School Maintains #1 National Ranking

The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine is once again ranked #1 nationally and #2 globally in the latest QS World University Rankings. Quacquarelli Symonds, or QS, is considered one of the most influential international authorities on university rankings.

Surgery Center Opens

The VMTH has expanded the Orthopedic Surgery Service to open the Center for Advanced Veterinary Surgery. Modeled after human health inpatient/outpatient facilities, the center provides advanced surgical capabilities for animals suffering from injuries or disorders of the bones and joints, while increasing case volume and training capacity. The standalone center encompasses 25 rooms and 7,300 square feet of space, including three state-of-the-art operating rooms.

Thank You Laboratory Professionals

The week of April 14-20, we celebrated Medical Laboratory Professionals Week, an opportunity to express our appreciation for our incredible lab team. Whether it’s in histology, clinical pathology, central labs, microbiology, necropsy, immunology/virology, parasitology, or transfusion medicine, each member plays a crucial role in keeping our operations efficient and our diagnostics timely. Please know how much we value your dedication and hard work. Your contributions to patient and client care are too numerous to count, and the hospital would not run smoothly without you. Thank you all for your dedication to the highest quality patient care.

Thank You Administrative Professionals

On April 24, we celebrated Administrative Professionals Day, an opportunity to recognize and express our gratitude for the remarkable dedication and hard work of our administrative staff. Your contributions are vital to our hospital's operations and the well-being of the teams, clients, and patients we serve. Thank you for your exceptional professionalism and commitment. Please know that your efforts are truly appreciated every day.

Patent Pending Achieved on TMJ Replacement Prosthesis

Dr. Boaz Arzi (Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service), Dr. Denis Marcelin-Little (Orthopedic Surgery Service), and Tanya Garcia (biomedical engineer – VORL) have gained patent pending status on a jaw joint replacement implant for cats and dogs with end-stage temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders. The group’s TMJ replacement prosthesis could revolutionize treatment for pets with non-functioning TMJs, either due to injury or disease.

VMTH Expands Veterinary Services in Southern California

UC Davis has purchased a building in San Diego to expand its veterinary services in Southern California, with the new center slated to open in fall 2025. After the move, the VMTH’s existing satellite facility, the UC Veterinary Medical Center - San Diego, will become the Janice K. Hobbs UC Davis Veterinary Medical Center Southern California. The center looks to expand its veterinary offerings to include 24/7 emergency care, critical care, cardiology, clinical pharmacy, hemodialysis, nephrology and advanced urology, internal medicine, oncology, surgery, and radiology/diagnostic imaging.

Faculty Update:

• Congratulations Dr. Boaz Arzi, chief of the Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service, on being accepted for membership into the American Academy of Craniomaxillofacial Surgeons (AACMFS). The Academy, consisting almost entirely of human medicine surgeons, approved his membership at its recent annual meeting. Dr. Arzi has met the criteria to become inducted into the AACMFS as an Associate Active Fellow.

• Welcome Dr. Rana Bozorgmanesh as an associate professor in the Equine Internal Medicine Service. Dr. Bozorgmanesh earned her veterinary degree (2008) from the Royal Veterinary College in London. Following several years in private practice, she completed a 1-year internal medicine fellowship (2013) at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Kentucky and a 3-year residency in large animal internal medicine (2016) at UC Davis. After a brief stay at the VMTH as a staff veterinarian (2016), Dr. Bozorgmanesh was an associate veterinarian at Hagyard for six years. In 2022, she joined Steinbeck Peninsula Equine Clinics in the Bay Area for a year before returning to UC Davis as a staff veterinarian in 2023. Dr. Bozorgmanesh is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, as well as a Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Staff Update:

• Welcome Kirsten Kanarr as supervisor of Equine Surgery, Equine Integrative Sports Medicine, and the Farrier shop. Kristin is a familiar face around the SVM, as she has been working with Dr. Heather Knych’s research team for the past few years. During her time with the Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, she handled young thoroughbred horses and carried out a wide variety of pharmacology studies. Kirsten enjoys equine endurance riding and will compete in this year’s Tevis 100-mile ride. Kirsten has a 14-year-old cat, a 10-year-old blind dog, and a 23-year-old horse.

• Welcome Alex Paul, RVT, as supervisor of the Livestock Herd Health and Reproduction and Livestock Medicine and Surgery Services. In Alex’s 8 years at VMTH, she has worked as a technician in the Large Animal ICU and the Livestock Medicine and Surgery Service. In her free time, Alex enjoys reading, hiking, and traveling with her husband, Jeremy. She competes in ranch riding and trail events with her quarter horse, Rhea, and hopes to also show in reining events. Alex also has a geriatric dog, a young cat, and a turtle.

• Welcome Emily Lambert as manager of the Anatomic Pathology Service. Emily began her career as a veterinary assistant in private practice and advanced to a leadership role helping streamline day-to-day activities. She then became a research associate at a contract research organization where she fostered a passion for anatomic pathology, gaining experience in that field on a larger scale through the organization. Emily has a BS in Animal Science from UC Davis and enjoys spending time outdoors, spoiling her dog, and tasting new cuisine.

• Congratulations to Companion Exotic Animal Medicine and Surgery Service resident Dr. Nicole Mikoni on winning the 2024 American Association of Veterinary Clinicians Resident Award. The recognition is given annually to a resident in their final year of training who has achieved a high degree of excellence in their chosen specialty.

Trainer’s Corner with Jody Nugent-Deal

As we approach May, our monthly CE focus will be on disaster preparedness for our patients. Disaster preparedness encompasses everything from safe evacuation of pets to providing medical care both in the field and in a hospital setting. Did you know that the School of Veterinary Medicine has a disaster relief team that is able to deploy and provide veterinary services throughout the state of California when a disaster strikes? Please see the California Veterinary Emergency Team website for information on how to volunteer.

Have you checked our VMTH Staff Training and CE website? All current and archived monthly CE, as well as CE reimbursement forms, upcoming CE events, and information on how to sign up for free and discounted CE can be found there. Please reach out to me in person or via email at jpnugent@ucdavis.edu if you have any questions about training/CE or have ideas about training you would like to see in your service. 

Recognitions

April's recipients of the VPETT Recognition Award:

Kelly Wray, an animal health technician in the Anesthesia Service, was recognized for exemplifying our cultural belief of One Team.

“Kelly volunteered to take a weekend tech shift to help our service. She efficiently facilitated our emergency brain case work up, and later in the day helped anesthesia again with an emergency SUB case. Thanks so much for your help.”

Karenna Miller, a clinical laboratory scientist in the Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory, was recognized for exemplifying our cultural beliefs of Realize Vision, Pursue Excellence, One Team, and Trusted Dialogue.

“Attention to detail and integrity are two of the most important attributes required of a good CLS. Karenna routinely displays both at a high level. Karenna recently recognized an issue within our lab that had gone undetected for four months. By doing her due diligence, she double checked the lot number on a reagent that had already been in use. Most people in her position would assume a lot number in use would have already been updated, but it's good practice to always check your lots anyway. It was determined that of the two reagents in use, only one had been updated. We were very lucky that the updated lot fit within the old lot's specifications, but this doesn't take away from the fact that she displayed attention to detail, integrity, and she enabled us to more accurately track our values.”

Thank you, Kelly and Karenna, for your hard work and dedication to the VMTH. Dallas Hollis and Julie Burges 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

Scout, a 7-month-old female miniature Dachshund, was born with arteriovenous malformation (AVM), which prevented appropriate blood flow to her liver. Only a handful of facilities in the country can treat this rare condition, so Scout and her family traveled from Alaska to seek help from Dr. Bill Culp and the Soft Tissue Surgery Service, who have been successfully treating AVMs for 15 years. Following surgery, Scout is making 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.

• Take a check-up from the neck up. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and what better time to take a mental health screening, learn the facts about mental health, and/or schedule a counseling appointment with ASAP.