Diverse Voices

Dr. Araya Radtanakatikanon, a third-year clinical pathology resident, shared what excites her about her chosen specialty and how she plans to use her UC Davis experiences to expand veterinary medicine in her home country.

Tell us about your journey to veterinary medicine.

I have always loved animals. We had dogs in our home growing up and I knew I wanted to pursue a veterinary degree after high school. In Thailand, we spend six years in veterinary school immediately after high school. After I completed my DVM in 2010 at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, I pursued a master’s degree in Pathobiology. During that time, I discovered a new strain of canine distemper virus and developed a new diagnostic tool for detecting it. 

I met UC Davis Professor Bill Vernau when he was a guest speaker at a veterinary conference in Thailand. He gave a talk about clinical pathology, and I was inspired by how passionate he was about lymphoma. That influenced me to pursue clinical pathology as a specialty. At that time, I had been accepted as a faculty member in Thailand after finishing my master’s, but a Ph.D. was required to help my career progression. I received a government scholarship and was accepted into the doctoral program at 
UC Davis in 2013 where I was fortunate enough to be mentored by Dr. Vernau.

Our lab developed a molecular clonality assay for better diagnostics of feline lymphoma, which is now used routinely in the hospital.

While I was always a dog person growing up, I rescued a tiny white kitten after I returned home to Thailand from my Ph.D. and now, I’m a cat person! Nick rules the family, and my dad drives him around in a stroller on the family farm. My mom puts fancy necklaces on him, and he rides around on her shoulder like a king.

What drove you to come back to Davis for a residency after serving as a faculty member in Thailand for four years?

In Thailand, we don’t have clinical pathologists on duty in the veterinary hospital. We have a strong anatomic pathology community, but clinical pathology is always in the shadows. I often had questions that nobody could answer for me. I knew UC Davis would be a great environment for learning due to my previous experience here. UC Davis specializes in complex cases; teaching 
and research are also outstanding.

What do you enjoy most about your career? 

I get to see new things all the time! My heart is always pounding when I see something in the microscope that I haven’t seen before. We often get complicated cases in the hospital, but these provide good opportunities to explore and learn. As a team of faculty and residents, we’re always discussing cases with other services and that strong communication helps us succeed in finding answers. 

It’s really fun to see weird new things and take the journey to figure out what they are. Once I learn about them, I can pass this knowledge along to someone else who may not have seen it before. It can be frustrating at times, but I really enjoy digging in to figure it out and learn more. 

What are your future career goals? How will this residency prepare you for your next steps? 

I’m excited about my next steps when I return to my role as a faculty member at Chulalongkorn University after I finish my residency in July. My dream is to take what I’m learning here back home to help establish clinical pathology as a specialty in Thailand. But it can’t be just me. I need to build a team and spread the word, which will be a challenge, but fun. I’d like to provide mentorship to others who are interested in this field, similar to what I was given by many wonderful mentors. I feel like I’ve spent so much of my life studying and training, that I am starting a new stage where I will get to pass my knowledge to others.

Do you have words of advice for young people who wish to pursue veterinary medicine?

They should always believe in themselves. Imposter syndrome hit me hard when I first started at UC Davis. It’s such a prestigious place and I honestly questioned if I belonged here. But I would tell them to trust their gut and follow the path they want to pursue. It’s okay to stop and give yourself credit for how far you’ve come. Eventually, there’s a moment when it just feels right, you feel joy and the doubts about whether you are on the right path start to disappear.