A Message from the Dean

by Mark Stetter
November 15, 2023

As we reach the halfway mark of our school’s 75th anniversary year, I’ve been envisioning the future. Until recently, the pace of change in veterinary medicine has been mostly incremental. Entire careers could be spent grinding away on single diseases or scientific insights. Discoveries were hard won and served as building blocks for further innovation.

That pace has now accelerated. With the help of growing computing power and artificial intelligence (AI), we are witnessing the early stages of exponential knowledge progression. New approaches are also changing the way that we address research and innovation—both big data and collaboration are becoming essential to success. We increasingly see the urgency of the One Health approach: viewing animal, human and environmental health together.

Fortunately, UC Davis is providing leadership in all these areas, and we are fortunate to have several advantages that position us well for the future. We have an incredible historical patient data trove to anchor our AI research. We have a history of partnerships within UC Davis—one of the nation’s most comprehensive universities—as well as across the world. The One Health approach developed at the school is embedded in our mission. In addition, thanks to donors and public support, we are able to provide affordable education to our DVM students, nurture veterinary scientists, and train the greatest number of specialists in the world.

We are not doing it alone, and more investment is needed in veterinary education and medicine overall. With this issue of Synergy, we offer insight into the future of veterinary medicine—not just to see the path forward, but also to generate excitement for meeting the opportunities and challenges ahead.