Sandra Nicholson | Professional | University College Dublin

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Lecturer/Assistant Professor

School of Veterinary Medicine

Orcid identifier0000-0003-1513-9243 (opens in a new tab)⁠

Lecturer/Assistant Professor
School of Veterinary Medicine

017166205

sandra.nicholson@ucd.ie (opens in a new tab)

University College Dublin, School of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Science Centre Belfield Dublin 4

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COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

FEATURED
Advisory Committee on Companion Animal Welfare
28 Nov 2025
Member
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

FEATURED
AFFECT-EVO (opens in a new tab)⁠
15 Sep 2025
Member
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

FEATURED
UCD School of Veterinary Medicine Sustainability Committee
30 Sep 2024
Member
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

FEATURED
Advisory Council on Companion Animal Welfare (ACCAW) Cat subcommittee (opens in a new tab)⁠
24 May 2024
Member
EVENT ADMINISTRATION / PARTICIPATION

FEATURED
Workshop
22 Apr 2024
To highlight One Welfare, I organised an Earth Day workshop in the foyer of the School of Veterinary Medicine on 22nd April 2024, in collaboration with Dr. Niamh Nestor, Purl Jam, and the school Sustainability Group. The event illustrated the interconnections between human, animal, and planetary well-being through activities that are beneficial for all. The workshop was focused on upcycling, with attendees making plastic-free toys for dogs and cats using toilet roll tubes, paper straws, and knitting wool. They also prepared pet-friendly herb pots. The attendees enjoyed it very much and their pets had fun with their creations.
EVENT ADMINISTRATION / PARTICIPATION

FEATURED
Seminars
8 Apr 2024
I organised an extracurricular Pet Bereavement seminar, delivered by psychotherapist Kevin Smith (of Clearview Counselling) on Monday 8th April 2024, funded by my Teaching Excellence Award money, with catering provided by the school. Pet bereavement is an important aspect of human-animal interactions and it is highly relevant to vets and vet nurses supporting clients with the euthanasia or natural death of their pets. We had approximately 90 registrations and the seminar was very well attended. Feedback on the event was excellent.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION

FEATURED
Vet Sustain Curriculum Committee
28 Mar 2024
Continuing with my One Welfare focus, I recently joined the curriculum committee of Vet Sustain, the first Irish representative to do so. The group aims to gather individuals from UK veterinary schools to capture, promote, and embed sustainability initiatives. In tandem with this, I joined the School of Veterinary Medicine Sustainability Group. My first action was to coordinate and assemble a blog post for the Vet Sustain curriculum committee to highlight the sustainability initiatives in the school.
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY

FEATURED
Teddy Bear Care Centre at UCD Festival
10 Jun 2023
I created and ran a dog and cat emotions game (informed by my research and teaching) for the UCD festival Teddy Bear Care Centre on 7th June 2023. To play the game, attendees needed to match emojis to a selection of photographs of dogs and cats signalling their emotional states. Attendees of all ages seemed to enjoy the game and it allowed me the opportunity to raise awareness of animal emotional signalling and the appropriate human responses to this.
CONSULTING / ADVISORY

FEATURED
Technological University of the Shannon
30 Jun 2022 - 31 Jul 2026
External examiner
PERSONAL AWARD, PRIZE, HONOUR

FEATURED
UCD College of Health and Agricultural Sciences Teaching Excellence Award
18 Jan 2021
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION

FEATURED
Association of Pet Dog Trainers Ireland (APDTI) (opens in a new tab)⁠
19 Mar 2020
I am an academic affiliate and a member of the panel of assessors for full/professional membership of APDT Ireland. This is important for the voluntary regulation of Irish dog trainers, animal welfare, and public trust
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

FEATURED
Veterinary Nursing Curriculum Committee
1 Mar 2019
Member
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
UCD Reasonable Accommodations Committee
1 Apr 2026
Member
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY
UCD Open Day Information Session on the BSc Veterinary Nursing
8 Nov 2025
Information lecture on UCD BSc Veterinary Nursing programme at UCD Open Day 2025
EVENT ADMINISTRATION / PARTICIPATION
Social event
25 Apr 2025
In April 2025, the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine hosted its first ever Biodiversity Photography competition for students and staff, to highlight sustainable veterinary practice and environmental awareness. We invited submissions under three themes; Responsible Pet Ownership, Sustainable Livestock Farming, and Irish Wildlife Biodiversity. It was run as a collaborative staff-student initiative. The initiative was a huge success. It had strong engagement and showcased the incredible creative talents and shared values of our school members. We held an award presentation event on 25th April, where the entries were exhibited, refreshments were served, and prizes were awarded to the winners. I proposed the idea for the competition and chaired the event organising subcommittee.
REVIEWING / REFEREEING
Animals
25 Oct 2024 - 25 Apr 2024
Anonymous peer review
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
Staff-Student committee
17 Oct 2024 - 22 Apr 2025
Chair
PERSONAL AWARD, PRIZE, HONOUR
Tenure
23 Nov 2023
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY
Presentation about BSc Veterinary Nursing programme at UCD Open Day
11 Nov 2023
I presented an overview, and important aspects of our BSc Veterinary Nursing to prospective students and their families. Afterwards, I manned the information stall in O Reilly Hall.
REVIEWING / REFEREEING
MDPI journals
17 Nov 2022 - 21 Jun 2023
Anonymous peer review
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY
Science Week Talk for Junior & Senior Infants at NKETNS
17 Nov 2022
I gave an interactive talk to Junior and Senior Infant Classes at North Kildare Educate Together School (NKETNS) (using a canine model) on how to do a "check up" on a dog.
REVIEWING / REFEREEING
Applied Sciences
8 Jun 2022
Anonymous peer review
REVIEWING / REFEREEING
Veterinary Sciences
25 Nov 2021 - 25 Nov 2021
Anonymous peer review
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
Irish Veterinary Behaviour Association (IVBA) Education & Research representative
11 Oct 2021
Member
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
Staff-student liaison committee
1 Oct 2021 - 31 Dec 2021
Chair

MsSandra Nicholson

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES