Greetings!
First off, I want to extend a warm welcome back to campus and the start of a new semester to all, and especially to our Class of 2029 DVM students. I hope you had opportunities to rest and recharge during another beautiful Wisconsin summer. I, for one, am energized by the start of the academic year and can’t wait to see all the amazing things the SVM family accomplishes in our classrooms, research spaces, and clinical services this year.
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This fall is an important one for the SVM. Last week, we started to roll out our new five-year strategic plan, which will help write the next chapter of this great institution. My sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to the development of this plan — the final product is more thoughtful and polished because of your hard work. I also appreciate those of you who were able to attend the town hall on Aug. 25, either in person or online.
The plan harnesses the SVM’s tradition of innovative, bold thinking and our unique collaborative spirit. Our new initiatives will advance the SVM’s vision of creating the future of veterinary medicine. Realizing this vision will result in a new generation of veterinarians and scientists who are ready for the challenges of tomorrow; groundbreaking discoveries that enhance animal and human health; outstanding and accessible veterinary care; and positive impacts on the health and wellbeing of Wisconsin and the world. I look forward to continuing our dialogue about the strategic plan and much more over the coming months and years as we move forward together.
Until then, have a great start to the academic year.
On, Wisconsin!
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UWVC News: Intermediate Care Ward elevates patient care
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UW Veterinary Care’s new intermediate care ward (ICW) is enhancing patient recovery with compassionate, hands-on support. Since opening April 1, the ICW has housed more than 160 patients that required elevated, yet not critical, care. The SVM’s new, state-of-the-art animal hospital was designed to provide expanded ICW space, which bolsters our ability to address each patient's specific treatment needs and offers increased overnight hospitalization. The service provided by the ICW underscores the hospital's commitment to personalized care and will help ensure patients make the smoothest possible transition possible from hospital to home.
Please join us in welcoming the following new team members to UWVC:
- Janean Boss-Anderson joined the large animal hospital as a vet tech.
- Jeana Lambert joined the emergency and critical care service as a vet assistant.
- Sheryl Jones joined the intermediate care ward service as a vet tech.
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WARF & Zoetis accepting applications
for animal health challenge grants
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The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) and Zoetis are seeking grant applications for projects developing novel solutions and tools to improve the health of livestock and companion animals. The $200,000 fund is designed to support five to 10 UW research projects that can be completed in six to 12 months.
The deadline for applications is Sept. 26, 2025. Awards will be determined by Nov. 15.
Find additional information about project criteria and the application process here.
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- Xuan Pan (Department of Medical Sciences) was selected to attend the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges Leadership Academy. Established in 2012, the leadership academy provides development opportunities for emerging leaders in contemporary academic veterinary medicine. Congratulations!
- Congratulations to all who participated in a successful Veterinary Medical Education Day on Aug. 7. Thank you to those who presented on innovative approaches to veterinary medical education, including Molly Racette (MS’14, Department of Medical Sciences), Jessica Hite (Department of Pathobiological Sciences), Kyle Bartholomew (DVM’17, Department of Surgical Sciences), Jessica Pritchard (Department of Medical Sciences), Dan Pell, Jim Narlock, and Brian Webb.
- The SVM’s Tony Goldberg (Department of Pathobiological Sciences), Peter Muir (Department of Surgical Sciences), and Adel Talaat (Department of Pathobiological Sciences) were listed by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) as inventors “with the potential to change the world.” The list was compiled by WARF to mark the organization’s centennial. Congratulations!
- Colette Nickodem (’16), a postdoctoral research associate in the lab of Jessica Hite (Department of Pathobiological Sciences) was awarded two prestigious NIH-funded programs: the ICTR TL1 Postdoctoral Trainee Program and Columbia University’s MODE Program. Through both programs, Nickodem will work to develop computational tools for tracking antimicrobial resistance in healthcare and agricultural settings. Well done!
- DVM/PhD dual degree student Eddy Cruz successfully defended his dissertation last month. He worked in the lab of Johanna Elfenbein (Department of Pathobiological Sciences) and studied the bacterial pathogen Salmonella enterica, a leading cause of food poisoning in humans and an important cause of illness in large animals. This type of work is critical to the development of new therapies to prevent Salmonella infections in humans and animals. Eddy will now return to his studies as a DVM student. Congratulations!
- A paper co-authored by Sam Weaver (’14 PhD’18; Department of Comparative Biosciences) titled Global but not myeloid lineage-directed Girk3 deletion increases bone mass in female mice was recently accepted for publication in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research Plus.
- Thanks to the Department of Comparative Biosciences for sharing an impressive list of recent accomplishments:
- Cora Thompson, a graduate student in the lab of Joan Jorgensen (’88 DVM’93), was awarded an NIF F31 Fellowship that started in late July. Congratulations!
- Chad Vezina and a team of researchers at UW-Madison and Mayo Clinic of Rochester, MN were recently awarded a new National Institutes of Health research training grant titled “Next Generation KUH Researchers (GENERATOR) Training Core.” The award will support six predoctoral and six postdoctoral trainees per year in hands-on research and didactic training in non-malignant kidney, urology, and hematology research. Through this award, UW-Madison joins select institutes throughout the United States as part of the U2C-TL1: Institutional Network Award for Promoting Kidney, Urologic, & Hematologic Research Training. Congratulations!
- A grant from Lisa Arendt (’98 DVM’02 PhD’07) titled “Targeting estrogen to improve immunotherapy responses for women with advanced TNBC and obesity” was funded by the More for Stage IV Foundation. This two-year grant will fund a clinical trial at the UW-Carbone Cancer Center based on the foundational studies started in her lab.
- Marty Greer, a Wisconsin veterinarian, started the Pink Paw Foundation to fund work in the area of canine mammary cancer. Money generated from her fundraising will fund work in Arendt lab in collaboration with Kim Sebastian (Department of Pathobiological Sciences) to identify canine mammary tumors that are likely to metastasize.
- Karen Hershberger-Braker (PhD’04 DVM’10) gave a short presentation at the 75th anniversary meeting of the American Association of Veterinary Anatomists at the University of Saskatchewan, Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, Canada, on Aug. 1. Well done!
- Two papers co-authored by Kavi Mehta (06’ MS’06 PhD’18) were recently accepted for publication. Adeno-Associated Virus 2 (AAV2) - Induced RPA exhaustion generates cellular DNA damage and restricts viral gene expression will appear in PLoS Pathogens and Ubiquitin-specific protease 15 interacts directly with the HSV-1 alkaline nuclease and facilitates viral recombination and replication fork stability will appear in the Journal of Virology. Mehta also co-organized and successfully ran the 53rd DNA Tumor Virus Conference at Memorial Union. They had 200 international visitors.
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Sept. 20, Time TBD (based on football game kickoff)
SVM South (2015 Linden Drive) - Advance registration required
Sept. 30 – Oct. 3, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Alliant Energy Center, Coliseum booth MC41TT
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