Mondays with Mark

This month’s episode of “Mondays with Mark” looks at aspects of equine health taking place around the school. With a focus on the research and medical practices that are making an impact, Dean Stetter visits the VMTH to talk with Dr. Spriet about advancements in PET scanning that are now in place at some of the most prominent equine hospitals and racetracks in the country.

Equine Reproduction Presents Research at International Conference

Drs. Pouya Dini, Daniela Orellana-Guerrero, Catherine Renaudin, Thadeu de Castro, and Kornelia Omyla of the Equine Reproduction Service recently presented research at the International Symposium on Equine Reproduction (ISER), the world’s largest gathering of its kind. Additionally, members of the school’s Veterinary Assisted Reproduction Laboratory also presented at the conference, held in Brazil. ISER was held at UC Davis in 1978.

Staff Update:

• Welcome new house officers! On August 1, 60 new house officers entered our advanced training programs. The House Officer Program is the largest of its kind in the United States with 140 total house officers training in 41 specialty disciplines.

Faculty Update:

• Welcome back to the VMTH Dr. Vishal Murthy as assistant professor in the Neurology / Neurosurgery Service. Dr. Murthy earned his DVM (2015) from Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Canada. He then completed a rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery (2016) at the Veterinary Emergency Clinic and Referral Center in Toronto, and he completed a residency in neurology / neurosurgery (2019) here at the VMTH. Dr. Murthy continued at the VMTH as a staff veterinarian (2019-2020) before becoming at assistant professor at Washington State.

Please utilize the PerfectForm icon link available on every VMTH desktop (or through VIPER>VMTH>Forms>VPETT) to nominate your colleagues for recognition of an outstanding example of one of our five Cultural Pillars: Realize Our Vision, Value People, Pursue Excellence, One Team, Trusted Dialogue.

The Cultural Pillars Committee is pleased to announce the recipients of the VPETT Recognition Award for the month of August.

August Recipients:

Ryanne Green, a client services representative, was recognized for exemplifying our cultural beliefs of Realize Vision, and Value People, which contributed to the key result of Excellence in Patient Care.

“Ryanne has done an outstanding job in taking on the many demanding roles as a client services representative. She is kind to clients, maintains a positive attitude, is timely, and always makes sure reception duties are fulfilled. She has become an integral part of the team and her efforts are greatly appreciated.”

Dr. Matthias Rosseel, a house officer in the Radiation Oncology Service, was recognized for exemplifying our cultural beliefs of Realize Vision, Value People, Pursue Excellence, One Team, and Trusted Dialogue which contributed to the key results of Excellence in Patient Care, Student Teaching, Client/rDVM Satisfaction, Employee Engagement, Research, and Fiscal Health.

“Dr. Rosseel always goes above and beyond for everyone he knows. He makes sure clients, staff, and students are all on the same page. If someone needs help, Dr. Rosseel is always there, from helping hold patients, getting bloodwork, placing IVs, receiving patients, etc. Most important of all in my eyes, he’s hilarious, he's very levelheaded and grounded, you can go to him with anything, and he always knows how to help!”

Thank you, Ryanne and Dr. Rosseel, for your hard work and dedication to the VMTH. In addition, Dr. Mallory Lehman and Makayla Rojas received a small award for recognizing their fellow employees’ hard work.

Key Cultural Pillar



“Pursue Excellence”

Congratulations to the Equine Emergency Surgery team for successfully completely a colic surgery on Sunny, a 24-year-old Arabian dressage athlete. Dr. Isabelle Kilcoyne, assisted by surgery residents Drs. Bridget Ratliff and Mitja Miklavcic and intern Dr. Marta Horna removed eight feet of Sunny’s small intestine after a lipoma strangulated the intestine. Due to the seriousness of the Sunny’s condition, anesthesiologists Drs. Harriet Flynn and Manuel Fernades-Barrientos worked extremely hard to keep him alive during the surgery. Additionally, thank you to the technical staff for their tremendous care. The success story was covered in the Davis Enterprise, HorseTalk, Paulick Report, and Horse & Hound.

Wellness Tip of the Month

Florence Soares-Dabalos, MS, LMFT, the VMTH’s client support and wellness professional, offers a brief tip on managing stress through the current crisis. Please see full website of services that Florence offers, including a new section on House Officer Wellness.

• As I write this, I am recovering from an illness that knocked me off my feet. I couldn't leave the house and wondered how I would get my needs met. Thankfully, I have an incredible support system who brought me what I needed (practical support), sent me texts to ask how I was doing (emotional support), and others reminded me of my strengths, resources, and abilities (mental support). Support systems are necessary when we go through rough patches. This article gives practical tips on how you can build a support system to get you through the tough times of life.