Marc Vandevelde graduated as Dr. med. vet. at the university of Gent, Belgium in 1971. He received post-graduate training in comparative neuropathology and neurology in Belgium, Switzerland and the US until 1979, when he obtained a faculty appointment at the school of veterinary medicine in Bern, Switzerland. In 1985 he became a full professor and head of the institute of comparative neurology at this university. He was dean of the veterinary faculty of Bern 1994-96, head of the Swiss national and OIE reference lab for spongiform encephalopathies 1991-2000 and head of the department of clinical sciences from 2000-2005. He retired in 2016.
He was the first president of the European society for veterinary neurology in 1987 and diplomate of the respective college in 1995. He taught neurology and neuropathology to undergraduate and postgraduate students and provided neuropathological service for the clinics and other institutions. His main area of research was in the field of infectious and inflammatory diseases of the CNS in particular the pathogenesis of demyelination and persistence in canine distemper virus infection. He trained numerous residents and post-doctoral students. He published over 300 refereed publications, book chapters and books and serves on several review boards for scientific journals.