Derek graduated with his Diploma in Diagnostic Imaging at Bangor University in 1984. He gained his Higher Diploma from Lancaster University in 1990 before gaining his MRI Diploma in 1996 and MSc in 1997. He spent 2 years as a tutor at Lancaster University, and in 1997 he switched to veterinary imaging. He was a founder of Burgess Diagnostics in 2004 and has worked as an independent radiographer since 2010. He has an interest in CT imaging.