Bellwether 101 | Spring/Summer 2024

FRONTIER EXPLORERS

From treating cancer to understanding dementia, Penn Vet's newest faculty are redefining the boundaries of veterinary medicine through transformative research.

NEXT GENERATION

Game Changers

Whether forging adoptive cell immunotherapies or developing novel mRNA vaccines to safeguard against devastating diseases, Penn Vet’s newest wave of bold innovators, such as Michael Hogan, PhD, are leading revolutionary advancements in veterinary science. Learn more about these visionary trailblazers in “Frontier Explorers” on page 6.

An artistic depiction of T cells attacking cancerous cells— a process immune systems utilize to fight cancer—offers a glimpse into the contributions Penn Vet scientists are making to our understanding of basic immunological mechanisms. Explore past issues of Bellwether magazine online at pennvet.pub/bellwether-archives.

Dear Friends of Penn Vet,

I was one of the estimated 32 million Americans who watched April’s wildly anticipated solar eclipse. Weather conditions here in Philadelphia were less than ideal for full viewing, nevertheless it was quite a communal experience. More than one hundred of our students, faculty, clinicians, and staff assembled in the Old Quad for an impromptu “viewing party.” The eclipse was not only a spectacle; it was captivating. It enriched our appreciation of science. And in an era where health and environmental challenges are complex (and interconnected), the role of science— and scientists—has never been more essential.

Bellwether’s cover story briefly introduces you to five early career scientists who are boldly accelerating our understanding of the life sciences. The path to becoming a contributing scientist is fraught with challenges, from the rigors of academic training to the competitive nature of research funding. Here at Penn Vet, our commitment to recruiting and supporting our next generation of scientists is both a responsibility and a mission. Our high-potential scientists will be the leaders and mentors of tomorrow, perpetuating a generational cycle of discovery, and expanding Penn Vet’s impact—and relevance—in addressing the world’s most vexing problems.

Speaking of relevance, Penn Vet has been named one of the world’s top veterinary schools in the latest edition of the Quacquarelli Symonds’ (QS) 2024 World University Rankings. We now rank among the top three veterinary schools in the U.S. and are sixth globally (from ninth in 2023 and fifteenth in 2021). This ascension in the rankings is a testament to the unparalleled excellence demonstrated by our faculty.

As we graduate the Class of 2024 and prepare to welcome the Class of 2028, I want to thank you for your continued support of our School. Whether you are a student, alum, or friend, thank you for being part of Penn Vet and the mission-critical work we do. Penn Vet remains at the forefront of our profession because of your commitment and your generosity.

ANDREW M. HOFFMAN, DVM, DVSC, DACVIM GILBERT S. KAHN DEAN OF VETERINARY MEDICINE

First Up...

A RE(NEW)ED PERSPECTIVE

I will not soon forget the moment Marty Hackett, Bellwether’s long-standing editor and Penn Vet’s Chief Communications Officer, first approached me about assuming the role of editor for this issue of the magazine.

“Me?” Initial doubt flushed my mind.

Taking on the production of a publication—particularly one of this institutional magnitude—is no small feat. It demands months of meticulous planning, countless collaborations, and—much like a sculptor to a mound of clay—persistent finesse to mold raw ideas into the glossy pages you hold in your hand.

Even more daunting, this issue—number 101—seemed to me wholly symbolic; a metaphorical blank page following our celebration of Bellwether’s first 100 successful issues.

Yet, I cast aside my reservations and dove in. The experience came with a multitude of quiet lessons on the power of perspective, and how it shapes our identities as leaders, innovators, and visionaries.

These personal observations were delightfully compounded by my encounters with Penn Vet’s emerging generation of clinical and scientific trailblazers featured within this issue, witnessing firsthand how they harness their own perspectives to challenge scientific norms and redefine the conventional ‘limits’ of veterinary medicine.

It’s been a rewarding, full circle journey of growth, discovery, and renewed appreciation for the myriad ways we perceive opportunity—both within ourselves and in the world around us.

As you flip through this issue, I invite you to embrace the powerful potential of the perspectives that await within. May they ignite your inspiration, move you to embrace innovation in your own endeavors, and challenge your assumptions of what’s possible for veterinary medicine.

Enjoy the issue,

HANNAH R. KLECKNER EDITOR

CONTRIBUTORS

From her home base in Philadelphia, Sacha Adorno writes about people, institutions, and businesses working to make the planet a better place for all life on it.

Philadelphia freelance professional photographer Lisa Godfrey—pictured with her Chihuahua, Mr. Pink—has been combining her passion for visual art and lifelong love of animals for more than 25 years, specializing in lifestyle photography on location for editorial, advertising, and corporate clients.

Natalie Pompilio is an awardwinning journalist based in Philadelphia. She has written and co-authored four nonfiction books based in the City of Brotherly Love/Sisterly Affection. The two most recent, together with her photographer sister, are Walking Philadelphia: 30 Walking Tours Exploring Art, Architecture, History and Little-Known Gems and This Used to Be Philadelphia.

bellwether

EDITORIAL

EDITOR

Hannah Kleckner Hall

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

John Donges

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR AND WRITER

Sacha Adorno

WRITERS AT LARGE

Martin J. Hackett, Ashley Hinton, Natalie Pompilio

CLASS NOTES EDITOR

Shannon Groves

DESIGN

DESIGNER

Anne Marie Kane, Imogen Design

PHOTOGRAPHERS AT LARGE

John Donges, Lisa Godfrey

ADMINISTRATION

GILBERT S. KAHN DEAN OF VETERINARY MEDICINE

Andrew M. Hoffman, DVM, DVSc, DACVIM

ASSOCIATE DEAN OF INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT

Hyemi Sevening

CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

Martin J. Hackett

CHANGE OF ADDRESS

Sarah Trout

Office of Institutional Advancement School of Veterinary Medicine University of Pennsylvania 3800 Spruce Street Suite 151E, Philadelphia, PA 19104 strout@vet.upenn.edu 215-746-7460

None of these articles is to be reproduced in any form without the permission of the School. ©2024 by the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. The University of Pennsylvania values diversity and seeks talented students, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds. The University of Pennsylvania does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, or status as a Vietnam Era Veteran or disabled veteran in the administration of educational policies, programs or activities; admissions policies; scholarship and loan awards; athletic, or other University administered programs or employment. Questions or complaints regarding this policy should be directed to: Executive Director, Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Programs, Sansom Place East, 3600 Chestnut Street, Suite 228, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6106 or by phone at 215-898-6993 (Voice) or 215-898-7803 (TDD).

Meet Penn Vet Scientists on the Cutting Edge

By Sacha Adorno

From trailblazing targeted cancer therapies to racing pigeons, understanding dementia to singing arias, five of Penn Vet’s newest faculty share their personal passions and what ignites their pursuit of “what’s next” in the profession.

Since its inception in 1884, Penn Vet has been a steadfast hub of innovation. For generations, the School’s faculty and clinicians have pioneered new scientific frontiers, transforming possibilities in both animal and human medicine.

Building on this enduring commitment to reimagining the boundaries of veterinary science, the School recently welcomed 20 faculty members who are pursuing new areas of multidisciplinary research and next-generation clinical care. A second wave of young scientific investigators is set to be onboarded in 2024.

Bellwether caught up with five of these promising game-changers to delve into their transformative research. Enjoy a glimpse into the novel work that is not only driving veterinary medicine forward, but also addressing some of the most significant global and public health challenges of our time.

Yet, it’s not all lab coats and microscopes. We wanted to get to know the personalities propelling the profession’s future and invited them to tell us about the frontiers they seek to advance and their personal passions— from hobbies to favorite quotes, and recommendations for movies, TV shows, podcasts, and books.

VISIT BELLWETHER ONLINE FOR EXPANDED ANSWERS: www.vet.upenn.edu/bellwether

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Michael J. Hogan, PhD

assistant professor, pathobiology

RESEARCH: I seek to understand how our immune system protects us from viral infections and then translate these lessons into new and improved mRNA vaccines.

MENTOR: My mentors in grad school at Penn were Drew Weissman (now Nobel laureate), who taught me to be adventurous in my science; Jim Hoxie, who taught me to be methodical in my science; and, for my postdoc, Ike Eisenlohr, who taught me to question scientific dogma.

FRONTIERS: I hope to clarify how viral infections activate our immune cells and how they seek and destroy infected cells. I also hope to expand the types of technologies used to make mRNA vaccines and to apply these vaccines to veterinary and agricultural diseases.

HOBBIES: My passions are learning languages (mainly Italian, some French and Korean) and singing opera— my favorite aria right now is “The Flower Song” from Carmen. I also love bird watching. My most exciting sighting was a snowy owl in 2018 at the Philadelphia International Airport, of all places.

READ, LISTEN, OR WATCH RECOMMENDATIONS: Remembrance of Earth’s Past: The Three-Body Problem trilogy, by Cixin Liu. It’s a sci-fi series with a scope as big as the universe.

“THE GREATEST OBSTACLE TO DISCOVERY IS NOT IGNORANCE— BUT THE ILLUSION OF KNOWLEDGE.”

Daniel J. Boorstin

Favorite quote:

“REMEMBER, TODAY IS THE TOMORROW YOU WORRIED ABOUT YESTERDAY.”

DaleCarnegie

Daniela

Luethy, MPH, DVM, DACVIM

assistant professor, large animal medicine

RESEARCH: I diagnose and treat complex medical diseases in horses and farm animals, teach veterinary students and residents, and perform research to improve our ability to diagnose and treat our patients. Some of my previous and current work has looked at blood transfusions, large animal oncology, and critical care medicine of small ruminants like sheep and goats.

MENTOR: The Penn Vet faculty who mentored me during my residency are tremendous role models and sources of inspiration for me: Drs. Ray Sweeney, Amy Johnson, Rose Nolen-Walston, and Jon Palmer, to name a few!

FRONTIERS: I hope to advance intensive small ruminant internal medicine and earlier diagnosis and treatment of cancer in large animals. I am also interested in working to improve the well-being of the veterinary profession. I’ve been researching the relationship between physical activity and mental health and evaluating factors that might influence a veterinarian’s career decisions.

HOBBIES: I enjoy reading, running, and hiking (especially up mountains). My favorite hikes include the Fimmvörðuháls trail in Iceland and the Via Alpina trails in Switzerland.

READ, LISTEN, OR WATCH RECOMMENDATIONS: Do I have to pick just one?! Some books I recommend to everyone are Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink, Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, and The Rise of the Ultra Runners by Adharanand Finn.

Louise Moncla, PhD

3

assistant professor, pathobiology

4

Wojciech K. Panek, DVM, DACVIM assistant professor, neurology & neurosurgery

Favorite quote:

RESEARCH: My lab studies how viruses evolve to infect new species and how factors like ecology, geography, and contact patterns impact virus transmission in human and animal populations.

MENTOR: My PhD and postdoc advisors—Tom Friedrich at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Trevor Bedford at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, respectively—were amazing mentors who inspired and supported me in different and complementary ways. At every stage

RESEARCH: I conduct translational research to understand what signals immune system mobilization or exhaustion in canine patients with glioma and cognitive dysfunction.

MENTOR: Several mentors have fueled my passion for veterinary medicine and science: Maciej S. Lesniak, MD, internationally recognized leader and physician-scientist in neuro-oncology at Northwestern University; Andrzej Dubiel at the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences; Dariusz Niedzielski, a veterinary surgeon in Wrocław; and Natasha Olby at North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine. Beverly Sturges, Pete Dickinson, Karen Vernau, Maggi Knipe, Chai-Fei Li, and Christine Toedebusch mentored me at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

Antonella Rotolo, MD, PhD research assistant professor, immunobiology

RESEARCH: My research focuses on invariant natural killer T (iNKT)based adoptive cell therapy, an approach to immunotherapy. I genetically modify specific blood cells to improve their ability to recognize and fight cancers. These same cells could also be used to treat and find cures for infectious diseases like severe COVID-19 infections, as well as blood stem cell transplantation complications and severe autoimmune disorders.

of my career, a vast network of peer support and unofficial mentors has also helped me get to where I am today. I wouldn’t be here without this support.

FRONTIERS: Our field has many big, open questions: Which factors allow viruses to infect new species and spread efficiently? How do factors like health care access and contact networks impact infection risk? How can we design better public health interventions to prevent new outbreaks? If we can make a dent in

FRONTIERS: I am passionate about advancing the care of canine patients with glioma, a type of devastating primary brain cancer with a grave prognosis that affects both canine and human patients at similar rates. My research focuses on uncovering pathways in the pathogenesis of these tumors to ultimately design rational therapies based on hypothesis-driven research. Part of my research is dedicated to patients with canine cognitive dysfunction, the analog of Alzheimer's disease in humans. Here, I specifically focus on the discovery

any of these big-picture questions, I would love that.

HOBBIES: I love tending to my houseplants. My favorites are a massive anthurium that I’ve had for more than five years and a palm tree that I got as a cutting from a friend of mine. They’re both huge now but started as tiny little plants during my time in Seattle. I moved them here across the country in our car. I spend much of my free time outdoors: running, biking, hiking, gardening, and reading. I also love

of novel translational biomarkers for early detection of dementia, which may lead to effective therapeutic interventions or new therapies.

HOBBIES: I started racing pigeons as a child—and only just stopped in 2015 when I moved to the U.S. The furthest distance my pigeons traveled was roughly 550 miles, starting in Germany around 5 a.m. and returning to my city in Poland around 9 p.m. I don’t have pigeons right now, but I know a few breeders and visit them in my free time or share advice on pigeon health. I also play piano and love beach volleyball.

eating good food and have enjoyed trying Philly’s restaurants. I particularly love finding a good, tasty neighborhood dive but also enjoy trying high-end cuisine. Really, I’ll eat anything.

READ, LISTEN, OR WATCH RECOMMENDATIONS:

I really love the new Godzilla movie, Godzilla Minus One; it has something for everyone: action, romance, a solid plot, and great characters. Go see it!

MENTOR: Nobel Prize winner Rita Levi-Montalcini is a tenacious clinician-scientist I met during my medical studies. As a Jew in fascist Italy, she conducted her early research secretly in her bedroom. In the U.S., her studies led to the discovery of nerve growth factor, the first identified cell-growth factor and a potential target for cancer therapy. She will always be my inspiration as a woman and scientist.

FRONTIERS: Penn is a world leader in cellular immunotherapies. I hope to establish a universal iNKT-based

cellular therapy that will be generated easily in the laboratory in large quantities ahead of time, stocked like an “off-the-shelf” drug, and given to any patient without restrictions (hence “universal”) to treat lifethreatening cancers, infections, and other potentially fatal diseases.

HOBBIES: Back home in Italy, my horse Nana and I have explored the mountains of the Val di Susa in Turin and beaches along the Adriatic coast. I love playing the piano. My favorite pieces are the Chopin “Waltz Op.64 No.2,” which I have

“DO NOT GO WHERE THE PATH MAY LEAD,GOINSTEADWHERETHEREIS NO PATH AND LEAVE A TRAIL.” RalphWaldoEmerson

won a few competitions with, and the “Nocturne Op.9 No.2,” which is close to my heart as I played it during my grandparents’ golden wedding anniversary celebration. In my free time, I also have a passion for ballet and contemporary dances, which I have been practicing since I was four.

READ, LISTEN, OR WATCH RECOMMENDATIONS: “My Stroke of Insight” TED Talk by Jill Bolte Taylor. It’s an inspiring message of willpower, resiliency, strength, and solidarity.

COPPER’S JAW-DROPPING EXPERIENCE

By Sacha Adorno

After a vicious attack, a three-month-old Goldendoodle regains his “smile” with help from Penn Vet’s dentistry and oral surgery team.

What’s better than a week away from it all? Parents. Kids. Dogs. Nothing but together time on an island accessible only by ferry. Just what the Weisman family planned for their summer 2023 vacation. But life had other plans.

Every summer, Ainsley and Ken Weisman, their children, Ryan and Leah, and their four dogs drive nine hours from their home in

Connecticut to Ocracoke, a little island off the coast of North Carolina.

Last July, they had a new member on the trip: Copper, a three-month-old Goldendoodle who’d joined the family a month earlier.

“We got Copper for Ryan on his 12th birthday,” said Ainsley. “He’s our fourth dog and the family baby.”

The trip started off idyllic.

One dog walk changed everything.

“I was walking the dogs and heard something behind me. I turned around; an unleashed dog was coming toward us,” said Ainsley.

“I thought to myself, don't overreact, stay calm; it's probably going to be fine.”

And it was. At first.

“The loose dog sniffed our older girls with mild curiosity then got to Copper and just sort of set in on him.”

A CT image of Copper’s skull.

COPPER WAS STARTING TO DECOMPENSATE. MY HUSBAND’S A PHYSICIAN, I’M A PHYSICIAN

ASSISTANT, AND WE SAW THE SIGNS. IT WAS TERRIFYING TO SEE THIS LITTLE GUY STRUGGLE SO HARD. ”

Ainsley Weisman

Top to bottom: A step in the mandible that can be observed by different levels of the gingival margins of the teeth; the extraction of the unerupted tooth bud that was embedded in the bone of the mandible; the intraoral splint in place after treatment of the diseased teeth in the region and stabilization of the mandibular fracture.

After a few chaotic minutes, the attacking dog ran away. Ainsley and Ken assessed the damage. It was bad—Copper's jaw and tongue hung loose from his little face.

Fortunately, there was a veterinary practice on the island. “We put a terrified Copper into our truck and drove to the clinic,” Ainsley said.

The island vet provided pain meds, wrapped the broken jaw, and sent the family to an off-island surgical hospital, an hour-and-a-half ferry ride and a drive of equal time away. “It was one of the longest days of my life.”

He’s just a baby. Please try.

By the time they reached the mainland hospital, “Copper was starting to decompensate,” said Ainsley. “My husband's a physician, I'm a physician assistant, and we saw the signs. It was terrifying to see this little guy struggle so hard.”

The news was bleak. “His care team was candid and said it didn’t look good,” Ainsley said. “They asked if we wanted them to try everything. We said, ‘Yes, he's just a baby; please, please try.’”

The hospital’s surgeons placed two plates to stabilize Copper’s mandible, and he was hospitalized for a few nights before heading home.

During the nine-hour drive to Connecticut, Copper had a feeding tube, and the family administered morphine. “He was such a little fighter,” Ainsley said.

As each day passed, the Weismans had more hope for his survival. But Copper hadn’t yet been to a dental specialist, and his regular veterinarian recommended specialty care. “She told us to go to Penn Vet,” said Ainsley.

So, a few weeks after the attack, Copper and Ainsley were back in the car. Ryan joined them.

What lies beneath

At Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital, Esther Choi, DVM, a dentistry and oral surgery resident, led Copper’s exam.

“We weren’t too alarmed by anything,” she said, noting that the puppy was very lucky to have received treatment immediately after the attack.

“

“What we see externally in the oral cavity is only the tip of the iceberg because most of the tooth structure lies underneath.”

Esther Choi, DVM

“His teeth had come in a little bit weird, but that's to be expected with trauma to a young jaw. This can result in malocclusion—when teeth don't quite line up on the upper and lower jaws. Really, by the time we saw Copper, he was at an age where his teeth should have come out fully and been sitting correctly in the mouth.”

Choi and the team were concerned about the risk of periodontal disease: “Having teeth at different angles and not in the appropriate place predisposes the teeth and oral tissues to periodontal disease, which can lead to more serious problems down the road.”

Choi scheduled Copper for an anesthetized oral exam, dental X-rays, and a CT scan for a more thorough look at his mouth. “What we see externally in the oral cavity is only the tip of the iceberg because most of the tooth structure lies underneath.”

Seeing the root of the problem

Ainsley, Ryan, and Copper returned to Ryan Hospital in October.

“We saw on the CT scans that he needed further treatment to correct jaw instability,” Choi said.

A multidisciplinary team of specialists from Penn Vet’s dentistry and oral surgery, radiology, anesthesia, and nursing teams prepped to repair the jaw.

First, they removed the original plates which, said Choi, “helped him heal as well as he had,” and placed an interdental splint to align loose jaw fragments and stabilize the young jaw.

Using a restorative procedure called vital pulp therapy, the team turned to saving one of Copper’s teeth. The therapeutic approach aims to preserve a tooth structure rather than completely extract it.

“There was one big molar that was weirdly angled, and we saved half of it to provide anchorage for the splint,” Choi said.

Imperfect alignment stresses the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) that connects the jawbone to the skull, so improving stabilization by removing the plate and having the bone heal itself is ideal. “In the long run, he’ll have less of a risk of developing osteoarthritis of the jaws and periodontal disease,” said Choi.

The calm—challenging—road to recovery

Copper sailed through surgery, and his healing is on track. But the family now faces another challenge: keeping a lively puppy relatively still during recovery.

“He’s not even a year old, and he has to stay calm,” said Ainsley. “No playing with the other dogs or running in the yard. Ryan and I have been walking him up to 10 miles a day to help work off some energy. Until a few weeks ago, he couldn’t even have a soft toy to chew. Imagine how hard it is for a puppy!”

But she has no regrets, and the family is excited to slowly start integrating Copper into the pack as he gets stronger.

“I feel fortunate to have had access to Penn Vet’s dental expertise,” she said. “We sometimes wondered if we did the right thing by putting him through all this. Should we have considered euthanasia? But this worked out well, and Penn Vet made it happen—at every point, Copper’s dental care team reassured us that he had every chance of healing and having a healthy, happy life.”

A field for the future

By all accounts, Copper received excellent care where and when he was attacked, but the Weismans’ regular veterinarian knew he would need specialized dental care for the best possible outcomes.

From left, Dr. Haixia Kong and Dr. Esther Choi, part of Copper’s care team.

As the first veterinary school in North America to offer an organized veterinary dentistry and oral surgery program, Penn Vet has pioneered the field for nearly half a century. In 1989, it established one of the first veterinary dentistry and oral surgery residency training programs nationwide. The School remains one of the few U.S. vet schools with a strong curriculum in the specialty and a wide variety of clinical cases in dentistry and maxillofacial surgery.

“Our dental and oral surgery service is sought by clients from across the nation and attracts the finest residents from around the world,” said Brady Beale, VMD, DACVO, hospital director and chief medical officer at Ryan Hospital.

The service sees roughly 700 cases annually, and a robust clinical research program focuses on preventing dental disease and optimizing patient care. It’s set to expand with a new services suite that’s coming soon. (See sidebar.)

“I’m grateful to do my residency in facilities with such progressive, hardworking, intelligent individuals in so many different fields,” said Choi. “Penn Vet offers amazing niche services and has all these specialists across different disciplines collaborating on cases. It’s an exciting, interesting place to work in dentistry, especially given Penn Vet’s game-changing history.”

Time will tell, but Copper’s case may have inspired a future veterinary dentist. Ryan Weisman, who insisted on accompanying Copper on every visit to Penn Vet, said to his mom on one trip home, “I might want to be a vet. It seems really cool.”

DENTISTRY ’S FUTURE CUTTING-EDGE SPACE

A dashing Copper post-surgery.

This spring, Penn Vet will begin renovating and expanding its dentistry and oral surgery suite. The space will be called the Richard Lichter Advanced Dentistry and Oral Surgery Suite at Ryan Hospital after its namesake, a longtime philanthropic partner of the School. When completed, the state-of-the-art clinic for comprehensive oral and restorative small animal patient care, clinical instruction, and clinical research will feature more dentistry and oral surgery stations, helping to shorten wait times and offer care to more patients.

Additionally, a new cone-beam computed tomography system will significantly enhance clinicians’ diagnostic imaging ability to plan for complex surgeries, like cleft palate repair, oral tumor removal, and maxillofacial trauma surgery. And the imaging technology's proximity to nine other surgery suites will provide more efficient care for other surgical patients, such as in neurology and orthopedics.

Along with enabling Ryan Hospital to accommodate more dental patients, the suite will serve as an arena to further clinicians’ understanding of various oral diseases and conditions, including cancers in the head and neck.

“I have witnessed firsthand the role Penn Vet veterinarians play in saving the lives of animals who come to Ryan Hospital in dire circumstances,” said Richard Lichter, who, in 2018, helped establish the Richard Lichter Emergency Room at Ryan Hospital. “It was natural for me to want the hospital to have the most modern and stateof-the-art dentistry and oral surgery capabilities.”

Pictured from left: Dr. Alexander Reiter, Anson Tsugawa, V’98, Richard Lichter, Nadine Chien, and Dean Andrew Hoffman.

Triumph Over a Twisted Fate

BY NATALIE POMPILIO

A PENN VET CARE TEAM HELPS A FILLY BEAT THE LIFE-THREATENING ODDS OF A SEVERE WRY NOSE.

From the beginning, there was something special about the newborn Standardbred filly—and it wasn’t just that her muzzle twisted 45 degrees to the right. She was born with an extreme facial deviation clinically known as wry nose. One of her nostrils was completely closed, making it nearly impossible to nurse and challenging to breathe comfortably. But she didn’t seem to notice. Her owner Matthew Morrison of Morrison Racing said the newborn won over humans and horses alike as she snuggled her dam and cheerfully greeted the people who helped her enter the world.

Above: Months after her surgery, Wry Not enjoys the early spring sunshine while entrusted to the rehabilitating care of Ashley Taylor, DVM, and the team at Twin Ponds Farm in Cochranville, Pennsylvania.

Above, Wry Not prepares for her procedure with New Bolton Center surgery resident Caitlin Smith, DVM. Left, CT imaging of Wry Not’s skull shows the 45-degree twist to her muzzle.

“It was a severe deviation, the worst I’ve ever seen. Surgery was a consideration, although the location of the bend would make it more complicated.

Jose Garcia-Lopez, VMD, DACVS, DACVSMR

Still, the response to wry nose is often euthanasia.

“Wry nose can lead to significant issues with nursing and breathing,” said Kyla Ortved, DVM, PhD, DACVS, DACVSMR, Jacques Jenny Endowed Term Chair in Orthopedic Surgery and professor of large animal surgery explained. “Without surgical correction, a foal’s quality of life is very compromised.”

But Morrison and his daughter wanted to give their filly a chance to thrive.

“There was a fight in her. She didn’t know she was ‘abnormal.’ She just knew she needed to feed and was persistent,” Morrison said. “Without that fighting spirit, she probably wouldn’t have survived that first weekend.”

Fittingly, the Morrisons nicknamed her Wry Not and sent her from their stables in Indiana, Pennsylvania, to Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center. Ortved and a team of multidisciplinary specialists were waiting to give her a shot at a long, healthy life.

A case like no other

Wry nose is uncommon, especially cases as severe as Wry Not’s. Ortved and Jose Garcia-Lopez, VMD, DACVS, DACVSMR, associate professor of large animal surgery, have each seen only three cases in their extensive careers. Wry Not’s stood out.

“It was a severe deviation, the worst I’ve ever seen,” Garcia-Lopez said. He added that surgery was a consideration, although the location of the bend would make it more complicated.

But before any surgical intervention, “it was important to ensure Wry Not was in excellent systemic health,” said Michelle Abraham, BSc, BVMS, DACVIM, assistant professor of clinical critical care medicine.

The moments after birth are critical for any young animal. In the first few hours, mothers pass vital antibodies to their offspring through colostrum—or “first milk.” Because Wry Not struggled to nurse, her clinical team was concerned she lacked the immunity needed for a major procedure.

“Any local infections could have disastrous effects on the outcome,” Abraham said.

Complicating matters even more, an ultrasound of Wry Not’s lungs revealed pneumonia.

Abraham’s team immediately started Wry Not on antibiotics and installed a feeding tube to supply supplemental colostrum and hyperimmunized plasma.

“Antibiotic therapy and continued nutritional support were important for her to grow strong enough for surgery,” she explained.

A precision procedure for a precious patient

After roughly a month of medication and observation, Wry Not was ready for surgery. But first came imaging.

Two weeks pre-surgery, the care team scanned the muzzle of an anesthetized Wry Not using OmniTom, a mobile CT scanner that delivers high-quality, pointof-care imaging. The technology offered a 3D look at her head and deformity before surgery, aiding surgeons in planning their approach.

“There wasn’t a lot of room for error,” Garcia-Lopez recalled. “The surgery required precise measuring and careful cutting.”

Once they had a plan, they scheduled surgery.

On the day of the procedure, the New Bolton Center care team anesthetized the filly, who lay comfortably on her belly.

First, they resected Wry Not’s nasal septum to open her nasal passages. They then performed corrective osteotomies— or cuts in the bones—of her nasal and incisive bones to realign her nose. Finally, they put in a set of specialized plates to hold the nasal and incisive (which hold upper jaw teeth) bones in the correct position while she healed.

Wry Not’s life-changing—and life-saving—surgery took roughly three hours. Post-op, her care team was delighted to find the filly bright and alert.

“A case like this is very much a team effort,” said Ortved. “There’s everyone from the NICU that admitted her and kept her alive, an anesthesiologist who handled this difficult case, a radiologist, an equine dentist, and many other specialists, along with nurses, staff, residents, interns, and vet students.”

The recovery road from wonky to wonderful

Once Wry Not was stable enough for discharge, she was transferred to the care of Ashley Taylor, DVM, at Twin Ponds Farm, a rehabilitation center about 10 minutes from New Bolton Center.

A few weeks after surgery, the New Bolton Center team removed the specialized plates, and equine dentist Amelie McAndrews, DVM, DAVDC-Eq, a clinical associate at New Bolton Center, placed a bite plate on her lower jaw to encourage her upper jaw to grow straight out and not down. The bite plate will continue to be replaced over the first year of her life as the filly grows.

Today, Wry Not travels frequently between the farm and Penn Vet for regular check-ups and replacements of the bite plate.

She is a loving, if unusual-looking, horse. While she is now fully weaned and can enjoy grain, hay, and grass like any healthy equine should, her muzzle will never be “perfect.”

“With wry noses, we can make the upper jaw and nose straight, but the upper jaw will always be shorter than the lower jaw,” said Ortved.

The New Bolton Center clinicians fondly joke that, because of Wry Not’s one-ofa-kind looks, she is “a foal only a mother could love.”

“And a surgeon,” added Garcia-Lopez. “And me and my daughter,” said Morrison.

Wry Not recovers from her successful surgery with a new muzzle and lease on life.

ONE ALUMNI COUPLE, TWO VISIONARY CAREERS

BY SACHA ADORNO

MEGHAN RAMOS AND GARRETT HARVEY, BOTH V’18, HAVE EYES ON THE FUTURE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE.

Meghan Ramos and Garrett Harvey are helping to advance veterinary medicine in two areas that profoundly impact a dog’s quality of life and longevity: mobility and cancer—Ramos as medical director of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center (PVWDC), Harvey as director of veterinary affairs for FidoCure, a canine cancer research and therapeutics innovator.

Each of their careers is rooted in early callings to help people and animals, which brought them both to Penn Vet and remains their North Star.

ONE DEMONSTRATION CHANGES EVERYTHING

Ramos studied animal science at Rutgers University, finding her field of choice in veterinary medicine.

“I liked the hands-on component and the idea of helping people and animals,” she said.

At Rutgers, Ramos learned about Penn Vet through an undergraduate honors research project with Penn Vet alumna and equine specialist Sarah Ralston, V’80, PhD, DACVN.

Now retired, Ralston was then a professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and a specialist in equine medicine. One of her clients was a longtime supporter of Penn Vet, and Ralston and the client invited Ramos to visit the PVWDC for a working dog demonstration.

“It might get boring if we both did the same thing. But we have this lovely balance of understanding each other’s work and having a core love of the profession with always learning something new from each other.”

MEGHAN RAMOS

Ramos trains at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center with Louie, who is now a dual purpose K9 officer with the Hatboro, Pennsylvania, police department.

“I met all the incredible people doing extraordinary things with working dogs, including Dr. Cindy Otto [executive director of the center]. I fell in love with all of it,” she said.

Hearing her calling, Ramos drove back a few days later to start volunteering. It was, she said, the beginning of a life-changing journey.

CONTRIBUTING TO A BURGEONING FIELD OF CANINE SPORTS MEDICINE

Ramos chose Penn Vet for her veterinary education because of the Center and continued to work with Otto and the PVWDC team in both research and a veterinary setting.

After graduating from Penn Vet, Ramos enrolled in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania’s two-year Master of Science in Translational Research program. As part of the master’s program, she had a specialty internship at the PVWDC, working on odor detection research that trains dogs to identify disease through scent.

“I also provided veterinary care for the working dogs— overseeing their breeding, musculoskeletal health, fitness, and more,” she said. “And I saw working dog primary care cases at Ryan Hospital.”

In 2020, just as Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital began offering a specialized Canine Sports and Performance Medicine Service, she started a residency in sports medicine and rehabilitation, a burgeoning field that the American Veterinary Medical Association fully recognized as a veterinary specialty in 2018.

In 2023, she completed the residency, which was supported by a private Penn Vet donor and the global specialist veterinary pharmaceuticals company Dechra Veterinary. She then became medical director of the PVWDC and lecturer in sports medicine and working dog sciences.

In addition to her day-to-day at the PVWDC, Ramos works closely with Otto to build and grow the Ryan Hospital service line that diagnoses and treats working dogs, canine athletes, and companion dogs with various mobility disorders and fitness levels.

“Dr. Otto has inspired me since I first met her,” said Ramos. “I wouldn’t be where I am without her, and she continues to be a mentor. I deeply value how she pushes limits, loves to teach, and is a caring and genuine colleague, leader, and veterinarian.”

Earlier this year, Ramos took the exams for board certification from the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation.

“My work is everything I want it to be,” Ramos remarked. "I am proud to help further develop and expand Penn Vet’s sports medicine service and the field overall.”

VETERINARY MEDICINE BY WAY OF MEDICAL SCHOOL

Unlike Ramos, who knew her professional destiny when she entered the PVWDC, Harvey’s journey to Penn started less linearly. He was on the way to practicing human medicine when he veered onto a new course.

“While in [King’s] college, I took the MCATs and applied to medical school, but, funny enough, doctors dissuaded

me,” he said. “During my time shadowing physicians, they discussed how insurance often shapes many aspects of human medicine, highlighting the challenges and constraints they felt within their practices.”

Harvey rethought his plan: “I had finished all my required coursework, so I explored comparative anatomy, animal physiology, and those types of classes. “I grew up around quarter horses and German shepherds and thought about my love for animals. Many synergies came to fruition as my focus shifted to veterinary medicine, which seemed wide open with avenues to improve health care for animals and humans.”

EXPLORING FRONTIERS IN CANINE CANCER DIAGNOSTICS AND TREATMENT

Harvey directed his effort toward veterinary school by spending a year working in a mixed animal veterinary practice before enrolling in Penn Vet.

“There are so many uncharted frontiers in animal medicine,” he said. “At Penn Vet, I realized I probably wasn't strictly bound to work in a clinic but would do something else with my VMD. Penn Vet has a lot of opportunities for ‘nontraditional pathways,’ whether a joint degree program or exposure and access to other schools, like Wharton and Penn Medicine.”

As a student, he got involved with The One Health Company, a translational medicine outfit working in canine and human cancer. With venture capital backing, the company launched FidoCure.

“FidoCure makes the concept of personalized, precision medicine, which has been around for human cancer for almost 20 years, available to dogs with cancer,” he

“At Penn Vet, I realized I probably wasn’t strictly bound to work in a clinic but would do something else with my VMD. Penn Vet has a lot of opportunities for ‘nontraditional pathways,’ whether a joint degree program or exposure and access to other school.”

GARRETT HARVEY

Harvey and Ramos on their wedding day in September 2022.

explained. “The platform couples a DNA sequencing diagnostic and access to targeted therapies that veterinarians can use to treat dogs.”

Six years after earning his VMD, Harvey is still with the booming startup. He oversees clinician education, outreach, and impact research, interacting with veterinary oncologists and generalists who use FidoCure with their patients and clients.

“We’ve treated almost 5,000 patients at more than 1,000 different veterinary hospitals,” he said. “I may not be in the exam room, but, in a way, I feel like I’ve touched more patients than I could physically. It’s exciting to be part of this growth company that influences veterinary medicine so profoundly.”

BUILDING CAREERS AND A MARRIAGE

While Ramos and Harvey are on different career paths, they’re each other’s biggest cheerleaders.

“We've always been able to align and say, ‘My goals are yours, and yours are mine,’” said Harvey. “That's probably been the most elegant part of the relationship: I streamline whatever I need to make Meghan’s work possible, and she does the same for me.”

As they’re building their careers, they are also building a marriage. From their home base in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, they parent Harvey’s two children, raise their German shepherd Rico, and enjoy sports (he’s Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Orioles; she’s New York Giants and Yankees). All while navigating the demands of two intense, exciting careers.

“It might get boring if we both did the same thing,” Ramos said. “But we have this lovely balance of understanding each other’s work and having a core love of the profession. We’re always learning something new from each other.”

RICHARD MISELIS’

Life of Adventure and Generosity

A Penn Vet professor emeritus invests in the next generation of VMD-PhDs

I’ve always had endless curiosity and love for adventure.” “

Richard Miselis, V’73, professor emeritus, rarely sits still. Cycling, skiing, fly fishing, hiking, woodworking, and, until recently, mountain climbing—you name it, he probably does it. His endless curiosity and attraction to pushing personal limits defined Miselis’ esteemed career as a brain researcher and Penn Vet professor.

“I’ve always had endless curiosity and love for adventure,” he said. “My career itself was one. There were always new areas to discover and questions to ask. Along the way, I met amazing people doing extraordinary things to advance our understanding of human and animal science and medicine.”

It was this insatiable passion for exploration that led Miselis to endow the Richard R. Miselis, VMD, PhD Scholarship fund, which offers financial support to students pursuing VMD or VMD-PhD degrees. The fund gives special consideration to students interested in pursuing research careers, which, to Miselis, is the “ultimate adventure.”

p Miselis in the Skeena River with a steelhead trout on a fly fishing trip to British Columbia, Canada.

A RADICAL APPROACH TO VETERINARY EDUCATION

Miselis’ own journey into research started as a Penn Vet student; he was among the first in Penn Vet’s dual degree VMD-PhD program.

“I was interested in the brain and how it controlled behavior,” he said. “Veterinary medicine was the right type of training for me because I wanted to study animals instead of people. The VMD-PhD program had just launched when I arrived at the School, and it was forward-thinking. I knew I’d spend my life in research versus clinical practice, so being able to pursue a VMD and PhD in biology while accessing all the medical institutions Penn offered was radical.”

After graduating from Penn Vet, Miselis completed postdoctoral training in Paris. Following the postdoc, he returned to Penn Vet, staying until his retirement in 2012.

He taught neuroscience and gross anatomy during his tenure and was a strong student advocate. He pushed for extended hours for the anatomy lab—“so students had more time outside of the classroom to study” —and was one of the first faculty members to make coursework available online.

As a researcher, Miselis led a laboratory focused on how the animal brain controls and regulates the body and maintains internal stability among variables such as body temperature, water levels, and blood sugars.

“I studied the parts of the brain that mediate this grand function called homeostasis,” he said. “That means keeping all your physiological parameters within your body within a range that are compatible with life.”

There was always something unexplored: “When I ran out of things to study, I’d move on to the next area. The constant exploration held my interest and attention!”

Miselis spent ten years running the VMD-PhD degree program, the first of its kind in the U.S. He helped expand it into the largest nationwide; Penn VMD-PhD alums account for 50% of all students trained by veterinary combined degree programs nationally.

“I’ve given to Penn Vet in different ways and am glad to put some of my resources toward supporting the next wave of smart, curious researchers. It’s my newest adventure with Penn Vet, and I love it!”

RICHARD MISELIS, V’73

p Miselis at the top of Washington Pass in the North Cascades during a 100-mile ride from the east side of the Cascades to the west side and out to the Washington coast.

INSPIRING THE NEXT WAVE OF “ADVENTURE”

Today, Miselis lives in Portland with his wife, Patricia McManus, V’80—also a VMD-PhD and former Penn Vet faculty member. He remains connected to Penn Vet in several ways, including his most recent philanthropic investment through this fund.

“Vet school life is hard and wonderful,” said Miselis. “I was grateful to be a Penn Vet student and then mentor later generations of students. I’ve given to Penn Vet in different ways and am glad to put some of my resources toward supporting the next wave of smart, curious researchers. It’s my newest adventure with Penn Vet, and I love it!”

BOARD OF ADVISORS

A Message from Mark D. Spitzer, W’71, Chair, and Martin E. Winter, G’76, W’76, Vice Chair

Advisory

boards at Penn date back to 1928

and are an important part of the University’s governance.

Our Penn Vet Board of Advisors members are passionate about Penn Vet’s mission. We come from a wide array of professional sectors: business, finance, veterinary practice, human health care, and others.

As we all have witnessed, the world is rapidly changing. Under the leadership and vision of Dean Andrew Hoffman, Penn Vet is adapting to those changes. Our board members have insights into many of these global changes, and we provide an important layer of support to Dean Hoffman and his leadership team at Penn Vet.

As board members, we are privileged to engage in activities that include interacting with faculty and students, observing processes and procedures at our two campuses, and meeting with hospital directors and department heads. Besides being so enjoyable, our time spent at both the Philadelphia and New Bolton Center campuses gives us valuable insights into Penn Vet’s strengths and needs today and in the future.

Board members tend to develop a keen interest in particular domains reflective of their personal passions or professional expertise. In addition to our advisory role, our members have provided critical and generous philanthropic support for Penn Vet’s and Dean Hoffman’s strategic initiatives. Areas of support include scholarships to ease the financial burden of obtaining a VMD, endowed professorships, new institutes such as the Institute for Infectious and Zoonotic Diseases, new facility construction, and enhancements to Ryan Hospital’s and New Bolton Center’s physical plants.

During our time on the board, Penn Vet has been changing at an accelerating pace: incredible advances in research, a transformative new curriculum, and expanded joint degree programs. These facets touch the surface of how veterinary education—particularly a Penn Vet education—has evolved in recent decades. The changes have transformed how our students learn and broadened the breadth of careers they can choose. Students are no longer solely learning to be practitioners of veterinary care; they are now part of a far more integrated world of One Health, and their contributions will only grow. This transformation is so significant that we (Mark and Martin) refer to the Penn Vet that exists today as “Penn Vet 2.0.”

The Penn Vet Board of Advisors is also evolving to support the School’s transformation. Thus, “Penn Vet Board 2.0.”

So, when we meet you at one of the Penn Vet hospitals with your dog, cat, horse, goat, etc., during a special event like an alumni reunion, you see “Penn Vet Board 2.0” in action.

We want to absorb all that is happening at Penn Vet and be the best advocates for the School. When you hear or see significant hospital improvements supported by Penn Vet Board of Advisors members, that is “Penn Vet Board 2.0” in action. When you learn about expanded scholarship opportunities, “Penn Vet Board 2.0” members are likely involved.

As Penn Vet evolves to meet the challenges of veterinary education, clinical care, and research, the Penn Vet Board of Advisors is working hard alongside the School’s leadership, faculty, scientists, clinicians, students, and staff in driving “Penn Vet 2.0.” In upcoming issues of Bellwether, we will introduce you to our board members, offering a sense of their interests and what drives who they are.

If you would like to contact either of us with comments or questions, please email Hyemi Sevening, Associate Dean of Institutional Advancement, at sevening@upenn.edu with the subject line Penn Vet Board of Advisors.

Mark D. Spitzer, W’71, Chair, and Martin E. Winter, G’76, W’76, Vice Chair

“During our time on the board, Penn Vet has been changing at an accelerating pace: incredible advances in research, a transformative new curriculum, and expanded joint degree programs.”

Mark Spitzer and Martin Winter

Penn Vet mRNA Research Initiative to Advance Veterinary Vaccine Science

In February, Penn Vet announced the launch of the School’s mRNA Research Initiative to fast-track the development of veterinary mRNA-based vaccines and host-directed therapies.

Phillip Scott, PhD, vice dean for Research and Academic Resources, announced the initiative on the 35th anniversary of the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s National Public Science Day. The research initiative will be led by Christopher Hunter, PhD, founding director of Penn Vet’s Institute for Infectious and Zoonotic Diseases (IIZD) and the Mindy Halikman Heyer Distinguished Professor of Pathobiology.

“The mRNA Research initiative will advance basic vaccine science leveraging the mRNA platform and harness our extraordinary expertise here at Penn Vet,” said Scott. “Not only will this Initiative make a substantial contribution to mRNA scholarship, but it will also facilitate the application of the mRNA platform to the development of veterinary vaccines.”

Funding for the Initiative was provided by the Penn Institute for RNA Innovation through the backing of 2023 Nobel Prize winner Drew Weissman, MD, PhD, the Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine.

“This support is designed to foster ongoing collaborations between Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine and Penn Vet,” said Weissman, “expanding the breadth of work on mRNA biology across species.”

Operating under the umbrella of Penn Vet’s IIZD, and with support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the initiative will advance basic vaccine science using the mRNA platform, develop mRNA vaccines that target veterinary species, and accelerate innovation at Penn

Vet using mRNA-based vaccines and therapies for a variety of diseases.

While mRNA vaccines are efficient at stimulating antibody responses, they are less able to generate enduring lung, gut, and skin T cells that are critical for barrier immunity to many pathogens. Leveraging Penn Vet’s immunologic expertise, the first phase of the project will investigate how to generate sustained T cell-mediated immunity in the lung, gut, and skin with mRNA vaccines. Scientific findings from these basic studies will inform the project’s goal to develop veterinary vaccines, including vaccines for avian influenza in poultry and viral infections in swine.

“The development of mRNA vaccine approaches has had a tremendous impact on human health, but it has not yet been applied to the veterinary vaccine field,” said Hunter. “The flexible nature of mRNA technology makes it a tractable platform to generate and validate speciesspecific mRNA expressing immune modulators and to design vaccines for a whole host of veterinary pathogens. This Initiative will have a profound role in protecting not only the health and welfare of farm animals and our food supply, but also on the safety and long-term viability of farming communities in Pennsylvania and across the country.”

In addition to basic and translational vaccine projects, the initiative will fund at least one multi-investigator research project annually that expands the scope, furthers progress, or leverages existing scholarship to accelerate mRNA research at Penn Vet. An annual symposium will also be held, providing a forum for scientists, scholars, and students to present their work utilizing the mRNA platform; and to contribute to the overall advancement of Penn Vet’s mRNA science.

Christopher Hunter, PhD

Farm Show

Penn Vet Dean Andrew Hoffman with Pennsylvania public officials during the 108th Pennsylvania Farm Show’s Public Officials Day Luncheon in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (left).

Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture

Russell Redding visits the Penn Vet Farm Show booth to speak with current Penn Vet students about their experiences and interest in veterinary medicine (below right).

Penn Vet’s Kim Daley, Barbara Dallap Schaer, VMD, and Hyemi Sevening share a smile while working the Penn Vet Farm booth (below left, top image) while Marty Hackett, Hyemi Sevening, and Ashley Hinton snap a photo with Representative Ed Neilson, chairman of the House Transportation Committee (below left, bottom image).

 2023 RABIES SYMPOSIUM

Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health and Penn Vet teamed up in September to hold a one-day symposium detailing the significant impact of rabies on a local and global scale. World-class experts from the field gave insights to help educate attendees and advance prevention strategies in local communities.

THE FIRST BIANNUAL CRYPTOSPORIDIUM MEETING 

In March, Penn Vet held the First Biannual Cryptosporidium Meeting, bringing together researchers and clinicians from around the world to discuss the problems and progress around the parasite and the disease it causes.

 2024 IIZD SYMPOSIUM

The second annual IIZD Symposium opened with the Robert R. Marshak Public Lecture “Dirty Boots and Dead Gorillas: Reporting on Dangerous Viruses from the Field,” presented by acclaimed author and journalist David Quammen. The following day featured experts from across the country showcasing their latest breakthroughs in zoonotic disease research.

DEAN ALAN M. KELLY CELEBRATION OF LIFE 

In November, the School celebrated the life of Dean Emeritus Alan M. Kelly, who passed away in March 2023. As eleventh dean, Kelly fostered interactions between clinicians and bench scientists, and was a vigorous champion of the School’s leadership in animal health and food security. At right, Dean Andrew Hoffman and Dean Emerita Joan Hendricks give remarks; at far right, Dean Kelly’s sons in attendance.

 MLK DAY VACCINATION



AND WELLNESS CLINIC

In observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, the 15th annual vaccination and wellness clinic was held at Ryan Hospital. The student-run clinic provided free vaccinations to approximately 260 pets from the local community. Students from Penn Medicine also provided a wellness component for the pets’ owners.

Faculty/Staff News

Gustavo Aguirre, VMD, PhD, gave the keynote lecture “22 Years Since Lancelot: Lessons Learned and Progress with the Canine Models” at the Retinal Degeneration International Meeting in Torremolinos, Spain, in October 2023. He also presented “Progreso en el tratamiento de las enfermedades hereditarias de la retina,” at the Fundación Retinitis Pigmentosa de Puerto Rico, in Manatí, Puerto Rico, in November 2023.

Liz Arbittier, VMD, CVA, hosted a table topic titled “Emotional Wellbeing and Compassion Fatigue” with Page Buck at the 2023 AAEP Convention. She also spoke at the VMG-20 meeting in January 2024 on Penn Vet’s efforts towards recruitment and retention of equine veterinary students.

Matt Atherton, BVSc, PhD, was appointed associate editor for the new Springer Nature journal called Veterinary Oncology

Timour Baslan, PhD, was appointed assistant professor of biomedical sciences.

William Beltran, DVM, PhD, presented “Addressing Challenges of Photoreceptor Transplantation in Canine Models of Late Stage IRD” at the IHU FOReSIGHT meeting in Paris in October 2023. He also presented

“Investigación traslacional de las enfermedades hereditarias de la retina: terapias celulares,” at the Fundación Retinitis Pigmentosa de Puerto Rico, in Manatí, Puerto Rico, in November 2023. In addition, he published Xu L, Ruddick WN, Bolch SN, Klingeborn M, Dyka FM, Kulkarni MM, Simpson CP, Beltran WA, Rickman CB, Smith WC, Dinculescu A. Distinct phenotypic consequences of pathogenic mutants associated with late-onset retinal degeneration. Am J Pathol 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. ajpath.2022.10.004. He also published Taskin HO, Wivel J, Aguirre GD, Beltran WA, Aguirre GK. Cone-driven, geniculocortical responses in canine models of outer retinal disease. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2024. https://doi. org/10.1167/tvst.13.1.18.

Kathryn Bills, VMD, DACVR, DACVR-EDI, had speaking engagements at ACVR (New Orleans), AAEP (San Diego), and AAEP (Costa Rica).

Leonardo Brito, DVM, PhD, DACT, received the 2023 CS-NBC Teaching Excellence Award, given to a faculty member who has demonstrated a high level of interest in advancing instruction at Penn Vet. He published Nutrition and sexual development in bulls. Vet Clin North Am Food Anim

Pract. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. cvfa.2023.08.002. He also presented “Advances in Sexed Semen Production” for the animal sciences graduate program at the Universidade do Oeste Paulista, Brazil.

Michelle Capps, BA, CVT, VTS (Surgery) and Carly Carpenter, BS, CVT, VTS (Anesthesia & Analgesia) are Penn Vet’s newest Veterinary Technician Specialists. VTS credentials, which demonstrate advanced knowledge and skills in a chosen specialty, are awarded to individuals who achieve certification from a NAVTA/CVTS-approved specialty academy upon completing the credentialing process and examination.

Sarah Colmer, VMD, presented on equine neurologic conditions and the poor performer at the VMX conference in Orlando.

Alessia Cordella, DVM, MSc, PhD, was appointed assistant professor of small animal diagnostic imaging.

Alexandra Crooks, VMD, was appointed assistant professor of small animal cardiology.

Ann DiPastina, DVM, was appointed assistant professor of food animal field service.

Zhengxia Dou, PhD, gave an invited, featured presentation titled “Food’s Journey in the Last Mile—Managing Food Waste as Untapped Resources” at the Annual Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases in Chicago in January 2024. She published Wang X, Dou Z, Feng S, et al. Global food nutrients analysis reveals alarming gaps and daunting challenges. Nature Food. 2023. https://www. nature.com/articles/s43016-02300851-5; Chen T, Wang Q, Wang Y, Dou Z, Yu X, Feng H, Wang M, Zhang Y, Yin J. Using fresh vegetable waste from Chinese traditional wet markets as animal feed: material feasibility and utilization potential. Sci Total Environ. 2023. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166105; Sun X, Dou Z, Shurson GC, et al. Fungal bioprocessing of wheat straw with fruit and vegetable discards to produce cattle feeds for enhanced sustainability. Resour Conserv Recycl. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. resconrec.2023.107251; Wang Y, Wang Z, Yin Y, Tian X, Gong H, Ma L, Zhuang M, Dou Z, Cui Z. Pursuing zero-grain livestock production in China. One Earth. 2023. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.oneear.2023.10.019; Shurson GC, Dierenfeld E, Dou Z. Rules are meant to be broken: rethinking the regulations on the use of food waste as animal feed. Resour Conserv Recycl. 2023. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2023.107273; Sun X, Dou Z, Shurson GC, et al. Bioprocessing to upcycle

agro-industrial and food wastes into high-nutritional value animal feed for sustainable food and agriculture systems. Resour Conserv Recycl. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. resconrec.2023.107325; Dou Z, Dierenfeld E, Wang X, et al. A critical analysis on challenges and opportunities for upcycling food waste to animal feed to reduce climate and resource burdens. Resour Conserv Recycl. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. resconrec.2024.107418; Baker L, Bender J, Ferguson J, Rassler S, Pitta D, Chann S, Dou Z. Leveraging dairy cattle to upcycle culled citrus fruit for emission mitigation and resource co-benefits: a case study. Resour Conserv Recycl. 2024. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107452; and Wang Y, Rassler S, Stefanovski D, Bender J, Deutsch J, Chen T, Cui Z, Dou Z. Evidence of animal productivity outcomes when fed diets including food waste: a systematic review of global primary data. Resour Conserv Recycl. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. resconrec.2024.107411.

Valerie Dufour, DVM, MSc, presented “Phenotypic Characterization and Natural Disease History of ABCA4 Stargardt Disease Canine Model” at the Retinal Degeneration International Meeting in Torremolinos, Spain, in October 2023. In addition, she was appointed assistant professor of translational ophthalmology.

Amy Durham, VMD, received the 2023 American College of Veterinary Pathologists Presidential Award at the American College of Veterinary Pathologists annual meeting, for exceptional service and dedication to the College and its members through her role as chief operations officer on the Board of Directors.

Molly Flaherty, DVM, is the author and editor of Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice Rehabilitation Therapy. 2023;53(4): 731–920. https://www.sciencedirect. com/journal/veterinary-clinics-ofnorth-america-small-animalpractice/vol/53/issue/4.

Jamie Guiberson, CVT, VTS-EVN, published her first children’s book, Muggles and the Case of the Missing Cat Food, which stars one of the adopted New Bolton Center semiferal ponies. A percentage of sales through February were donated to the Havemeyer Foundation at New Bolton Center.

Paula Henthorn, PhD, professor of medical genetics, retired from Penn Vet after 33 years of dedicated service.

Rebecka Hess, DVM, MSCE, published DiNinni A, Hess RS. Development of a requirement for exogenous insulin treatment in dogs with hyperglycemia. J Vet Intern Med. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1111/ jvim.16990; and Williams JG, Hess RS. Concurrent disorders of cats with diabetes mellitus and arterial systolic hypertension. J Feline Med Surg. 2023. https://doi. org/10.1177/1098612X231187691.

Michael Hogan, PhD, was appointed assistant professor of pathobiology.

Emmelyn Hsieh, DVM, was appointed assistant professor of small animal internal medicine.

Jessica Kerley, VMD, was appointed assistant professor of emergency and critical care.

Nicola Mason, BVetMed, PhD (fourth from left), received the 2023 SebastianStrong Discovery Science Award from the SebastianStrong Foundation. Her project collaborator is Antonia Rotolo, MD, PhD.

Jennifer Lenz, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology), published Zimmerman K, Walsh KA, Ferrari JT, Keuler NS, Atherton MJ, Lenz JA. Evaluation of mechlorethamine, vinblastine, procarbazine, and prednisone for the treatment of resistant multicentric lymphoma in dogs. Vet Comp Oncol 2023. https://doi. org/10.1111/vco.12913; and Kenny SA, Cook MR, Lenz JA, Maritato KC, Skorupski KA, Wustefeld-Janssens BG, Pellin MA, Silveira CJ, Veytsman S, Selmic LE, Husbands BD. Clinical outcomes in cats with renal carcinoma undergoing nephrectomy: a retrospective study. Vet Comp Oncol. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1111/ vco.12921. Lenz is affiliated with the Atherton Laboratory.

David Levine, DVM, was elected to the Board of Regents of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Daniela Luethy, DVM, MPH, was appointed assistant professor of large animal medicine.

Nicole Marino, PhD, was appointed assistant professor of pathobiology.

Keiko Miyadera, DVM, PhD, gave a lecture for the Japanese Society of Comparative and Veterinary Ophthalmology in November 2023. She published Takahashi K, Kwok JC, Sato Y, Aguirre GD, Miyadera K. Molecular characterization of MAP9 in the photoreceptor sensory cilia as a modifier in canine RPGRIP1associated cone-rod dystrophy. Front Cell Neurosci. 2023. http:// dx.doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2023. 1226603.

Kevin Niedringhaus, BVetMed, PhD, is working on three major active research projects, in addition to clinical service, where he receives wildlife submitted from across the state for diagnostic pathology workup (autopsy) to monitor for emerging diseases and known pathogens of veterinary and human health importance. He is taking a deep dive into the pathology of cervids with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), with the aim of finding novel mechanisms that make them sick as well as determining whether CWD prion infection alters the way they ultimately die. In addition, he has started a digital pathology-based project to explore the potential of artificial intelligence

Keiko Miyadera, DVM, PhD, received the Janson Award from the University of Tokyo Department of Veterinary Medical Science in November 2023.

to optimize CWD diagnostics, potentially allowing for more rapid and accurate results. He is finishing up a two-year study looking at mustelids (mink, weasels, etc.) in Pennsylvania to identify novel and zoonotic parasites. Niedringhaus is affiliated with the Wildlife Futures Program. His project collaborator is Carol Sobotyk, DVM, PhD

Lauren Powell, PhD, was hired as an animal welfare and behavior lecturer.

Enrico Radaelli, DVM, PhD, ECVP, published Willis E, Verrelle J, Banerjee E, Assenmacher CA, Tarrant JC, Skuli N, Jacobson ML, O’Rouke DM, Binder ZA, Radaelli E. Humanization with CD34-positive hematopoietic stem cells in NOG-EXL mice results in improved long-term survival and less severe myeloid cell hyperactivation phenotype relative to NSG-SGM3 mice. Vet Pathol. 2024 https://doi. org/10.1177/03009858231222216. He is affiliated with the Penn Vet Comparative Pathology Core.

Erica Reineke, VMD, published Crofts JL, Radtke B, Chalifoux NV, Reineke EL. Increased incidence and shift of location of gunshot wound injuries wound injuries in dogs and cats during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2023. https// doi.org/10.2460/javma.23.06.0317; and Manchester R, Hess R, Reineke EL. Risk factors for urinary tract rupture in cats with urethral

Louise Moncla, PhD, received two 2023 Scialog Collaborative Innovation Awards through a joint program from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The program brings together cross-disciplinary “Mitigating Zoonotic Threats research teams” to address diagnostic and public health components associated with infectious zoonotic diseases.

obstruction. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2023. https//doi.org/10.2460/ javma.23.07.0419. She also lectured on emergency and critical care medicine topics at the Emergency and Critical Care UK Congress in Leeds, United Kingdom, in November 2023.

Chris Rizzo, CVT, VTS-EVN, LAIM, spoke about equine colitis, large animal wound management, and large animal fluid therapy at the VMX conference in Orlando.

Mary A. Robinson, VMD, PhD, DACVCP, published Barr CA, Haughan JE, Gianotti G, Varner K, Drobatz KJ, Stefanovski D, Robinson MA, Pennington M, McGuire A, Otto CM. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of intranasal and intramuscular administration of naloxone in working dogs administered fentanyl. J Vet IM. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1111/ jvim.16901; Palmisano M, Kulp J, Bender S, Stefanovski D, Robinson MA, Johnson A. Measurement of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine in serum and cerebrospinal fluid of horses with neuroaxonal degeneration and other causes of proprioceptive ataxia. J Vet IM. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.16988; Robinson MA. Pharmacology introduction, Merck Manual Veterinary Manual, 2023. https:// www.merckvetmanual.com/ pharmacology/pharmacologyintroduction; Guan F, Adreance MA, McGoldrick LK, You Y, Robinson MA. Identification of bicarbonate in a confiscation sample by electrospray ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry. 23rd International Conference of Racing Analysist and Veterinarians, Hong Kong. 2023.; Guan F, Adreance MA, McGoldrick LK, You Y, Robinson MA. Identification of Recombinant human erythropoietin and recombinant human granulocytestimulating factor in confiscation samples. 23rd International Conference of Racing Analysts and Veterinarians, Hong Kong. 2023; You

Y, Missanelli J, Proctor R, Haughan J, Robinson MA. Simultaneous analysis of oxycodone and its metabolites in equine urine by UHPLC-MS/MS. 23rd International Conference of Racing Analysts and Veterinarians, Hong Kong. 2023; Jiang Z, Haughan J, Robinson MA. Designing and evaluating primers for PCR to distinguish AAV2-mediated gene doping from wild type AAVS infection. 23rd International Conference of Racing Analysts and Veterinarians, Hong Kong. 2023; Haughan JE, Missanelli J, Stefanovski D, You Y, Robinson MA. Measuring Oxycodone Metabolites

in Plasma and Urine Enhances Detection of Oral Oxycodone Administration to Horses. 23rd International Conference of Racing Analysts and Veterinarians, Hong Kong. 2023; Chen J, Robinson MA, Haughan J. Transforming growth factor β1 was upregulated by lipopolysaccharide in horses. Society for Leukocyte Biology Program, Athens, GA. 2023; and Friedman E, Haughan J, Pittman L, Stefanovski D, Ortved K, Robinson MA. Osteocalcin and CTX-I are possible biomarkers for detection of fetlock injury in racehorses. ACVS Summit, Louisville, KY. 2023.

Kotaro Sasaki, MD, PhD (center), was named the Richard King Mellon Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences, an endowed professorship. He also received the 2023 Zoetis Award for Veterinary Research Excellence at last fall’s research retreat.

Patricia Sertich, VMD, hosted the American College of Theriogenologists (ACT) Certifying Examination Committee’s examination retreat at the Allam House, New Bolton Center, in January 2024. Committee members included Soon Hon Cheong, Chair (Cornell University), Joanne Randal (Chicago), Jacobo Rodriguez (Arvada, Colorado), Rejean Lefebvre (University of Montreal), Erin Runcan (Ohio State University), and Linda Miller (Lincoln Memorial University). Dr. Sertich is the secretary of the ACT and serves on the examination committee.

Deborah Silverstein, DVM, DACVECC, published Burke JE, Hess RS, McEntee EP, Griffin MA, Harmon SM, Silverstein DC. Hepatic abscessation in dogs: a multicenter study of 56 cases (2010-2019). J Vet Emerg Crit Care. 2023. https://doi. org/10.1111/vec.13340; Berlin N, Pfaff A, Rozanski EA, Chalifoux NV, Hess RS, Silverstein, DC, Donnino MW. Establishment of a reference interval for thiamine levels in healthy dogs and evaluation of the prevalence of absolute thiamine deficiency in critically ill dogs with and without sepsis using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). J Vet Emerg Crit Care. 2023. https://doi. org/10.1111/vec.13341; and Buriko Y, Clarkin-Breslin R, Chalifoux NV, Silverstein DC. Comparison of a viscoelastic point of care coagulation monitor with thromboelastography in sick dogs with hemostatic abnormalities. Vet Clin Path. 2023. https://doi. org/10.1111/vcp.13198.

Aliza Simeone, VMD, was appointed assistant professor of infectious disease and biosecurity and will serve as director of biosecurity.

Raghavi Sudharsan, PhD, presented “Role of Novel Prolactin Isoform in Photoreceptor Survival in Inherited Retinopathies,” at the Retinal Degeneration International Meeting, Torremolinos, Spain, in October 2023.

Joy Tomlinson, DVM, PhD, was appointed assistant professor of large animal medicine.

Regina Wagner, BSN, JD, RN, Penn Vet’s infection prevention manager, presented “Infection Prevention and Control Basics for Small Animal Clinics” at a collaborative small animal antimicrobial stewardship workshop hosted by the University of Minnesota, the Ohio State University, and Tufts University in Minneapolis, in August 2023, for representatives from each U.S. and Caribbean veterinary school. This meeting of academic small animal stewards provides an important opportunity to develop strategies for cohesive and collaborative efforts. Attendees discussed current challenges and opportunities within three main focus areas: hospital antimicrobial stewardship programs, research opportunities and needs, and antimicrobial stewardship curriculum.

Ester Yang, VMD, was appointed assistant professor of medical oncology.

Bellwether’s Fall 2022/Winter 2023 Agriculture Issue won a CASE Award for cover design. Illustrated by Rocco Baviera, the cover interpreted the interrelated facets of Penn Vet’s agricultural approach: research, education, outreach, and public engagement. The cover was commissioned to spotlight the launch of the new Center for Stewardship Agriculture and Food Security.

Checking In

YEAR TWO OF PENN VET ’ S NEW CURRICULUM

BY SACHA ADORNO

Last year, Penn Vet launched a new curriculum—the first major overhaul of its VMD program since the 1970s. Designed to educate 21st-century veterinarians, the new course of study cultivates a holistic skill set and integrates advanced technologies, hands-on clinical experiences, and critical communication and professional skills.

In year one, students learn about Animals in Health, delving into their form and function within this context.

Year two builds on this, presenting the same blocks through the lens of Animals in Disease, looking at prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

Bellwether featured the new curriculum in the Spring/ Summer 2023 issue, offering faculty and student perspectives on its development and first-year implementation.

In this issue, we catch up with the same faculty and students for their takes on what worked well last year, surprises that emerged along the way, and stand-out highlights of the curriculum rollout’s first days. Speaking from the educator perspective, pictured in the photo on this page, are Kathryn E. Michel (left), associate dean for education and professor of nutrition, and Amy Durham (right), assistant dean for education and professor of anatomic pathology. Alexis Massey and Kiera Zimmerman—both V’26—offer student perspectives.

FACULTYPERSPECTIVE

What worked well in year one? Were there any surprises? Have you made changes?

Durham & Michel: The integrated curriculum is working well. We are finding that it engages students by connecting the “ologies” (basic biomedical sciences) with clinically applicable material. It’s been beneficial for everyone that our administrative team provides full-time support to faculty and students. And student focus groups for each course continue to provide valuable—and actionable—feedback on what works and what can work better.

As part of our assessment of the curriculum redesign, which includes the focus groups and student course evaluations, we added faculty course evaluations to the process. This feedback also helps us identify areas needing refining.

Guided by student and faculty input, we have made some changes to learning materials, such as the foundational toolkit, and course design and flow.

Durham & Michel: While the curriculum’s intent was integration, one thing that has surprised me is just how much our faculty has embraced the integration. They really seem to enjoy the opportunity to work across disciplines and areas of expertise. By design, year one course directors include a basic scientist and a clinician—on several occasions, colleagues have said how much they value getting to know each other. They’re gaining an even deeper respect and appreciation for each other’s work. Interdisciplinary teams are often challenging, but Penn Vet’s faculty have risen to the challenge!

STUDENTPERSPECTIVE

How is year two going, and what have been the highlights so far?

Zimmerman: I’ve appreciated how much year two—which focuses on animal disease— builds on the knowledge base established in year one. We’ve approached the material from a critical thinking and problem-solving perspective as the learning moves from didactic to case studies. I’ve loved getting to learn through real patient case studies.

For example, in dermatology, lecture material is applied to case studies in the lab so we can apply concepts and information. We interact with other students to discuss the cases and come away with a great sense of what it’s like to approach an actual case, consult with others on it, and decide how to approach it with the patient.

Last semester, one of our labs was on surgery. In a mock procedure, we operated on fake intestines and practiced all the surgical skills, from ligating to suturing to working with a partner. I used to be very intimidated by surgery, but now I understand more about why surgeons make the decisions they do. It feels much more attainable and even exciting for me.

“THROUGH THE END OF YEAR ONE AND INTO YEAR TWO, I’VE BEEN SO IMPRESSED WITH HOW OPEN THE FACULTY AND ADMINISTRATION HAVE BEEN TO FEEDBACK.”

Alexis Massey, V’26

Massey: Through the end of year one and into year two, I’ve been so impressed with how open the faculty and administration have been to feedback. They really want to hear about how things are going, and they respond.

The curriculum itself has shifted a lot from last year to this year. It’s very different. The emphasis on studying clinical cases makes me feel like a doctor. I have a real sense of what I’m working toward and am even more eager to get into the clinic with patients.

There have been many great experiences over the past few months. I enjoyed our Hippiatrika lab on communications. We role-played a case and had to deliver a diagnosis, which got into nuances of communication I’d never considered or practiced.

My favorite part of the year is our clinical pathology course and learning to interpret blood work. We’ve reviewed several panels and learned the history of why the animal was getting blood work, putting it all together to understand, again, real-life, non-textbook veterinary medicine.

Student News

Abby Seeley, V’24, published a paper with Cindy Otto, DVM, PhD, and others in the November JAVMA. The paper followed searchand-rescue dogs for 15 years to determine the incidence of health events and whether factors of deployment during 9/11, breed, or sex altered the risk of specific events. https://doi.org/10.2460/ javma.23.08.0439. Seeley is affiliated with the Penn Vet Working Dog Center. Her project collaborators are Cindy Otto, Katja Isaksen, PhD, Abigail Lucas, and Naomi Cogger, PhD.

Estefania Benavides, V’25, was accepted into the Morris Animal Foundation Veterinary Student Scholars program for her thesis on neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory biomarkers in canine meningoencephalitides of unknown origin. Her project collaborators are Molly E. Church, VMD, PhD, and Jorge I. Alvarez, PhD

Sabina Hlavaty, V’25, was one of six dual degree students selected to give a talk about her thesis work at the Combined Degree Colloquium held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in August 2023. She is affiliated with the Schug Lab at Wistar Institute.

Marie Stofesky, V’26, reports that more than 150 people joined Penn Vet students for a night of 90s music and raised funds to support the Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA). SAVMA provides funding

for student clubs and activities, student travel to veterinary conferences and symposia, and philanthropic events that benefit both animals and residents in the Philadelphia area. SAVMA extends a huge thank you to Penn Vet alumni, faculty, community members, and everyone who supported Auction 2023. With more than 100 items in both the silent and live auction, the group raised $14,000.

Haley Zeliff, V’26, traveled to South Africa to attend the International Symposium on Wildlife Utilization in South Africa, organized by the University of Pretoria School of Veterinary Medicine. Veterinary students from around the globe gathered to learn about wildlife, conservation, and management in South Africa and worked with animals, including black and white rhinos, lions, sable, and others. Zeliff

also joined other Penn Vet students on a trip to Thailand, where they worked with a local Thai hospital, Vet4, to provide free spay/neuter services for over 150 animals. Zeliff’s project collaborators were Erik Gagne, PhD, for South Africa and Bruce Freedman, VMD, PhD, for Thailand.

Pictured below, the Penn Vet Reproduction Club hosted fellow students from Long Island University (LIU) at New Bolton Center in the Hofmann Center for Animal Reproduction and the Marshak Dairy in November 2023. Club faculty advisors Patricia Sertich, VMD, and Leo Brito, DVM, PhD, were joined by Margret Casal, DVM, PhD, Ann DiPastina, DVM, and Elizabeth Suarez, DVM, to instruct wetlabs on sheep ultrasonography, cow and mare transrectal palpation, and large animal obstetrics. Guest lecturer Erik Mak, DVM, PhD, DACT, associate professor at LIU, instructed students on breeding management of the bitch, and dog semen collection.

Into the Wild: A Legacy of Learning

By Ashley Hinton

“I love zoos! I’ve never been happier than when I’m at a zoo.”

BEATRICE DEMARCO

Beatrice DeMarco, a fourth-year VMD-MPH student, has worked in zoos since seventh grade. “I love zoos! I’ve never been happier than when I’m at a zoo,” she explained. It wasn’t surprising then that DeMarco was accepted to a competitive four-week externship at Zoo Miami during her clinical year of veterinary school.

Diving headfirst into the fast-paced environment, DeMarco worked alongside the zoo’s head veterinarian, assisting in a blackand-white ruffed lemur’s yearly checkup, vaccinating stingrays, and giving African wild dogs dental cleanings. Between routine visits and health emergencies, each day was its own adventure, “I could be with elephants in the morning and visit cranes in the evening; it was always changing,” she said.

Assisting on the front lines of a fight against invasive snake species in Florida’s rich Everglades, DeMarco also dipped a toe into the world of conservation fieldwork. At the zoo’s wildlife hospital, she helped safely place tracking implants in invasive pythons. State and federal wildlife

agencies will use the tracker data to develop better python detection and removal strategies. DeMarco said, “The experience showed me what it means to be a zoo veterinarian—it’s not just promoting species survival for one zoo; rather, you can be involved in species conservation work important to environmental health everywhere.”

This One Health approach to species preservation isn’t far from the mission of her former mentor, Marc Valitutto, V’06, senior field veterinarian for EcoHealth Alliance, a global environmental health nonprofit organization. During high school, DeMarco shadowed Valitutto, who was then a veterinarian at the Staten Island Zoo. Valitutto helped her lay a path for her future, introducing her to concepts like One Health and underscoring the importance of public health knowledge. “He helped me figure out where I wanted to go and gave me career aspirations,” DeMarco recalled.

Now, with graduation on the horizon, things have come full circle. Being back at a zoo, this time with a few years of veterinary training, DeMarco’s pivotal experience at Zoo Miami solidified her high school self’s aspirations. “It was a defining moment,” she beamed, “I said to myself, ‘You will be a zoo vet.’”

Top to bottom: Beatrice DeMarco, V’24, poses in front of the Christopher A. Weeks Animal Clinic at Zoo Miami, assists with placing a tracking implant to help curb the spread of an invasive python species in the Everglades, and helps with a preventative health exam on a bird in the zoo’s collection.

WHITE COAT CEREMONY

In November, the Class of 2025 received their white coats, marking the end of their lecture years and the beginning of clinical rotations. At right, Class President Nina Dellarte welcomes the audience. Above right, Omar Farias, V’00, addressed the students on behalf of the alumni.

Above, Brianna Brown shares her “Classmate’s Reflections.”

RESEARCH DAY

In March at the School’s annual Student Research Day, 44 VMD and VMD-PhD students shared their laboratory, clinical, or field studies research with attendees. Seven students gave oral presentations and 37 students presented posters. A panel of faculty judges selected outstanding abstracts to receive Richard O. Davies Awards for research excellence.

Keynote speaker Catherine K. Brinkley, VMD, PhD, from the University of California, Davis, delivered a compelling address entitled “Planning One Health in Policy and Action.”

Below, from left: Erin DeNardo, Kayla Even, Antonina Kalkus, Philip Hicks, Emerson Hunter, Dr. Catherine Brinkley, Sara Hernández Suárez, Lindsay Dwyer, Tiffany Wu, and Shelby

Monnin.

FROM THE ALUMNI BOARD

Maria R. Schnobrich, V’08

LeBlanc Reproduction Center, Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, Lexington, Kentucky

As a mixed animal track veterinary student who grew up in Boston, I did not expect to find myself practicing equine reproduction in central Kentucky.

Yet, my experience as an intern—and later, an associate —at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, led me to love the equine veterinary caseload and the local community of veterinarians, researchers, and farm managers who possess an extraordinary collective knowledge and commitment to providing excellent, ever-improving care.

Participation in a large referral practice, and the equine community at large, has historically come at a cost. There was always the expectation of long hours and the need to be available for clients and colleagues around the clock. As someone who wanted a successful career in veterinary medicine but also a family life, I often felt concerned as there were few who had struck the balance I was looking for. I had no idea how I would raise children, establish time for my family, and still pursue my professional goals; I often felt guilty and unsure of myself when setting boundaries and prioritizing my personal life.

One of the most daunting challenges for young veterinarians is the lack of clear paths to a more balanced work life, and often guidance from more experienced colleagues does not include this component. Both as a student and at the beginning of my career, I frequently heard that my dream of having a fulfilling career and family life was unrealistic.

Thankfully, I had many supportive mentors and incredible role models at Penn Vet, and later at Rood & Riddle, who empowered me to forge my own path.

They helped me realize that I could thrive in this fastpaced, demanding profession and also create a family and time for my other interests.

One of the greatest joys of my career and involvement with the Penn Vet Alumni Board is the opportunity to mentor the next generation of veterinarians. I am inspired by the numerous Penn Vet graduates who pass through—and often stay in—Kentucky and pursue unique career paths in veterinary medicine. They have fulfilling lives after carefully fine-tuning their practices to their own goals and interests, enjoying children and hobbies outside of work, and living a more balanced life than many before them, while still contributing greatly to veterinary medicine.

The veterinary profession is experiencing exciting changes that allow us better control over our careers, with more flexibility and opportunity for creative solutions than ever before. New veterinarians have much more space to establish their ideal personal and professional paths without sacrificing too much of either.

To my fellow alumni, I encourage you to support and guide young veterinarians as they define the future of our shared profession. And, to any young or aspiring veterinarians, if you find yourself wondering if the vision you have for your future career is possible, I say you won’t know until you try! Only we know what we can and cannot do.

Class Notes

Faculty Emeriti

Emeritus faculty member Urs Giger, DrMedVet, MS, FVH, DACVIM, DECVIM, DECVCP received the European College of Veterinary Clinical Pathology Hall of Fame Award.

1960s

Ron Genovese, V’64, was inducted into the International Equine Veterinarian Hall of Fame at the Hoof-Care Summit meeting in Cincinnati in January 2024.

1970s

John Robertson, V’76, participated in a proof-of-concept study in Frontiers of Veterinary Science on the potential detection of canine cancer in urine.

1980s

Steve Berkowitz, V’83, organized the “VMD vs. DVM” at the annual Plantation Field in October 2023. Penn Vet resident Katrijn Whisnet, DVM, was the grand champion.

1990s

James Holt, V’91, and Theodore Zajac, V’92, testified at the Pennsylvania House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee informational meeting at New Bolton Center in October 2023 about challenges facing veterinary medicine in the Commonwealth.

2000s

Ken Norris, V’02, retired from his role at Blue Mountain Humane Society in Walla Walla, Washington.

2010s

William Ciancarelli, V’19, US Army, Veterinary Corps and Deputy Commander, Public Health Activity – Hawaii, organized aeromedical evacuation and tactical combat casualty care training for human and canine casualties for the 25th Infantry Division’s Combat Air Brigade, Marine Corps. This training incorporated aeromedical evacuation assets and subject matter experts in the medical and veterinary medical arenas and highlighted One Health. Benjamin Donati, V’17, is the founder and managing partner of Apex Vets, an emergency and specialty care practice in Silver Spring, Maryland. Donati opened the practice with four other Penn Vet alumni in October 2023.

Melanie Tramontina, V’20, and Jimmy Ferrara, V’20, were married in Philadelphia in October 2023. Several Penn Vet alumni and classmates were in attendance.

Class Notes

IN REMEMBRANCE

1940s

Harold E. Burton, V’43 August 31, 2023

Abingdon, Maryland

1950s

Keith W. Gates, V’55

July 24, 2023

Rome, Georgia

Paul Suorsa, V’56 September 27, 2023 Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania

1960s

Theresa Maria (Magnano) Digiulio, V’69 November 1, 2023 Coventry, Connecticut

Robert Howarth, V’63 October 11, 2023 San Antonio, Texas

Ronald Minor, V’66 April 7, 2024 Ithaca, New York

David Moyer, V’68 December 30, 2023 Reading, Pennsylvania

Roger Murphy, V’66 August 21, 2023 Bend, Oregon

Elizabeth Schultz, V’62 March 21, 2024

Ijamsville, Maryland

John Shissler, V’68 January 26, 2024 Newburg, Pennsylvania

1970s

David Abdinoor, V’74 November 13, 2023 Bozeman, Montana

Christopher Barton, V’71 October 25, 2023 Marietta, Pennsylvania

Andrew Breslin, V’71 October 29, 2023 Lenox, Massachusetts

Edward Shelley, V’76 November 1, 2023 Walnutport, Pennsylvania

Timothy D. Wright, V’75 August 1, 2023 Milford, Delaware

1980s

Craig Johnston, V’82 February 26, 2024 Lebanon, New Hampshire

2010s

Bruce Bell, V’15 April 2, 2024

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Mark Heilbronn Myers, V’15 October 9, 2023

San Jose, California

Visit the Alumni page of the Penn Vet website, email your news to the alumni office at grovessh@vet.upenn.edu, or write to us at Alumni Relations, Penn Vet Alumni Office, 3800 Spruce Street, Suite 151E, Philadelphia, PA 19104. We may edit submissions for space.

Natalie B. Kim

Natalie Kim, a member of Penn Vet’s Class of 2027, died on October 24, 2023, from complications due to a malignant brain tumor. She was 23.

Born in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, Kim graduated as the salutatorian from Delaware County Christian School in 2018, then earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Swarthmore College. During high school, she was a prolific violinist, serving as co-concertmaster of the Delaware County Youth Orchestra. Then, in college, after changing to the viola, she was principal viola of the Swarthmore College Orchestra and co-founded the Chroma Quartet, which won Swarthmore’s ensemble competition during Kim’s senior year.

Since getting her first beta fish as a 7-year-old, Kim had a passion for animals, and she would eventually help care for four guinea pigs and a cockapoo named Maisy. In high school, she interned at Radnor Veterinary Hospital, and while gaining additional experience working at Town & Country Veterinary Hospital in Media, Pennsylvania, she solidified her interest in helping animals. After taking a gap year, Kim began as a student at Penn Vet in August 2023.

“Natalie was a homebody who loved rainy days, drinking tea, crocheting, and spending time with her friends and sister Maggie,” said her family in an online tribute. “But her most precious moments were those spent with her beloved Maisy. Natalie had a quiet and gentle spirit but was also subtle and witty with her one-liners. Everyone who knew her marveled at her diligence, responsible nature, and strong work ethic.”

Kim is survived by her parents, David and Jane Kim; her sister, Maggie Kim; her grandmother, Happy Kang; her grandparents, Chai and Alice Kim; her Aunt Susan and Uncle Peter Moon; and her cousins, Ethan and Noah Moon. A service was held on November 4, 2023, at Church of the Saviour in Wayne, Pennsylvania.

IN LOVING MEMORY

The Natalie Kim Student Award

Natalie Kim's fervent love for animals was matched only by her relentless determination, academic excellence, and compassionate nature.

In tribute to her extraordinary spirit, her family has established the Natalie Kim Student Award to perpetuate Kim’s legacy of devotion and kindness. Beginning in the fall of 2024, the honor will be awarded annually to a rising second-year student who demonstrates outstanding academic performance and exemplifies the qualities that defined Kim: commitment, courage, and kindness.

Nominated by fellow Penn Vet students, faculty, and staff, each recipient will be selected by a committee formed by the Assistant Dean of Admissions and Student Life, with the award presented as part of Penn Vet’s New Student Orientation at the beginning of each academic year.

For more information and to view a full list of upcoming events, visit www.vet.upenn.edu/events

May 17-18

ALUMNI + REUNION WEEKEND

Kennett Square & Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

20 V’24 COMMENCEMENT

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

June 6

ALUMNI RECEPTION AT ACVIM

Minneapolis, Minnesota

21

ALUMNI RECEPTION AT AVMA

Austin, Texas

August 16

ALUMNI LUNCHEON AT PVMA

Hershey, Pennsylvania

September 26-27

PENN ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

December 9

ALUMNI RECEPTION AT AAEP

Orlando, Florida

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Last

Coming ‘Foal’ Circle

Born in the brisk days of late January, Zara—a spirited Arabian filly—marked the arrival of the first foal at Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center in 2024. While Zara herself may be new to the world, her lineage is well known to New Bolton Center faculty and staff. Michelle Abraham, BVMS, DACVIM, assistant professor of clinical critical care medicine, alongside New Bolton Center’s dedicated NICU team, played a pivotal role not only in ushering Zara into the world but also in delivering her dam Epona and her sire Zarev in 2017.