The College of Veterinary Medicine was pleased to welcome the following educators, researchers and clinicians who joined the faculty during 2024:
François-René Bertin
Francois-René Bertin, DVM, MS, PhD, FHEA, DACVIM (LAIM), joined the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences as professor of large animal internal medicine effective January 29, 2024. He earned his DVM degree from the National Veterinary School of Nantes (France), and completed an equine medicine and surgery internship at the National Veterinary School of Alfort (France), as well as a residency in Large Animal Internal Medicine at Purdue University. A diplomate of the ACVIM, he earned a PhD in Haemovascular Physiology at McGill University (Canada) and was on faculty at The University of Queensland (Australia) for eight years before returning to Purdue.
Dr. Bertin specializes in equine endocrinology and metabolic disorders leading to laminitis, focusing his research on diagnostic testing and management of insulin dysregulation and pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction. He has authored numerous publications and leads the international Equine Endocrinology Group for metabolic syndrome and thyroid disorders.
Nikolaos Dervisis
Nikolaos Dervisis, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (Oncology), joined the Veterinary Clinical Sciences Department as associate professor of veterinary medical oncology and a member of the Werling Comparative Oncology Research Center effective August 12, 2024. He also holds a joint appointment with the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research. Dr. Dervisis earned his DVM degree from Aristotle University in Thessaloniki. After serving in the Hellenic Army, he earned a PhD in comparative medicine and integrative biology and completed a residency in veterinary medical oncology at Michigan State University. During 12 years on the faculty at Virginia Tech, he co-led the growth of the medical oncology program from two positions to a team of seven oncologists and established himself as a leading expert in tumor ablation devices using focused ultrasound and irreversible electroporation.”
Dr. Dervisis and his wife, Dr. Shawna Klahn, also a veterinary oncologist, came to Purdue after working together as a team at Virginia Tech. With his extensive experience in clinical trials, Dr. Dervisis will be leading initiatives at Purdue to bring experimental treatments from lab to clinic.
Paulo Gomes
Paulo Gomes, DVM, DACVD, joined the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences as clinical associate professor of Dermatology effective September 1, 2024. Dr. Gomes earned his DVM degree from Sao Paulo State University in Brazil in 2007, and later completed an internship in small animal medicine and surgery at Pompeia Veterinary Hospital in Sao Paulo and a residency in comparative dermatology at the University of Minnesota’s Veterinary Medical Center.
Dr. Gomes first came to Purdue in 2014, when he was appointed as a clinical assistant professor of veterinary dermatology in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences. Board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Dermatology (ACVD), Dr. Gomes remained at Purdue until 2023, when he accepted a faculty appointment in veterinary dermatology at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. He returned to Purdue at the start of 2024 to accept his appointment as clinical associate professor. Dr. Gomes’ clinical interests include CO2 laser utilized in small animal dermatology.
Jesús Hermida
Jesús Hermida, DVM, MS, DACVS (Large Animal) joined the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences as assistant professor of large animal surgery effective January 2, 2024. Dr. Hermida earned his DVM degree from the National University of Colombia, and then completed internships in Canada, Kentucky, and Purdue University. At Purdue, he continued his training by doing a residency in large animal surgery. He currently is completing a PhD program.
Dr. Hermida is board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (Large Animal). His areas of interest include proximal sesamoid fractures in horses, orthopedic surgery, minimally invasive surgery and lameness.
Morgan Johnson
Morgan Johson, DVM, joined the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences as an assistant professor of ophthalmology effective August 19, 2024. She earned her DVM degree from Oklahoma State University, where she developed an interest in ophthalmology during clinical rotations. Dr. Johson then completed a small animal rotating medicine and surgery internship at Kansas State University and remained there for a residency in comparative ophthalmology before coming to Purdue.
As a Purdue Veterinary Medicine clinical track faculty member, Dr. Johnson spends much of her time on the clinic floor and enjoys teaching veterinary students, interns and residents as part of the ophthalmology team. Her interests include surface ocular disease with a focus on infectious keratitis and the ocular surface microbiome.
Shawna Klahn
Shawna Klahn, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology), joined the Veterinary Clinical Sciences Department as associate professor of veterinary oncology and a member of the Werling Comparative Oncology Research Center effective August 12, 2024. She also holds a joint appointment with the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research. Dr. Klahn earned her DVM degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and then completed an internship at Colorado State University and her veterinary oncology residency at Michigan State University, becoming board-certified in 2011. After a year at a private specialty hospital, she and her husband, Dr. Nick Dervisis, worked for 12 years at Virginia Tech as a team, creating and building the medical oncology program there, including the clinical service, translational research program, and training future veterinarians and veterinary oncology specialists.
In 2023, Dr. Klahn completed a graduate certificate in Regulatory Affairs as part of her mentored research program with the integrated Translational Health Research Institute of Virginia (iTHRIV). Her research focuses on clinical trials in pets with cancer to advance the fields of human and veterinary oncology, with a specific interest in tumor ablation using devices.
Carla Murillo
Carla Murillo Ramirez, DVM, DACVA, was appointed as a clinical assistant professor of anesthesiology in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, effective January 29, 2024. She earned her DVM degree from the National University of Costa Rica in 2017 and then completed a large animal internship at the University of Saskatchewan before coming to Purdue University to complete her anesthesiology residency.
A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Anesthesiologists, Dr. Murillo’s primary interests are electroencephalography under anesthesia and locoregional anesthesia.
Viju Pillai
Viju Pillai, BVSc, PhD, DACVP (Anatomic Pathology), joined the Department of Comparative Pathobiology as assistant professor of anatomic pathology effective January 3, 2024. Dr. Pillai earned his BVSc (DVM equivalent) degree at Kerala Agricultural University in India in 2010. He later pursued a graduate degree and earned his PhD in reproductive biology from Cornell University before completing an anatomic pathology residency at Purdue and becoming board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Pathologists.
Dr. Pillai’s research program is broadly focused on various aspects of reproductive and stem cell biology, with a particular emphasis on early embryonic and placental development, stem cells, 3D-organoid models, and the advancement and application of stem cell-based technologies to enhance human and animal health.
Marejka Shaevitz
Marejka H. Shaevitz, MS, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology) joined the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences as clinical assistant professor of oncology effective February 19, 2024. Dr. Shaevitz earned her master’s degree in clinical psychology from the University of Utah before enrolling at Oregon State University and earning her DVM degree in 2016. After completing a small animal internship at the University of Illinois, she came to Purdue to complete a residency in comparative oncology.
Dr. Shaevitz then served for four years as a veterinarian in a private clinical practice before returning to Purdue to accept her current appointment. Her interests include clinical translational research that advances medical care for dogs and humans with cancer, and mentoring and teaching the next generation of researchers and practitioners.
Ilya Slizovskiy
Ilya B. Slizovskiy, MPH, DVM, PhD, was appointed as assistant professor of antimicrobial resistance and farm animal medicine in the Veterinary Clinical Sciences Department, and Veterinary Hospital infectious disease epidemiologist effective February 12. He earned his MPH in environmental health sciences / occupational and environmental medicine at the Yale University School of Public Health and his DVM degree at Colorado State University before completing a residency in veterinary public health and preventive medicine and earning his PhD in epidemiology at the University of Minnesota.
As a public health veterinarian and microbiologist, Dr. Slizovskiy’s goal is to reduce morbidity and mortality in humans and animals owing to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The Slizovskiy Lab is developing genomic sequencing, computational, and statistical tools to characterize and predict risks of AMR in bacteria found within human, animal, food, and environmental microbial communities (i.e. microbiomes), with a focus on identifying and deploying microbiome-level interventions to de-escalate AMR pressure and related health sequelae.
Jurica Tršan
Jurica Tršan, DVM, DACVIM (LAIM) joined Purdue Veterinary Medicine as visiting assistant professor of large animal internal medicine and emergency and critical care, effective September 2, 2024. He earned his DVM degree in 2017 from the University of Zagreb, Croatia, and then completed an equine rotating internship at Utrecht University (Netherlands) and a residency in Large Animal Internal Medicine (equine emphasis) at the University of California, Davis.
Board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Large Animal Internal Medicine), Dr. Tršan served as a large animal internal medicine veterinarian at the Purdue University Veterinary Hospital before accepting his current position.
Dielson da Silva Vieira
Dielson Vieira, DVM, MS, PhD, was appointed as clinical assistant professor of basic medical sciences in the Basic Medical Sciences Department effective August 1, 2024. Dr. Vieira earned his DVM degree from Universidad Federal do Vale do Sao Francisco (UNIVASF) in Brazil in 2014 and his master’s degree from Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE) before earning his PhD in medical and surgical physiopathology from Sao Paulo State University (UNESP) in 2020. He then served as a postdoctoral research fellow with Embrapa Dairy Cattle in Brazil before working as a postdoctoral researcher at Yale University, focusing on microbiology and vaccinology.
At Purdue, Dr. Vieira was a Ross-Lynn Postdoctoral Fellow from 2023-2024, specializing in antimicrobial resistance. A member of the American Society for Microbiology, Dr. Vieira’s interests include veterinary education, educational technologies, antimicrobial resistance and the microbiome.
