Dr Jacob Michelsen

Dip ACVS, Dip ECVS

Jacob graduated from Sydney University in 1990 and worked in mixed practice for two years before buying his own practice in South West Sydney with his wife and fellow veterinarian.

The practices grew to become a group of practices and after 15 years they were sold when Jacob and his family moved to Denmark for two years.

A surgical residency at Charles Sturt University enticed him back to Australia in 2008. Jacob passed his Board exams in 2013 and moved to Canberra in 2014 to take up a surgical specialty position.

Jacob and family live on a few acres outside of Canberra where they keep chickens, fruit trees and whippet called Sally.

Dr Candice Evans

BVSc(Hons)

Candice grew up on a small hobby farm in Queensland. After originally starting an engineering degree, she made the move into Veterinary Science and graduated with honours from the University of Queensland at the end of 2016.

After graduating, she moved down to Canberra and spent 2 years in general practice, before joining the emergency team at ARH Canberra and hasn’t looked back since. She obtained her Graduate Certificate in Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care through the University of Melbourne in 2020 and is currently studying for her memberships in emergency and critical care.

Candice loves all aspects of emergency work, with a particular interest in surgery. In her spare time, Candice enjoys riding her horse, running, camping and playing her violin and guitar.

Dr Louisa Ho Eckhart

BVSc(Hons), MS, DACVS-SA

Louisa graduated from the University of Sydney in 2004 and worked in a mixed animal practice for 3 years in Goulburn, before spending over 10 years in the USA for specialty surgery training.

She completed 3 internships in Virginia, Kansas and Texas, a surgical fellowship at Louisiana State University and a 3 year surgery residency at Oregon State University.

She then spent three years as an assistant professor, lecturer and faculty clinician in small animal surgery at Iowa State University.

Louisa joined the team at Animal Referral Hospital Canberra in October 2018 and enjoys soft tissue surgery, minimally invasive surgery, surgical oncology, interventional surgical procedures and neurosurgery.

Dr Kieri Jerymn

Dip ACVS, Dip ECVS

Dr Rui Sul

DVM, Dip ECVS.

Dr Rui graduated from the University of UTAD in Portugal in 2003.

He moved to England soon after graduating where he worked as a small animal general practitioner for six years in Yorkshire. He continued up north and did his rotating internship followed by an EVCS- approved surgical residency at the University of Glasgow, in Scotland.

After his residency, Dr Rui worked in a large private referral hospital in London (NDSR) for 3 years, covering orthopaedic and soft tissue surgery. He came to Australia with his partner and a young daughter in 2018 and worked as a referral surgeon at the University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Sydney University before joining ARH Canberra in March 2021.

Dr Rui has published on an extensive range of subjects, including cranial cruciate ligament disease, osteoarthritis and humeral fractures. He enjoys all aspect of small animal surgery, particularly orthopaedics and neurosurgery.

Outside of work Dr Rui enjoys cycling, travelling, the great outdoors and spending time with family and friends.

Dr John Angles

BVSc BSc(Vet) MVS PhD MANZCVS Diplomate ACVIM Diplomate ECVIM-CA

John graduated in 1988 with honours from the University of Sydney and worked for five years in small animal practice in Canberra, before completing a small animal medicine residency at the University of California at Davis.

He then spent four years as lecturer in small animal medicine at the University College Dublin prior to joining the Animal Referral Hospital in 1993.

John has advanced training in veterinary immunology and genetics, and extensive experience working with dog and cat breed clubs in Europe and the USA. He was awarded a PhD in Comparative Pathology in 2005 by the University of California at Davis, investigating causes for autoimmunity in dogs. John has published extensively in both veterinary and medical literature. His current research is directed at molecular causes for diseases in dogs and cats, with specific emphasis on mitochondrial DNA defects, haematologic diseases and breed-associated autoimmunity.

John is a Diplomate of both the American and European Colleges of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM and ECVIM). He receives referrals in all aspects of canine and feline medicine including gastroenteric, cardiothoracic, haematologic, neurologic, genetic, immune and endocrine disease.

Dr Michaela Swan

BVSc (Hons) MANZCVS (Small Animal Medicine)

Dr Kim Cleary

BVSc(Hons)

Kim graduated from Sydney Uni in 2009 and worked in general practice in Canberra for several years before working in emergency/after hours practice for a year.

After her own dog, a 1-year-old staghound developed neurological signs and required specialist care, Kim was inspired to move to referral medicine at Animal Referral Hospital. Kim is now a resident in Small Animal Internal Medicine and appreciates being able to care for animals, then see them go home with their families.

When not at work, Kim enjoys spending time with her family, including the problem child staghound and two black and white DSH cats, adopted as strays from work.

Dr Ah Young Kim

DVM, MS, CCRT, CVA, DACVSMR

Ah Young Kim graduated from the Seoul National University in South Korea as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2014 after which she completed an orthopaedic/neurosurgery training with a Master’s degree.

After working as a surgeon in specialty practices in Korea for a few years, she developed an interest in the nonsurgical treatment of mobility issues and rehabilitation. In 2019, she moved to the United States to undertake a Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation residency at Colorado State University.

She has a big passion to be a gait keeper of all the animals and improve their quality of life. During her residency, she performed research about canine gene therapy for treating osteoarthritis and muscle mass measurement.

Her areas of interest include rehabilitation, biologic therapies, veterinary orthotics and prosthetics, gait analysis, and diagnosing nebulous lameness cases.

Dr Sasha Chapman

BVBiol/BVSc (Hons 1)

Sasha graduated from Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga in 2019 with first class honours. Upon graduation she worked for 12-months in a regional small animal general practice in Albury, NSW (despite being from Sydney originally!).

Sasha always had a desire to pursue a speciality and after a year of general practice, she moved to Canberra and undertook a 12-month rotating internship in medicine, surgery and emergency critical care. After finding her stride with the ARH internal medicine team, Sasha embarked on an additional 6-months of a sole internal medicine internship.

Sasha commenced her residency in small animal medicine in 2022 through the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine under the supervision of Dr John Angles.

Sasha continues to enjoy studying and learning, having recently completed a year-long modular ultrasonography course and her certificate in advanced veterinary practice (small animal medicine) through the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and University of Liverpool (UK). Sasha loves everything medicine with a particular interest in gastroenterology, hepatology, neurology and oncology.

Dr Jack Davey

BVetBiol/BVetSc(Hons I), MANZCVS (Surgery)

Jack graduated from Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, with first class Honours for his research on bone healing and also received the ‘Bruce Christie Surgical Prize’ in 2016 for a high level of aptitude and clinical skills in small animal surgery during the veterinary course. 

He then started his career as a veterinarian working in Launceston, Tasmania as a mixed animal veterinarian where his passion for surgery strengthened. In 2018, Jack was awarded the NVC’s ‘Best Recent Graduate’ award for his work in veterinary clinics across Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia with both large and small animals. 

Now with the aim to further his surgical skills, Jack is undertaking a residency in Small Animal Surgery at ARH Canberra through the European College of Veterinary Surgery. 

When he is not at work, Jack likes to garden and exercise with the company of his old dog Angie. 

Dr Stefan Gouws

BSc BVMS

Stefan graduated from Murdoch University, Perth in 2016. After spending several years in regional Western Australia as a mixed practice veterinarian, Stefan relocated back to Perth. Here, he further developed his interest in surgery working in a surgical role in several small animal private practices, before completing an extended small animal surgical internship at one of Western Australia's leading referral hospitals.

Stefan joined the ARH Canberra team in February 2023, and is one of our surgical intern veterinarians who assist our surgical residents and specialists in helping your beloved pet get the gold-standard care that we strive for here at ARH.

Dr Shin Yin, Ling

BSc BVMS

Shin Yin graduated from Murdoch University, Perth in 2016. Since graduating, she has worked in a busy small animal practice in regional Victoria-New South Wales. During the time, she has completed a graduate certificate in Small Animal Abdominal Ultrasound from the University of Melbourne. In 2023, she joined ARH Canberra as a surgery intern to further develop her interest in surgery.

Dr James Iversen 

BVetBio/BVSc(Hons) GCertSAECC

James has been with ARH Canberra since graduation from Charles Sturt University in mid-2021. He has worked in various roles, including as a surgical intern and full time emergency veterinarian. In 2022, he obtained a Graduate Certificate in Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care from the University of Melbourne. He now joins the surgical department full time, as a surgical resident under Dr Michelsen.

He enjoys all aspects of the profession, with particular interests in analgesia (pain relief), emergency and critical care, and as expected, all things surgery. He also strongly believes in good patient welfare and mental health, wanting the most enjoyable and fun vet experience for your pet, and as such can often be found spending lots of time with each patient across the day.

Prior to becoming a vet, James worked with various church and charity organisations, providing support to at-risk youth from a variety of challenging home situations. Currently, he lives with wife, Kaitlyn, also a veterinarian, in the south of Canberra.

Dr Laura Downes

BSc BVSc (Hons 1), GCertSAECC