My research has its roots in equine industry practice. I completed a BA(Hons) in Preclinical Veterinary Studies with Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge in 2012, before working with the Scottish SPCA and establishing my own business as an equine thermographer. I continued this work alongside an MSc in Equine Science at the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 2017. My MSc research investigated infrared thermography as a potential diagnostic tool for equine myopathies, leading to a continuing interest in equine muscle disease and exercise physiology.
I subsequently completed an MSc in Instrumental Analytical Science at Robert Gordon University, graduating with Distinction in 2018 and specialising in DNA analysis, proteomics and metabolomics. As part of an Erasmus traineeship at the Universidade do Minho in Braga, Portugal, I investigated the role of antioxidant genes in a rapeseed pomace extract treatment for human neurodegenerative disease using C. elegans models. This provided a foundation in molecular genetics and experimental approaches that I later applied to equine disease.
I then completed a PhD at the Royal Veterinary College investigating the genomic architecture of equine exertional rhabdomyolysis (“tying-up”), funded by the RVC’s Mellon Fund for Equine Research and supervised by Dr Androniki Psifidi, Professor Richard Piercy and Dr Emily Clark. My doctoral research combined clinical phenotyping, statistical analysis and genomic approaches to investigate the biological and genetic heterogeneity underlying these complex muscle disorders. I was awarded the 2023 RVC McKeever Prize for the Graduating PhD Student with the Best Original Research Paper.
Since 2022 I have been based at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh, where I coordinate the Equine Science MSc programme and serve as a Teaching Fellow in BVM&S Horse Husbandry. This role has allowed me to combine my research background with a deepening commitment to teaching and programme leadership. I am currently completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (expected 2027), and I am co-supervisor on an EastBio Doctoral Training Programme studentship funded from 2025. My research interests continue to develop around equine genomics, veterinary data science, and the translation of genomic approaches into equine clinical and breeding contexts.
I am also a Royal Statistical Society accredited Data Analyst, reflecting my interest in combining biological and veterinary expertise with rigorous quantitative approaches.
Tapuska M, Lindsay-McGee V & Wolframm I (2025). Why equestrians use auxiliary reins on horses, their biomechanical perceptions, and barriers to human behaviour change. Journal of Equine Rehabilitation 3: 100032.
Lindsay-McGee V, Clark EL, Piercy RJ & Psifidi A (2024). [Preprint] Breed-specific effects of inbreeding and artificial selection on susceptibility to equine exertional rhabdomyolysis. Authorea [Online].
David Marlin Animalweb (2024). Introduction to Animal Genetics with Dr Victoria Lindsay-McGee. Stable Science Podcast
Lindsay-McGee V, Massey C, Li YT, Clark EL, Psifidi A, & Piercy RJ (2024) Characterisation of phenotypic patterns in equine exertional myopathy syndrome. Equine Veterinary Journal.
Pohl, F, Lindsay-McGee, V, Kong Thoo Lin, P, Maciel, P, & Teixeira-Castro, A (2024). Pharmacological inhibition of acetylcholinesterase improves the locomotion defective phenotype of a SCA3 C. elegans model. microPublication Biology.
Cousquer, G., Alyakine, H. & Lindsay-McGee, V. (2023). The history and welfare of working mules in the valleys of the Toubkal massif, in the High Atlas of Morocco. Frontiers in Veterinary Science. 10.
Lawson, J. M., Shilton, C. A., Lindsay‐McGee, V., Psifidi, A., Wathes, D. C., Raudsepp, T. & De Mestre, A. M. (2024). Does inbreeding contribute to pregnancy loss in Thoroughbred horses? Equine Veterinary Journal.
Lindsay-McGee, V., Sanchez-Molano, E., Banos, G., Clark, E. L., Piercy, R. J. & Psifidi, A. (2023). Genetic characterisation of the Connemara pony and the Warmblood horse using a within-breed clustering approach. Genetics selection Evolution. 55: 1-22.
Lindsay V, Psifidi A and Piercy RJ (2021) All Tied Up. Your Horse Magazine April 2021 Issue (later adapted online 2023 and 2025)
Banos, G., Lindsay, V., Desta, T. T., Bettridge, J., Sanchez-Molano, E., Vallejo-Trujillo, A., Matika, O., Dessie, T., Wigley, P., Christley, R. M., Kaiser, P., Hanotte, O. & Psifidi, A. (2020). Integrating genetic and genomic analyses of combined health data across ecotypes to improve disease resistance in indigenous African chickens. Frontiers in Genetics. 1169.
Pohl, F., Teixeira-Castro, A., Costa, M. D., Lindsay, V., Fiúza-Fernandes, J., Goua, M., Bermano, G., Russell, W., Maciel, P. & Kong Thoo Lin, P. (2019). GST-4-dependent suppression of neurodegeneration in *C. elegans* models of Parkinsons and Machado-Joseph disease by rapeseed pomace extract supplementation. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 13.
Session Chairing at British & Irish Society of Animal Science 2026: industry & academia supporting livestock production in sustainable food system, York, UK
Talk at British Society of Animal Science Equine Conference 2025, Birmingham, UK
Session Chairing at British Society of Animal Science Equine Conference 2025, Birmingham, UK
Talk at Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Postgraduate Veterinary Education Symposium 2025, London, UK
Talk at University of Edinburgh Learning & Teaching Conference, Edinburgh, UK
Talk at R(D)SVS PGT Teaching Symposium, Roslin, UK
Talk at 18th international Research in Distance Education and e-Learning (RIDE) Conference, London, UK
Talk at British Society of Animal Science Conference 2023, Birmingham, UK
Poster at 14th International Havemeyer Foundation Horse Genome Workshop, Caen, France
Poster at Plant and Animal Genome XXX Conference, San Diego, USA
Poster at Functional Regulatory Genomics and Disease: Genetics Society Meeting 2022, Edinburgh, UK
Talk at The Challenge of Change: British Society of Animal Science Conference 2021,
Poster at The Challenge of Change: British Society of Animal Science Conference 2021,
Session Chairing at The Challenge of Change: British Society of Animal Science Conference 2021,
Poster at Plant and Animal Genome XXVIII Conference, San Diego, USA
Poster at A Century of Genetics: Genetics Society Meeting 2019, Edinburgh, UK