Alexander John "Sandy" Trees, Baron Trees (born 12 June 1946) is a

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

of veterinary parasitology and a

Crossbench A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

Early life

Trees was born on 12 June 1946, in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

and spent his childhood in

Scunthorpe Scunthorpe () is an industrial town and unparished area in the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire in Lincolnshire, England of which it is the main administrative centre. Scunthorpe had an estimated total population of 82,334 in 2016. A ...

North Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 167,446 in the 2011 census. The borough includes the towns of Scunthorpe, Brigg, Haxey, Crowle, Epworth, Bottesford, Kirton in Lindsey and Bar ...

. He was educated at Brumby Junior School and then at Brigg Grammar School between 1957 and 1964. In 1969, he graduated from

Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, commonly referred to as the Dick Vet, is the veterinary school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and part of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine the head of which is Moira Why ...

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

with a

Bachelor A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...

of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (BVM&S) and therefore qualified as a vet.

Academic career

Upon graduation, Trees undertook a research expedition to

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

in 1969 to 1970. He then spent a year as a practising veterinarian in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. This accumulated into completing a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

(PhD) on bovine babesiosis. He joined the

veterinary Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

pharmaceuticals company

Elanco Elanco Animal Health Incorporated is an American pharmaceutical company which produces medicines and vaccinations for pets and livestock. Until 2019, the company was a subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company, before being divested. It is the third ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. He was veterinary advisor for the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

from 1977 to 1979, veterinary advisor for the Middle East,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

from 1979 to 1980, and finally Head of

Animal Science Animal science is described as "studying the biology of animals that are under the control of humankind". It can also be described as the production and management of farm animals. Historically, the degree was called animal husbandry and the ...

in the Middle East and Africa in 1980. In 1980, he joined the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

as a lecturer of veterinary parasitology. He was Head of the Department of Veterinary Parasitology from 1992 to 2001. In 1994, he was made

of veterinary parasitology and appointed Head of the Parasite and Vector Biology Division at the

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) is a higher education institution with degree awarding powers and registered charity located in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Established in 1898, it was the first institution in the world dedicated ...

. He was

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool from 2001 to 2008. In 2011, he retired from the University. He was Vice-President of the European Veterinary Parasitology College from 2006 to 2009. He was President of the

Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) is the regulatory body for veterinary surgeons in the United Kingdom, established in 1844 by royal charter. It is responsible for monitoring the educational, ethical and clinical standards of the ...

from 2009 to 2010. From 2011, he is a member of the

Executive Committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

of the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology. He has been Chairman of the

Moredun Research Institute The Moredun Research Institute is a scientific research institution based at the Pentlands Science Park, in the Bush Estate area of Midlothian, Scotland. It conducts research into diseases of farm livestock and the promotion of animal health and ...

since December 2011. In March 2016 Trees was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the RSE's highest class of Fellowship.

House of Lords

On 3 July 2012, Trees was made a life peer as Baron Trees, of The Ross (a road in Comrie in Perth and Kinross), and was introduced in the

on 12 July 2012, where he sits as a

, or independent, peer. He is only the second veterinary surgeon to become a

of the

after Lord Soulsby. Baron Trees made his maiden speech in the House of Lords in January 2013 on the Leveson debate.

References

External links

Profile on Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons websiteUniversity of Liverpool - Life Peerage for Emeritus ProfessorMoredun Research Institute - Professor Alexander (Sandy) Trees

Wirral News - Hoylake Professor Alexander Trees becomes second vet to be appointed to the House of LordsBritish Veterinary Association - BVA delighted at veterinary appointment to House of Lords
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trees, Alexander 1946 births Living people Crossbench life peers People's peers Veterinary scientists Academics of the University of Liverpool Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh British veterinarians Life peers created by Elizabeth II