A Minute with Mark

“Mondays with Mark” has been rebranded into “A Minute with Mark.” Take a minute with Dean Mark Stetter as he goes behind the scenes to give a glimpse of breaking news, interesting topics, and current events going on around the school in this fun Tik Tok video series. The latest episode highlights an exciting recent case at the VMTH. Johnny Cash the Pug in Black was treated by the Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service with mandibular reconstruction using bone morphogenetic protein to regrow part of his jawbone.

VMTH Celebrates Veterinary Intern and Resident Research Day

The VMTH recently hosted the 45th annual Gerald V. Ling Veterinary Intern and Resident Research Day (VIRRS).

VIRRS is overseen by the House Officer Affairs Board, consisting of faculty members Drs. Jamie Burkitt (co-chair), Amandine Lejeune (co-chair), Allison Gagnon, Meera Heller, Amir Kol, Bianca Martins, and Richard Pereira, with program support from staff members Nicole Adams, Simon Ehrlich, and Audra Johnson. Congratulations to the planning committee for organizing yet another successful VIRRS.

Award winners at the 2024 VIRRS included:

Gerald V. Ling Award

•   Dr. Mallory Lehman (resident), Large Animal Internal Medicine: “Pharmacokinetics and Safety of Oral Fluralaner in Healthy Horses”

Outstanding Small Animal Research Study and Presentation Award #1

•   Dr. Emma Cosaro (resident), Small Animal Internal Medicine: “Efficacy of Oral Remdesivir Compared to GS-441524 for Treatment of Cats with Naturally Occurring Effusive Feline Infectious Peritonitis: A Blinded, Non-Inferiority Study”

Outstanding Small Animal Research Study and Presentation Award #2

•   Dr. Courtney Moeller (resident), Small Animal Internal Medicine: “Differences in Clinical Findings between Brucella Discospondylitis and other Causes of Canine Discospondylitis”

Chris Smith Award for Outstanding Equine Research Study and Presentation

•   Dr. Laurel Saldinger (resident), Equine Surgery: “An Investigation of whether Perfusate Instillation Time Affects Systemic or Synovial Concentration of Amikacin in the Radiocarpal Joint after Intravenous Regional Limb Perfusion”

Outstanding Large Animal Research Study and Presentation Award

•   Dr. Leah Streb (resident), Laboratory Animal – Traditional: “Characterization of Carpal Hyperextension in Nigerian Dwarf Goats”

Outstanding Avian, Exotics, Laboratory Animal or Poultry Research Study and Presentation Award

•   Dr. Brett Story (resident), Ophthalmology: “Safety and Biocompatibility of a Novel Aflibercept-Drug Delivery System in Rhesus Macaques”

Picnic Day Volunteers Sought

We would love to have some clinicians join us on Picnic Day, as we host an informational booth on Hutchison Field. Many visitors to the booth have general health questions about their pets, and they always appreciate that UC Davis veterinarians are available to help. If you can volunteer for one of three shifts (9-11am, 11am-1pm, 1-3pm) please email Rob Warren at rjwarren@ucdavis.edu.

Large Animal Hosts Bi-Lingual Equine Seminar

Congratulations to many LAC faculty and staff, along with the Equine Medicine Club, on a successful Equine Essentials Symposium. The event was held in both English and Spanish with nearly 250 participants, some of whom came from as far away as Los Angeles. Topics included how to handle a down horse, common emergencies in foals, and how to recognize colic, among many others.

Faculty Update:

• Welcome Dr. Melanie Ammersbach as an associate professor in the Clinical Pathology Service. Dr. Ammersbach earned her DVM (2007) from the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Canada, where she also completed a rotating small animal internship (2008) and a clinical pathology residency (2012). Dr. Ammersbach completed a fellowship (2023) at UC Davis, where she further developed her expertise in non-domestic and exotic species, which will add unique strength to the Clinical Pathology Service, hospital cases, and research. Dr. Ammersbach is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists. Her experience has spanned academic, research, and industry (pharma and private diagnostic labs) sectors.

• Welcome Dr. Andrea Lam as an associate professor in the Dermatology Service. Dr. Lam earned her DVM (2006) from the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Canada. She completed a dermatology residency (2009) at UC Davis and became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Dermatology in 2011. Dr. Lam’s research interests are in the areas of clinical management of canine allergic skin disease and veterinary medical education teaching methodologies.

• Welcome Dr. Ji-Hey Lim as an assistant professor in the Neurology/Neurosurgery Service. Dr. Lim earned her DVM from Seoul National University (SNU), South Korea. She then completed three years of training in orthopedic surgery and earned a PhD in veterinary science at SNU. Her research focused on a spinal cord injury (SCI) model and stem cell therapy. To expand bench-top research to the clinical side, Dr. Lim joined a SCI program at North Carolina State University where she conducted research on the development of novel therapeutics, evaluation tools and biomarkers for SCI in dogs. Subsequently, she started specialized clinical training in small animal medicine and surgery. Dr. Lim then completed a neurology/neurosurgery residency at the University of Florida. For the past three years, Dr. Lim has been a clinical instructor and assistant professor of neurology/neurosurgery at the University of Missouri.

Staff Update:

• Welcome Megan Loscar, RVT as the new small animal specialty manager. In this role, Megan will oversee Ophthalmology, Dermatology, Cardiology, Nutrition, Integrative Medicine, and Small Animal Internal Medicine Services. She has been with the VMTH for 11 years, beginning her career here as a technician in the Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service, assuming a supervisor role in 2021. In her spare time, Megan enjoys the outdoors and spending time with her husband Aaron, son Sawyer, horse Wilbur, and their new Labrador puppy, Bristol. Congratulations, Megan.

Facility Update:

• The VMTH has been chosen to be the first training site of a new fellowship in infectious diseases. ACVIM’s new Fellowship Program will begin to offer multi-year, hands-on clinical training opportunities within specific specialty disciplines. Fellowships in other areas of interest will be developed by the ACVIM in the coming months, which the VMTH may host as well.

Trainer’s Corner with Jody Nugent-Deal



Welcome Spring and more daylight! For the upcoming month of April, our staff CE and training will focus on emergency and critical care in large, small, and exotic animal species. Please check out our website for our monthly webinar, article/blog, and podcast links. Have you missed a month or two? All links are archived on our website as well. Need the reimbursement form for a class or conference? You can find all things CE and staff training on that site. Do you have questions or ideas about upcoming CE? Want to hear a specific topic or speaker for our upcoming in-house and on-demand CE lectures? Reach out to me either in person or via email at jpnugent@ucdavis.edu.

Recognitions

March's recipients of the VPETT Recognition Award:

Audra Johnson, house officer coordinator, was recognized for exemplifying our cultural beliefs of Vision, People, Excellence, Team, and Trusted Dialog.

“This is Audra's first year completing the VIRMP house officer ranking and recruitment process. She has gone above and beyond to organize this process and communicate to all her stakeholders very clearly on where she was at in each step of the process along with being precise in her tracking and double checking all the work to ensure this process was accurate and had no mistakes. This recruitment step must be without errors to ensure our hospital services reflect the candidates that they are looking to join the program, and she aced it. Way to go Audra, you've done an amazing job.”

Rodney Santos, supervisor for the Community Surgery, Primary Care, and Behavior Services, was recognized for exemplifying our cultural beliefs of People and Team.

“Rodney volunteered to cover a holiday weekend shift for the Neurology/Neurosurgery Service. When we had an ER transfer, he promptly placed the IV catheter and assisted anesthesia with induction and transport to MRI. We really appreciate his willingness to pitch in and help provide exceptional patient care on a holiday weekend. Thank you.”

Thank you, Audra and Rodney, for your hard work and dedication to the VMTH. Karla Geach and Delaina Matz also received awards for recognizing their fellow employees.

Please utilize the PerfectForm icon link available on every VMTH desktop (or through VIPER>VMTH>Forms>VPETT) to recognize your colleagues’ hard work.

Featured Case

Marley, a 10-month-old German shepherd, presented to the Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service with a gunshot wound to her snout that shattered her mandible. A great collaborative effort by DOSS, Anesthesia, Diagnostic Imaging, and patient care technicians to successfully repair her injuries and nurse her back to health. She is expected to make a full recovery.

Wellness Tip of the Month with Florence Soares-Dabalos

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 section on House Officer Wellness.

• Recently, our Chief Diversity Officer Monae Roberts sent out an email inviting all to come together as we may be feeling overwhelmed by the state of the world. In reading the email, I thought of the impact of trauma on our mental health and well-being. To promote a trauma-informed workplace, there are five principles: Promote Awareness, Shift Attitudes, Foster Safety, Provide Choice, and Highlight Strengths. Read more about how you can help create a trauma-informed workplace.