Faculty Spotlight: Jennifer Davis

Jennifer Davis '94, DVM '98, Ph.D., DACVIM, DACVCP

Associate Professor, Clinical Pharmacology

When did you join the college?

As faculty in 2017. I am also a graduate: VM(R)CVM Class of 1998 and Virginia Tech Class of 1994.

The best part of being faculty is …

The potential to continuously learn new information and discover new information I can teach to other veterinarians and students. The freedom to pursue my own research interests keeps me in academia.

The best advice I've gotten …

Don't be afraid to make a fool of yourself and always admit when you are wrong. Nobody is right all of the time. We need to learn from our own mistakes and, by admitting my mistakes to students, they can learn from them as well.

How would you capture the essence of your work in a newspaper headline?

Mean lady forces veterinary students to memorize a bunch of weird drug names and do math.

My hidden talent...

I am an aspiring photographer - mainly travel, wildlife, and astrophotography.

A person who has inspired me...

Dr. Mark Crisman has been an inspiration to me since I was an undergraduate wanting to go to veterinary school. He was my mentor throughout veterinary school, then my colleague and friend. Dr. Crisman unfortunately recently passed away, but I will always continue to try to live up to his legacy.

Words of encouragement to a current veterinary college student...

Never forget that you are helping animals. The animals make it all worth it, even when their owners don't!

One misconception that all students seem to have is...

That they are not good enough to be here - but they are!

If I had a superpower, it would be...

Making people respond to reason.

This excites me the most about the future of my industry...

Speaking about the pharmacology aspect of veterinary medicine, new monoclonal antibodies and targeted biologic therapies are being produced and marketed. These treatments are highly specific, long-lasting, and generally very safe. This could revolutionize how we treat our animals!

Top of my bucket list...

I'm going to Antarctica in December!

My favorite quote…

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts." Mark Twain

How many pets/animals live at home?

I recently adopted a rescue dog. Her name is Stevie (as in Nicks) and she is an approximately 3-year-old Pit Bull. She came from the Mercer County Humane Society in West Virginia. I've had her 6 weeks and she has rapidly adapted to indoor living, couches, and treats.