School Notes

Faculty, Staff & Student Awards

Darwin Bandoy, DVM, was named by the USDA as one of four inaugural Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Fellows. As a PhD student in Dr. Bart Weimer’s lab, Bandoy will investigate the genes that drive infections from Salmonella Dublin, a bacterial disease that affects dairy cattle. Understanding how the disease spreads can help FSIS focus resources on pathogens of greatest concern to improve food safety and public health.

Mary Christopher, DVM, PhD, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology (ASVCP). The award honors members who have made a strong contribution over many years to veterinary clinical pathology. Advancements include engagement in research, teaching, or work on behalf of the ASVCP.

Kristin Clothier, DVM, PhD, DACVM; Omar Gonzalez Viera, DVM, PhD; and Mindy Plunkett, members of the California Animal Health & Food Safety (CAHFS) laboratory team, received awards at the 2020 virtual meeting of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians/United States Animal Health Association (AAVLD). Clothier, the Section Head for Bacteriology at CAHFS, received the BIOMIC Award for Excellence in Diagnostic Veterinary Microbiology, which recognizes a distinguished scientist for research accomplishments in the field of Diagnostic Microbiology that result in new scientific findings that have application for the betterment of veterinary medicine. Viera, a third-year pathology resident at CAHFS was honored with the Trainee Diagnostic Pathology Award for his presentation titled "Infectious Bronchitis Virus Prevalence, Characterization, and Strain Identification in California Backyard Chickens." Plunkett serves as supervisor of Receiving and was honored with the AAVLD Outstanding Performance Award for Diagnostic Service, which recognizes a member laboratory that has performed their duties on behalf of their clients in an outstanding fashion.

Lark Coffey, PhD, has been named as a Chancellor's Fellow along with 11 other early-career faculty members at UC Davis. Chancellor’s Fellows are selected in recognition of their outstanding work in academia. Each keeps the title for five years and receives $25,000 in philanthropic support for research or other scholarly work. As a virologist, Coffey’s research focuses on mosquito-borne viruses and understanding how viral genetic changes affect the potential for human disease outbreak.

Steven Epstein, DVM, DACVECC, was honored with the school’s 2020 VMTH Faculty Clinical Excellence Award. Examples of his dedication and leadership include
his administrative effort as Infectious Disease Control Committee Chair and Director of Transfusion Medicine. His contributions benefit clinicians from most, if not all, disciplines within the Small Animal Clinic.

Terry Lehenbauer, DVM, MPVM, PhD, DACVPM, was honored with the 2020 American Association of Bovine Practitioners Award of Excellence during the 53rd AABP Annual Conference. As director of the Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center, Lehenbauer was recognized for his consistent and direct influence on daily activities of veterinarians in bovine practice.

Jonna Mazet, DVM, MPVM, PhD, was awarded a 2021 Chancellor’s Award for International Engagement by Chancellor Gary S. May. She was recognized for
her leadership in directing the USAID-funded PREDICT project and One Health Workforce – Next Generation project. Her teams have partnered with more than
100 institutions, discovered more than 1,000 viruses, improved global capacity, and trained more than 6,000 people across Africa, Asia, and the Americas – many of whom are now vital frontline responders and experts in COVID-19 response.

Lisa Miller, PhD, is one of 11 UC Davis professors elected in late 2020 as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society. AAAS elevates members to the rank of fellow in recognition of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. Miller is recognized for her distinguished contributions to our understanding of the health effects of air pollution and environmentally induced lung injuries.

Peter Pascoe, BVSc, DACVA, DECVAA, was honored with the Career Achievement Award from the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia. He discovered and evaluated new regional anesthesia techniques, and helped develop novel minimally invasive surgical techniques with concurrent investigation of anesthetic management of those patients.

Wilson K Rumbeiha, BVM, PhD, DABT, DABVT, was awarded a fellowship by the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program to travel to Rwanda to work with Dr. Kizito Nishimwe in the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Rwanda on strengthening One Health education and creation of a One Health Center of Excellence. They will collaborate on research, develop curriculum, and host workshops in One Environmental Health Toxicology.

Woutrina Smith, DVM, MPVM, PhD, was honored with the school’s 2020 Faculty Distinguished Teaching Award for excellence in teaching population health and epidemiology in professional and graduate programs; for graduate advising/mentorship; for innovation in undergraduate curricula in global One Health; and for training faculty peers in online teaching methodology.

Jeff Stott, PhD, received the 2020 Zoetis Excellence in Research Award for his exceptional research on epizootic bovine (foothill) abortion in cattle, a tick-borne disease that has plagued ranchers in California and neighboring states as far back as the 1940’s. Through a 30-year partnership with the cattle industry, Stott led the effort to develop a preventive vaccine for this devastating disease.

Stephen White, DVM, DACVD, was named the 2020 recipient of the Frank Kral Award presented by the American Academy of Veterinary Dermatology (AAVD). The award is given annually in recognition of outstanding achievements and dedicated service to the veterinary profession and the specialty of veterinary dermatology. White, who acts as service chief of the Dermatology Service, was presented the award by AAVD President Dr. Catherine Outerbridge, who is also a UC Davis professor and dermatology specialist.

Kevin Woolard, DVM, PhD, DAVCP, was recognized with the 2020 Zoetis Distinguished Veterinary Teacher Award for excellence in teaching pathology in the classroom and clinic. Recipient of the 2020 Student AVMA Teaching Excellence Award, Woolard serves as faculty adviser for the Student Veterinary Pathology
Club, is a co-block leader for Foundations (VET 410) and Cardiorespiratory (VET 408), and teaches in several other blocks in the DVM curriculum.

The Ji Laboratory received a UC Davis Lab Safety Award recognizing their commitment to “Think Safe. Act Safe. Be Safe.” The lab is part of the Respiratory Diseases Unit at the school, located at the California National Primate Research Center. Their work focuses on epigenetic regulation of disease severity in childhood asthma, and how diesel exhaust particles and other exposures affect the epigenome and susceptibility to chronic diseases.

Making Mental Health a Priority

The school welcomed Dr. Dafna Gatmon, a new part-time counselor, to provide additional mental health support for students. She joins Dr. Zach Ward and Shani Simon, LCSW, to round out a team dedicated to providing quality, confidential care to our professional DVM students to help foster their personal and professional success. Her appointment was made possible by a generous gift from the LaPittus Family. Gatmon is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who specializes in individual and couples counseling, and has more than 20 years of experience in the field. Her work with students is active, collaborative, and compassionate.