L. Campbell Chair in Companion Animal Welfare. Dr. Niel plays a key role in teaching veterinary students about animal behaviour and welfare, and her research group is focused on developing novel methods for assessing and improving companion animal welfare. Specifically, Dr. Niel is interested in understanding and preventing fear and aggression in cats and dogs, with research assessing fundamental and applied topics, such as optimizing early socialization and management for puppies and kittens, improving identification of animal fear and aggression by industry professionals and owners and improving cat and dog welfare during routine handling and restraint.