-led approach.

Dr. Lambert is published widely and regularly speaks at key international veterinary congresses and events. She received the AVA’s Veterinary Business Thought Leader Award in 2019 and the RCVS Impact Award in 2021.

Marianne Lomberg, BVSc (Hons)

Dr. Marianne Lomberg qualified as a veterinarian in South Africa and began her career in an urban small animal veterinary clinic. She later returned to the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Pretoria—her alma mater—where she lectured in veterinary nutrition and behavior. 

After four years in academia, Dr. Lomberg began an 18-year career in the veterinary industry. Her roles spanned regulatory affairs and compliance, technical training, marketing, sales, and business management across the pet food, veterinary equipment, pharmaceutical, and distribution sectors. She has worked with teams across Africa, Europe, and the United Kingdom.

In 2021, Dr. Lomberg joined Nestlé Purina PetCare as head of the pet care business for Eastern and Southern Africa, leading the launch of Purina diets in sub-Saharan Africa. In April 2026, she joined the company’s global strategic business team to lead the Purina Institute.