The Oath Magazine by NC State Veterinary Medicine

Oath

The

TEACH • HEAL • DISCOVER SPRING 2022

When Survival Is At Stake NC State’s key role in red wolf recovery

This Issue

NC STATE’S KEY ROLE IN RED WOLF RECOVERY

COLLEGE BECOMES PARTNER IN PLAY WITH ‘READY SET VET’

MEURS CHOSEN AS NEW DEAN OF THE COLLEGE

The College of Veterinary Medicine provides medical care, conducts research and tends its own pack of the critically endangered species.

The reimagined area at Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh should open in June and expand knowledge about what veterinarians do and who can be one.

She becomes the first female dean and the first recipient of the Randall B. Terry Jr. College of Veterinary Medicine’s Endowed Chair. *Cover photo courtesy of the NC Zoo

FROM CLASSROOMS TO COWS IN UNDER 60 SECONDS

'I KNEW LOUISE WAS IN THE BEST HANDS POSSIBLE’

HISTORIC FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN EXCEEDS GOAL

With a working farm right outside the door, NC State veterinary students have amazing learning experiences at their fingertips.

Cancer treatment regimen refined at NC State and Petco Love prolong the life of a beloved bunny.

The resounding success of the Think and Do the Extraordinary Campaign solidifies NC State’s position as a world leader in veterinary medicine.

Dean's Letter

I am so proud to say that the culture of the College of Veterinary Medicine has not changed in the past 32 years. The culture of excellence, service and community is deeply rooted into this college and has been since the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine was first envisioned and proposed by Dr. Milton “Pappy” Leonard, president of the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association in the 1960s. Dr. Leonard and Dr. Martin Litwack, a Raleigh veterinarian, championed the need for a North Carolina State veterinary school to provide veterinary education, research and extension. They could not possibly have imagined how quickly the NC State CVM would become a leader in veterinary educational innovation, solving global challenges in animals and human health and saving and changing the lives of more than 35,000 patients every year. The astonishingly rapid growth and success of the college are a great tribute to the faculty, staff, trainees and patients who have contributed along the way and to the leadership of Deans Curtin, Fletcher, Arden, Bristol and Lunn. Dean Lunn’s contributions over the past decade have resulted in significant growth in diversity of our students, educational innovation, research productivity and philanthropic gifts to the college and a new global health program. We are particularly thankful for his steadfast navigation through the pandemic. We will miss his leadership and friendship, but he left us so very well positioned to move forward.

OUR SCHOOL HAS AN INFECTIOUS PASSION FOR EXCELLENCE, A SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY AND AN INCREDIBLY STRONG CULTURE OF COMRADERY. As this is my first letter in the Oath, I would like to begin by saying how incredibly proud and honored I am to take on the role of dean of the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. I first came to the college in July of 1990 to become a small animal rotating intern. I can still remember sitting on the brick wall outside the entrance to the clinic watching the fireworks on the Fourth of July while on call for my first emergency rotation. Even then the atmosphere of the college grabbed me. There was an infectious passion for excellence in the practice of medicine, a sense of responsibility to contribute to the improvement of medicine through discovery and education and an incredibly strong culture of comradery among the staff, faculty and trainees. I could never have imagined that I would someday have a chance to help drive the program that shaped my career so significantly.

As I take over the office from Dean Lunn, we will be directing our attention to developing a new strategic plan for the college to help guide our path. We know that we will always strive for excellence in the ways we treat our patients and provide our innovative educational program. We will develop an even greater global presence guided by our global health program. We will be dedicated to solving challenges in animal and human health. We will work to become an even more diverse and inclusive community and will strengthen our community through our college value system. We look forward to connecting with our entire community including the friends of the college, our 2,743 alumni and our amazing emeritus faculty. We welcome ways to connect with all of you. Please let us know if you will be in town and would like to stop by and visit the college, or invite us out to see you or your practice. Hope to see you soon. Kate 3

BACK FROM THE BRINK The critically endangered red wolf was once extinct in the wild The NC State College of Veterinary Medicine is at the center of nationwide red wolf recovery efforts, providing medical care, conducting research and tending its own pack of wolves. 4

The NC State of College of Veterinary Medicine has recently performed surgery on two wild wolves and one from the NC Zoo

A KENNEL TAKING UP MUCH OF THE SMALL EXAM ROOM AT THE NC STATE COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE HOLDS THE PATIENT AS TECHNICIANS, ANESTHETISTS, DOCTORS AND STUDENTS CROWD AROUND, SOME SITTING ON THE FLOOR, WAITING FOR THE RED WOLF TO WAKE.

THE INJURED ANIMAL, ONE OF FEWER THAN 20 OF THE WORLD'S most critically endangered canid species living in the wild, has just had X-rays on his hind legs to determine what damage a run-in with a trap might have done. The ankle isn’t broken, but it’s unstable, so surgery to insert a plate is scheduled for the next morning. The exotic animal medical team will be ready. NC State, less than three hours away from the five coastal North Carolina counties where the last wild red wolves live, is always ready to support red wolf recovery. Along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan, the College of Veterinary Medicine is integral to the nationwide effort to preserve and repopulate the species, which in 1980 was declared extinct in the wild. But not in human care. In the 1970s, the wildlife service gath-

ered 14 of the remaining animals and started a breeding and release program, which has led to the wild population in North Carolina. Currently, about 230 wolves are spread among 49 U.S. zoos and facilities as part of the program. In North Carolina, the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, the Rowan Wild near Salisbury, the Western North Carolina Nature Center near Asheville and the Museum of Life and Science in Durham house and care for red wolves. So does the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine in Raleigh. Four red wolves currently populate the Wolfpack wolfpack. The patient, a released wolf whose orange tracking collar alerted the wildlife service to his distress, makes five. “NC State is uniquely positioned to have a lot of involvement in this conservation aspect,” says Tara Harrison, associate professor of zoo and exotic animal medicine at CVM. “We have all of the experts here. We not only provide expert medical care for the wild wolves and the zoo and museum wolves, but we’re also teaching future professionals how to carry on and do that work. We’re not only making a difference today, we’re making a difference in the future.” 7

Caring for wolves since 2001 The NC State College of Veterinary Medicine got its first wolves through the Species Survival Plan in 2001. Veterinary students in the Carnivore Conservation Crew tend to the animals on a day-to-day basis. Four pups have been born at the school over the years. The crew said goodbye in December to two wolves, a breeding pair that had been at the college since 2019. The wolves joined seven others living in the wildlife service’s acclimation area on the coast awaiting release. In March, Boca and Hemlock timidly went on their wild way, becoming the first NC State wolves to reach the major milestone. “Every one of these releases is different as are the characteristics and traits of each of these individual red wolves,” says Joe Madison, program manager for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Red Wolf Recovery Program. “As a result, the release and subsequent events for each are unique. Once that acclimation pen has been opened, it is impossible to predict where they will go, what they will do and how well they will transition to the wild, but that is the beauty of them being free.” The release process begins in a fenced area on land closed to human presence. The animals then move to an even larger enclosed area where they are fitted with the monitoring collars and learn to hunt. Madison, who has been running the recovery program five years, has overseen the release of 21 wolves. The memories of the first are still vivid. “We prepared the pen for release while the red wolves were closed in their den box and, as the light was fading with sunset, we opened the den box and retreated,” he says. 8

In December, NC State got two of its wolves ready to head to the coast for release this spring.

“We watched as the male took his first few steps into the wild in North Carolina in a field awash with thousands of yellow flowers. It was the first red wolf release during my tenure here and was very emotional.” All of the wolves under human care are entrusted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife through the Endangered Species Act. Because any of the wolves could be released into the wild at any moment, caretakers work hard not to train or tame the wolves, Harrison says. “We want to make sure these animals are set up for success and that they have the best possible opportunity in the wild,” she says. “It’s not just ‘go release wolves into the wild.’ It’s not that

easy. It involves a lot of time, money and collaboration.” Among the four animals in NC State’s wolfpack, whose number has been as high as nine, is another breeding couple. Oak was born at NC State, but Niko came from a zoo in Washington State, thanks to the Species Survival Program’s computerized dating system. Chris Lasher, animal management supervisor at the North Carolina Zoo, coordinates the Red Wolf Species Survival Captive Breeding Plan. Because all of the wolves now have descended from the same 14, putting genetically compatible couples together is critical to the program’s success.

Carnivore Conservation Crew member Annie Gorges spoons food into a wolf pen at NC State.

when Niko arrived from Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington. “I went to the airport and picked him up from the cargo area, and it was very funny explaining it to the workers there,” says Gorges, who has been caring for the wolves three years. “He and Oak are a very genetically important pair.” “We also look at who has empty spaces and take into consideration a facility’s needs and wants,” Lasher says. “We look at the needs of every partner and fill the needs for the species to make sure we are maintaining a genetically diverse insurance population under human care as a stop gap to keep the species from going extinct.” Each summer, after the breeding and birthing season, representatives of the red wolf facilities meet, look at the population as a whole and put pairs together based on genetic diversity. In 2021, 40 wolves, including Niko, got new homes. Annie Gorges, co-president of the CVM Carnivore Conservation Crew, was at Raleigh-Durham International Airport

The medical go-to team At the NC State wolf pens, Gorges is handling the afternoon shift for the carnivore crew, whose members go out twice a day to feed, water and monitor Niko, Oak and her parents Boone and Brevard. Today, Gorges also will be caring for the patient, which after his successful surgery has been brought to recuperate in an empty pen. Administering his medicines and feeding him the whole prey he now is used to eating will be added to the routine. The prey has come from the Museum of Life and Science, an important red wolf partner, to help supplement what the college keeps on hand for the wolves.

“We prepared the pen for release while the red wolves were closed in their den box and, as the light was fading with sunset, we opened the den box and retreated.” 9

“Our residents, DVM and graduate students working with wildlife service biologists have developed many of the management approaches that have been very successful, including having wild wolves foster captive-born pups and early tagging of pups in their dens. These were things ‘wolf experts’ did not think were possible.” Members of the Carnivore Conservation Crew prepare an NC State wolf for transport to the pre-release acclimation area on the North Carolina coast.

“With dogs or pets with a surgery like this, they would say cage rest, we want a cast on it, we want to inspect the wound every so often,” Gorges says. “With these guys, it is a bit of a compromise with what we would normally want because they’re not dogs, they’re not pets, and we can’t get in there even if we wanted to take a look at it. The stress of going in there and capturing him might aggravate his wound even more.” It’s not the first time the College of Veterinary Medicine has provided medical care for an injured wolf. Last year, the CVM exotic animal medicine team treated another wild red wolf that had broken its foot in a trap. The wolf’s surgery and recuperation were successful. “We are lucky to be able to help U.S. Fish and Wildlife,” Harrison says. “That wolf had broken her paw, and they brought her here, and with our awesome surgeons, great anesthesiologists, radiologists and all of the specialists that we have here as well as our carnivore crew members, we were able to fix her fractured foot, care for her during her hospitalization and stay here in one of our other enclosures and then re-release her back into the wild.” A month later, college clinicians performed surgery on a young red wolf from the North Carolina Zoo that had a compound fracture in a front leg. The NC Zoo currently cares 10

for 33 wolves, Lasher says, with only two on exhibit as ambassadors for the species. “NC State is incredibly important to the program, not just as a holder of live red wolves and as someone who can assist with their medical care, but NC State has a history of helping with disease research and genetic issues as well,” Lasher says. “There have been a lot of genetic issues with a bottleneck of only 14 original wolves, and NC State has been incredibly important in eradicating some of that.” Lasher pointed to a genetic eye disease that was leaving some wolves blind.

When the effort pays off Gorges feels grateful that she has had the opportunity to work with the wolves. The fact that she is among very few veterinary students in the world who will experience caring for an endangered species and helping to repopulate it in the wild still leaves her in awe. “Learning how to manage a critically endangered species from both the medical side and the husbandry side, making sure they are properly cared for and that they are thriving is just a joy,” she says. “Seeing that all of our effort of taking care of them twice a day every day and all of the work that goes into their medical care, the maintenance of the facilities, trying to make sure they’re enriched and exhibiting natural behaviors and thriving, all of that time, effort, money are going toward something meaningful and something that will benefit not only the species but the whole ecosystem of the North Carolina coast.”

“Progressive Retinal Apathy showed up in the genetic research, and researchers at NC State found the genetic line that it was being passed along from,” Lasher says. “So, thanks to NC State, we’ve been able to eradicate that from the pop- If more red wolves roamed the Eastern ulation.” Seaboard, their natural habitat, coyotes wouldn’t be the nuisance they are, LashNC State also has played a critical role er says. in determining the best methods to help the release program succeed. Dr. Mi- “The red wolf is a native species to chael Stoskopf, professor of wildlife and North Carolina and the entire Southeast, aquatic health, led the Red Wolf Recov- and it’s an animal that belongs in our ery Implementation Team for many years ecosystem,” he says. “Coyotes moved in after the wildlife service sought out sci- because there’s a vacancy at the top of entific guidance for the recovery effort. our ecosystem. We don’t have an apex predator in the Southeast anymore, and “The model has been copied since for that has allowed the coyote to thrive.” other species,” Stoskopf says.

“The red wolf is a native species to North Carolina and the entire Southeast, and it’s an animal that belongs in our ecosystem.” In about eight weeks, the current patient at NC State likely will return to his hunting along the North Carolina coast. For now, Gorges adds him to the Carnivore Conservation Crew log, noting the medicines he needs and the amount of meat he should get so tomorrow’s crew member will know what to do. “It’s a lot of communication and a lot of trusting our team,” Gorges says, “but everyone who is on the team is really passionate about it and dedicated and wants to help our own pack as well as the species as a whole.” Earlier, when Gorges put food in the patient’s pen, he had sneaked over, limping on one shaved leg, snatched it and run. “He’s ravenous, which is good,” she says. Recovery is at hand. – Burgetta Eplin Wheeler / NC State Veterinary Medicine 11

Working for the Wolves

Twice a day, carnivore crew labors for a species’ life Over her three years as a student at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, Annie Gorges has made the trek to the red wolf pens hundreds of times to measure out food, tote 5-gallon buckets of water and check for fallen trees, all in pursuit of protecting the world’s most endangered canid. The wolves at NC State, which has cared for 18 animals over the past 20 years, are part of a national program to repopulate the species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service leads the effort in accordance with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan. The Wolfpack’s wolfpack currently has four members: Oak, Niko, Boone and Brevard. Another two wolves, a breeding pair, recently went through the wildlife service’s release process on the North Carolina coast, the only place in the world that red wolves can be found in the wild. “It’s actually very profound,” says Affrika Sanford, also in her third year at CVM and part of the student-run Carnivore Conservation Crew of wolf watchers. “Finally hearing that some are going to be released, I’m like, ‘Oh, I took care of this wolf for the last two years, and they’re suitable enough to help repopulate this species.’ We as a team work together, and this animal is thriving and is healthy enough to be on its own now. It’s very rewarding.”

THE CARNIVORE CONSERVATION CREW HAS ABOUT 50 MEMBERS WHO ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE AT LEAST TWO HUSBANDRY SHIFTS A MONTH, SAYS Gorges, co-president of the crew. Each week a team captain organizes students into two daily shifts, one in the morning and one in the afternoon before dark. The afternoon team often has two members so that one can go into the pens and clean the grounds, food bowls and water buckets. “No other vet school in the entire country has an opportunity like this to see such up close and personal management of the most endangered canine in the world,” Gorges says. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for students. It’s an experience most people don’t get in their lives let alone while they’re a vet student.” 12

A real team effort In addition to dispensing food and water, the crew’s responsibilities include walking the perimeter, checking the fences, administering medicines, keeping log books – how much food was eaten, how did the wolf look – and offering the animals activities that keep them from becoming bored. “We try to give them something different multiple times a week,” Gorges says. “Sometimes that’s paper animals or different foods, or we’ll scatter the food so they have to hunt for it. We give them frozen items like blueberries. We put spices in ice cubes or applesauce or meat broth.” The Carnivore Conservation Crew has several subgroups, including one responsible for planning the enrichment items. Other groups take care of preventative medicine, grounds maintenance and fundraising and merchandise sales to support the effort. This spring, the enrichment team created critters out of cardboard, egg cartons and empty toilet paper rolls and then voted on the best creation. Boone, who turned 7 in March, later received the “giraffe,” which he dragged around his pen for days, Gorges says. “He completely destroyed it, tearing all of the tubes off the box,” she says. “It’s just so important for their mental health.” In the fall, the students toss pumpkins into the pens and in the winter Christmas trees. Even scent enrichment is important, Gorges says.

More than food and water During an afternoon shift at the pens in late March, the nowbrown evergreens pepper the pens, still releasing their piney odor. Gorges has measured out dog kibble and canned food for the four resident wolves and gotten thawed whole prey ready for a fifth wolf, which was injured in the wild and brought by the wildlife service to the NC State Veterinary Hospital for surgery and care. The wild wolf, one of fewer than 20 left in the world, likely will stay in Raleigh eight weeks before the wildlife service restarts its release process for him.

Crew member Annie Gorges prepares the food for the wolves, flings some over the fence for wolves to find and then logs in how the animals looked.

“Partnerships with organizations such as the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine are an essential component of the recovery and conservation of red wolves,” says Joe Madison, program manager for the wildlife service’s Red Wolf Recovery Program. “The service is both lucky and grateful that such an organization and the individuals associated with it exist and are so willing to assist at a moment’s notice.”

Two days of rain have left the NC State wolf area soggy. Gorges, carrying five food servings in a bucket, fills up another at the water pump and then sets it down to unlock the second of three gates protecting the wolves. At each pen, she checks the fence before feeding and watering the wolves. At one, she kneels in the mud and scoops food into the pen one spoonful at a time. At another, she takes the food and flings it over the fence in several handfuls, giving Oak and Niko, a breeding pair living together, something to hunt for later. Scouting the fence line, Gorges finds a tree has fallen onto the back side of an empty pen. She marches inside and wrestles the branches to the ground and then over the fence. “As far as maintenance, we do everything ourselves,” says Gorges, a California native who hopes to practice aquatic medicine when she graduates. “When dirt erodes around the fences, we’re in here with shovels. I’ve gotten a lot of handy experience.” As her shift winds down, Gorges washes the food containers before writing down what she has seen on her rounds. She creates a log page for the wild wolf, which was released to a pen to recuperate that morning, labels his medicines and separates thawing meat into portions for the week. “When we have wild wolves come in, we’re best equipped to deal with it, to rehabilitate them or deal with their injuries,” Gorges says. “We have the most amazing surgeons and anesthetists and just all of the exotic animal faculty and residents in the whole country, so this really reminds us of how well-equipped we are to make the most difference for this species.”

In March, Boca and Hemlock timidly went on their way, becoming the first NC State wolves to reach the major milestone.

Tomorrow morning, another NC State student working to keep the red wolf from extinction will come.

Follow the Carnivore Conservation Crew on Facebook @carnivoreconservationcrew and on Instagram at @carnivoreconservationcrew.

The Carnivore Conservation Crew provides animal enrichment, which includes building creatures for the wolves to engage with. 14

15 15

College Becomes a Partner in Play With ‘Ready Set Vet’ Reimagined Marbles Kids Museum exhibit should expand not only knowledge about what veterinarians do but also dreams about who can be one Come June, NC State College of Veterinary Medicine coats will hang in the Marbles Kids Museum in downtown Raleigh, ready for excited children to wear as they decide whether a plush turtle needs X-rays, a cat requires a cast or a dog is headed for surgery – STAT – at the new “Ready Set Vet” exhibit on the museum’s first floor. The partnership between NC State and Marbles began about a year ago when the Marbles team approached the college about sponsoring its existing Pet Vet space in the Around Town gallery. Once the teams got together, they uncovered an even bigger opportunity – reimagining the space completely to better spark interest in careers in veterinary medicine and to expand understanding of the field. “Marbles just does an outstanding job expanding the minds of children about the world around them and who they can aspire to be,” says Dianne Dunning, CVM associate dean of advancement. “We are thrilled to be working with them to create this opportunity. Through our exciting educational programming and new interactive exhibit, children – and adults – can explore what it means to be a veterinarian.” Once the exhibit opens, veterinary college professors, staff members and students will make regular guest appearances at the museum so children can learn even more about animals, the interconnectedness of the world and the profession. "Marbles is excited to take veterinary play to a new level alongside the experts at NC State College of Veterinary Medicine,” says Sally Edwards, CEO of Marbles. “The new Ready Set Vet exhibit at Marbles is bigger, with more imaginative play, new lifelike tools and enhanced technology. Kids will diagnose, treat and care for all types of animals while building self-confidence and the skills to play an important role in our future workforce." Months of research, testing, planning, designing and engagement have preceded the approaching exhibit opening, with the museum’s design team visiting the NC State Veterinary Hospital for inspiration in July 2021 and college representatives participating in a day of testing potential exhibit activities with children at the museum in January. Cattle, goats and other farm animals live on the College of Veterinary Medicine campus, and the Marbles designers were struck by the school’s cattle chute, which now will be replicated at the museum so children can use it to move their pretend animals from the adjacent On the Farm exhibit to Ready Set Vet.

17 17

The Marbles team members who are developing and installing the exhibit – five of whom are NC State University graduates – also will integrate a realistic industrial play sink and surgery and diagnostic carts into the space. “We hope this wonderful new play space will bring that sense of discovery that children love,” says Evan Cooper, Learning Experience developer at Marbles and an NC State graduate. “For kids to be able to use the X-ray or CT scanning station to see what a cow looks like on the inside or what the dog swallowed, they’ll be exploring the amazing technological aspects that veterinarians use every day.” The pretend animals, which will include zoo animals, reptiles, amphibians and wildlife, will have computer chips that can be activated by the scanner. The children will see actual animal X-rays and ultrasounds that the college donated to the museum. “Animal play is huge,” Cooper says. “Kids love animals, and we know that. 18

This is a great example of how Marbles can expand what it means to be a vet for children. It’s not just dogs and cats. It’s other mammals and fish and birds, too.” The exhibit’s surgical and diagnostic area will have medical charts, childsafe tools and tables arranged in a way that promotes several children working in the same space together. “We want to provide a collaborative placement so kids will have opportunities to work together or be inspired by peers at other tables,” Cooper says. “Through this layout, we can encourage open-ended play in a collaborative way.” The College of Veterinary Medicine hopes the exhibit expands not only knowledge about what veterinarians do but also dreams about who can be one, Dunning says. The museum serves a diverse population of families, school groups and community organizations and reaches a broad, multigenerational audience.

“With the Ready Set Vet exhibit, we hope to inspire a new generation of veterinary professionals and expose them to the possibilities through play of what a veterinarian can be and do,” Dunning says. “Our field is so diverse in career pathways from a small, large or zoo animal veterinarian to a specialty surgeon, cardiologist or internist, a research or clinical scientist and even an astronaut.” In March, two CVM students, including Raleigh native Imani Anderson, participated in the museum’s Future Me Fair, where their veterinary care station was one of the most popular. “Growing up in Raleigh, I remember being able to attend career and life-skill events at the Marbles museum hosted by a number of different organizations,” says Anderson, member of the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine class of 2025. “Attending this event was a full circle moment for me, and it helped me realize how far I’ve come and how much I’ve grown. I’m sure my 8-year-old self would be extremely happy and excited for me.”

Marbles Kids Museum opened in 2007 with a mission to spark imagination, discovery and learning through play. In 2020, Marbles shut down for six months due to the COVID pandemic. Since reopening in September 2020, Marbles has welcomed an average of 4,600 guests per week for safe and enriching play when families with young kids need it most. “At the fair, I hoped that if the kids saw my excitement, it would spread to them,” Anderson says. “It was also important for me as a minority to show the children what I didn’t get the chance to see growing up. I think it’s important for

them to have some sort of representation and to see someone in this field that either looks like them or comes from a similar background as them. It was nice to even talk to some of the families and tell them my story so they could see, regardless of background, you can get here!” The museum is open Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday. Tickets must be bought in advance. Learn more at marbleskidsmuseum.org/ Burgetta Eplin Wheeler / NC State Veterinary Medicine

“If I had to describe my class in one word, I would choose ‘friendship.’ If I could choose a second word, I would probably choose ‘ridiculous.’”

- Allyson Patterson

CONGRA

CLASS O “I know that my journey to NC State would not have been possible without the support of my family and especially my father’s guidance. To be part of the CVM community is one of my greatest blessings. To every member of the CVM community, from the faculty and staff to the many wonderful clients and pets I have had the opportunity to work with, thank you. And to my classmates, it has been a gift to learn and grow alongside each of you.”

- Hayley Stratton

ATS TO

OF 2022 “The beauty of veterinary medicine is the endless possibilities you can pursue with your degree and the opportunity to change your mind. I wanted to be a surgeon and then a general practitioner before I recognized my true passion.”

- Garrett Williams

Meurs Chosen as Dean of College of Veterinary Medicine First woman and first endowed chair recipient

Kate Meurs has been named dean of the

$14 million in 2020.

concentration areas. In 2017, she was integral

College of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University following a nationwide search. Her appointment became effective April 1.

Laura Nelson, associate dean and director of academic affairs at the CVM, said Meurs’

ry Jr. College of Veterinary Medicine Endowed Dean’s Chair. The foundation has made many significant investments in the college over the years

ter on the college’s campus.

track record as associate dean was one of

“My internship at the NC State College of Vet-

program building.

erinary Medicine in 1990 had a profound im-

Meurs is the first female dean of the college and the inaugural recipient of the Randall B. Ter-

in launching the Biomedical Partnership Cen-

“While this charts out in outcomes such as grant dollars and publication numbers, the way that she did this was by thinking about what people needed to be successful and working to creatively provide those supports,” Nelson says. “She realized that

pact on the trajectory of my career and I am so grateful for the opportunities that the program provided me,” Meurs said. “I was fortunate to return to the college 10 years ago and be part of its growth in the past decade. I am so honored to now have this opportunity to step into this leadership role of this outstanding college

Meurs had been interim dean of the college

progress comes only through investment in

since Jan. 18. Former dean Paul Lunn left NC

people – as individuals and as professionals.

State to become dean of the University of Liv-

I know that she will bring this approach to

erpool School of Veterinary Science.

her role as dean, and I am excited to see

Prior to joining NC State, Meurs served in

where it can take the college.”

faculty and administrative positions at Wash-

“Dr. Meurs is one of the foremost leaders in

with the incredibly talented and dedicated faculty, staff, students and trainees.”

ington State University’s College of Veterinary

veterinary medical education and an incredibly

Meurs also developed the college’s first un-

strong researcher and teacher as well,” said NC

dergraduate research program, along with a

State Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost

combined DVM/master of public health pro-

Warwick Arden in announcing the appoint-

gram with the University of North Carolina at

“Dr. Meurs was one of my professors when I

ment. “Her service to NC State and the veteri-

Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Public Health.

was a veterinary student at Ohio State,” Nel-

nary medicine profession give her the in-depth knowledge, understanding and experience to lead the college in strategic growth, strengthening it as a premier destination for veterinary faculty, staff and students. I look forward to working with her as she continues to fulfill the

“It is exciting to have someone who is familiar with the CVM, and with exceptional credentials, become the new dean of the college,” says Alexis A. Roach, a third-year DVM student. “It is also gratifying to witness the

Medicine and the Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

son says. “It has been a pleasure to get to know her as a colleague over the five years that I've been at the CVM. I am so grateful to be a part of the CVM leadership team as she takes on her new role.”

first female in this position on the NC State

Meurs is board certified from the American

CVM campus. I look forward to her appoint-

College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Car-

Meurs joined NC State in 2011 as associate

ment and to seeing the visions she has for

diology). She is a member of the American

dean for research and graduate studies in the

the college come to fruition.”

Veterinary Medical Association, American Col-

college’s and NC State’s mission and vision.”

College of Veterinary Medicine. In 2020 she was named the Randall B. Terry Jr. Distinguished Professor in Comparative Medicine.

Meurs’ own ongoing groundbreaking research has identified the genetic basis for numerous feline and canine cardiac diseas-

Under Meurs’ leadership as associate dean,

es, including mitral valve degeneration. Her

the college’s annual extramural and feder-

work has refined treatment approaches for

al research funding experienced exponential

feline cardiomyopathy and

growth.

drome, a heart rhythm disorder.

In 2020, the CVM received 235 grants total-

Her work helped grow the Comparative Bio-

ing $20 million, up from $8.8 million seven

medical Sciences doctoral program both in

years ago.

number of students and in the diversity of

Federal grants under her watch have also ris-

long QT syn-

the student body and added two new

lege of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Phi Zeta Honor Society and the National Council of University Research Administrators. Her areas of interest include familial aspects of cardiovascular disease, especially cardiomyopathy. Meurs received her Bachelor of Science in zoology, as well as her DVM, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also holds a Ph.D. in genetics from Texas A&M University. She completed a small animal internship at NC State and a cardiology residency at Texas A&M University.

en sharply, from $3.7 million in 2013 to

THINK AND DO 24

Aspiring veterinarians and biomedical scientists choose NC State College of Veterinary Medicine because they know they will receive a world-class education and access to

We lead the way in educational innovation as we train the next generation of healers. We are driving new methods that provide experiential learning and individualized career paths to improve the educational experience for each student. Our faculty and clinicians are recognized worldwide as experts in their fields.

exceptional opportunities they can’t get anywhere else.

We solve global challenges in animal and human health. Our industry partnerships, clinical trials and groundbreaking research have an immeasurable impact.

We save and change the lives of more than 35,000 patients every year. The top-rated NC State Veterinary Hospital is one of the largest facilities in the nation. Board-certified specialists in more than 30 disciplines provide world-class, compassionate care every day.

From Classrooms to Cows in Under 60 Seconds

A working farm called the Teaching Animal Unit puts extraordinary learning experiences right at students’ fingertips.

College of Veterinary Medicine students participate in a goat lab at the Teaching Animal Unit. Just outside the back doors of the NC State Col-

Generations of veterinarians have been able to

learning the latest in food safety and security

lege of Veterinary Medicine, where classrooms

take advantage of the Teaching Animal Unit’s

practices as well as a modern approach to an-

and labs and lockers line the halls, 80 pictur-

unique presence.

imal welfare.

“I’m a milker,” says Jaime Calcago, a sec-

Students have labs at the farm during their first

ond-year veterinary student who also works

three years and make visits as part of their

on the farm’s staff. “I milk 18 to 20 dairy cat-

senior rotations during year four. The Teaching

The Teaching Animal Unit, as the working farm is

tle a day, clean up afterward and drop their

Animal Unit has six subunits that reflect the

known, is a dynamic space for students to learn

post-milking feed. Working at the TAU is the

principal food animal groups.

husbandry, production management and pro-

kind of experience working with large animals

cedures used routinely in livestock production.

that I couldn’t get elsewhere. It’s amazing to

Few, if any, other colleges have anything quite

see a dairy cow give birth. I really learned about

like it.

life from that.”

Part of what makes it special is that students

What’s more, an ambitious 11-year master plan

improvement, meeting current industry stan-

can observe and work with a range of agricultur-

completed in 2017 calls for upgrades and im-

dards to provide a safe learning environment

al animals in a real farm setting, all within walk-

provements that will see to it that the TAU con-

for students, a safe working environment for

ing distance of their regular classrooms. What

tinues to be a dynamic, relevant part of veteri-

staff and improved housing for animals.”

happens beneath the farm’s historic silos also

nary education for generations to come.

esque acres provide a home for pigs, chickens, sheep, goats and cattle and a learning lab for veterinary students.

provides many a cherished memory for CVM graduates.

In addition to assigned academic activities, some students gain more practical experience

says Kate Meurs, dean of the College of Vet-

by working as members of the farm staff.

ielle Mzyk, a Chapel Hill native and an alumna

vation and improvement will upgrade our prac-

who earned both her veterinary degree and a

tices and help modernize our teaching. It’s part

Ph.D. in pharmacology at the college. “I looked

of our approach of continuous innovation to

at a lot of campuses before coming to NC State.

remain on the cutting edge of veterinary med-

As a student I could go to class in the morning

icine.”

inarian, and the TAU gave me that opportunity.”

plains Sara Beth Routh, director of the unit.

“The TAU is a big part of our overall strength,” erinary Medicine. “A six-phased plan for reno-

wanted to build a future as a mixed animal veter-

try, sheep, goats, beef and dairy cattle,” ex“The new dairy facility will add a much-needed

“There’s nothing else like NC State,” says Dan-

and then go see a foal being born during lunch. I

“That includes experiences with swine, poul-

“TAU plays a huge role in the education of our student employees,” Routh says, “providing increased hands-on learning about best practices in animal husbandry. This includes, but isn’t limited to, daily care, low stress handling, animal behavior, milking dairy cows, assisting

Phase one of the plan kicked off in November

with births, administration of medications and

when the college broke ground on a new $5.5

techniques associated with the various species

million dairy barn that will lead to students

on site.”

“TAU plays a huge role in the education of our student employees, providing increased hands-on learning about best practices in animal husbandry. This includes, but isn’t limited to, daily care, low stress handling, animal behavior, milking dairy cows, assisting with births, administration of medications and techniques associated with the various species on site.”

To NC State veterinary students, the unit is about more than their profes-

Associate Dean Laura Nelson adds that having the Teaching Animal Unit

sional education. It’s about making memories, too.

right outside the college’s door is an amazing asset not only for the stu-

“In the spring it was a great stress reliever to be able to snuggle with the baby goats during a break,” Myzk says. For Myzk and so many others, it was those little things as well as the big things they experienced at the TAU that inform their work life today. Myzk now works at an animal practice that sees both pets and farm animals in a small Wisconsin town.

dents but also for the entire profession. “With our location in the middle of a rapidly growing metro area, the opportunity for our students to spend time learning on a working farm that is on our campus from the first year of their curriculum onward is tremendous,” says Nelson, director of Academic Affairs. “Experience at the TAU has changed career trajectories. Those careers, in turn, have had big impacts on the veterinary profession.”

OUR LIVE LEARNING LAB “As a student I could go to class in the morning and then go see a foal being born during lunch,” one alumna says.

NC State Plays Pivotal Role in Revolutionary Treatment for Feline Osteoarthritis NC State College of Veterinary Medicine researchers Margaret Gruen and Duncan Lascelles played a key role in the first treatment for osteoarthritis pain in cats approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. On Jan. 13, the FDA approved Solensia to control pain associated with feline osteoarthritis, a degenerative condition during which normal cartilage cushion in joints breaks down. Longer lives can lead to more wear and tear on joints leading to increased osteoarthritis. Zoetis plans to make Solensia available later this year, according to a company news release. “This is a huge step forward,” says Lascelles, an internationally recognized leader in companion animal pain management research. “It’s a game-changing approach to the management of chronic pain.” Solensia helps manage pain associated with feline arthritis but does not directly treat the condition. The new drug is administered as an injection. “It’s the first approval of a medication with a different action than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories in 20 years,” Lascelles says.

Companion animals are living longer lives, and that means more wear and tear on joints, leading to an increased risk for osteoarthritis. However, cats may be diagnosed with osteoarthritis as young as 6 months old, Lascelles says.

The first trial for the drug, developed by Zoetis, was conducted at the CVM by a team led by Lascelles, professor of translational pain research and management and director of the CVM’s comparative pain research lab. Gruen, now the assistant professor of behavioral medicine at the CVM, was a Ph.D.

Osteoarthritis in cats is more difficult to diagnose and less understood compared with dogs with the condition, according to the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. Changes to feline joints are subtle, and many owners may not clearly observe some of the warning signs, including limping.

student in Lascelles’ lab and ran that initial study. “While feline osteoarthritis isn’t curable, the pain from osteoarthritis can be effectively managed,” Gruen said in the Zoetis news release. “Pain is the primary experience of osteoarthritis, and when left untreated, it becomes its own disease state.” 32

Lascelles’ influential work while at the CVM has led to a deeper understanding of how to measure and treat animal animal pain, especially pain involved with feline degenerative joint disease. In 2017, he received the Excellence in Feline Research Award from the American Veterinary Medical Foundation and the Winn Feline Foundation.

A Fifth of Certain Viral Infections Traced to Pig-Hauling Vehicles Tracking the trade of pigs using mathematical

vehicle movements and animal byproducts in feed ingredients.

models, NC State researchers find for the first

The model was used to estimate a weekly number of outbreaks and their locations. Those estimates were then compared with available outbreak data so that the researchers could quantify the contributions of each transmission route.

time that transport vehicles contribute to how swine viruses can spread among farms. In the battle against disease transmission, pork farmers have to look out for more than just sick pigs. Researchers from North Carolina State University modeled nine potential transmission routes for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and found that trucks used to move not only animals but also farm workers and feed can be carriers for disease spread. PRRS, the syndrome caused by the virus, causes respiratory disease and decreased reproduction in pigs. It is the most economically significant disease affecting U.S. swine production. “We created a novel mathematical model that includes potential transmission routes that haven’t been explored in depth,” says Gustavo Machado, assistant professor of population health and pathobiology at NC State and corresponding author of a paper describing the work. Machado and senior postdoctoral researcher Jason Galvis modeled nine modes of between-farm transmission of PRRSV based on data from three swine farms. The modes included farm-to-farm proximity, transmission between farm animals, “re-breaks” for farms with a previous outbreak, between-farm

Though pig movements and farm proximity were still the leading causes of disease transmission, the researchers found that the vehicles used to transport pigs were a major contributor to PRRSV spread, contributing up to 20% of infections. Animal byproducts and feed, on the other hand, were found to have little effect on transmission. “If I have a farm and receive an infected pig, that will only affect my farm,” Galvis says. “But if the same truck that brought me that pig then travels to other farms, it can carry that contamination with it. This is the first time we’ve included vehicle transmission in our model, and it does have an impact.” The aim of the model, researchers say, is to enable farmers to pinpoint areas where enhanced biosecurity and intervention efforts may be helpful. “If improving truck sanitation practices or adding cleaning stations could reduce PRRSV transmission, then that’s much more cost-effective than treating the outbreaks when they occur,” Machado says. Tracey Peake / NC State News Services 33

‘I knew Louise was in the best han

nds possible’

Cancer Treatment Fund Helps Beloved Bunny In side-by-side booths at an exotic animal veterinary conference in Atlanta a few years ago, Tara Harrison and Michelle Underhill forged a friendship. Underhill, who for a decade had been helping rehome parrots that had outlived their owners, was representing the Phoenix Landing Foundation rescue she led. Harrison, an associate professor in the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine’s exotic animal service, was promoting the database she helped create that tracks cancer cases, treatments and outcomes in exotic pets. “With dogs and cats, you pretty much know the odds, but with exotic animals, we’re not there yet,” says Harrison, also the vice president and lead investigator of the Exotic Species Cancer Research Alliance. “I have over 2,000 zoo and exotic animals in [the database] to gain a better understanding of cancer and how cancer treatments help these animals. I think it’s awesome to not only be able to help these animals but to use the real-world, real-time, real cancers to help the species as a whole.” At the conference, Harrison and Underhill shared their mutual love of exotic animals, including cockatiels. Harrison acquired Herbie, still kicking at age 24, when she was in veterinary school. Underhill’s Chip had lived 20 years, accompanying her through ages 9 to 29. But it wasn’t a love of birds that brought the women back together last year. It was a bunny named Louise. Underhill was in the market for a pet that was a bit more cuddly than her birds. Rabbits, she found, are very clean animals that can be litter-trained. At the time, Underhill lived in Raleigh and, after visiting several Triangle rescues, she adopted Louise from Carolina Pet Rescue in Durham. “She seemed kind of chill, very cute and has sable point coloring like a Siamese cat,” says Underhill, who immediately began volunteering with the Triangle Rabbits nonprofit. “Like with any other animal, if you want a rabbit who wants to be petted, make sure they like being petted before you take them home.”

Before long, Louise, all 4 pounds of her, had a best friend forever in Daryl, the 12-pound Flemish giant mix that Underhill’s husband adopted from Triangle Rabbits. “There’s nothing like having a rabbit run up to you when they’re happy to see you and circle your feet,” Underhill says. “They come up to you and push their nose under your foot because they want you to pet them, and you pet them and watch them melt into the carpet because they’re so happy.” It was the birds, however, that spurred Underhill to leave her job as a librarian in Raleigh to become the executive director of the parrot rescue organization in Asheville for two years. “So many birds outlive owners, who die of old age or we lose some to other reasons like cancer,” she says. “One of the reasons I refer to it as my two-year sabbatical from libraries is because a couple of friends passed away, one from a blood clot and one from cancer, and they never made it to retirement. I wanted to check off a bucket list thing and give to another cause I care about before coming back to libraries.” Underhill decided to return to Raleigh last year to become a librarian at the State Library of North Carolina. While packing up in Asheville, she noticed that Louise had a wet nose and was making a strange respiratory noise. Within days of moving, Underhill made an appointment for Louise at the NC State Veterinary Hospital, expecting to hear that the rabbit had an allergy or something caught in her nose. When a 4-pound rabbit gets a CT scan, it’s easiest just to scan the whole body, Harrison explains. And what the NC State team found wasn’t hay in her nostril but a tumor, a thymoma near her heart. Because of Harrison’s cancer database that Underhill had heard about at the conference years ago, and her research on the efficacy of cancer treatments for exotic animals and the new, more effective protocol that research uncovered, Louise had a chance. “I had actually seen Dr. Harrison there at the convention talking about cancer,” Underhill says. “I had actually gone to her sessions. So I knew Louise was in the best hands possible at NC State here.”

“There’s nothing like having a rabbit run up to you when they’re happy to see you and circle your feet” And because Petco Love (formerly the Petco Foundation) and the Blue Buffalo Cancer Treatment Fund have created cancer treatment funds at leading vet hospitals like NC State, Underhill had help defraying the costs of treating Louise at a time her finances were stretched because of the move. The companies help pet owners pay for cancer treatments so that the schools can learn from the cases and develop better protocols, saving more beloved pets – and helping understand human cancers – in the long run. The new protocol for Louise called for five radiation treatments, spaced a week apart, which would subject her to less anesthesia, always a risk, than the previous protocol. “NC State was wonderful,” Underhill says. “We had to do a drop-off appointment because of COVID-19, and they’d call and tell you when it was about time for the treatment. I knew it was about a half-hour long. And then a doctor would call and let you know she’s fine. She did great. She’s waking up. If NC State treated humans, I’d trust them with my own life.” Louise, who is 8 or 9 years old, finished her fifth radiation treatment in October. Now she is in Harrison’s database, and her case will help Harrison learn even more about keeping cancer from being the death sentence people fear for their animals and themselves. “Just because it’s a rabbit or anything – snake, turtle, guinea pig, anything – we can treat them and then in the process we learn more information about how to treat them better and how to let people know more information about how long they might live, which treatments work best,” Harrison says. “With the help of Petco and the research I’m doing, we’re hoping to do even better.” – Burgetta Eplin Wheeler / NC State Veterinary Medicine

Historic NC State Veterinary Medicine Fundraising Campaign Exceeds Goal 38

The resounding success of the Think and Do the Extraordinary Campaign solidifies NC State University’s position as a world leader in veterinary medicine. A final total of $231,140,770 in donor support eclipsed the $175 million goal by 32%, propelling the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine into a new era of groundbreaking research, advanced clinical care and the training of new generations of veterinary professionals. “We are so incredibly grateful for the generosity of our alumni, friends and supporters,” says Kate Meurs, CVM dean. “This level of support will help us advance our educational, clinical and research programs in ways that we could only have previously imagined but now can put into action. Words cannot properly express our gratitude for the support of the NC State CVM.” The college’s fundraising effort was part of the universitywide Think and Do the Extraordinary Campaign, publicly launched in 2016 with a $1.6 billion goal. The final campaign total of $2.1 billion was made possible by more than 133,000 individual donors from all 100 North Carolina counties, all 50 states and 73 countries when the campaign concluded at the end of 2021. Just 12 other public universities in the United States have ever closed fundraising campaigns at $2 billion or higher. “We’re overwhelmed and grateful for the fact that we have so many donors and supporters out there who believe in what we do as a college to support animal well-being and animal welfare and to move veterinary medicine forward,” says Dianne Dunning, CVM associate dean of advancement. “We would not be who we are and where we are going without your support.”

Scholarships During the campaign, donors contributed about $22.5 million to fund scholarships that benefited more than 600 veterinary students. That allowed the CVM to triple its scholarship support from where it was at the start of the campaign. Even though NC State is one of the most affordable colleges of veterinary medicine in the country, the financial burden on students is still significant. Alleviating that source of pressure with scholarships allows them to focus on the demanding curriculum that will prepare them to be outstanding professionals after graduation.

In 2016 the creation of the Michele M. and Ross M. Annable Scholarship Endowment, a need-based program that covers up to half the cost of tuition and fees, was the result of a generous $5 million donation from the Annables matched by another $5 million from the R.B. Terry Charitable Foundation. This momentous investment in the education of future veterinarians had a profound impact on assistance available to CVM students. “I still remember to this day when I got the email that said I got the Annable Scholarship,” says the class of 2023’s Alexis Roach. “I literally stepped out of class when I was an undergrad and I just cried because I had never gotten a scholarship in that amount. Being a student is already hard enough, but having a scholarship helps a lot because now you have to worry less about the finances.”

Endowed Professorships Endowed chairs and distinguished professorships play a critical role in retaining top faculty and researchers at the CVM and throughout the university. In 2017 the Dr. Kady M. Gjessing and Rahna M. Davidson Distinguished Chair in Gerontology was established at the CVM. It is the largest endowed chair in the history of the entire university, awarded to Natasha Olby, a celebrated CVM professor of neurology and neurosurgery. It was the result of a gift from Gjessing, a 1994 CVM alumna, to honor Davidson, her mother, an animal lover who once served on the CVM’s North Carolina Veterinary Medical Foundation Board. The endowment creates the first veterinary gerontology program at any veterinary college in the country. It is the largest donation to the CVM from an alumnus — nearly $3.7 million, with $1.5 million in cash and a $1.5 million match from the R.B. Terry Charitable Foundation. During the course of the campaign, donations from generous supporters enabled the establishment of seven new distinguished professorships, including a second distinguished chair, the Andy Quattlebaum Distinguished Chair in Infectious Disease Research. The endowment honors the memory of Quattlebaum, a 22-year-old student at Clemson University who passed away unexpectedly in 2019.

His parents, Don and Hayden Quattlebaum, donated $500,000, which combined with other funding sources to create the position. The recipient of the chair, Adam Birkenheuer, is a CVM professor of internal medicine and an internationally recognized expert on vector-borne infections of dogs and cats, most commonly spread by fleas, ticks and lice. That includes diseases caused by the Bartonella bacterium and babesiosis, the latter a previously unrecognized small animal disease discovered in canines by Birkenheuer and his research team.

New Life-Saving Equipment Another critical area benefitting from the campaign’s success is the acquisition of cutting-edge, life-saving equipment at the NC State Veterinary Hospital. Donor support played a significant role in acquiring a new, state-of-the-art MRI machine, offering the clearest images yet to aid in treating everything from neurological conditions to cancer. MRI is the gold standard in diagnostic medical care. It provides drastically higher quality images for clinicians creating treatment plans for cats and dogs with a range of neurological conditions, horses with orthopedic injuries and much more. The veterinary hospital handles more than 35,000 patients a year, and its advanced technology along with its team of skilled medical specialists are saving and prolonging lives every day.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Greater diversity, equity and inclusion are critical to the CVM and an important part of its core values. Dedicated scholarships like the new PetDesk Scholarship for Equity in Veterinary Medicine are designed to support groups historically underrepresented in the veterinary field. Similar scholarships include the Tracy Hanner DVM Scholarship Endowment, the University of North Carolina Veterinary Education Access program, the Dr. Alfreda Johnson Webb Endowed Scholarship and the Old Main Native American Indian Veterinarian Scholarship Endowment.

Allen Cannedy, CVM director of diversity and multicultural affairs, credits those donors whose support is opening doors for underrepresented students with making a significant difference. “Their investment in our future will not only change the lives of the recipients of their scholarships but will surely help diversify our profession,” he says.

More Groundbreaking Research Veterinary medicine also plays an important role in medical research that impacts both animal and human health. During the course of the campaign, more than $12 million was donated to support significant laboratory research. In one example, in 2019 renowned researcher Ke Cheng was named the Randall B. Terry Jr. Distinguished Professor in Regenerative Medicine for his groundbreaking stem cell research that has led to promising new ways to repair damaged hearts and lungs. The endowed professorship is the result of a $1 million donation from the R.B. Terry Charitable Foundation, along with $500,000 from the college’s Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund. Cheng has led studies pinpointing innovative ways to deliver stem cells to stimulate heart and lung tissue growth, technology that is also applicable to human health. In January 2021, the leader of the CVM’s groundbreaking research efforts was recognized for her own advanced research work. Meurs, then senior associate dean for research and graduate studies, was named the Randall B. Terry Jr. Distinguished Professor in Comparative Medicine. Meurs is now dean of the college. Her research broadens understanding of genetic disease in companion animals, and the information it reveals is often applied to human disease, particularly in the field of cardiac disease genetics. Her research has led to refined treatment approaches for conditions ranging from feline cardiomyopathy to long QT Syndrome, a heart rhythm disorder.

Advanced Facilities Of course advanced facilities play a crucial role in making the college’s leading-edge work possible, and donations are instrumental in facilitating continuous improvement in this vital area. Ground has been broken for the construction of a $5.5 million upgrade to the dairy barn on the grounds of the CVM’s iconic Teaching Animal Unit.

The project will enable students to learn the latest in food safety and security practices, as well as a modern approach to animal welfare. In December 2019, the Reedy Creek Equine Farm, a state-of-the-art home for horse reproductive services, opened as part of increased investment in advanced equine care at NC State.

Increased Investment in the Future Another highlight of the campaign is a major planned gift that will add an important element to the hospital’s equine services. The Tiffany and Randy Ramsey Equine Sports Medicine Program, totaling $12.6 million, will provide operational support for CVM’s unique equine program, which treats performancerelated diseases in Olympic, dressage and pleasure-riding horses. The gift will also endow professorships, fund equipment purchases and assist in the construction of new and renovated facilities. Susan Ward is a longtime supporter of the college and a member and current president of the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Foundation Board of Directors. She expresses the shared view of everyone at the CVM when talking about those who gave during the campaign. “People who know me know that I’m a big fan of the drop-in-the-bucket theory,” she says. “And I believe that everybody can help. Everybody makes an impact. And every gift, no matter how small or how large, makes a difference.” ~Steve Volstad/NC State Veterinary Medicine 41

NC State Veterinary Medicine NC Veterinary Medical Foundation 1060 William Moore Drive • Raleigh, NC 27607 Give Now: Use the giving envelope enclosed, (checks payable to “NCVMF”), or give online at cvm.ncsu.edu/giving. Contact Us: Giving Office: 919-513-6660 cvmfoundation@ncsu.edu The Oath is published by the NC State Veterinary Medicine Communications and Marketing office. Contact us at CVMCommunications@ncsu.edu This magazine was printed for a total cost of $4,500, or $1.33 per copy. No state funds were used.

PRECIOUS MEMORIES

SET IN STONE

Honor or memorialize a special pet or person by choosing a brick or a stone paver to place in the walkway of the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine. You can choose a brief personalized message to be etched into the brick or paver to celebrate your loved one while also supporting the vital work that goes on here every day..

https://go.ncsu.edu/honor