Welcome to the New Year | Message from the Dean

Message from the Dean | January 2020

Welcome to the New Year

Happy new year! Welcome to the third decade of the 21st century. This coming year should be an exciting one for the UW School of Veterinary Medicine. Our parking ramp construction is well underway and is slated to be completed by the end of the year. The design for our new building has already reached the 10 percent threshold. By this spring, 35 percent design should be completed. It is worth noting that at the 35 percent mark, all design has been finalized. The architects and engineers then finalize the construction specifications and bid documents based on that design.

We are slated to begin building construction in 2021, with completion of the addition in 2023. Renovations in the south building are expected to be done in 2024. In the coming months, I will share images of the proposed building design. You'll see that the expansion will not only enhance the functionality of the school, but also create a welcoming and inclusive environment.

Soon the SVM will undergo a strategic planning process designed to position the school to continue to lead this amazing profession in the coming decades. I hope to have this planning completed in the spring and will then highlight any substantive new initiatives that the school will undertake to better serve our faculty, staff and students.

I hope everyone has an outstanding new year. Let's all wish the Badgers well in today's Rose Bowl game!

UW Veterinary Care Updates from the Director

Work continues on a process improvement study of the Small Animal Hospital in coordination with the UW-Madison Office of Strategic Consulting. This month we will initiate phase two of the study to begin to implement several suggested actions. An overarching goal of this project is to create more internal cohesion and consistency here at UW Veterinary Care as we serve a steadily increasing caseload, welcome a growing staff and prepare to expand into a larger footprint.

Congratulations to certified veterinary technician Jacquelyn Vargas, who began a new role with Anesthesia in December, having previously served in a split role with Surgery and Anesthesia since May .

As we head into the new year, here is an inspiring comment from a recent client of our Emergency and Critical Care and Cardiology services:

" I am very thankful for the entire staff. It has been a very scary week with all Buddy has been going through and, although I am having a difficult time with it all, I couldn't ask for a better medical staff and facility. It is so worth the 1 1/2-hour drive to get here! And, the phone calls were so helpful. Each person I spoke with was so courteous and nice and really helped to give me a sense of calm in the midst of the stress and worry. ... Everyone has been so kind and compassionate.

- Kristine, Theresa, Wisconsin

Ruthanne Chun DVM'91
Director, UW Veterinary Care
Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs

School News

Ahead of the new year, the School of Veterinary Medicine launched a redesigned, mobile-friendly vetmed.wisc.edu. Members of the school's Advancement and IT teams worked closely with University Marketing to meet with stakeholders and perform a full content audit and analysis of the previous website, which was last redesigned in 2013. Informed by this data, SVM strategic goals and current website trends, the group simplified the site's navigation and design to create a more user-friendly experience and increase search engine optimization. Thank you to all who assisted throughout this process. The website team will continue to monitor analytics and modify the site in the coming months. Please contact Ashley Voss or Bret Solberg to share any additional feedback.

The SVM team had an accelerated performance in the 2019 Berbee Derby, climbing from 29th team in 2018 to fourth place this year due to outstanding times by Department of Pathobiological Sciences Assistant Professor Wilmara Salgado-Pabon and her family. Way to go!

The 31st annual SVM Craft Fair in December raised $1,600 for the school's Companion Animal Fund, supported by 230 customers and 23 vendors.

Faculty and Staff News

Congratulations to the following faculty and staff recognized for their years of service to the School of Veterinary Medicine: 30 years, Hannah Carey and Michele Dolson; 20 years, Jason Brenner and Nigel Cook; 10 years, Lisa Abler, Kristen Bernard, Julie Hermann, Shelley Klettke, Masatoshi Suzuki, Victoria Thompson and Chad Vezina .

Research News

A phase one clinical trial to test a potential new Ebola vaccine created by Professor Yoshihiro Kawaoka and Peter Halfmann, a research associate professor in Kawaoka's lab, is now underway in Japan.

In the normal nerve _a_ all axons in the optic nerve are surrounded by thick_ dark sheaths of myelin in contrast to the completely demyelinated nerve _b_ during active disease _when VEP latency lengthens_. After recovery _in c_ axons have been remyelinated _ and though the sheaths are thin compared to normal_ the VEP latency has shortened

Measuring changes in the speed of electrical signals along nerves connecting the eyes to the brain may accurately reflect recovery from myelin loss in multiple sclerosis, according to research led by Professor Ian Duncan, and could be used to evaluate new treatments for the disease.

A newly discovered retinal structure in the eyes of certain kinds of songbirds might help the animals find and track insect prey more easily. Department of Pathobiological Sciences faculty members Leandro Teixeira and Richard Dubielzig contributed to the finding, detailed in a paper in Scientific Reports.

Abstract submissions for poster and podium presentations from UW-Madison faculty, staff, clinicians and students are invited for the 2020 Global Health Symposium, "Connecting Scientific Knowledge and Indigenous Wisdom." The deadline for submissions is Feb. 18.