New PVM clinical residents and intern in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences and the Veterinary Teaching Hospital: (front row, left-right) Drs. Tara Boozer, Gianninne Bedoya Nader, Whitney Vickery, and Jaya Mehra; (middle row, left-right) Drs. Fallon Segarra, Sarah Ostenkamp (cardiology intern), Ana Aghili, and Adrienne Cheney; (back row, left-right) Drs. Dillon Devathasan, Victoria Lyons, Beatriz Belda Lopez, Rothman Reyes, and Orion Stollar. (Not pictured: Dr. José Goñi)
The Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine welcomed new and familiar faces this summer as interns and first-year residents arrived at Lynn Hall. The newest class of interns started at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) and Centaur Equine Specialty Hospital in June. The new residents began their orientation in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences and the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (ADDL) in July.
A total of 13 new residents representing 11 different specialties now are working in the Veterinary Teaching Hospital while also completing graduate studies through the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences. Three new anatomic pathology residents as well as an avian pathology resident joined the ADDL
The veterinarians who began their residency programs this summer are as follows:
Dr. Ana Aghili (Emergency and Critical Care) earned her DVM from Louisiana State University in 2015. She then completed a rotating internship at Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners in Kentucky before completing an emergency and critical care internship at Washington State University this year.
Dr. Beatriz Belda Lopez (Small Animal Surgery) comes to Purdue from North Carolina State University where she recently completed a small animal surgery internship and worked in the Comparative Pain Research Laboratory. She earned her DVM degree in 2012 from the University of Murcia before completing a small animal rotating internship and small animal surgery internship at the Hospital Veterinario in Valencia Sur, Spain.
Dr. Tara Boozer (Diagnostic Imaging) earned her DVM degree in 2010 from Tuskegee University. She worked as an associate veterinarian at practices in Georgia and Florida before completing a small animal rotating internship and diagnostic imaging internship at the Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson.
Dr. Caitlin Brown (Anatomic Pathology) earned her DVM degree from Kansas State University. She gained additional clinical medicine/surgery training and anatomic pathology training from the University of Tennessee, the University of California, Davis, and The Marine Mammal Center. She also completed additional research training at the University of Cambridge, U.K., Kansas State University, as well as The Marine Mammal Center.
Dr. Adrienne Cheney (Small Animal Medicine) most recently completed a small animal rotating internship at Iowa State University. She earned her DVM degree from Oregon State University in 2017.
Dr. Dillon Devathasan (Neurology) earned his DVM degree in 2015 from the University of Adelaide in Australia. He completed a small animal rotating internship at Queensland Veterinary Specialists, as well as a neurology and surgery internship at the Centre for Animal Referral and Emergency before coming to Purdue.
New small animal surgery resident Beatriz Belda Lopez (right), visits with (left-right) current small animal surgery residents Anastsia Olsen and Ken Brand and diagnostic imaging resident Emily Donaldson at a welcome reception hosted by the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences for the residents and faculty.
Dr. José Goñi (Large Animal Medicine) comes to Purdue from the University of Georgia where he most recently completed a rotating internship. He earned his DVM degree in 2015 from Rio Cuarto National University before completing a rotating internship at the Kawell Equine Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Argentina. He then completed an internship in 2016 at Park Equine Hospital followed by a fellowship with Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, both in Kentucky.
Dr. Victoria Lyons (Ophthalmology) earned her DVM degree from Western University of Health Sciences in 2016. She completed a small animal rotating internship in 2017 at the Encina Veterinary Hospital in California. Before coming to Purdue, Dr. Lyons finished an ophthalmology internship with Animal Eye Specialists, also located in California.
Dr. Jaya Mehra (Neurology) earned a DVM degree in 2016 from the University of California, Davis, followed by a rotating internship at the VCA Northwest in Oregon and a neurology internship at the Veterinary Specialty Hospital in California.
Dr. Laura Morman (Avian Pathology) earned her DVM degree in 2016 at Purdue University. She then served as a feedlot veterinarian at Alberta Beef Health Solutions before returning to Purdue to complete her poultry diagnostic medicine residency.
Dr. Gianninne Bedoya Nader (Cardiology) comes to Purdue from Michigan where she completed a cardiology internship at Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners. Dr. Nader previously finished a small animal rotating internship at Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners in Illinois. She earned her DVM degree in 2016 from St. George’s University.
Dr. Stacey Piotrowski (Anatomic Pathology) earned her DVM degree in 2015 from the University of Illinois. She then completed a laboratory animal medicine residency through the Gulf Coast Consortium Training Program in Houston, Texas. As a participant in the NIH Comparative Biomedical Scientist Training Program, Dr. Piotrowski will complete two years of anatomic pathology training at Purdue University and will then go on to perform PhD research at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
New anatomic pathology residents in the ADDL: (left-right) Drs. Caitlin Brown, Stacey Piotrowski, and Melissa Swan.
Dr. Rothman Reyes (Oncology) earned his DVM degree in 2016 at Michigan State University. He completed a small animal rotating internship in 2017 at Purdue University before serving as an oncology specialty intern at Blue Pearl Georgia Veterinary Specialists.
Dr. Fallon Segarra (Large Animal Surgery) earned her DVM degree at Auburn University in 2016. She completed internships at both Peninsula Equine Medical Center and Missouri University before coming to Purdue.
Dr. Orion Stollar (Animal Behavior) earned his MSc and DVM degrees from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He worked as a veterinary general practitioner at practices in Israel before owning and serving as behavioral consultant at the Veterinary Behavior Consultation Service. He also served as general practitioner and clinic manager at the Bet Hayot Leholim Clinic in Israel before coming to Purdue.
Dr. Melissa Swan (Anatomic Pathology) earned her DVM degree from Purdue University in 2018 before beginning her residency program in the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory.
Dr. Whitney Vickery (Small Animal Medicine) earned her DVM degree at the University of Tennessee before completing an internship with the US Army Veterinary Corps – First Year Graduate Veterinary Education Program in Colorado. She then served as branch chief of veterinary services in Japan and, most recently, in Kentucky.
Incoming PVM Class of 2019 Interns: (front row, left-right) Drs. Michael Pabon and Marianthi Gelatos; (middle row, left-right) Wasson Veterinary Pharmacy Resident Mindy Anderson, Drs. Colleen Embersics, and Lydia Hoeksema; (back row, left-right) Drs. Dusty Anderson, Cam Kindra, Leigh Ann Howard, and Tanner Slead. (Not pictured: Dr. Sara Ostenkamp)
A group of seven interns started their year-long clinical program in the Veterinary Teaching Hospital with an intensive orientation June 11. The interns rotate through medicine and surgery specialties in the Small Animal Hospital. The clinical intern program is designed to provide advanced training to qualify each intern for an approved residency program leading to board certification in a recognized veterinary specialty. The Centaur Equine Specialty Hospital, a satellite facility of the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine located in Shelbyville, Ind., also welcomed an intern. Later in the summer, the VTH welcomed a cardiology specialty intern, who joined the incoming residents at their orientation.
In addition to the clinical internship program, the VTH also offers a year-long residency position in veterinary pharmacy, named the Wasson Veterinary Pharmacy Resident, in honor of the donors who contributed significant funding to support the position. Mindy Anderson, PharmD, returned to PVM to fill that position. Before completing her Doctor of Pharmacy degree in Purdue University’s College of Pharmacy, Mindy served as chief instructional technologist in the Veterinary Teaching Hospital teaching veterinary nursing and veterinary medicine students, often with her trio of corgis in tow.
The members of the Intern Class of 2019 are as follows:
Large Animal Medicine and Surgery Intern | Centaur Equine Specialty Hospital
- Dusty Anderson, DVM, Washington State University (2017)
Small Animal Medicine and Surgery Interns | Veterinary Teaching Hospital
- Colleen Embersics, DVM, Mississippi State University (2018)
- Marianthi Gelatos, DVM, Ross University (2017)
- Lydia Hoeksema, DVM, Iowa State University (2018)
- Leigh Ann Howard, DVM, Midwestern University (2018)
- Cameron “Cam” Kindra, DVM, University of Illinois (2018)
- Michael Pabon, DVM, University of Georgia (2018)
- Tanner Slead, DVM, Kansas State University (2018)
Cardiology Specialty Intern | Veterinary Teaching Hospital
- Sara Ostenkamp, DVM, North Carolina State University (2017)
Wasson Veterinary Pharmacy Resident | Veterinary Teaching Hospital
- Melinda “Mindy” Anderson, PharmD, Purdue University (2018)