August 2025

Greetings!

As we enter August and approach the end of summer, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on my first year as dean of this incredible school — a vibrant community of students, faculty members, staff, and alumni who continue to amaze and inspire with their work.

Whether it’s helping rehabilitate K9 law enforcement officers injured in the line of duty, working with dairy farms in Wisconsin and around the globe on transformative processes, innovating in our clinical services, or conducting leading-edge research to better detect and treat UTIs, I’m proud to lead an institution with such a deep commitment to creating the future of veterinary medicine and improving animal and human health.

I want to extend a warm welcome to the Class of 2029, starting this month. I hope you are all settling in and looking forward to embarking on your vet school journey. At 100 students, the Class of 2029 represents the SVM’s largest ever group of first-year students and they will be the first to engage with our innovative new curriculum, OnWard.

Finally, we are in the process of completing our five-year strategic plan, which will help us write the next chapter of this great institution. We're looking forward to sharing more at a town hall on Aug. 25 (watch your email for details), and I'm grateful to everyone in our community who helped develop this plan.

Thank you for an amazing first year!

Until next time…

On, Wisconsin!

Jon

UWVC News

Congratulations to UW Veterinary Care’s outgoing house officers! This outstanding class of residents, specialty interns, and rotating interns was celebrated at a ceremony on June 28, where their hard work was recognized by faculty and staff members.

We also want to extend a warm welcome to UWVC’s new house officers. We’re thrilled to have this talented group join us. All of our residents and specialty and rotating interns play a critical role in patient care at UWVC. They also help shape the future of veterinary care by working with our DVM students in the teaching hospital.

Please join us in welcoming the following new team members to UWVC:

Mason Rogers joined diagnostic imaging as a new technologist. Mason will primarily focus on nuclear medicine and PT/CT modalities.
Grace Stavn joined the intermediate care ward as a new veterinary nurse. She also recently passed the veterinary technician national exam — congratulations, Grace!

Leadership, Advocacy, & Advancement: SVM in Washington, DC

The SVM was out in force in a series of recent trips to Washington, DC. A delegation from Wisconsin, including SVM students and faculty, met with legislators and their aides on Capitol Hill as part of the AVMA’s “legislative fly-in” to discuss a handful of issues, including improving rural veterinary loan repayment programs.

Dean Jonathan Levine, meanwhile, spoke at an SVM alumni reception held in conjunction with the American Veterinary Medical Association’s annual conference.

During the Association of Veterinary Advancement Professionals’ annual conference in our nation’s capital, Heidi Kramer, WFAA senior director of development supporting the SVM, was elected president of the organization.

SVM News Briefs

Congratulations to Abby Jones, who recently passed her veterinary technician specialty exam in oncology! Abby is UWVC’s first VTS in oncology.
Chelsea Holschbach (DVM’14 MS’2019; Department of Medical Sciences) and Alexis Payette-Stroman (DVM’23) recently had a paper, Rabies in livestock in the United States (2012-2021), published in the American Journal of Veterinary Research.
Margene Anderson (’01) was recently appointed chair of the AAVMC professional development committee and will be joining the Academy of Veterinary Educators’ assessment committee. We appreciate Margene’s involvement in these national level committees.
Congratulations to Hannah DeGroot, who recently passed her veterinary technician national exam.
Thanks to the Department of Comparative Biosciences for sharing an impressive list of recent accomplishments:
Rob Lipinski (’02 PhD’08) delivered a keynote address at the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Study Group 2025 annual meeting in New Orleans in June. His talk, Molecular Mixology: A Mechanism-Based Approach to Identifying FASD Co-Factors, explored innovative strategies to advance FASD research.
McLean Gunderson (’97) presented at the August 2025 Teaching Academy Best Practices Showcase, sharing Content Immersion: Models and Activities that Foster Connection and Literacy. Her talk focused on immersive strategies that enhance student engagement and comprehension. In addition, Gunderson, Jessica Rippe (DVM’18), and Karen Hershberger (DVM’10) gave several presentations and talks at the International Veterinary Education Symposium at the University of Bristol in England. Hershberger was recently accepted into UW-Madison’s Teaching Academy, which promotes, recognizes, and supports excellence in teaching and learning among faculty, staff, and students across campus and beyond. Well done, all!
Lindsey Felth Tanaka (’16), a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Kim Keil Stietz (PhD’14), was awarded an NIH F32 postdoctoral fellowship. Though Lindsey declined it after receiving an NIH K12 award, this recognition underscores her excellence and the SVM’s strong commitment to mentoring the next generation of researchers.

Veterinary Medicine Education Day 2025

On Thursday, Aug. 7, the SVM will host a dynamic day of discovery that dives into innovative approaches to assessment in veterinary education. In the morning, participants will explore digital tools like ExamSoft and ExamScore, dig into rubric development, and share strategies for providing meaningful feedback, both in the classroom and the clinic.

After lunch, participants will have the opportunity to test drive leading-edge tools including AI, machine learning, simulations, and more — opening exciting possibilities for the future of assessment. Register for the event here.

Aug. 7, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Veterinary Medicine Education Day 2025

Theme: Vetting the Tests – Creative and Effective Ways to Assess Learners

SVM South

SVM Media Mentions

Thomas Friedrich (’97 PhD’03; Department of Pathobiological Sciences) was quoted in a recent WPR story exploring the effects of the uncertain federal funding landscape on graduate programs at UW-Madison. He emphasized the critical research his PhD students are conducting to help fight viruses such as influenza, HIV, and Zika and the virus that causes COVID-19.
Keith Poulsen (’00 DVM’04 PhD’12; Department of Medical Sciences; director, Wisconsin Diagnostic Veterinary Laboratory) spoke to WPR about preventative measures farmers and organizers are taking to prepare for fair season amid the ongoing presence of avian flu in the United States. Read the story here.
Research by Jorge Osorio (MS’88 PhD’96; Department of Pathobiological Sciences), Mostafa Zamanian (Department of Pathobiological Sciences), Cole Knuese, Daniel Limonta, and Elsa Cárdenas-Canales was featured in recent story from Science exploring how mutual grooming among vampire bats is helping spread an innovative rabies vaccine.
A paper co-authored by Osorio titled Critical illness in immunocompromised patients: insights into relapse or persistent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): case series report was recently published in the Journal of Medical Case Reports.
A recent FarmProgress story previews an upcoming presentation by Theresa Ollivett (Department of Medical Sciences) on research-based practical strategies for improving calf health. The presentation will be part of UW-Madison’s 2025 Smart Calf Rearing Conference, which is set to make its U.S. debut in late September.