Dr. Ben Sykes
Horse health / Care
A/Prof Ben Sykes is the world leading expert on Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) who is actively changing the way we think, talk about, treat, prevent, and manage EGUS in our horses both in Australia and internationally. He has pioneered research on EGUS with a focus on Equine Glandular Gastric Disease (EGGD) and has numerous peer reviewed publications to his credit including being the lead author of the current international consensus statement on EGUS in the adult horse.
A/Prof Sykes is an equine veterinarian with over 23 years clinical experience who is boarded with both the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in large animal internal medicine and the European College of Equine Internal Medicine in equine internal medicine. He graduated from Murdoch University in 1997 and completed an internship at Randwick Equine Centre in 1998 followed by a residency in Equine Internal Medicine in Virginia (USA) before gaining his ACVIM Diplomate status in 2004. He then spent 7 years in Finland both in university and private practice and was also a visiting Professor in Equine Medicine and Surgery in Estonia during this time.
In 2011, he was awarded his ECEIM Diplomate status. Dr Sykes’ research has focused on gastrointestinal diseases of the horse with a specific focus on EGUS. In 2016 he was awarded his PhD in Veterinary Pharmacology for his thesis that focussed on factors affecting the efficacy of omeprazole therapy for the treatment of EGUS. He speaks on EGUS and gut health regularly at veterinary conferences around the world and is well known for his ability to communicate complex processes in a simple and easy to understand way. He is an Associate Professor in Equine Internal Medicine at Massey University in New Zealand, and he holds adjunct positions as an Honorary Lecturer at the University of Liverpool (UK) and as an expert advisor to the Hong Kong Jockey Club on gastrointestinal health.
