Residents

Peter Richards
BVSc PhD MRCVS
Resident in Veterinary Pathology

Peter graduated with a BVSc in Veterinary Science from the University of Bristol in 2014. After two years in veterinary practice in Colombia, he returned to the UK to complete a BBSRC funded PhD exploring the development of the chicken intestinal microbiome with a view to informing the use of probiotics in poultry. This experience in bioinformatics led to collaborations exploring the role of the microbiome in diseases such as marmoset wasting syndrome and contagious ovine digital dermatitis. Peter started his residency in January 2020. He has a strong interest in combining his previous experience of bioinformatics and programming with pathology, creating online learning resources and exploring newer areas such as image analysis using machine learning

Athanasia (Nasia) Kapetanou
DVM, MSc, MRCVS
Resident in Veterinary Pathology

Nasia graduated from the University of Thessaly with a DVM in 2014. After graduation she spent 3 years in a veterinary hospital while studying for a Master’s degree in histology at University of West Attica. Following that she completed a 6-month postgraduate traineeship in veterinary pathology of domestic and exotic animals in Utrecht’s University (UU), department of pathobiology (the Netherlands). With a growing enthusiasm in marine mammals, she joined the marine mammal stranding research team in UU as an intern and visiting researcher for 4 months.

Nasia moved to the UK in 2021 to start her residency at the University of Liverpool with broad interest in infectious diseases, dermatopathology and ocular pathology in relation to aquatic environment and marine conservation.

Flavia Zendri
DVM MSc
Resident in Veterinary Clinical Microbiology

Flavia graduated in Veterinary Medicine in 2015 from the University of Bologna, Italy, after which she spent 8 months as a postgraduate trainee in Microbiology and Antimicrobial Resistance at the State Veterinary Laboratories of Rome (IZSLT – Istituto Profilattico Sperimentale Lazio e Toscana). In 2016 she moved to the United Kingdom to undertake a Master’s degree (MSc) in Veterinary Public Health at the University of Glasgow, writing a dissertation on the transmission dynamics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus between people and companion animals. She then spent some time in general mixed practice in the Scottish countryside before commencing her residency in 2018, working in the Microbiology Diagnostic Laboratory and is also involved in research and teaching activities. At work, she particularly enjoys working on antimicrobial resistance and control of veterinary infections while, in her free time, she likes cycling, traveling with her dog and exploring the UK.

Taiana Costa
MV PhD MRCVS
Resident in Veterinary Pathology with MPhil (Zoo & Wild Animals)

After graduating from Sao Paulo State University (Brazil), Taiana completed a two year internship in medicine and pathology of exotic animals. With a developing interest in avian pathology, she then completed a PhD in Veterinary Pathology at the University of Georgia (USA), investigating host factors that influence the infectivity of avian influenza viruses in wild birds.

Taiana worked for several years as a clinician and as a pathologist for private zoological collections in Spain and the United Kingdom. She moved to Liverpool in 2018 to start her residency in zoo and wild animals, in a programme in conjunction with Chester Zoo. As part of this, she is doing an MPhil on the pathogenesis of cowpox virus infection in rodents and zoo animals.

Guido Rocchigiani
DVM PhD MRCVS
HBLB Resident in Veterinary Pathology with MPhil

Guido graduated in veterinary medicine in 2013 from the University of Pisa, where his final project investigated the immunopathology of feline meningioma. Staying in Pisa, he commenced a PhD in veterinary parasitology and pathology, on Toxoplasma gondii infection in a range of species from domestic to sylvatic animals. After a further year spent in the same department working as a research fellow, he moved to the UK in 2018 to start his residency and MPhil. His research is on the pathogenesis of exercise induced pulmonary haemorrhage and exercised associated fatal pulmonary haemorrhage in racehorses. His main areas of interest encompass equine pathology and parasite-host interactions.