
Dr. Aaron Mickle
Aaron Mickle, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the department of physiological sciences, has received the Rita Allen Foundation Award in Pain for his research aimed at developing treatments for interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome.
The award recognizes emerging experts in basic pain research whose work holds high potential for uncovering new pathways to improve the treatment of chronic pain. The Rita Allen Award consists of $50,000 per year over three years and is given to early-career investigators who are pursuing innovative research on mechanisms that initiate and propagate pain in the nervous system.
Mickle aims to study the interaction between the cells that line the bladder, known as urothelial cells, and the neurons that send pain signals to the brain.
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Dr. Wendy Mandese
Wendy Mandese, D.V.M. (’02), a clinical assistant professor in the department of small animal clinical sciences, has received the 2022 Dunkin Award from the British Small Animal Veterinary Association in recognition of an article she published in 2021 in the Journal of Small Animal Practice.
The award is presented annually to the first named author of the best original research article on small animal medicine published in the journal in the past year. Titled “Stress in client-owned dogs related to clinical exam location: a randomized crossover trial”, Mandese’s article investigated whether it was more stressful for a dog to be examined in a common treatment area or in a room with the owner.
Francesca Griffin, D.V.M. (’02), also a clinical assistant professor with SACS, was a coauthor.
The team evaluated several physical parameters that indicate stress and anxiety in dogs, and discovered that most of those parameters increase when a dog is separated from its owner during a simple physical exam.
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Dr. Daryl Buss
Daryl Buss, Ph.D., a professor emeritus and former chair of our college’s department of physiological sciences, has received the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges’ 2022 Billy E. Hooper Award for Distinguished Service.
Among his many achievements are serving for 17 years as dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, where he was also a faculty member in the department of comparative biosciences. He retired in 2012 as dean emeritus and professor emeritus and served from 2013-2021 as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education.