Hospital Celebrates Veterinary Technician Week

We hope everyone enjoyed the many activities throughout the VMTH to celebrate Veterinary Technician Week. Thank you to all the techs for everything you bring to our patients, clients, students, faculty, and each other. We are truly grateful for your ongoing contributions to the high level of compassionate care we provide. (See photos on left.)

Dr. Michael Mison Named New CVMO

Dr. Michael Mison has accepted the school’s offer to become the next associate dean for Veterinary Medical Center operations/chief veterinary medical officer. It is anticipated that he will also hold a professor position with the Soft Tissue Surgery Service. Dr. Mison is scheduled to begin his appointment in March 2024. He currently serves as the associate dean for clinical services at the University of Florida’s Small Animal Hospital. Stay tuned for much more on Dr. Mison in the coming months.

Staff Update:

• Congratulations to Juan Pablo Lopez on being named the new weekend and holiday feed and bedding supervisor. Juan has been at the VMTH for 24 years and brings much experience, knowledge, and positivity to the position. The next time you see Juan in the barns, give him a shout out and a welcome smile.

• Please welcome Dr. Kat Troy as a staff veterinarian with the Community Surgery Service. Dr. Troy earned her DVM (2012) from UC Davis and worked in private practice for 11 years before joining the VMTH. Her special interests include preventative care, medicine, surgery, and dentistry.

• Please welcome Dr. Soledad Martin-Pelaez as a staff veterinarian with the Equine Reproduction Service. Dr. Martin-Pelaez earned her veterinary degree (2012) from the Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio in Madrid. After working in private practice for several years, she completed an internship (2021) in equine reproduction at Utrecht University in The Netherlands and a residency (2023) in equine reproduction at UC Davis. She is also a PhD student working on oocyte maturation and developmental competence in the horse. Dr. Martin-Pelaez is a Diplomate of the American College of Theriogenology.

• Congratulations to oncology residents Drs. Julia Colosi and Evangelia Makrygiannis on winning research awards at the 2023 Veterinary Cancer Society annual conference, held recently in Reno. Drs. Colosi and Makrygiannis both presented their research at the conference.

• Former CAPE resident Dr. Mariana Sosa-Higareda was recently awarded the 2023 House Officer Manuscript Award from the Association of Avian Veterinarians. Her publication, “High bioavailability, short half-life, and metabolism into hydromorphone-3-glucuronide following single intramuscular and intravenous administration of hydromorphone hydrochloride to great horned owls (Bubo virginianus),” was published in the American Journal of Veterinary Research in May 2023.

Faculty Update:

• Congratulations to Dr. Hugues Beaufrere, an associate professor in the Companion Exotic Animal Medicine & Surgery Service, on winning the 2023 Association of Avian Veterinarians/Lafeber Manuscript Award in the Best Original Research category. His manuscript, “Comparison of Lipoprotein Analysis Using Gel-Permeation High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and a Biochemistry Analyzer in Normolipidemic and Dyslipidemic Quaker Parrots (Myiopsitta monachus),” was published in the Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery.

• Please welcome Dr. Sabrina Hoehne as an assistant professor in the Emergency and Critical Care Service. Dr. Hoehne earned her veterinary degree (2010) from the University of Zurich, Switzerland and a Dr. med. vet (2012) from Cornell University and University of Zurich. She completed an internship (2014) and a residency (2017) at UC Davis, as well as postdoctoral fellowship (2018) at the UCD School of Medicine. Dr. Hoehne is a Diplomate (2017) in the American College of Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care and (2019) in the European College of Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care. Prior to Joining UC Davis, she was a senior lecturer (2018-2020) at the University of Bern, Switzerland and an assistant professor (2021-2023) at Washington State University.

• Congratulations to Dr. Melissa Bain, a professor in the Behavior Service, on being named the campus Safety Services’ Wellness Ambassador of the Month for October.

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 October.

October Recipients:

Makenna Costa, an animal health technician in the Integrative Medicine 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 and Client/rDVM Satisfaction.

“Makenna has not been with the Integrative Medicine Service very long, and we were extra short-staffed this week, but she has jumped right in – learning the duties of coordinator, as well as getting up to speed on being a rehabilitation technician. Makenna is always cheerful and welcoming of new information. She has worked with clients who were less than 'easy' and kept going. Well done.”

Andrew Quintero, an animal technician in surgery, was recognized for exemplifying our cultural beliefs of Value People and One Team, which contributed to the key result of Excellence in Patient Care.

“Andrew was very helpful when we had to quickly clean an OR that had just finished being used for an infected surgery. We needed this same OR for a neurosurgery that was almost ready. I asked Andrew if he could help us deep clean the OR and as soon as I asked, he was on it. He helped to deep clean this OR in less than 10 minutes, giving us enough time to set up the neurosurgery equipment.”

Thank you, Makenna and Andrew, for your hard work and dedication to the VMTH.

Key Cultural Pillar



“Pursue Excellence”

Congratulations to the Hemodialysis and Blood Purification Unit for saving Mija, a 2-year-old Australian cattle dog mix. After ingesting antifreeze in her owner’s garage, Mija’s kidneys started failing, and she was given a 10% chance of survival. To survive, she needed hemodialysis to take over the job of her kidneys. Even with that aggressive approach, there was only a small chance that her kidneys would recover, and that would take many rounds of dialysis if it were to occur at all. Over the next four weeks, Mija received eight dialysis treatments. She then progressed to a weekly appointment schedule for a month to monitor her kidney values and blood pressure. As her condition gradually improved, she only needed to be evaluated monthly. Throughout the process, she was maintained on medication and a prescribed kidney-enhancing diet. Now, nearly a year later, Mija’s kidney values have improved drastically from the initial injury. While she may always have some degree of chronic kidney disease, her condition is no longer critical and life-threatening.

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.

• November is National Gratitude Month. According to the UCLA Health website, there are many benefits to practicing gratitude, including reducing depression and anxiety, improving sleep, and reducing the risk of heart disease. The Hospital Wellness Service encourages all in our community to say thank you to each other more, to think of the positives in stressful situations, and to keep a list of things you are grateful for and having it available for you to see regularly. The Wellness Service also says thank you to those who have read this Wellness Tip of the Month!