Purdue Veterinary Alumni Ascend to IVMA Leadership Roles

New officers are recognized on stage during the conference
New IVMA Officers were installed at a ceremony February 1 officiated by Dr. Sandra Faeh, AVMA president-elect. The new officers (left-right on stage) are Immediate Past President Greg Kurtz, President Lindsey Hedges, President-elect Kristi Kantz and Treasurer Corey Swart.

The Indiana Veterinary Medical Association (IVMA) installed its new leadership team of officers, which includes Purdue veterinary alumni, on February 1 during the annual IVMA Crossroads Veterinary Conference. Dr. Lindsey Hedges (PU DVM 2011), assumed the duties of president following her term this past year as president-elect. Dr. Hedges, of Lebanon, Indiana, is the senior director of mentorship at Mission Veterinary Partners. She has served as a facilitator for IVMA’s leadership program, Power of 10, since 2015. She also has served as the Region 2 board member on the IVMA Board of Directors.

The IVMA’s treasurer also is a Purdue DVM graduate. Dr. Corey Swart was reelected to that role after completing a two year term as treasurer. A member of the Purdue DVM Class of 2008, Dr. Swart is the managing doctor at Jefferson Road Animal Hospital/Cat Clinic of Kokomo where he grew up volunteering and working while pursuing his education. Dr. Swart served as an at-large member of the IVMA Board of Directors and also serves on several IVMA task forces and participated in the Power of You program in 2020. In addition, he is the treasurer of the Wabash Valley Veterinary Medical Association.

Dr. Sandra Faeh, president-elect of the American Veterinary Medical Association, was present at the installation ceremony to officiate. The other IVMA officers are Dr. Greg Kurtz, immediate past president, and Dr. Kristi Kantz, president-elect. The IVMA is the professional organization for veterinarians who care for Hoosier pets, farm animals, zoo animals, wildlife, and public health, and is the human side of animal health.

Writer(s): Kevin Doerr | pvmnews@purdue.edu

Recent Stories

Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery Honors PVM Clinician Paulo Gomes as a Top Co-Author

Dr. Paulo Gomes, clinical associate professor of dermatology in the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, recently was recognized for co-authoring one of the most widely read articles of 2025 in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. The publication is an online, open access, international, peer-reviewed journal.

“Paws Up” – brought to you by the PVM Wellness Committee

This week a big Paws Up goes to Gabriel Harris, who is a graduate research assistant in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences.

More Time Together

From the moment Brian met Blackie as a playful puppy at a rescue, their bond was undeniable. Over the years, Blackie became more than a pet. That is why, when Brian found Blackie unresponsive in his yard one evening, he refused to give up. Brian drove Blackie an hour and a half to the Purdue University Veterinary Hospital’s Emergency and Critical Care team.

USDA Funding Fuels Purdue Veterinary Medicine Research Seeking Answers to Costly Cattle Production Mystery

A four-year, $650,000 New Investigator Award from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) will support research led by Dr. Viju V. Pillai, a faculty member in Purdue Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Comparative Pathobiology and pathologist at the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (ADDL), aimed at solving a persistent and costly mystery in cattle production.  Dr. Pillai’s team wants to answer the question of why so many pregnancies fail before they are even recognized? The project will focus on the earliest stages of fetal–maternal communication and on a little-understood family of proteins called trophoblast Kunitz domain proteins (TKDPs), whose functions in pregnancy remain largely unknown.

In Memory: Dr. Ronald P. Miller (PU DVM ’63)

The Purdue Veterinary Medicine community is saddened by the passing of Dr. Ronald P. Miller, of Indianapolis, a member of the College of Veterinary Medicine’s first graduating class, the Class of 1963.  Dr. Miller died February 17, 2026, at the age of 89.

In Memory – Dr. Julie Anderson (PU DVM ’78)

A Purdue Veterinary Medicine alumna and beloved veterinarian, Dr Julie Anderson, of Rockville, Indiana, will be remembered at a celebration of life open house to be hosted in her honor by West Central Veterinary Services Sunday, April 27. Dr. Anderson, a member of the Purdue DVM Class of 1978, passed away in December at the age of 71.

Popular Veterinary Nursing Symposium Features Day of Learning and Networking

Purdue Veterinary Medicine’s annual Veterinary Nursing Symposium brought more than 150 veterinary professionals to Lynn Hall recently to gain practical knowledge and insights about a diverse range of topics covering both small and large animals. Veterinary nurses (technicians and technologists), veterinary assistants and veterinary nursing (technology) students participated in the all day lifelong learning program Sunday, March 23. The attendees came from across Indiana as well as Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.

“Paws Up” – brought to you by the PVM Wellness Committee

Today we are highlighting Dr. Heather Bornheim, who is a farm animal medicine and surgery clinician in the Purdue University Veterinary Hospital.

CPB’s Aryal Lab Members Recognized at 140th Annual Indiana Academy of Science Meeting

Two members of Research Associate Professor Uma Aryal’s lab in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology recently received noteworthy recognition during the 140th Indiana Academy of Science conference hosted in Indianapolis. According to the Indiana Academy of Science, since 1885, its annual conferences have served as the only multidisciplinary scientific meetings that take place in the state. The event on March 22 attracted hundreds of senior and junior scientists from Indiana and across the Midwest.