The Oath, Spring 2023

ALL THINGS EQUINE

NC State experts, educators and cutting-edge equipment play a critical role throughout the horse industry and the research world.

Full Circle

What a beautiful time we had at Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh participating in Black History Month festivities in our joint Ready, Set, Vet exhibit at the museum. NC State College of Veterinary Medicine students Imani Anderson (far left), Xavier Crumel and Isla Farrow volunteered to share their time with aspiring young veterinarians and their parents. Imani and Xavier are Wake County natives and actually grew up playing at Marbles.

“Now I have the chance to talk to kids and encourage them and let them know that you can do this,” says Anderson, far left. “So many people told me I wasn’t going to be able to. So now when a little kid comes through, the first thing you should say to them is, ‘OK, well, you can do this, this, this, and that’s how you’re going to get there.’ Not, ‘Oh, it’s really hard to get in. You’ve got to make straight A’s.” And that’s the response I always got.

So it’s nice to just do something different and let them know they can do this.”

Crumel, center, says: “Just being here, in the Marbles Kids Museum, I used to come here growing up. I just thought those people were so cool. These people are scientists! I want to do that! And here I am a scientist, a vet student in vet school. Now I’m in the position to reach behind me and help the ones who want to be in my position that I’m in right now today. It’s definitely a full circle experience.”

Farrow, right, is a native of Greenville, North Carolina.

“It makes me emotional because at this age I never saw a Black veterinarian, and so for them to see us and especially at such a young age, I wish that I was them because it would have pushed me even earlier,” she says.

“But I’m glad I’m able to be a motivation and inspiration to them. I feel affirmed that I’m walking in my purpose in life.”

PHOTO BY ALYSSA FISHER

In this issue of the Oath, we are putting special emphasis on how we address the needs of two important and very different species: the horse and the cat.

North Carolina is home to more than 250,000 horses, and the horse is a critical part of the North Carolina agricultural industry. At the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, we are responsible for training the next generation of equine veterinarians and are honored to serve the regional equine community by providing continuing education for veterinarians and horse owners, emergency medical care (both on the farm and in our hospital) and access to cutting-edge medical care, surgical care and rehabilitation for performance horses. Our faculty are national leaders in equine medicine and surgery, and we are delighted to be working with them to plan a modern Equine Veterinary Center on our veterinary medical campus.

We are also renewing our focus on the cat. Although the unique behavioral and medical needs of the cat have been recognized since the 1970s, feline medicine continues to be an underserved area of veterinary medicine. Our faculty, staff and trainees have already demonstrated passion and leadership in many areas of feline care. We are now grateful to be working with friends of the college to develop a comprehensive NC State CVM Feline Health Center that will be supported by four key pillars: cuttingedge medical research, clinical services, educational opportunities and community outreach. With faculty members Drs. Margaret Gruen and Alex Lynch serving as co-directors, we introduced the NC State CVM Feline Health Center by holding the first of what will become an annual two-day feline health continuing education program and a one-day feline health program for cat owners on campus in April.

Both of these programs reflect our aspirations to continue our long-term leadership and contributions to animal and human health. Last summer we began conversations with our internal community of over 1,200 staff, faculty and trainees to help us frame and define our identity and to make sure that we are focused on aligned goals. As we surveyed our community, three themes continually rose to the top: At the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, we are problem-solvers, we are innovators and we are life-changers working together to improve animal and human health. We are united in our desire to make a positive impact through our focus on our own individual areas. That is what defines us and drives us forward.

Kate

TOP: Dr. Allison West is the new clinical veterinarian for the Teaching Animal Unit (Page 6). MIDDLE: NC State College of Veterinary Medicine plays a huge role in equine care and research (Pages 18-27). ABOVE: the NC State Mobile Veterinary Hospital provides help to communities and experience for students (Page 14).

ON THE COVER

Our new standing CT equipment allows equine experts to scan the head and throat latch of horses without having to put the animals under anesthesia.

FEATURES

13 All Aboard

A day on the NC State Mobile Veterinary Hospital is a nonstop whir of activity and care.

16 Taking the Initiative

The College of Veterinary Medicine has created a Feline Health Center to fill a national need for more cat-focused care.

18 Critical Equine Care

Our equine center and educational opportunities serve a vital role and are critical to North Carolina’s billion-dollar-plus equine industry.

25 From Praying to Braying

Elf the donkey survives a potentially deadly cascade of crises because of the compassionate care of our exceptional equine team.

ONE HEALTH RESEARCH

Western Diet Staple’s Effect on Psoriasis

Linoleic acid, found in oils, nuts and seeds, contributes to increased temperature and pain sensitivity.

A common fatty acid found in the Western diet breaks down into compounds that contribute to increased temperature and pain — but not itch — sensitivity in psoriatic lesions. The finding could lead to better understanding of how lipids communicate with sensory neurons and potentially to improved pain and sensitivity treatments for psoriasis patients.

Linoleic acid is a fatty acid found in vegetable oils, nuts and seeds and is one of the predominant fatty acids found in the Western diet. Metabolites from linoleic acid — the products formed when the body breaks it down through digestion — play a role in skin barrier function.

“We noticed high levels of two types of lipids derived from linoleic acid in psoriatic lesions,” says Santosh Mishra, associate professor of neuroscience at NC State University and corresponding author of the research. “That led us to wonder whether the lipids might affect how sensory neurons in these lesions communicate. We decided to investigate whether their presence could be related to the temperature or pain hypersensitivity that many

psoriasis patients report.”

The research team used mass spectrometry to create lipid profiles of skin from psoriatic lesions. They focused on two types of linoleic acid-derived lipids, or oxylipids: 13-hydroxy-9,10-epoxy octadecenoate (9,13EHL) and 9,10,13-trihydroxy-octadecenoate (9,10,13-THL). The first form, 9,13-EHL, can convert into the more stable 9,10,13-THL form via interaction with certain enzymes.

The researchers found that while both forms bind to receptors on sensory neurons within the skin, the more stable form — 9,10, 13-THL — had a longer lasting effect than 9,13-EHL.

They also found that once the lipids bind to the neuronal receptor, they activate the neurons expressing TRPA1 and TRPV1 receptors that are involved in temperature and pain hypersensitivity, opening communications channels to the central nervous system. Interestingly, the lipids did not have any effect on itch.

“It was surprising that these lipids could create hypersensitivity but not impact itch sensation, which is usually the most troublesome symptom associated with psoriasis,” Mishra says. “This most likely has to do with how the neuron is activated — a mechanism we still haven’t uncovered.”

Now that an association between linoleic acid and hypersensitivity to temperature and pain has been established, the researchers want to further explore exactly how this response is being created. They hope that the answers may lead to solutions that can relieve these symptoms in psoriasis patients.

Mishra, associate professor of neuroscience at NC State University

“We know that this lipid moves from one form to another but don’t yet know what causes that,” Mishra says. “We also know what protein the lipids are binding to, but not where the bond occurs. Answering these questions may hopefully lead to new therapies — or dietary solutions — for some psoriasis sufferers.”

By Tracey Peake, NC State News Service

Santosh

More Like Mate-Orology

A Purrfect Partnership

Since 2018, the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine has worked with the Tiger World Endangered Wildlife Preserve in Rockwell, NC, to provide expert care to the nonprofit’s cats. Dr. Tara Harrison, associate professor of Exotic Animal and Zoological Medicine, and her team visited the preserve for some examinations. Harrison says the partnership gives NC State veterinary students and residents experiences that few other veterinary colleges can provide. “It’s a great opportunity for everyone,” she says.

Welcome To The World!

Meet Ursula and her much quieter twin, Tito, two of the newest members of the NC State Veterinary Medicine family. We get to see many babies born in winter and early spring on our working, teaching farm known as the Teaching Animal Unit.

RESEARCH CONNECTION Solving Problems

Intestinal injuries caused by myriad diseases can debilitate veterinary and human patients, but how can equine colic and human gastrointestinal disease be linked? And how can we solve both?

We talked with Dr. Liara Gonzalez to find answers.

Scratching the Surface

We all know what itching and pain feel like, but the underlying mechanisms that cause these sensations are still being understood by researchers. Dr. Santosh Mishra looks at the neurological pathways involved in itch, across different species, in order to help further understand why and how humans and other animals feel this sensation.

When the large rodents emerged from their winter slumber, let’s just say it wasn’t their shadows they were searching for. We talked with our exotic animal expert Tara Harrison about the tradition of Groundhog Day.

STAFF PROFILE

Fresh on the Farm

Say Hello to Our New Clinical Veterinarian for the TAU, Reedy Creek Facilities

Taking its beloved Teaching Animal Unit to the next level of excellence, the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine has created the role of clinical veterinarian for the unit and the Reedy Creek Equine Farm.

Allison West, most recently an ambulatory large animal veterinarian seeing horses, ruminants and backyard poultry and swine around Sanford, North Carolina, has been on the job since November.

“This is a new and very important role for the college,” says Kate Meurs, dean of the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine. “We hired Dr. West because she has a vision for providing the very best medical care for the horses and farm animals that live at the NC State CVM. She is very experienced and is able to work with the faculty and the students to balance the needs of our animals.”

The Teaching Animal Unit, a working farm right outside the college’s doors, allows students to learn husbandry, production management and procedures used routinely in livestock production all within walking distance of their classrooms.

West, who received her DVM from the University of Georgia in 2016 and completed an equine exclusive rotating internship at the Tennessee Equine Hospital in 2017, says she has never heard of another college that has a farm learning lab like NC State’s.

“Students get, from their first year, hands-on experience with all species,” West says. “Even if only 10 go into large animal practice long-term, everyone is being equipped with basic knowledge, how to castrate, do a physical exam. It’s invaluable. So many other schools, it depends on what you see on rotation, what comes in the hospital. This is a model all schools should adopt. It’s a really awesome program.”

Prior to the college’s creating the clinical veterinarian role, a TAU director oversaw the facility and called in expert faculty clinicians to treat animals as needed.

“Now if an animal has an issue, I can be looking at it within an hour,” says West, who also spent four years at an equine

and large animal practice in California before moving to North Carolina in 2021. “These animals, the smallest scratch gets reported. They are definitely well cared for. Nothing gets missed. If they’re squinting or taking a funny step, they get looked at that day. These animals are dedicated to teaching, so we honor that. We honor their service by making sure they get the best care possible.”

As a child, West says, she was obsessed with animals. When she was 10, she took a week of horseriding lessons and never looked back.

“You never know what one week of summer camp will lead to,” she says. “Horses have been my life since then.”

West saw the Teaching Animal Unit goats through kidding season and now is preparing for calving season, which she says is especially thrilling because of

the new $5.5 million dairy barn going up on campus.

“We’re very excited to get the girls in there,” West says. “It’s going to be state of the art.”

At the Teaching Animal Unit, West also works with dairy manager Mike Veach, swine manager James Lucas and small ruminant manager Marissa Thompson. Jessica Dunkley coordinates the students who work on staff at the unit.

“The TAU is just invaluable for correlating for students what they’re learning in the classroom,” West says. “Other schools, you’re in only the classroom for three years, and it’s hard to draw those connections when you’re sitting there looking at a screen. Here, you see how to do an exam on a goat and then can go out and do it. You don’t have to remember in your fourth year what you learned three years ago. This place is amazing.”

BELOW: The Teaching Animal Unit puts extraordinary learning experiences right outside the door of the college. The unit is a dynamic space for students to learn husbandry, production management and procedures used routinely in livestock production. Few, if any, other colleges have anything like it.

LEFT: Dr. Allison West and dairy manager Mike Veach check the cows.

50 dairy cows

60 beef cows

65 pigs

50 goats

100 chickens

70 horses

Ingenuity Overload

Working with a firm that creates human pneumatic compression devices, Dr. Lauren Schnabel, associate professor of equine orthopedic surgery, developed the EQ Press with former student and current DVM Irina Perdew. The press successfully treats equine swelling by moving fluid up lower limbs into the lymph nodes and could lead to relief for horses with chronic conditions, too.

“There was anecdotal data that indicated compression treatment worked well for horses, but we wanted scientific evidence that demonstrates the utility of pneumatic compression for such large animals. So we designed the NC State pilot study.” — Lauren Schnabel

The percentage of the 26 members on the new Academy of Veterinary Educators Distinguished Expert Cohort who are from NC State. The academy named six NC State experts to the cohort, which will provide feedback and guidance to the credentialing process as the new nonprofit grows.

Creative Casting

The amazing innovation of the clinicians and technicians at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine spans into doctoring as an art form, too. One patient, who needed a neck stabilization procedure, went home with a little winter wonderland to bring a smile to the owner’s face.

PHOTO BY JOHN JOYNER/NC STATE VETERINARY MEDICINE

Our Laura Castro a Champion of Student Wellness

Laura Castro, director of counseling services at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, won the Champion of Student Wellbeing Award from the Student American Veterinary Medicine Association for fall 2022.

Castro, who immigrated from Bogota, Colombia, when she was 12, has been helping veterinary students at NC State since 2019. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Elon University and a master’s in social work from UNC-Chapel Hill.

“I feel so valued and honored to be recognized in this way!” says Castro, who also worked as a post-master’s fellow at the NC State University Counseling Center. “I love helping to support this community, and I look forward to having a therapeutic celebration for the whole CVM community.”

The award comes with a $500 prize that Castro can use any way she wants. According to the the SAVMA website, the award seeks to recognize individual faculty or staff members who go above and beyond to promote student wellbeing.

“This may include, but is not limited to, promoting mental, physical, spiritual and emotional intelligence among their students, creation or support of wellbeing initiatives and programming at their institutions, or serving as a role model that demonstrates the importance of self-care,” the SAVMA website says.

Caitlin Passaro, a member of the NC State SAVMA Wellbeing Committee, nominated Castro for the award.

“I nominated Laura because she is very involved in many different aspects of promoting and maintaining the wellbeing of vet students at NC State’s vet school, and I know how much she is appreciated among the students,” says Passaro, a second-year DVM student. “I am very happy that she won – it is well-deserved. I think that her recognition speaks to NC State’s efforts of prioritizing the wellbeing of its students.”

The NC State College of Veterinary Medicine provides in-house counseling services to its students and residents because it is committed to wellbeing in the community. Matt Bishop, a licensed clinical mental health counselor, works with Castro to provide multiculturally affirming counseling and consultation services to veterinary students, graduate students and house officers.

“Laura truly is a champion for our students,” says Kate Meurs, dean of the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine. “She is an innovative leader who is always looking for new ways to provide support for the CVM community, particularly our students. We are truly fortunate to have her as part of the NC State CVM team.”

Castro’s initial inclination when she heard of the prize money was to find a way to share it with the community. She suggested hiring a zumba instructor to teach a class on the lawn with refreshments and fun.

“Dancing is one of my main forms of self-care, so this seems like a perfect way to celebrate with everyone,” Castro says. “I hope to continue finding unique ways to support all types of folks who make a part of our community.”

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

Three New University Faculty Scholars Named

Representing each of NC State College ofVeterinaryMedicine’sthreedepartments, faculty members Benjamin Callahan, Margaret Gruen and Santosh Mishra have been named to this year’s class of NC State University Faculty Scholars.

Callahan is an assistant professor of microbiomes in the Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, Gruen is an associate professor of behavioral medicine in the Department of Clinical Sciences and Mishra is associate professor of neuroscience in the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences.

Launched in 2012, the University Faculty Scholars program recognizes outstanding academic achievements and teaching, service and scholarship contributions. Honorees carry the title through their NC State employment. Scholars are nominated by individual colleges and reviewed by senior faculty.

Callahan leads a lab focused on studying the ecology and evolution of microbial communities, with particular interest in the development of novel methods for characterizing and analyzing natural communities. He also is looking at the role adaptation plays in shaping patterns of biodiversity and ecological characteristics such as resilience to invasion.

“I appreciate this honor,” Callahan says. “Recognition from the community you work in suggests you are doing something right.”

Gruen is an expert in animal behavior, chronic pain, welfare, cognition and anxiety. Most recently she helped lead a

study on the relationship between engagement with the impossible task, cognitive testing and cognitive questionnaires in a population of aging dogs printed in the Frontiers of Veterinary Science.

“I am so honored to have been selected as a University Faculty Scholar,” Gruen says. “NC State is a very special place, and I have been incredibly fortunate in the amazing relationships and collaborations I have been able to build here. It is because of these relationships and opportunities that I have had the chance to conduct the research that was recognized by this award. I am so grateful to be part of a culture that values and promotes collaboration, and I am thrilled to join the impressive list of scholars who have been selected for this honor.”

In Mishra’s lab, he is investigating the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying chronic itch and possibly pain in mice and trying to determine the degree to which specific mechanisms of itch are conserved across mammalian species.

“I feel truly honored and humbled to be named University Faculty Scholar,” Mishra says. “The College of Veterinary Medicine has allowed me to fulfill my dreams, and I am so fortunate to be at NC State University. I want to acknowledge and thank everyone behind this, starting from my lab, mentors, colleagues, leadership and support systems in the college and at the university and, last but not least, my lovely and supportive family and friends. Without them, it would not have been possible.”

By Burgetta Eplin Wheeler

Benjamin Callahan

Margaret Gruen

Santosh Mishra

FUNDED BY CAT OWNERS

Feline Health Center

In the United States, there are 86.4 million pet cats with an estimated 45.3 million households owning at least one, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. The veterinarians at NC State College of Veterinary Medicine are committed to upholding the best standard of care for these beloved family members, as proven by our rank as one of the top veterinary colleges in the nation.

Funded by devoted cat owners, the Feline Health Center at NC State College of Veterinary

Medicine is dedicated to advancing feline welfare through our expert clinical care, innovative research discoveries and exceptional world-class education. Your contribution and involvement help us continue to be global leaders in the advancement of feline health care and help the cats you love to live longer, happier, healthier lives.

Learn more: go.ncsu.edu/felinehealthcenter

All Aboard

By Burgetta Eplin Wheeler

Out front of the Chatham County Sheriff’s Animal Resource Center, SUVs and pickup trucks sit idling, their human and feline occupants waiting before 8 a.m. for the NC State Mobile Veterinary Hospital to open up the day’s assembly line of astonishing cat-care efficiency.

Under the instruction of Dr. Kelli Ferris, seven fourth-year NC State College of Veterinary Medicine students will spend the next nine hours setting up the hospital space, spaying and neutering the feral cats that the kind-hearted Chatham residents trapped overnight and cleaning up before heading back to campus. On the last day of a two-week clinical block, the students also will administer deworming and anti-flea medications, vaccinations and microchips inside the mobile unit parked out back of the center in Pittsboro.

First, however, the cats in their towel- and sheet-covered traps must be logged in by date and number and separated by gender if possible. Females require more time for surgery, medications and recovery, and Ferris finds she will plan the day based on 12 females and six males. These 18 cats will offer the students a chance to hone their surgical skills and to help a community in need as well.

“We use this as an opportunity to learn a lot of skills, surgery skills, ergonomics, yes, but human skills, organizational skills, problem-solving skills,” says Ferris, a clinical assistant professor of animal welfare who has been directing the mobile hospital since it went operational more than two decades ago. “We tailor surgery and anesthetics to each patient.”

The cats have been humanely trapped with food laced with calming medicine to reduce their stress as much as possible, Ferris says. Chatham Animal Rescue and Education, a local organization with a

The NC State MobileVeterinary Hospital is a nonstop whir of teaching, doing and cooing

mission to promote the health and safety of all cats and dogs in Chatham County, supplied the food and traps to residents who responded to an email announcement about the NC State spay and neuter day.

Shannon Frazier of Bear Creek has brought two of the eight cats that roam her neighborhood.

“I’ve already gotten two so these are the next two,” says Frazier, who excitedly notes that she trapped the lone male of the eight on her first go-round. “I’m just trying to help out. To stop the suffering. It’s wonderful that people put forth effort to help out communities. NC State is a blessing.”

KEEP THE CATS COMING

Once the animals are inside the Chatham center, students work quickly to verify each cat’s gender while others head to the mobile unit to start preparing for what will become a nonstop but well-orchestrated blur of weighing cats, calculating dosages, sedating, examining, shaving, intubating and preparing medicines in the hospital’s staging area and disinfecting, cutting, suturing, vaccinating and microchipping in the operating room.

One goal, fourth-year student Francess Blake says, is never to let one of the hospital’s three operating tables stay empty for long.

This NC State Mobile Veterinary Hospital has been on the road since May 2022, when it replaced the one put into service in 2000.

In the staging area, the work must be managed around

large metal cages going in and out of the 240-square-foot hospital, its interior walls constructed of white boards that hold all sorts of handwritten information: pain medicine formulas based on weight, student glove sizes, the day’s surgery schedule.

Every hour or so, someone dumps a load of dirty surgical towels into a tub outside the door, and the center’s workers launder them at the end of the day.

The activity is constant, but so is the chatter, which includes sweet reassuring coos to feral kitties and calm requests for help from colleagues.

“Hi, cutie. Do you know you sleep with your mouth open?”

“Oh, my gosh. You are adorable.”

“Are you available to get more cats?”

“We need to warm up blankets for this little baby.”

“Let me check your teeth, little guy.”

John Ladner, a licensed veterinary surgical technician, also has a commercial driver’s license so he can transport the 26,000-pound mobile hospital behind a truck to its community destinations.

With an uncanny sense of knowing where he’s needed most, Ladner spends the day rotating between the operating room and the staging area, cleaning surgical instruments and helping students with their tasks.

Lunch arrives inside the Chatham center, and the NC State team heads out one by one throughout the next few hours as time allows.

TEACHING AT THE TABLES

Inside the operating room, Ferris moves from table to table, offering encouragement, checking sutures, answering questions and even putting her hands on student hands to better illustrate her words, which can be gentle and joking

The NC State Mobile Veterinary Hospital has 240 square feet inside and weighs 26,000 pounds.

but also unmistakably authoritative and instructive.

She reminds the student surgeons how to properly drape the animals, where to best place their instruments, how the overhead lights could be aimed better.

“You haven’t left yourself a lot of room,” she says at one point. “Here’s what I do when that happens.”

To another student, Ferris asks: “Should you lower your table? When I was in school, no one talked about ergonomics.”

Fourth-year student Eryn Ryan is suturing a particularly difficult patient, and Ferris tells her she’s doing a great job. Ryan explains that earlier in the week she struggled with putting the needle into the right layer of skin and that today is a victory she will celebrate.

Blake, who has a small-animal internship lined up after graduation in May, has spent her first few hours in the staging area, completed a spay surgery and is back in staging. The students take turns at the surgery tables, making sure everyone has equal opportunities to practice.

“It’s a lot of repetitiveness, which is good,” says Blake, who hopes eventually to work in academia. “We’re working with the drugs, so we’re getting our calculations down. It’s a lot of math and good practice for what we’re going to be doing in the future, like creating our anesthetic plans. I like the practice, especially the surgery, since a lot of us will be doing this on a daily basis.”

At nearly 2 p.m., Ryan asks whether anyone needs anything before she finally takes a break to eat. Someone asks her to bring in the next cat for its pre-surgery routine. When she finally steps out for lunch, it’s after 3 p.m.

By 5:30 p.m., the Chatham County cat trappers will return to pick up the

animals that are now sterile, dewormed, vaccinated, microchipped and cared for.

Student Francess Blake, below left, says, “It’s a lot of math and good practice for what we’re going to be doing in the future. I like the practice, especially the surgery, since a lot of us will be doing this on a

“This is a game-changer for us because the local veterinarians are very backed up,” says Joan Cunningham, president of Chatham Animal Rescue & Education. “We have a very hard time getting our feral cats done so this is an absolute gamechanger. We have almost 20 cats today, which would have taken almost six months to get to, and who knows how many kittens would have been born in the interim?”

The residents will monitor most of the recovering animals inside the traps overnight and, if all is well, let them go in the morning.

But now they won’t be fruitful and multiply.

One-Stop Shop for Feline Care

The new Feline Health Center at NC State will have four missions: clinical service, research, community outreach and education.

Noting a national need for more cat-focused care, the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine has created a Feline Health Center, consolidating all of its feline expertise under one umbrella.

“WithourFelineHealthCenter,wewill put an intentional emphasis on improving cat health in multiple ways, including through research, enhanced educational opportunities for veterinarians and owners, innovative care for feline patients and community outreach,” says Dr. Kate Meurs, dean of the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine. “Cats are a unique species, and cat lovers expect the veterinary profession to be able to address their specific health and behaviors.”

Dr. Margaret Gruen, associate professor of behavioral medicine, and Dr. Alex Lynch, associate professor of internal medicine and emergency critical care, are the center’s co-directors.

“We and our colleagues are excited by the idea of bringing all of the professionals doing incredible work in feline issues together in a structured way,” Gruen says. “Seeing all the interest and excitement can really move something forward when you reach this critical mass of people all interested in the same thing.”

Lynch says the center will be a place where people can easily access all of the innovative research, clinical care

By Burgetta Eplin Wheeler

and educational opportunities available when it comes to cat care.

“We’re a big team of people where, we don’t necessarily all check every box individually, but across the board, we do,” Lynch says. “There are excellent researchers, excellent clinicians, outstanding educators, and together we do offer a lot. This center will be a good opportunity to share that.”

The center has four missions: clinical service, research, community outreach and education. Another focus will be making the NC State Veterinary Hospital, where some donors already have helped create cat-specific exam rooms, even more feline-friendly.

Recently, there’s been a growing awareness that cat needs are very different from dog needs, Gruen says, and many small animal veterinary hospitals are set up in ways that can be difficult for cats.

“We really are thinking critically about what cats need for the entire experience,” Gruen says. “What are cat needs for entering into the clinic and the hospital? What are cat needs for hospitalization and exam rooms? Every single piece, we’re really trying to take the cat-eye view of it. All of those pieces

are important, and how we handle cats is how we show clients we are dedicated to excellent feline care.”

The center also will give cat lovers a chance to donate to research in specific ways to improve cat health, Meurs says, noting that the center already has funded two new studies on feline cancer.

As for the educational mission, Meurs envisions the center providing opportunities such as seminars in feline health both to veterinarians and to pet owners who can learn to recognize feline illness in their pets and better understand feline behavior.

The center’s first Feline Symposium was held in April, with NC State feline experts offering tracks for veterinarians on both days and information on nutrition, common toxicities and behavioral problems, among other topics, for cat owners on Sunday.

“The gist is, it has two streams,” Lynch says. “One is veterinarian to veterinarian, meant to be an opportunity to share more cutting edge, newer stuff that’s coming out, but then the other stream is really for owners. They are our big priority. The goal is to address topics on the questions they have, real-life questions we get.”

On the outreach front, Meurs also hopes to add to the mission of the NC State Mobile Veterinary Hospital, which

PHOTO BY JOHN JOYNER/NC STATE VETERINARY MEDICINE

currently focuses primarily on spay and neutering opportunities at shelters, to include more pet help for underserved cat owners.

Internally, Gruen and Lynch say, the center also will host informal events where all of the feline experts can meet to share ideas, research and projects.

“I have a greater awareness now just from the first meeting of what other people are doing, and that was kind of inspiring in itself, just to see how your little pocket of the vet school, where you’re doing something, fits in,” Lynch says. “This health center is going to be great

to show us internally what’s going on, but I think more importantly to have an organized way to share the work that’s happening.”

Gruen says the center also will create more opportunities for veterinary students to learn even more about

caring for cats.

“We want them to leave NC State knowing what cats’ needs are in the hospital and feeling confident in their cat handling,” Gruen says. “That’s an important thing as well. And that’s difficult to do because you’re balancing the cats’ needs. Cats can only be handled by so many people at once. Figuring out how to make that balance is difficult, but the center will help us.”

“There are excellent researchers, excellent clinicians, outstanding educators, and together we do offer a lot. This center will be a good opportunity to share that.”

— Alex Lynch

Critical Equine Care

By Don Vaughn

North Carolina is an agricultural state renowned for its pork, poultry and cattle industries. Lesser known to many is its sizable equine industry, which directly contributes about $2 billion to the state’s economy as well as more than 25,000 jobs, reports the North Carolina Horse Council.

The NC State College of Veterinary Medicine supports the equine industry in a variety of ways, including by conducting research into equine diseases and offering specialized care at its equine center in Raleigh.

“NC State serves as a central referral center, much like Duke University does in human medicine, where anything within a 3-4-hour radius that cannot be managed on the farm or at a regional hospital can be managed in our hospital,” said Dr. Anthony Blikslager, professor of equine surgery and head of the Department of Clinical Sciences at the NC College of Veterinary Medicine. “This is much like the concept of a trauma center, where the horse-owning public and associated professionals can bring their horses to us 24/7 to manage prevalent equine conditions.”

The next closest equine facilities are Virginia Tech, University of Tennessee, University of Georgia and private practices in Tryon, North Carolina, and Charlottesville, Virginia – all at least four hours away.

“We serve a vital role in the mid-Atlantic region of the country, not just for horses in North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina, but also for horses traveling the mainstream showing route from New York to Florida,” Blikslager noted. “During the day, we take elective appointments for medical, surgical and ophthalmological workups where I would say we are often

The equine veterinary center and educational opportunities of the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine serve a vital role for horses and horse owners in the mid-Atlantic region.

First-year student Asya Macon works on her farrier skills during a lab at the NC State Reedy Creek Equine Farm.

the final stop for a horse owner or trainer who wants a definitive answer on what is wrong with their horse.”

According to Dr. Lauren Schnabel, associate professor of equine orthopedic surgery, the most common medical issues addressed at the NC State equine center are colic (gastrointestinal pain), lameness, issues related to the airway and teeth and ophthalmology cases.

The equine center at the NC State Veterinary Hospital also sees its share of emergencies. Dr. Schnabel recalled a horse named Colby who fell out of a moving horse trailer on the highway.

“Colby had multiple open joints and wounds over both his forelimbs and hindlimbs,” Dr. Schnabel said. “He stayed with us for many months of intensive

The college’s equine center was established in the 1980s and features state-of-the-art imaging equipment including 3T MRI, standing CT, nuclear scintigraphy, ultrasound and endoscopy equipment as well as cutting-edge surgery equipment. However, the facility is in need of an upgrade.

Plans for a new, expanded Equine Veterinary Center are being evaluated and could include:

• A covered sports medicine arena with an attached farrier shop to showcase the CVM’s dedicated hoof care specialist. “This is essential for our sports medicine caseload and will allow us to perform our examinations in any weather and to treat these cases comprehensively including farrier care,” Dr. Schnabel said.

• A fully renovated Intensive Care Unit and isolation facilities for the care of critical patients. The isolation unit will include additional stalls to accommodate the increasing number of regional patients with infectious disease.

treatment and was luckily able to go back to riding with his owner.”

Blikslager recalled the time when the hospital surgically managed colic in Jake “The World’s Largest Horse,” who had been at the state fair and maximally tested the capacity of the NC State facilities.

North Carolina’s equine industry is divided into five sectors: racing, competition, recreation, equine therapy and equine rescues and sanctuaries. Collectively, they pump about $2 billion into the state’s economy, with ripples into other economic sectors.

In 2019, the College of Veterinary Medicine entered into a partnership with the North Carolina Horse Council and the NC State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences with the goal of improving educational opportunities and facilities for students interested in pursuing careers in the equine industry. This resulted in major facility upgrades, including a clinical facility for equine reproduction, to the Reedy Creek Equine Farm at NC State with a $1.5 million investment.

• Fully renovated surgical suites for increased efficiency of the hospital’s high surgical colic caseload as well as orthopedic and ophthalmologic surgeries. One of these surgical suites will be for standing surgery, which is becoming the state-of-the-art way to approach procedures related to the throat, sinuses and teeth.

In addition to providing clinical care, equine faculty frequently give talks to the equine public and veterinarians around the world.

“We have faculty experts with a local and international reach,” Blikslager said. “We are also developing a partnership with Raleigh-area practices to cover field emergencies, to hopefully start by July 2023.”

Blikslager noted that NC State does not intend to compete with North Carolina veterinary practices but rather to serve as a central resource.

“Many of the horses that we see truly are athletes, and they often come to us with sports injuries and need rehabilitation, just like human athletes,” observed Kate Meurs, dean and distinguished professor in comparative medicine. “Their injuries can be career-ending if not properly cared for, so much of our work involves specialized rehabilitation and sports medicine for these injured athletes.”

“ We have faculty experts with a local and international reach. We are also developing a partnership with Raleigh-area practices to cover field emergencies, to hopefully start by July 2023.”

— Anthony Blikslager

New Standing CT a Game-Changer for Equine Care

In its continuous quest to offer the best of veterinary care, the NC State Veterinary Hospital has installed standing CT equipment that allows our equine experts to scan the head and throat latch of horses without having to put the animals under anesthesia.

“Horses are big animals, and recovery from anesthesia is a big event with a lot of risk,” says Dr. Callie Fogle, professor of equine surgery. “One of the tough parts is that imaging has been mostly done under general anesthesia, so this is a big step for us because we can now do imaging of the head and the front part of the horse standing, which then allows us to complete a surgical procedure standing as well. So we’re very excited to have this technology.”

The standing CT allows sedated horses to walk into stocks on a platform that then lowers the animal below the floor until its head is level with the scanner. The CT machine then moves back and

forth over the horse’s head and neck.

Fogle estimates that there are fewer than 12 standing CT machines being used for veterinary purposes in the United States. NC State began offering the standing CT about a year ago.

In addition to keeping the animal from having to be anesthetized, the standing CT allows for three-dimensional imaging whereas radiographs supply two-dimensional images of 3D anatomical structures. The new machine helps doctors pinpoint specific lesions and problems so that surgeons can minimize risk to surrounding tissue.

“It will allow us to understand a number of problems that we also see following surgeries on the head much better,” says Dr. Timo Prange, associate professor of equine surgery. “So it will help us with the surgical planning … and then down the road you can also identify the cause for certain complications that we might not understand at this point.”

Prange also explained how the machine will improve learning for NC State College of Veterinary Medicine students, interns and residents.

“It’s fantastic,” he says. “The anatomy of the head is quite complicated. Now that we have the CT it is much easier for them to understand what we are going

to do, what the problems are, how we can solve them. It’s an amazing tool, and since we can create three-dimensional images, it’s also a nice way of showing the owner of the animal what’s wrong and what we’re going to do.”

Dr. Steven Marks, director of the NC State Veterinary Hospital, says acquiring the standing CT equipment, made possible mostly through donations, allows the college to expand its mission to provide excellent patient care, educate the next generation of healers and expand the limits of medicine based on scholarly activity.

In addition, state-of-the-art equipment helps NC State be a better partner to the community, which is also a priority for the college.

“I think it’s really important to recognize that the NC State Veterinary Hospital partners with veterinarians in the community, and we can provide services that are not available everywhere,” Marks says. “It’s a team together, not just inside the veterinary hospital but with the outside clinicians, and we work together to provide the best patient care possible.”

New Grant Supports Care for On-Campus Herds

The NC Horse Council has awarded a grant to the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine to help the college care for its on-campus horses that participate in the advancement of equine health and translational medicine.

“We are thrilled that the NC Horse Council has chosen to help support the animals that are critical to equine research,” says Dr. Lauren Schnabel, associate professor of equine orthopedic surgery. “The council also is recognizing the important role NC State plays in the equine industry in North Carolina and the role these horses play in moving innovation forward and in helping us treat horses in the hospital.”

The NC State College of Veterinary Medicine supports the state’s equine industry in a variety of ways, including by conducting research into equine diseases and offering specialized care at its equine hospital in Raleigh.

“The council has given many grants to the veterinary school, but this is the first time we’ve awarded a grant for the care and maintenance of animals,” says Sue Gray, executive director of the NC Horse Council. “Other funders will fund the research but not fund the animal who is allowing that research. It is a new approach, a new day.”

TRANSLATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

The college keeps three herds of horses that contribute to research projects. Schnabel has horses whose blood samples and stem cells have led to breakthroughs in, among other areas, the treatment of equine arthritis, tendon injury and other orthopedic diseases. Dr. Katie Sheats, assistant professor of equine primary care, has horses with severe equine asthma. Nearly 15 percent of horses in the Northern Hemisphere suffer from severe asthma. The theriogenology or reproduction-focused herd has female ponies that have greatly helped in the development of new treatments for placentitis, a leading cause of equine reproductive loss as well as other conditions.

“My horses are genetically unique in immune types, and we get blood and stem cell samples to use in studies,” Schnabel says of her herd. “We’ve also designed a novel platelet product from blood samples that we used to treat infected joints. That

product has saved horses with infected joints in the hospital and may be translatable to the treatment of human joint infections.”

Sheats’ work on equine asthma has the potential to help humans as well.

“My research herd is made up of owner-donated horses that have this condition and can no longer be managed by their owners,” Sheats says. “They get a lifetime position in a herd that lives in a pasture. We are able to get airway samples and blood samples that lead to new therapeutic investigations. Asthma is very common in North Carolina.”

A HISTORY OF HELPING

The NC State College of Veterinary Medicine equine team has 16 faculty members and three clinical veterinarians, all of whom have active research programs. The horses also provide educational opportunities for NC State students at all levels of training.

“We really value the equine team at the vet school because there is such a need for information to our horse owners,” Gray says. “We have a large equine population in the state, but nationally the college’s research has a lot of value as well. When we award grants, we look at what types of research and where are the biggest needs, and this addresses both of that.”

In their application for the NC Horse Council grant, Schnabel and Sheats described how the funding would make a lasting difference: “Dedicated funding for the equine research herds will allow our equine group to continue our track record of success and excellence in our research and teaching endeavors and in making North Carolina a leader in equine health discovery and clinical care.”

The council is funded through membership dues, the sale of liability insurance for equine owners, philanthropy and a legislatively provided 10-cent fee per 50-pound bag of horse feed sold in the state.

“We want people to know that the NC Horse Council is the voice of the equine industry and that we support all aspects including health and research,” Gray says. “Through our revenue sources, we like to give a portion of those grant dollars back to the equine community. Last year, we gave close to $200,000 in grants and awards throughout the state.”

Dr. Lauren Schnabel, left, and Dr. Katie Sheats applied for the NC Horse Council grant, the first time NC State has secured outside support to help take care of the veterinary college’s horses.

PHOTO BY JOHN JOYNER/NC STATE VETERINARY MEDICINE

From Praying To Braying

Elf the donkey survived a potentially deadly cascade of crises because of the problem-solving and compassionate care of NC State’s exceptional equine team.

By Burgetta Eplin Wheeler

When nearly everything that can go wrong does go wrong, Elf the very sick donkey and his persistent and grateful owner learned that the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine is exactly the right place to be.

Through Elf’s pneumonia, severe diarrhea, bacterial infection, viral infection, autoimmune response to plasma and several rectal prolapses, the NC State Veterinary Hospital equine department stayed steady. The team that included an assistant professor, an equine internal medicine resident, an experienced equine technician and two fourth-year students worked relentlessly to save little Elf, whom owner Shana Martin now calls her phoenix.

Dire was the situation when Elf arrived at the veterinary hospital’s equine emergency department late on a Saturday evening in early January.

His heart rate was 120, double the normal rate. His mucus membranes were purple. His ears and legs were ice cold. All

of the signs pointed to extremely poor blood perfusion, meaning his oxygen delivery was catastrophically low. The prognosis for the 110-pound brown boy with the bushy blond bangs was poor.

Martin, an Emerald Isle, North Carolina, resident, had bought Elf and his sibling Mistletoe at a livestock auction before Christmas. Martin and her husband are building an equine rescue farm in Kentucky this year and already have saved 16 Belgian horses and seven hound dogs as well.

While the 5-month-old donkeys were quarantined – a normal procedure before they could head to the boarding facility Martin had acquired for them – a local veterinarian went out to examine and vaccinate them. When the veterinarian found both animals with severe pneumonia, she sent them at Martin’s request to a local animal hospital.

“Mistletoe recovered nicely, but Elf was just progressing the other way,” Martin says.

The antibiotics that helped Mistletoe actually started Elf down a path toward doom, destroying his good gastrointestinal tract microbes and causing endless diarrhea. The local veterinarian told Martin that nothing else could be done at the hospital and suggested she take him to NC State Veterinary Hospital.

‘HE WAS VERY LIKELY TO DIE’

The on-call emergency equine team put Elf in isolation and got him stabilized then Dr. Breanna Sheahan, assistant professor of equine medicine, and Dr. Kimberly Hallowell, a second-year internal medicine resident, took over the case with the help of Karie Tucker, an NC State equine technician for two decades, and two veterinary students completing their clinical rotations.

Tests showed that, in addition to pneumonia, Elf was suffering from a virus and an overgrowth of Clostridium difficile, a bacteria that can live without incident in the GI tract but dangerously

PHOTOS BY JOHN JOYNER/NC STATE VETERINARY MEDICINE

proliferates in some animals treated with antibiotics.

“Using ultrasound, we looked at his colon, and it was really concerning because he had gas production within the wall of the intestines,” recalls Sheahan, whose research lab at NC State focuses on equine gastrointestinal disease. “There should be no gas there. It indicates that he had bacteria so deep in the wall of his intestine that they were in his tissues. It told us he was very sick and very likely to die.”

C. diff, as the bacteria often are called, can cause extreme diarrhea that robs the bloodstream of needed fluids and can inflame the colon so much that no nutrients get absorbed.

“I called Mom,” Hallowell says, referring to Martin. “I said, ‘He’s very sick and the odds of not surviving are

very high. But if you want to pursue treatment, we’ll fight for him. We’ll take it 12 hours at a time, and as long as you’re game to continue and he’s responding, then we’ll fight for him.’ ”

Martin, for her part, was never going to give up. Her passion is saving

the sickest of the sick. Elf was just a sweet baby, and he deserved a chance to live, she says.

Sheahan and Hallowell put Elf on intravenous antibiotics to better combat the C. diff in Elf’s tissues and a continuous plasma infusion to maintain perfusion.

During his 31-day stay, Elf’s care team expandedtoincludeNCStatenutritionists, anesthesiologists and surgeons.

Dr. Korinn Saker, one of fewer than 100 board-certified veterinary nutritionists in the country, devised an intravenous nutrition plan based entirely on the sick animal’s own needs. The anesthesia team put together a pain-management plan that included an epidural.

Elf started to look a bit brighter. His feet were not ice cold for the first time in days. His legs were warm, and his GI tract

“Elf’s story is really a story of how many people helped to save him. Every department in this hospital has helped this donkey live.”

— Dr. Breanna Sheahan

started working again. But then.

“Every day there was a new complication,” says Hallowell, a DVM graduate of Tufts University in Massachusetts. “If X, Y and Z were better, now we have this new problem to fix. We would weigh what are the risks and what are the chances Elf gets this complication? And we realized, even if no one else would, he would.”

BRING IN THE SURGEONS

Elf started passing blood in his diarrhea and suffered a rectal prolapse, which the surgical team repaired. Next, his blood work started to show that he was having a delayed immune reaction to the donor plasma, attacking his own red blood cells and platelets.

“We started him on steroids to limit the autoimmune response,” Sheahan says. “He responded really well to those. The hard thing is, we can support him as well as we can from a medical standpoint, but we can’t magically make his gut heal or stop the bleeding inside. All

that just takes time.”

About eight days after Elf was admitted, he finally gave them a hopeful sign.

“He brayed at us,” Sheahan says with a smile. “I don’t know whether you’ve ever heard a donkey bray, but they are adorable.”

He started eating. He started interacting with his caregivers.

Once Elf’s diarrhea was blood-free, they gave him a fecal transplant: a healthy horse’s manure administered through a tube into his stomach. With all of the mucosal lining of his gastrointestinal tract shedding, with the overgrowth of C. diff bacteria, and with all of the antibiotics the donkey had been given, Sheahan says they knew he didn’t have the normal gut bugs he needed to recover.

Three days later, Elf had normal manure and maintained that progress throughout the rest of his hospital stay.

“Elf’s story is really a story of how many people helped to save him,” Sheahan says. “Every department in this hospital

OPPOSITE: Equine technician Karie Tucker (left), Dr. Breanna Sheahan and Dr. Kimberly Hallowell accompany Elf for some fresh air near the end of his stay. LEFT: Dr. Korinn Saker, one of fewer than 100 board-certified veterinary nutritionists in the country, devised an intravenous nutrition plan based entirely on Elf’s own needs.

has helped this donkey live. That’s what I love about this place. Whenever you have a question or a need, there is always someone to help you out. And that’s the beauty of being at a teaching hospital.”

As for Martin, she will be forever grateful that she found a team of medical professionals who were willing to fight as hard as she was. Phoenix Farm has always been what they were going to call their 125 acres in the heart of horse country. Now they know why, Martin says.

“Elf is here for a reason, a purpose, a big purpose,” she says. “Out of all the monstrous draft horses I have, that it would be my little donkey? Elf is now the center stage to it. He’s the miracle. He ’s the little fighter. He is the phoenix.”

“One of my favorite memories is taking a road trip to the beach with some classmates for a Mobile Hospital spay and neuter clinic. We practiced procedures, had pizza night sleepovers and almost crashed a wedding. This community has become my family over the past four years, and I would do it all over again to meet these people.”

— MORGEN DUGAN, CLASS OF 2023 PRESIDENT

“Coming from Puerto Rico to pursue my dream career was far from easy. Moving to a different country, taking classes in a different language, meeting new people, the list goes on. Throughout this journey, I found amazing mentors who have helped me become the doctor I am today and made friends that I now call family. The CVM fostered a safe space for me to feel part of the community. I felt supported and was constantly encouraged to show up as my true self. I will forever be grateful for the amazing opportunities NC State offered me, and I feel truly blessed to be part of this big family.”

—

PILI ORTIZ-FULANA

Congrats Class 2023 to the

Congrats

Class of 2023 the

“When I look back on my time at NC State, it’s the people who truly made the experience so special. The faculty, staff, house officers and students who walk our halls are dedicated and compassionate and demonstrate a true love of veterinary medicine. They set the tone and pushed me to be the best I could be every day. Whether I was doing a skin biopsy on a tiger in Exotics or placing a central line in the ICU, I knew I always had their full

Tenacious and Exceptional

NC State Alum’s Care Dazzles Cat’s Companion

To cat owner Stephanie McEwan , NC State College of Veterinary Medicine alumni Tracey Rossi is an exceptional veterinarian determined to go above and beyond the obvious to provide extraordinary medical care to her patients.

Rossi, on the other hand, says that she’s just tenacious and that McEwan, a board-certified medical scientist, is giving her way too much credit for saving the life of Elsa the cat.

Whether McEwan is being too effusive or Rossi too humble matters little to Elsa, a brown tabby cat who survived a prolonged bout with a potentially fatal Cryptococcus fungal infection after Rossi found discrepancies in some

lab results and chose to have a different lab test the cat for Cryptococcus markers.

“If Dr. Rossi had relied on back-to-back negative test results and opted to discontinue treatment, my cat’s health would have deteriorated, with serious and disfiguring complications, eventually leading to death,” says McEwan, an adjunct clinical and research faculty member in the Department of Medicine & Surgery at the University of California School of Medicine in Irvine. “Instead, something did not seem right to Dr. Rossi, who chose to think about her patient and to not simply practice ‘autopilot’ medicine.”

In September 2019, Elsa was having severe respiratory distress and odd nasal symptoms and was immediately admitted to the emergency department at Blue Pearl Pet Hospital in Irvine.

Although Elsa was an indoor-only cat, she was found to be positive for Cryptococcus after biopsies of the nasal tissue were taken, and she was started on antifungal medication.

Over the next seven months, Elsa subsequently tested negative several times for the deadly infection, and McEwan was advised to discontinue the medication. However, out of an abundance of caution, McEwan was reluctant.

When Elsa’s veterinarian moved to another state, Rossi, an internal medicine specialist at Blue Pearl, took over her care. Rossi had never seen Elsa before, McEwan says, but she carefully reviewed the cat’s file and decided the cat should be tested again, but at a different lab.

“There’s nothing special about what I did,” says Rossi, who graduated from NC State with her DVM in 2003. “I’m detail-oriented. It’s in the details. Internal medicine is the IT department of veterinary medicine. We hear a story, look at the data, compare it to a physical exam and fix it. By being diagnosticians, that’s what we do.”

Much to everyone’s shock, the new lab tests showed that Elsa was still positive for Cryptococcal antigen. What Rossi and McEwan learned was that all labs are not created equal, and a thankful McEwan decided to research the puzzling situation. How is it possible that at least two labs could be wrong?

McEwan and her research partner, Jane Sykes of the University of California-Davis, wrote an article reporting their novel findings for the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. Sykes is the coauthor of the textbook “Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat.”

In the article, McEwan included a special acknowledgement to recognize the dedication and expertise of Rossi, whose path to Irvine, California, was not a straight one.

A PROFESSOR STEPS IN

Rossi grew up on a dairy farm in Maryland. She had decided to become a physical therapist when she arrived at UNC-Chapel Hill to finish her undergraduate biology degree. She had already completed two years of community college, staying close to home after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.

While working at a local restaurant in Chapel Hill, Rossi was put in contact with Sam Galphin, a well-known local veterinarian and dairy specialist, and her career goals changed.

“I had been hoping to spend time with him over the summer helping on dairy farms,” says Rossi, who calls Galphin instrumental in inspiring her to become a veterinarian. “We went on a trip to Bolivia because there was a TB problem in the human population, and they weren’t sure if it was a human or a cattle issue. I started trying to get into vet school.”

Accepted at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, Rossi started her DVM education thinking she would be a dairy veterinarian, but provided the opportunity to explore all aspects of veterinary medicine, she chose to specialize in small animal medicine. By her fourth year, however, she had decided not to apply for an internship or residency to continue her education.

“I was at the point in my life when I was done with school,” Rossi says. “Going further was not something I was entertaining.”

But during a senior clinical rotation in small animal dermatology, she met Dr. Thierry Olivry, a professor of immunodermatology at NC State.

“Dr. Olivry pointed out that I was always asking questions,” Rossi says. “Dr. Olivry said, ‘You’re going to be bored in general practice. If you want a letter of recommendation when you realize you’re making a mistake, I’ll be happy to write it.’”

She decided he was right and scrambled, ending up completing a small animal rotating internship in internal medicine at the Veterinary Referral & Emergency Center in Norwalk, Connecticut, and then a small animal internal medicine residency at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.

Following her residency, Rossi took a job at a new private practice in Maryland but was unhappy there. The lack of support from management was overwhelming, she says, and she started questioning all of the work she had done the previous 12 years.

“I tell all of my students and interns now, if your first job is a bad fit, it’s OK to leave,” says Rossi, whose position includes teaching Western University College of Veterinary Medicine students during their fourth-year clinical rotation at Blue Pearl Irvine.

She ended up in California and ultimately as Elsa’s life-saving veterinarian because a relief surgeon she met in Maryland asked her to join him at his new practice in Irvine.

“I’m just tenacious,” Rossi says, explaining Elsa’s amazing recovery. “‘You are always asking why,’ Dr. Olivry said. ‘You are always asking why.’ I think that’s just my personality.”

Dr. Tracey Rossi says, “Internal medicine is the IT department of veterinary medicine. We hear a story, look at the data, compare it to a physical exam and fix it. By being diagnosticians, that’s what we do.”

Open House 2023

Periodic rain couldn’t dampen the excitement as the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine revived its popular Open House after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Community members by the hundreds strolled by the tents of local animal rescue groups, through the halls of the hospital, health and wellness center and research building and along the paths to food trucks, the horse corral and a cow-milking station.

They watched demonstrations of the standing equine CT machine, acupuncture on horses and the pressure mat that measures gaits so veterinarians can understand how and where animals might feel pain. Some learned about how to become a veterinary student, what a day in the life of a veterinary student is like and what kinds of social and service student groups are available to join.

“The @NCStateVetMed Open House is a great success and an incredible way to show the public about the diverse and important roles for veterinarians in society,” Dean Kate Meurs posted on her Twitter account after the event.

“At first my desire to support equine efforts was as a client, grateful for the extraordinary veterinary care my horse Porter received. I soon learned and became passionate about the important work happening at

CVM: ground-breaking research, cutting-edge technology and preparation of the next generation of veterinarians.” —

Fran Bryan