Lucy Davison

Dr Lucy Davison is a clinician scientist at the University of Oxford and Professor of Veterinary Clinical Genetics at the Royal Veterinary College. Her research focuses on the genetic and immunological mechanisms underlying diabetes mellitus and related endocrine and inflammatory diseases, using a comparative approach that spans many species, including dogs, cats, horses and humans. Dr Davison trained as a veterinary surgeon at the University of Cambridge and after several years in practice, completed a PhD on canine diabetes mellitus at the Royal Veterinary College. She subsequently held a series of fellowships. These included a Wellcome Trust Intermediate Clinical Fellowship in the Diabetes and Inflammation Laboratory at the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research under the supervision of Professor John Todd, followed by a Wellcome Trust Veterinary Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, supervised by Professor Chris O’Callaghan. She was later awarded a five-year MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowship, supporting an independent, cross-species research programme on the genetic and environmental determinants of type 1 diabetes. Her work has advanced understanding of how genetic variation, immune pathways and tissue-specific mechanisms influence diabetes susceptibility, progression and complications across species. Her current research integrates population genetics, whole-genome sequencing, transcriptomics and single-cell approaches to investigate diabetes, pancreatic disease, immunometabolism and endocrine tumours. A central theme of her work is the study of naturally occurring disease in companion animals to inform human biology and improve both veterinary and human health. Dr Davison is an RCVS and European Specialist in Small Animal Medicine and works closely with clinicians, geneticists and basic scientists across disciplines.