SMALL ANIMAL CLINICAL SCIENCES (VSCS) VSCS has three major missions: innovative education, leading-edge veterinary care, and clinical research and therapeutic trials. Each of these activities is intended to improve the quality of life for companion animals and their owners. The VSCS department provides clinical education in canines, felines, and exotics. The department’s researchers study health issues common to both humans and animals in areas such as cardiology, gastroenterology, neurology, orthopedics, aging, and oncology. VSCS has dedicated space for clinical trials and biobanking, and is focused on innovative teaching through collaborations with the Center for Teaching Excellence, the Center for Educational Technologies, and through departmental grants for the scholarship of teaching. VSCS offers the following one-year internships and three-year residency programs: •
Internal Medicine Internship
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Dermatology Residency
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Ophthalmology Internship
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Internal Medicine Residency
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Surgical Oncology Internship
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Neurology Residency
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Surgery Internship
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Oncology Residency
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Anesthesiology Residency
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Ophthalmology Residency
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Cardiology Residency
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Surgery Residency
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Emergency & Critical Care Residency
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Clinical Trials Fellowship
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Underserved Communities Rotating Internship
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Small Animal Rotating Internship
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Cardiology Internship
Highlights from FY21 include: Research •
VSCS has completed strategic planning for the departmental biobank and clinical trials core, which will interface with investigators throughout the college.
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The Dog Aging Project, led at Texas A&M University by Dr. Kate Creevy and funded by the National Institute on Aging, has enrolled its first dogs into their TRIAD Trial, a multi-institutional clinical trial evaluating the effects of the anti-aging drug rapamycin.
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Investigators from Texas A&M and Northwestern Medical School recently published data from a clinical trial involving dogs with brain tumors, which has helped advance an immunotherapy into human clinical trials.
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Faculty members in the oncology service have partnered with Volition to develop new tests to detect cancer in animals and humans.
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The gastrointestinal laboratory continues to be highly active in developing new diagnostic tests for animals, including those to assess the gastrointestinal microbiome.
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The cardiology team has validated new techniques for radiographic image interpretation and approaches to transesophageal electrocardiograms.
Dr. Kate Creevy 26 • 2021 CVMBS Annual Report
Dr. Johanna Heseltine and fourth-year Julia McElwee
