Prof. Karla Lee
Dr.med.vet., PhD, DVD, FHEA, DipECVD, MRCVS EBVS® European Specialist in Veterinary Dermatology Professor in Veterinary Dermatology and Cutaneous Bacteriology Deputy Editor Veterinary Dermatology Department of Clinical Sciences and ServicesRoyal Veterinary College
Prof. Karla Lee, MA, VetMB, PhD, MBA, DipECVS, MRCVS, is Professor of Soft Tissue Surgery at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), University of London, one of the world's leading veterinary schools. She is an internationally recognized specialist in small animal soft tissue surgery, with particular expertise in emergency and critical care surgery, minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopy and thoracoscopy), hepatobiliary surgery, and surgical innovation.
Prof. Lee graduated in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Cambridge before completing a prestigious small animal rotating internship in medicine and surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. She subsequently undertook a residency in Small Animal Surgery at the Royal Veterinary College and became a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons (DipECVS). During her residency, she received the ECVS Award for Best Small Animal Resident Abstract, recognizing the excellence of her clinical research.
Awarded a Wellcome Trust Veterinary Prize Studentship, Prof. Lee completed a PhD in Bone Biomechanics at the Royal Veterinary College. Her pioneering research earned Young Investigator Awards from both the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research and the Society for Advances in Mineral Metabolism. She later received a prestigious Medical Research Council (MRC) Postdoctoral Fellowship to investigate novel therapies for liver failure in collaboration with University College London (UCL).
Throughout her career, Prof. Lee has held academic appointments at both the University of Cambridge and the Royal Veterinary College, where she has combined clinical practice with teaching, research, and the supervision of veterinary students and surgical residents. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed scientific publications and is a sought-after invited speaker at national and international veterinary congresses.
In addition to her academic career, Prof. Lee successfully established and led soft tissue surgery services within major private veterinary referral hospitals while completing an MBA, developing expertise in clinical leadership, operational excellence, and the integration of high-quality patient care with efficient hospital management. In 2025, she returned to the Royal Veterinary College as Professor of Soft Tissue Surgery, where she continues to advance veterinary surgery through clinical excellence, research, innovation, and education. Prof. Lee's work reflects an outstanding commitment to advancing small animal surgery by combining cutting-edge clinical practice, translational research, and leadership in veterinary education, making her one of the United Kingdom's leading academic soft tissue surgeons.
