School Notes - Fall 2020
School Notes
Faculty, Staff & Student Awards
In Memoriam
John Anderson, DVM ’70
Leland ‘Skip’ Carmichael, DVM ’56
Jim D. Herrgesell, DVM ’62
Walter Hughes, DVM ’52
Gordon Theilen, DVM ’55 Professor emeritus, Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences
Nicole Baumgarth, DVM, PhD, and Colin Reardon, PhD, were awarded a Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative Grant to investigate lung inflammation. Their application focused on novel processes that regulate the immune system in the lung during viral influenza infection. The research is expected to apply more generally to better understand immune responses to other viral lung infections, including COVID-19. Baumgarth and Reardon bring together expertise in immune and nervous system research to look at the bigger question of how to fine-tune the immune system response so that it doesn’t over or under respond to an attack.
Brian Bird, MPH, PhD, DVM; Noel Dybdal, DVM, PhD; Ken Gorczyca, DVM; Katrin Hinrichs, DVM, PhD; and Sheila Laverty, MVB each received a UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine 2020 Alumni Achievement Award – the highest honor bestowed by the school. These honorees were chosen for outstanding personal and professional contributions to veterinary science, veterinary practice, or service to humankind and the advancement of human welfare.
Xinbin Chen, BM, PhD, received a Science Translation and Innovative Research (STAIR) grant. These funds for campus innovators enable demonstration of early proof-of-concept for technologies under development at the university. Chen and his team are evaluating whether a particular peptide and small molecular compound can enhance the tumor suppressor known as p53. They will conduct a clinical trial in dogs to evaluate the treatment as a potential therapy for lymphoma.
Suzanne Clergue, DVM, a resident in the Livestock Medicine and Surgery Service, and Ashley Sharpe, DVM, a resident with the Cardiology Service, each won a Resident Research Poster Presentation Award ats the 2020 American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine annual conference.
Thomas Cullen, BVMS, and Jannah Pye, BVSc, residents in the Equine Surgery and Lameness Service, were honored with 2020 Mark S. Bloomberg Memorial Resident Research Awards for outstanding abstracts submitted for presentation at the Veterinary Orthopedic Society Annual Conference. Cullen and Pye are the first UC Davis residents to win the Bloomberg Award since its inception in 2012.
Radhika Gharpure, DVM, MPH, received the 2020 James H. Steele Veterinary Public Health Award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The award recognizes a current CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service officer or alumnus who has made outstanding contributions in the field of veterinary public health or One Health disciplines.
Maureen Griffin, DVM, a Small Animal Surgery resident, was awarded the 2020 Resident Achievement Award by the American Association of Veterinary Clinicians. The recognition is given annually to a resident in their final year of training who has achieved a high degree of excellence in their chosen specialty.
Maia Laabs, Class of 2022, was named a Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) Fellow. Laabs is investigating the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in U.S. goat herds and identifying risk factors associated with T. gondii-positive herds. Her research is informing management strategies and future preventive measures.
Pamela Lein, PhD, and Jeffrey Stott, PhD, were honored by UC Davis Graduate Studies with Graduate Program Advising and Mentoring Awards. The Graduate Group in Integrative Pathobiology highlighted these professors for their service, commitment to advising and mentoring, and positive impact on graduate students and colleagues. Lein has made significant contributions to understanding how growth factors, inflammatory mediators, pharmacological agents and environmental toxicants affect neurodevelopment and brain function. Stott is a veterinary immunologist well known for his research on the development and implementation of control measures for foothill abortion, a tick-borne disease that greatly impacts the California cattle industry.
Sun Kim, DVM, a Behavior Service resident received the R.K. Anderson Resident Award at the 2020 American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (ACVB) annual conference. The recognition is given annually for outstanding research by veterinarians in ACVB residencies. Kim studied the effects of trazodone on behavioral and physiological signs of stress in dogs during veterinary visits.
Kelly Knickebein, VMD, a resident in the Ophthalmology Service, received the 2020 James M. Wilson Award. This award recognizes an individual who significantly advances equine health through publication of the year’s most outstanding research report. Knickelbein was chosen for her work investigating the genetic cause of ocular squamous cell carcinoma in Belgian horses.
James Murray, PhD, was named to the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges Gene Editing Task Force. Recognizing the potential for gene editing to increase food security and safety, the 11-person panel is comprised of scientists and industry leaders who will map out recommendations for regulating this emerging genomic technology in animal agriculture with appropriate safeguards and procedures.
Maurice Pitesky, DVM, MPVM, ACVPM, as part of a collaboration with the University of Delaware and the U.S. Geological Survey, was awarded a $1 million USDA grant over four years. Their project will map waterfowl movement in real-time to provide Avian Influenza surveillance to improve food security in commercial poultry.
Michael Ziccardi, DVM, MPVM, PhD, was named as the new Executive Director of the UC Davis One Health Institute (OHI). Ziccardi is a leader in oiled wildlife response, and directs the Oiled Wildlife Care Network. As executive director, he will lead the OHI in its mission to solve complex problems impacting health and conservation such as zoonotic disease emergence, food insecurity and biodiversity loss.
Yael (Izzie) Hack, an Animal Science major, was a recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research and the Dean Keith Simonton Prize. This award recognizes outstanding undergraduate students for research, scholarship, or creative activity tied to any academic subject. Hack investigated the genetic cause of congenital stationary night blindness in a Tennessee Walking Horse under the mentorship of UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory director, Dr. Rebecca Bellone. Her work led to a genetic test that is now available to breeders to avoid producing affected horses.
Callie Wilcox, an Animal Science major, was a recipient of the Hanson Family Undergraduate Research Publication Award. This award recognizes the publication of outstanding undergraduate research, scholarship, or creative activity tied to any academic subject with guidance by UC Davis faculty. Wilcox was the primary author of a publication in the journal Genes that investigated the genetic cause for equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy. She performed her research under the guidance of Center for Equine Health director, Dr. Carrie Finno.
In a Virtual World, Celebrations Continue
The 2020 State of the School Address and Commencement Ceremony were held virtually in response to restrictions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the State of the School Address, Dean Michael Lairmore congratulated the school for being named #1 again worldwide by QS World Rankings, discussed the five main goals of the school’s Strategic Plan, major achievements over the past year, and how the school is aligned for future success. The virtual 69th Commencement Ceremony honored 147 DVM graduates. Dr. Kimberly Dodd, DVM ’15, served as the invited speaker and highlighted her experience responding to an Ebola pandemic in Sierra Leone during her fourth year as a UC Davis veterinary student. That experience changed her planned career path and she now directs the Plum Island Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. Dr. Lane Johnson, assistant clinical professor of Health Science, served as the faculty speaker. His timely advice to the graduating class was to “Look for the good, no matter what the circumstances. It may be small and hard to find, but it will have great meaning.” Student speaker Ashley Keffler-Roa shared an analogy of how the journey through veterinary school resembled pregnancy. She concluded the ceremony with this rallying cry to her classmates, “Don’t play doctor, be one. So, let’s go be doctors.”
White Coat Ceremony
Friends and family from all over the world were able to attend this year’s virtual White Coat Ceremony to welcome the Class of 2024 into the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. More than 600 tuned into YouTube to watch 150 incoming DVM students introduce themselves, pull on their white coats and enter their dream profession. Dean Michael Lairmore touched on the challenges of the current pandemic, and the school’s ongoing commitment to educating the next generation of veterinarians and scientists, and gave the audience sneak peeks at some of the more unique traits of the new members of the veterinary medicine community. Dr. Gina Davis, DVM ’97, served as a guest speaker and shared her career trajectory. She enters a residency in behavioral medicine at UC Davis this year to broaden her skills and forge a new path. She encouraged the incoming students to enjoy getting messy, making mistakes and building lasting friendships.