After working in medical research at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Heidi completed veterinary school at Murdoch University. Following a couple of years in small animal general practice Heidi undertook a three-year specialty training programme in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia, after which she became a Board-certified specialist of the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia. During her training programme Heidi worked on research looking at nociception as detected by electroencephalography of halothane-anaesthetised Bos Indicus bulls. After completing the training programme Heidi moved to New Zealand to undertake a doctoral programme with Massey University, researching electroencephalography use in anaesthetised domestic pigeons as a potential tool for nociceptive assessment. During her time in New Zealand Heidi worked as a clinical anaesthetist and Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Anaesthesia at Massey University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Biomedical and translational research anaesthesia, particularly associated with swine, has been an ongoing interest.