Veterinary Scientist and Ultrarunner Dr. Jasmin Paris Named Penn Vet’s 2025 Commencement Speaker

Jasmin Paris, BSc, BVSc, DipECVIM-CA, MRCVS, PhD, RCVS Specialist in Small Animal Medicine, will deliver the address at the 2025 University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) Commencement to be held on Monday, May 19, 2025.

“Dr. Paris exhibits the kind of grit, determination, and scientific curiosity that I see in so many of our students,” said the Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of Veterinary Medicine, Andrew M. Hoffman, DVM, DVSc, DACVIM. “I hope that her story is an inspiration to everyone in our community to take on the ‘impossible’ task. I am thrilled to announce her as our speaker, and I look forward to welcoming her to this year’s Commencement ceremony.”

Paris is a mother, long-distance fell runner, small animal veterinarian, and research scientist. She was launched into the media spotlight in January 2019 when she won the 268-mile Montane Spine Race outright, breaking the overall record by 12 hours and beating her nearest rival by 15 hours. In March 2024, she became the first woman to finish the infamous Barkley Marathons in Tennessee, something many had previously considered impossible for a woman.

The Barkley Marathons race is regarded as the world’s toughest ultramarathon and has been completed by only 20 people in the last 35 years. Consisting of five 20-mile loops through the wilderness of Frozen Head State Park in Wartburg, Tennessee, with a more than 20,000-meter ascent, the race has a 60-hour time limit. In March 2022, Paris became the first female in nine years to complete a Barkley Marathon ‘Fun Run’ (3 loops in 40 hours), and in 2023 she reached the furthest point, on loop four, of any woman in the history of the race. In 2024, on her third attempt, she became the first woman to finish the race, completing the five loops with only 99 seconds to spare in a dramatic finish that delighted onlookers around the world.

Born in Manchester, England and raised in central England’s Peak District and Šumava, Czech Republic, Paris studied veterinary science for six years at Liverpool University, including an intercalated year of Veterinary Pathology at the Royal Veterinary College, London. She completed a rotating internship at the University of Minnesota, before returning to Edinburgh University to start a residency in Small Animal Medicine, gaining European Diplomate status in 2014. Between 2015 and 2019, Paris completed her PhD studying the role of the RNA-methylation reader protein YTHDF2 in acute myeloid leukemia.

Paris is currently a Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, where she does a blend of clinical work and research focused on human chronic biliary disease, specifically Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis.

Event details are available on Penn Vet’s 2025 Commencement page.