School Notes

Honors and Awards

Marisa Ames, DVM, DACVIM, was elected President of the American Heartworm Society (AHS) at the 2025 Triennial Heart Worm Symposium, as the second veterinary cardiologist to serve as the president in the organization’s history. Ames has served on the AHS board of directors since 2016; she currently serves as director of the UC Davis veterinary hospital’s Cardiology Service.

Brian Bird, Ph.D., DVM, and Woutrina Smith, DVM, MPVM, Ph.D. were honored by the Cal Aggie Alumni Association with the 2026 Emil M. Mrak International Impact Award. They are internationally recognized leaders in infectious disease research whose careers reflect the global vision and collaborative spirit that define UC Davis’ enduring impact on health, science and humanity.

Munashe Chigerwe, BVSc, Ph.D., MPH, MSc Vet Ed, has been honored with the Regional Teaching Academy Award for Educational Scholarship. This award recognizes individuals who have advanced educational practice by publishing pedagogical research and/or sharing novel teaching resources. The award will be presented at the academy’s 2027 Biennial Summer Conference in Fort Collins, CO.

The Kaplan Lab won the 2025 Campus Safety Award for its proactive safety measures, including comprehensive safety training for members, regularly updated standard operating procedures and safety documentation, frequent risk assessments, and early identification of potential hazards. The Kaplan Lab focuses on translational cardiovascular medicine research with the overarching goal of improving treatment practices through precision medicine tailored to each animal’s unique genetic and molecular makeup.

Jaeyoung Kim, DVM, third year medical oncology resident, was awarded the Robert S. Brodey Memorial Award at the 2025 Veterinary Cancer Society (VCS) Annual Conference for her outstanding oral research presentation. She presented her original research paper titled “High-Grade, Stage 1 Mast Cell Tumors: Outcome and Prognostic Factors in 63 Dogs Treated with Local Therapy and Adjuvant Chemotherapy.”

Pamela Lein, Ph.D., received the 2026 Distinguished Toxicology Scholar Award from the Society of Toxicology (SOT). This award recognizes an SOT member who has made seminal and substantial scientific contributions to the understanding of the science of toxicology and is actively involved in toxicological research. Lein is internationally recognized for pioneering mechanistic studies that have reshaped the understanding of how environmental chemicals disturb neuronal connectivity and neurodevelopment.

John Pascoe, BVSc, Ph.D., DACVS, professor and executive associate dean emeritus, received the Al and Carolyn Schiller Distinguished Service Award from the American College of Veterinary Surgeons Board of Regents. As the longest serving editor-in-chief of the Veterinary Surgery journal, Pascoe oversaw several changes that led to a marked rise in journal submissions. 

Nicola Pusterla, DVM, DACVIM, DAVDC, was awarded the Boehringer Ingelheim 2025 Advancement in Equine Research Award at the 71st annual American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention. Recipients were selected based on their equine infectious disease research proposals. As Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology with a research focus on equine infectious disease, Pusterla also leads the teaching hospital’s Equine Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service.

Breaking News: School Receives Groundbreaking $75M Gift

The UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine received its second largest individual gift to date in April: $75 million from Bay Area residents Kathy Chiao and Kenneth Hao (pictured above with their dog, King King, and Dean Mark Stetter.)

Their gift will name the school’s new small animal hospital, which will provide cutting-edge veterinary care, accommodate more patients annually, and increase space for student and specialty training. Their gift will also fund scholarships, translational medicine, and accessible care programs.

“This is a pivotal time to expand support for UC Davis and its extraordinary veterinarians—true everyday heroes,” said Chiao and Hao, longtime major supporters of academic hospitals, health sciences and animal welfare. “We deeply value the advancement of healthcare for every type of animal. We also believe research in veterinary medicine and human life sciences will be increasingly interconnected and mutually reinforcing.”

Chancellor Gary S. May said the gift will create new pathways for veterinary health.

“Some of the brightest chapters in our university’s history have come when we partner with those who share our vision for a better world,” May said. “This generous gift from Kathy Chiao and Ken Hao will transform animal care and create new pathways to advance human health. I’m deeply grateful for their vision and philanthropy.”

Scheduled to open in 2030, the new small animal hospital will stand among the largest and most advanced veterinary medical centers in the world. A cornerstone in the school’s Veterinary Medical Complex expansion, the hospital will feature state-of-the-art equipment and expanded spaces for specialty services such as oncology, orthopedic surgery, cardiology, and neurology/neurosurgery. It will also integrate the newest technologies, including artificial intelligence and precision medicine to advance care for animals and humans.

When construction is complete, the new Small Animal Hospital will allow the school to care for up to 25,000 additional animals across an array of specialties. The current William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital cares for 50,000 animals every year. Expanded spaces in the new hospital will accommodate the urgent need for veterinary clinicians, specialists and training spaces to address a critical veterinary workforce shortage.

“Every day, we see how veterinary care matters,” said Dean Mark Stetter. “Our school’s mission is to improve health for animals, people and our planet. Support such as this incredible gift from Kathy Chiao and Ken Hao goes a long way in helping the future of all species.” 

This gift was announced as the magazine went to print. Look for more information in the next issue

Gorilla Doctors 40th Anniversary and New Leadership

On Earth Day in April, Gorilla Doctors launched a celebration of 40 years—four decades of keeping eastern gorillas healthy and wild. What began as one American veterinarian in Rwanda providing emergency care to critically endangered mountain gorillas has grown into an international organization conserving both mountain and Grauer’s gorillas across Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo through veterinary medicine and scientific research. The veterinarians who followed never stopped treating one snare, illness, or injury at a time. In 2009, the original program known as the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project partnered with the school’s Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center and became Gorilla Doctors. As mountain gorilla numbers have increased, Gorilla Doctors has grown with them, now comprised of a team of Rwandan, Ugandan, Congolese, and American veterinarians, scientists, and conservation professionals—united by the belief that the health of gorillas, people, and our planet are inseparable.

“It is a rare and remarkable conservation success story–one that began with the understanding that saving one gorilla at a time could ultimately save the species,” said new Executive Director Sonya Kahlenberg. “For 40 years, our veterinarians on the frontlines have seen the results firsthand. Gorillas we treated as infants are now thriving mothers, raising two or three offspring of their own. This anniversary isn’t just a milestone—it’s a celebration of every life Gorilla Doctors has helped save.”

The Veterinary Scientist Training Program Celebrates 25 Years

The school’s robust Veterinary Scientist Training Program (VSTP) honored a quarter century of training clinician-scientists to advance the health of both animals and people. This dual DVM/Ph.D. program is the second of its kind in the nation, initiated in 2000 in response to the shortage of veterinary scientists across the country. To date, 26 VSTP graduates have gone on to serve as leaders in academia, government agencies, and industry research. Eleven recent graduates are still at an early stage of their post-DVM clinical training or postdoctoral training. 

The VSTP received a highly impactful National Institutes of Health grant in 2020, and a competitive renewal of the grant in 2025, making it one of only four DVM/Ph.D. programs in the nation to receive this type of funding. The grant has allowed the expansion of the program from 17 to 29 students, establishing it as one of the largest DVM/Ph.D. training programs in the country.

Congratulations 2025 Alumni Award Winners!

Dean Mark Stetter celebrated the 2025 Alumni Achievement Award recipients at Alumni Weekend in the fall. The award is the highest honor bestowed annually by the school to alumni for outstanding personal and professional contributions to veterinary science or one of its branches, veterinary practice, or service to humankind and the advancement of human welfare.

Recipients include, from left: 

• Rising Star Samantha Evans Ph.D. ’13, DVM ’15
• Dori Borjesson DVM ’95, MPVM ’95, 
  Residency in Pathology ’99, Ph.D. ’02
• Woutrina Smith DVM ’01, MPVM ’01, Ph.D. ’04 
• Julie Smith DVM ’92
• Mike Karle DVM ’99

Harold Davis Honored by National Veterinary Organization 

Retired UC Davis staff manager Harold Davis, BA, RVT, VTS (ECC, Anesthesia & Analgesia), was honored with the 2026 ICON Award by The Bridge Club at their 2026 ICON Event, held in conjunction with the annual Veterinary Meeting & Expo in Orlando. A veterinary technician at UC Davis for 36 years, Davis ended his career as the manager of the Emergency and Critical Care Service at the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. More than 150 members of the veterinary community gathered for the event to celebrate Davis’ extraordinary legacy.