Speakers

Julie Byron received her DVM from The Ohio State University in 1998, then completed a rotating internship at VCA West LA Animal Hospital.  She completed her residency at The Ohio State University and has been a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine since 2004.  She was a faculty member at University of Illinois Colege of Veterinary Medicine from 2005 – 2011 before returning to OSU.  She is a Professor – Clinical of Internal Medicine with research and clinical interests in lower urinary tract disorders of dogs and cats and kidney disease.

Dr. Karen Tobias is a professor and ACVS board-certified surgeon at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine. She received her DVM from University of Illinois and completed an internship at Purdue University and surgery residency and Master’s Degree at Ohio State University. Dr. Tobias has published over 100 scientific articles and book chapters.  She is the author of the Manual of Small Animal Soft Tissue Surgery (Wiley/Blackwell, 2010; 2017); co-editor of Veterinary Surgery: Small Animal (Elsevier/Saunders, 2012; 2017); and co-author of Atlas of Ear Diseases of the Dog and Cat (Wiley/Blackwell, 2013).

Dr. Skorupski is a native of southern California, but she attended Texas A&M University for both her undergraduate and veterinary education.  She completed two rotating internships; one in private practice in southern California and one at the Ohio State University. She completed her medical oncology residency at the University of Pennsylvania and became board certified in 2005.  Dr. Skorupski has been a faculty member at the University of California, Davis since 2006, when she happily moved closer to home, family, and warm weather.  She is passionate about providing excellent student and resident teaching and utilizing clinical cases to broaden our understanding of cancer biology and treatment. Some of her many research interests include histiocytic sarcoma, feline oral squamous cell carcinoma, and canine osteosarcoma.

Dr. Kevin Stepaniuk graduated from Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1998. He completed a Small Animal Medicine and Surgery Internship at Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine (1999). After several years in general and emergency practice in Western Washington, Dr. Stepaniuk completed his Dentistry and Oral Surgery specialty training in private practice. He received his Fellow in the Academy of Veterinary Dentistry (2007) and Diplomate Status in the American Veterinary Dental College (AVDC) in 2008. He provided referral Veterinary Dentistry and Oral Surgery services from 2005-2009 on the Kitsap Peninsula before moving east to become an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine from 2009-2014. He served as section chief in Dentistry and Oral Surgery, created and served as course coordinator for the small animal Dentistry and Oral Surgery Course, introduced and integrated intraoral radiology into the curriculum, led didactic and clinical teaching in addition to spending the majority of his effort on expanding and growing the clinical service for patients and referring veterinarians. In 2013, he received the Veterinary Clinical Science teaching award for his efforts. He has authored textbook chapters (i.e. Periodontology, Oral Trauma), scientific publications and journal articles (i.e. Dentistry and Anesthesia, Guided Tissue Regeneration, Oral Surgery), lectured and instructed nationally and internationally, and serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Veterinary Dentistry as well as various other journals. He has served as a Director and is a Past-President of the American Veterinary Dental Society. Currently he is an officer on the board of directors for the AVDC.

Dr. Lucien Vallone received his DVM from Mississippi State University, College of Veterinary Medicine in 2011.  Dr. Vallone completed his small animal internship in 2012 and his comparative ophthalmology residency in 2015, both at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals.  He joined the department of small animal clinical sciences at Texas A&M University as an Assistant Professor in 2015 and helped to re-establish the comparative ophthalmology service within the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at Texas A&M University.  Dr. Vallone's clinical interests involve advanced imaging of the cornea and surgery of the cornea and lens.

Dr Matthew Johnson is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Florida, College of Veterinary Medicine. He is a DVM from the University of Florida and gained his Masters of Veterinary Science from the University of Saskatchewan.

He did his Small Animal Surgical Residency at Western College of Veterinary Medicine and after became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2009.

Milan Milovancev is an Associate Professor of Small Animal Surgery at Oregon State University's Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine. He earned his DVM from the University of Minnesota in 2003, completed a rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery and then a small animal surgical internship at the Veterinary Referral and Emergency Center in Norwalk, CT during 2003 and 2004. He continued his advanced surgical training by completing a residency in small animal surgery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 2005-2008 and became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2009. Dr. Milovancev's research centers on surgical treatment of invasive tumors and he has authored over 45 peer-reviewed research articles along with multiple invited review articles and book chapters.

Dr. Munir Kureshi DVM

Even as a teenager, Dr. Kureshi knew he wanted to have a career that involved caring for animals. Pursuing his dream, he graduated from Bombay Veterinary College in 1987.

He served internships at Animal Medical Center, New York City's largest animal care facility, and at the University of Missouri-Columbia, School of Veterinary Medicine. He has also held several externships, which include the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and clinics in Chicago, Illinois and Boulder, Colorado.

After moving to the Bay Area, Dr. Kureshi worked at several animal hospitals and an avian clinic in Los Gatos before acquiring Cupertino Animal Hospital in 1994.As a leader in veterinary medicine, Dr. Kureshi is always looking at the latest advances in veterinary medicine to provide his patients with the safest and best care.

Dr. Kureshi was the first veterinarian in the Silicon Valley to offer an alternative to general surgery by bringing the benefits of laser surgery to his practice. This results in less pain, less bleeding, less swelling, and a quicker recovery for his patients. Additionally, he was the first veterinarian in the Silicon Valley to use video otoscopy which allows for more accurate diagnosis and treatment

Nick Jeffery qualified from University of Bristol in the UK and has worked in primary care practice, private referral practice, basic science laboratories and university veterinary schools in the UK and USA. Nick specializes in neurology and neurosurgery with diplomas from ECVS and ECVN and PhD in neuroscience and recently he has undergone specialist training in clinical trial design and analysis. In October 2016 Nick moved to join the neurology group at Texas A&M University. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Small Animal Practice.

Dr. Padrid graduated from veterinary school at Cornell University in 1985. He completed a Residency in Small Animal Medicine at UC-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 1988, and continued as a Fellow in Pulmonary and Critical Care medicine at UC-Davis School of Medicine in 1990. From 1990-2000 Dr. Padrid served as an Associate Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. Since 2000 Phil has additionally been Associate Professor of Small Animal Medicine (adj) at the Ohio State University.

Dr. Padrid moved in 2007 to New Mexico to become the Regional Medical Director for the VCA hospitals in the southwest. He is currently the Medical Director for Specialty Services at VCA VCAHRC and he is the Regional Medical Director and Regional Vice President for VCA Specialty Hospitals in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and San Diego. He lives in Corrales with his wife Roxi, their three pugs, a mastiff, a Siamese cat, and a horse.

I graduated from the veterinary school of Nantes in France and completed a small animal internship at Purdue and a small animal surgery residency at Colorado State University. I have completed a surgical oncology fellowship at University of Florida in 2010. I spent 6 years as a small animal surgeon at university of Prince Edward Island in Canada. I am currently associate professor of surgery at University of Minnesota. My main professional interests are soft tissue surgery, surgical oncology and total hip replacement.

Dr. Pollard attended Washington State University for her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine.  She then moved to New York for a 1-year internship at the Animal Medical Center.  Dr. Pollard moved to Davis, CA in 1997 to complete the 4-year residency in Diagnostic Imaging at the University of California, Davis.  She then completed a PhD in Comparative Pathology and is currently a Professor of Diagnostic Imaging at UC Davis.  Her areas of research focus primarily on quantitative imaging techniques using both contrast enhanced computed tomography and contrast enhanced ultrasound to evaluate tumor blood flow.  Additionally, she has a clinical interest in dynamic imaging techniques such as contrast fluoroscopy with a focus on swallowing disorders. Dr. Pollard is also a level 1 professional telemark ski instructor.

Dr. Robert “Jeff” Mayo was born in Virginia, and moved to Idaho in 1978. He attended college in Boise, and moved to North Carolina briefly, then returned to the northwest (Oregon) to attend veterinary school. Since graduation, he has made Lynnwood, Washington his home.

Dr. Mayo graduated from Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1994 with honors as well, he has a second Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Washington State University. Prior to veterinary school, Dr. Mayo was a respiratory therapist at Duke University Medical Center, and received his training in that field from Boise State University, graduating with a degree in 1986. He practiced many different facets of respiratory therapy until 1990, at which he entered veterinary school full time. Dr. Mayo holds 5 college degrees from three major Universities. Dr. Mayo has published over 30 titles in allied health science education.

Dr. Mayo purchased his first veterinary practice in 1995 in Lynnwood, Washington, and his second practice in 2000, also in Lynnwood. Dr. Mayo devoted much of his practice time to learning new procedures in rigid endoscopy, orthopedics, and radiosurgery. He began his mobile surgical practice, Mayo Veterinary Services, in early 2006. In 2007, Dr. Mayo began teaching orthopedic courses throughout the United States and abroad in small animals.

He passed the certification program administered by the Veterinary Laser Surgical Society in February 2005. This program certifies competency amongst veterinarians for proper use and understanding of lasers in small animal surgical applications.

In November of 2007, Dr. Mayo earned his Diplomate status in the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, with certification in Canine and Feline Practice. For more information, go to their website, www.abvp.com.

From to 2008 to now, Dr. Mayo has flown and taught internationally in Japan, Germany, Bulgaria, Italy, Australia and several other countries. Dr. Mayo has trained hundreds if not over a thousand Veterinarians on laser surgery, radiosurgery, orthopedics and soft tissue surgery as well as regenerative medicine and alternative therapies.

Dr. Mayo has lectured at dozens of national and international veterinary conferences further sharing his knowledge to other veterinarians to better serve the patients and communities.

As of 2018, Dr. Mayo performs surgery, primarily orthopedics, in western Washington a area.

Dr. Mayo’s peak interests includes knee surgeries, fracture repairs, second opinions, radiosurgery, alternative sterilization and regenerative medicine.

Romain Pariaut has been practicing veterinary cardiology since 2002. He received his DVM from the National School of Veterinary Medicine (ENVL) in Lyon, France. After a small animal rotating Internship, he continued as an Instructor in Emergency and Critical Care. He completed a residency in Veterinary Cardiology at Cornell in 2005. Before coming back to Cornell as an Associate Professor and Cardiology Section Chief in 2015, Dr. Pariaut was an Associate Professor and Service Chief of Cardiology at Louisiana State University. He has also been an Associate Editor of the Journal of Veterinary Cardiology for the last 10 years. He is currently working on developing a cardiac electrophysiology laboratory to diagnose and treat via radiofrequency catheter ablation of arrhythmias, and designing innovative cardiac devices in collaboration with students from the Nancy E and Peter C Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Pariaut is the author of 40 peer-reviewed scientific papers, 13 book chapters, and is a co-author of a textbook “Electrocardiography of the dog and the cat, 2nd edition” published in 2018. He is also a regular speaker at National and International Veterinary Conferences.

Dr. Raskin received her DVM from Purdue University, spent 6 years as a small animal practitioner and the next 32 years in academia. She received her PhD in pathology from Michigan State University and focused her research on hematolymphatic neoplasms. As an educator, Dr. Raskin taught clinical pathology at Michigan State University, University of Florida, and Purdue University. As a Professor Emerita she continues to provide locum assistance to private laboratories and veterinary institutions around the world since her retirement from Purdue University in 2014. She has written over 60 peer-reviewed publications, 36 textbook chapters, and delivered over 120 international presentations.

Dr. Raskin served as President of the American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology and received from this society their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. Dr. Raskin is co-editor of Canine and Feline Cytology. A Color Atlas and Interpretation Guide, now in its third edition.

BVMS CertSAS DipECVS MRCVS
RCVS Recognised and European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery

Scott is the Surgical Specialist who heads the team at frank.. After graduating from Glasgow University Vet school in 2001 his first job was as a Temporary Veterinary Inspector during the Foot and Mouth Epidemic of that year. He then spent six years in general practice, both mixed and small animal, before moving to Croft Veterinary Hospital in Northumberland to work with Malcolm Ness and undertake an ECVS Residency. He completed his RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Surgery in 2009, became a European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery in 2013 and an RCVS Recognised Specialist in 2014.

In 2013 Scott moved to North Downs Specialist Referrals, a large multidisciplinary referral hospital based in Surrey, before moving to Willows Referral Services in Solihull in 2015, which is one of the largest multidisciplinary referral hospitals in Europe.

Scott is actively involved in clinical research and CPD provision. He has published extensively in the veterinary literature and has lectured widely in the UK, Europe, USA and Australasia.

He left Willows in 2017 to pursue his dream of establishing his own surgical referral hospital with the aim of working in partnership with local vets to provide accessible veterinary specialist surgery to the pet owners of Yorkshire and beyond.

Dr. Silvia Funes is a board-certified Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. She is originally from Spain where she received her DVM from the University of Zaragoza. After doing several externships in Ohio and Florida, she completed her rotating small animal and surgery internship at Oregon State University in 2014. She continued at Oregon State University where she finished a 3-year Internal Medicine residency program and became board-certified in 2017. Her clinical interests include gastrointestinal disease, endocrine and infectious diseases. She is also interested in endoscopy and Interventional Radiology (IR). Dr. Funes is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP). Dr. Funes works in a specialty and emergency hospital in the Bay Area of California. She enjoys running and outdoor adventures. She shares her house with her partner, two dogs (Nico and Peluso) and a gorgeous orange cat called
Mouse King.

Dr. Simon Platt received his veterinary degree from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1992, following which he undertook an internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph and a 2 year period in private practice in the England. Dr. Platt completed a residency in neurology and neurosurgery in 1998 at the University of Florida and afterwards spent 2 years as an assistant professor of Neurology at the University of Georgia. In 2000, Dr. Platt returned to the UK where he was Head of the Neurology/Neurosurgery service at the Animal Health Trust until 2006, from which time he has been at the Dept. of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the University of Georgia where is currently a Professor.  Dr. Platt received the AAVC National resident of the year award in 1998, the BSAVA Blaine award for outstanding contributions to small animal medicine and surgery in 2005, the UGA Clinical Research Award in 2010, the David Tyler Award for Innovative Teaching in 2012 and 2017, College of Veterinary Medicine Teaching Award in 2013 and 2018 and the University of Georgia Creative Teaching award 2018. Dr. Platt was made a fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2018. Dr. Platt has authored or co-authored over 200 journal articles and 50 book chapters and is the co-editor of the BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Neurology and the Manual of Small Animal Neurological Emergencies. Dr. Platt is Past-President of the ACVIM Neurology Specialty and Founder member of the South Eastern Veterinary Neurology (SEVEN) group in the USA. Currently, Simon serves as Editor in Chief of the NAVC journal Today’s Veterinary Practice.

Dr. Stanley Kim is Associate Professor in Small Animal Surgery at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida. Dr. Kim received his veterinary degree from the University of Sydney in 2003. After 2 years in general small animal practice, he completed an Internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the Ontario Veterinary College in 2006. Dr. Kim undertook a combined MS / Residency in Small Animal Surgery at the University of Florida, which was completed in 2010. Dr. Kim has since remained at the University of Florida as a faculty member in small animal surgery, with a focus in orthopedics.

Dr. Kim is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. He has authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications, and several book chapters. He has been the recipient of numerous teaching and research awards, including the 2017 Zoetis Distinguished Teacher Award. His research interests are in the field of minimally invasive orthopedic surgery, fracture repair, joint replacement and orthopedic biomechanics.

Dr. Jones grew up outside Dublin in Ireland. He attended Veterinary school at University College Dublin. After receiving his Veterinary Medicine degree in 2009, he moved to Hollywood, Florida to complete both rotating and specialty surgery internships, at the Hollywood Animal Hospital. From there, Dr. Jones moved to Gainesville Florida where he completed a combined residency in small animal surgery and masters program at the University of Florida. After completion of his residency in 2015, Dr. Jones moved to Columbus, Ohio where he joined the joined the faculty rank as an Assistant Professor of Small Animal Orthopedics at The Ohio State University. Dr. Jones is a Diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. He has written and published numerous scientific papers and abstracts and lectures all over the world. His special interests include minimally invasive fracture repair, medical and surgical treatment of joint disease, arthroscopy, and surgical management of angular limb deformities.

Dr. Susan Little received her BSc from Dalhousie University (Nova Scotia, Canada) and her DVM from the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph. She has been in feline practice since 1990 and achieved board certification in Feline Practice in 1997. She is part owner of two feline specialty practices in Ottawa, Canada. She is a past president of the American Assoc. of Feline Practitioners and the Winn Feline Foundation. She is currently an International Council for Veterinary Assessments board member. She is a peer reviewer for veterinary journals as well as the author of many journal articles. Dr. Little is the recipient of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Assoc. Small Animal Practitioner Award (2010), the NAVC Small Animal Speaker of the Year Award (2013), and the International Society of Feline Medicine/Hill's Pet Nutrition Award for outstanding contributions to feline medicine (2013). She is the editor and co-author of two textbooks: The Cat – Clinical Medicine and Management (2012) and August's Consultations in Feline Internal Medicine, Volume 7 (2015).

Dr McCarthy received his DVM from Colorado State University in 1969, became Board Certified by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1978, and earned a PhD in surgery from Colorado State University in 1981. He currently practices at VetMIST in Beaverton, Oregon. Dr McCarthy performed his first endoscopy in 1982 and since that time has performed over 5000 endoscopic procedures, and has developed many endoscopic techniques that are becoming commonplace in small animal practice today. Dr McCarthy has published numerous articles on small animal endoscopy, has lectured nationally and internationally, and published a major textbook on small animal endoscopy.

Dr. Tams received his DVM from The Ohio State University in 1977 and was in mixed general practice for a year prior to entering an internship program in Los Angeles.  After interning at the West Los Angeles Veterinary Medical Group, he completed a residency in internal medicine at Colorado State University.  Dr. Tams was a staff internist at the Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston from 1981-84, and achieved board certification in internal medicine in 1982.  Dr. Tams returned to Los Angeles in 1984.  In January 1987 West Los Angeles Group became the first VCA (Veterinary Centers of America) hospital. He is currently Chief Medical Officer for VCA Inc., as well as a part-time staff internist at VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital. VCA owns and operates nearly 900 hospitals in the U.S. and Canada.

Dr. Tams was named as a Distinguished Alumnus of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2000.

Dr. Tams has published two textbooks:

1. Small Animal Endoscopy (Mosby/Elsevier), second edition published November 1998, and a third edition in 2011.
2. Handbook of Small Animal Gastroenterology (Elsevier).

Dr. Tams has presented numerous seminars and wet lab courses in the U.S. and abroad on his special interest areas of gastroenterology and GI endoscopy.

Dr. Vincent Wavreille graduated from the University of Liege, Belgium, in 2006. He worked for one year in a private practice in Angers, France, performing mainly emergencies. In 2008, he completed a rotating internship at the University of Liege, Belgium, followed by a specialized internship at Fitzpatrick Referrals, Godalming, the UK. He completed a small animal surgical residency at The Ohio State University and concurrently finished a Master of Sciences degree in 2014. Then, Dr. Wavreille performed a surgical oncology fellowship at the University of Florida. He is currently an assistant professor in surgical oncology at The Ohio State University. He is Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) and ACVS Fellow in Surgical Oncology. His areas of main interest are invasive oncologic procedures, limb sparing procedures and development of new treatment approaches (microwave ablation…).