TRACKS Magazine Summer 2023
Another inspiring academic year has passed at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, as we send forth more veterinarians, Ph.D. scientists, and public health graduates with bachelor's and master's degrees to live out Virginia Tech's Ut Prosim motto ("That I May Serve"). Although each year brings new faces among our students, faculty, and staff, the values we seek to uphold remain steadfast. We have declared those values in our strategic plan, with its pillars of promoting wellbeing and community in our college; enhancing educational opportunities; promoting discovery and scholarship; providing compassionate and impactful clinical services; and advancing One Health initiatives that improve the health of the environment, animals, humans, and human communities, including marginalized groups.
These priorities can be seen within the pages of this issue of TRACKS. Alumni from our college such as veterinary oral surgeon Kendall Taney are seeking new educational opportunities to stretch their expertise to improve compassionate clinical care for animal patients and the humans who care for them. Similarly, Fidelis Hegngi, Christina Loiacono, Jessica Walters, and Carrie Bissett are among those on the front lines fighting the avian flu outbreak and improving overall health of the environment for animals and humans alike. CPRAC, or community practice, impacts the local community in Blacksburg with top-notch clinical care of pets. Addressing the well-being of equine veterinarians, while also improving clinical care for patients and clients, is the goal of new initiatives at the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Leesburg, Virginia.
In the months ahead, VMCVM will seek to advance our strategic plan in many exciting ways. We are undertaking a process to holistically review and revise our Doctor of Veterinary Medicine curriculum. The Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine, led by Valerie Ragan and Cassidy Rist, has been reviewed by an external team as it seeks to become a Center for Excellence in guiding new opportunities to improve the well-being of veterinarians who seek a new career track. And, of course, we maintain our focus on continuing to attract the donor support necessary for an expansion and renovation of our Veterinary Teaching Hospital. We appreciate everyone who supports this college in any way as we continue to make this journey in pursuit of excellence and impact, and we hope you enjoy this issue of TRACKS.
Sincerely,
Dan Givens, Dean
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Small Animal Community Practice re-energized in its commitment to clients and students , articleSmall Animal Community Practice – CPRAC, commonly pronounced “SEE-prak” – is a clinic within the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine that accepts pets from a 35-mile radius of Blacksburg.
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Pet owners join forces with veterinary oncologists to unravel cancer mysteries through clinical trials , articleThe Animal Cancer Care and Research Center(ACCRC) is increasing its clinical trials as it seeks to develop better treatments for several types of cancer. Clinical trials are essential for modern medicine, enabling research and development of new therapies, drugs, and techniques to fight diseases. But these advances can only happen with the support of pet owners and their participating pets.
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Team Tootsie: Veterinary hospital and owners help poodle walk again , articleTootsie, began to trip and fall in early 2023. Her owner, Mary Jane Barrett of Roanoke, described it as a “belly flop” as Tootsie’s legs stopped working. Tootsie’s primary veterinarian determined that Tootsie’s problem was neurological and referred her to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. By the time Tootsie arrived at her appointment at the VTH the very next day, she was unable to stand up and had to be wheeled in on a gurney.
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Jennie the donkey and her newborn filly Sparkles return home after receiving emergency treatment , articleAfter a multiple-day history of lethargy and lack of appetite and after treatment on the farm, Jennie, a 7-year-old donkey jenny, owned by the Maruca and Witt families from Leesburg, Virginia was referred to the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center (EMC) by Gabrielle Care, a veterinarian from Total Equine Veterinary Associates, Leesburg, for further diagnostics and treatment.
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Mona Lisa keeps making smiles thanks to cancer treatment, Petco Love funds , articleWhen adopting a cat, some people pick out their new feline friend from pictures online. For Gary and Rebecca Davis, Mona Lisa—Mony for short—was different.
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Looking Back at Giving Day: Supporting compassionate care in Virginia , articleAnother Virginia Tech Giving Day has come and gone with an incredible wave of community support.
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Something to be grateful for , articleOn March 4, the veterinary college hosted the Evening of Gratitude, an annual event that celebrates and shows gratitude for the donors who have so generously supported the college.
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Retiring to Australia, Hodgsons give $1 million estate gift to veterinary college scholarship , articleDavid and Jennie Hodgson have exciting plans for their retired life back in their native Australia, so they’re not looking for their $1 million estate gift to the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine to be activated soon.
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Memorial scholarship honors much-loved rural veterinarian, will assist veterinary students from rural areas , articleThe Dr. Bill W. (Doc) Fuller Veterinary Scholarship has been established by Barbara Blevins and her husband Marty, with an initial gift of $100,000, which includes contributions from friends, family, clients, and colleagues.
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Veterinary college alumni at forefront of effort to contain avian flu and its impacts , articleFrom personally escorting a sample on a flight from Virginia to Iowa for testing, to joining a delegation on a trans-Pacific flight to Japan to convince trading partners the U.S. poultry supply is safe, alumni from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine (VMCVM) are on the front lines in the battle to control the impacts of the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak.
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Kendall Taney among fewer than 20 recognized as American Veterinary Dental College Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Fellows , articleKendall Taney ’97, DVM ’02, owner of the Center for Veterinary Dentistry and Oral Surgery in Gaithersburg, Maryland, is now one of the most highly recognized experts in how to help animals suffering from dental pain.
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Equine Veterinary Crisis - sustaining emergency and critical care services in an ever-changing landscape , articleThere is a crisis silently brewing in the equine veterinary world. The combination of older veterinarians leaving the field, current equine veterinarians leaving for better pay and work/life balance, and fewer numbers of veterinary students choosing equine as their elective field of specialty have seriously affected the availability of primary and emergency care for horses throughout the United States and beyond. And, if nothing is done now this could be greatly problematic for horse owners who need to seek medical care for their horses in the coming years.
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Sustaining emergency and critical care services while an equine veterinary crisis rages on , articleIt has been widely known in the equine community in recent years that students in veterinary colleges throughout the country are choosing to steer away from equine veterinary medicine. In 2021, the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) highlighted this plight by sharing that only a small percentage of veterinary graduates were entering the equine profession. Even more disturbing is the news that 50 percent of these graduates will leave the equine profession within five years. This phenomenon has caused some serious “outside-the-box” thinking, not only by the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine but also by other veterinary colleges and private equine practices throughout the country that wish to sustain emergency and elective services that they currently offer to their clients.
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Equine Medical Center spreads the word on helmet safety , articleStefan Duma, the Harry C. Wyatt Professor of Engineering, director of the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Sciences and co-founder of the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab, emphasized the importance of protecting the human head as he talked about research findings on horse riders’ helmets at a recent dinner event at the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center (EMC) in Leesburg, Virginia.
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New table for CT scanner a ‘game-changer’ for examination of large animals at Veterinary Teaching Hospital , articleUntil recently, clinicians at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine couldn’t use CT, or computed tomography, for large animals. But the recent purchase of an $85,000 table for large animals that can be wheeled to the CT scanner now allows for that option, particularly useful for studying conditions inside the heads of equine animals.
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Mid-Atlantic regional workshop at Virginia Tech highlights value of T32 research training program for veterinarians , articleThe scientific community needs more veterinarian scientists for biomedical research. A federal grant program administered at Virginia Tech is helping fulfill that need.
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Rural residents share stories of resilience during pandemic , articleThe COVID-19 pandemic hit rural communities hard: isolation and financial strain have been major challenges for people living in rural areas. Through participating in a story tree, residents of Craig County, Virginia, reflected on their experiences and told the story of how their community has persevered.
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Roger Ramirez-Barrios named Virginia Veterinary Medical Association’s Mentor of the Year , articleRoger Ramirez-Barrios has been named the Virginia Veterinary Medical Association’s Mentor of the Year for 2023. The award has been offered since 2006 to recognize excellence in mentorship.
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From Animal Lovers to Vet Techs: How a 30-Year Experienced Technician is Igniting Passion in High School Students , articleTerry Wnorowski is spending the last years of her career sparking new beginnings for others. For 30 years she has worked as a licensed veterinary technician at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.
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Chris Byron named C.R. Roberts Professor of Clinical Veterinary Medicine , articleChris Byron, associate professor and head of the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech, has been named the C.R. Roberts Professor of Clinical Veterinary Medicine by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
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Martha Larson honored with emerita status , articleMartha Larson, professor of radiology in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of professor emerita by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
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Audrey Ruple named Dorothy A. and Richard G. Metcalf Professor of Veterinary Medical Informatics , articleAudrey Ruple, associate professor of quantitative epidemiology in the Department of Population Health Sciences in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech, has been named the Dorothy A. and Richard G. Metcalf Professor of Veterinary Medical Informatics by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
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Veterinary instructors from Kenya, Uganda learn from — and teach — their peers at Virginia Tech , articleVeterinary instructors from the two African nations visited the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine (VMCVM) for a week in October to learn about methods and approaches they can apply to teaching veterinary students in their universities.
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Chilean veterinary student exchange brings new perspectives, opportunities , articleVirginia Tech has had a longstanding relationship with the Austral University of Chile, and colleges across the university have participated in exchange programs. In a three-month exchange, students from the veterinary college and the Austral University of Chile explore hands-on opportunities. The two Chilean students studying at the veterinary college this year are Priscila Soto and Maksimiano Rodríguez.
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Student American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA) , articleA Letter From Cathy Santos and review of the SAVMA Annual Conference at the University of Illinois.
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“This is your space”: LGBTQ+ students forge community at veterinary college , articleLGBTQ+ students at the veterinary college have created a place for community and camaraderie — the college is now home to an official chapter of PrideSVMC. PrideSVMC is the student arm of PrideVMC, a national organization of LGBTQ+ veterinary professionals.
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Latinx Veterinary Medical Association Chapter creates a home away from home , articleThe Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine’s Latinx Veterinary Medical Association (LVMA) chapter brings together people from across the college.
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Only 1.2 percent of veterinarians are Black — this club chapter wants to change that , articleStudents at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine have established the newest chapter of the National Association of Black Veterinarians (NABV), working to provide education and promote inclusion within an overwhelmingly white field.
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Class of 2023: Adriana Fratz named veterinary college valedictorian , articleAdriana Fratz, a dual Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) and Master of Public Health student, was named the valedictorian of Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine’s Class of 2023. The achievement has also earned her the Richard B. Talbot Award, named for the college’s founding dean.
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Class of 2023: Stephanie Valencic lives Ut Prosim through a passion for public health , articleStephanie Valencic, senior in the BSPH program and fast-tracking in the MPH program wins the bachelor of science in public health program's 2023 Outstanding Senior Award.
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Student Spotlight: Katie Rodarte , articleIn a departure from our regular student profiles this month we are featuring Katie Rodarte, an incoming student transitioning from Los Alamos National Laboratory to the DVM Class of 2027.
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Student Spotlight: Michael Marciano , articleIn a departure from our regular student profiles this month we are featuring Michael Marciano, an undergraduate student studying pre-veterinary dairy science within the three-plus-one program at Virginia Tech. He will be in the DVM Class of 2027.
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Horseshoes and hedgehogs: Fun for all at veterinary college Open House , articleThe veterinary college hosted its Annual Open House event on Saturday, April 15, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Blacksburg. The event offered the public an opportunity to learn more about animal and human health, interact with veterinary and public health students and faculty, and experience the college's state-of-the-art facilities. The event is also an opportunity for the college to showcase its educational programs to prospective students and donors.
Editor Andrew Mann | Art Director Margie Christianson | Writers Kevin Myatt, Sarah Boudreau, Sharon Peart, Margie Christianson | Photographers Andrew Mann, Sharon Peart, Margie Christianson, Ben Moreland | Send comments and story ideas to vamdvetmed@vt.edu.
TRACKS Magazine is produced by the Office of Advancement in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.