Happy New Year!
I hope everyone had a restful holiday break following what for us was an exceptionally busy fall semester at the end of an exciting and fruitful year for the college across all of its missions.
Recognizing the critical nationwide shortage of veterinarians and the impact on food animals as well as pets, our college and UF leaders were successful in procuring $3 million in funding from the Florida Legislature for an increase in the number of seats offered to 150 students (104 state-funded and 46 self-funded.) We received a record 1,922 applications for D.V.M. slots this year, which resulted in 345 Zoom interviews.
Our most recent annual report, which is part of this issue, hits a number of our FY ’22 metrics, including a record overall clinical caseload of 110,596. That figure includes animals treated in our small and large animal hospitals in Gainesville, and at our satellite facilities in Ocala, including the UF Pet Emergency Treatment Service, or UF PETS clinic and the new UF Veterinary Hospital at World Equestrian Center.
Since we opened the new UF Veterinary Hospital at WEC, we have been thrilled at the positive reception we have received from the equestrian community as well as from the pet-owning public in the Ocala/Marion County area. We continue to expand our faculty and staff to meet the need for services.
This issue highlights a couple of our recent research-related stories, including our cover article focusing on how a cross-disciplinary team of scientists from the college facilitated the diagnosis of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a dolphin, the first finding of the pathogen in a cetacean in America. We also have a story focusing on findings from our shelter medicine group that document the effect of COVID-19 on spay-neuter surgeries and the threat posed to years of progress fighting years of pet overpopulation.
We continue to make inroads in the area of artificial intelligence across departments. Last summer, UF’s Artificial Intelligence hiring initiative helped us bring Dr. Jon Kim on board. An assistant professor of small animal clinical sciences, he will focus on developing novel diagnostic and clinical applications in the field of comparative oncology and translational medicine by utilizing AI and machine learning. You can gain some insights into his program and goals in an interview we have included here as well.
We were proud to host our inaugural Alumni Reunion Weekend event in June, and a successful fall Homecoming Reunion in October. It has been wonderful to have these opportunities to reconnect in person with our alumni and their families, and to share news of the college as well as hear ideas from these important stakeholders about how we can continue to engage meaningfully with them in the future.
The effects of Hurricane Ian on Fort Myers and the surrounding areas have been covered extensively in the news, but no amount of reporting can adequately describe the devastation wreaked by this storm or the impact it has had on people, pets and other animals affected by it. On October 3, the UF Veterinary Treatment Service, or UF VETs, team headed for Fort Myers for what would end up being a 10-day deployment, establishing a field hospital to provided medical care to animals that had been displaced, injured, were showing signs of distress or otherwise needed assistance. Faculty, staff and students from our college were involved in this effort, along with numerous volunteers from other organizations, including the Florida Veterinary Medical Association. Our efforts garnered support from local and national media, and a story in this issue provides an overview of what the team encountered and perspective from some of those who participated. I am so proud of them all!
Finally, I’d like to welcome Dr. Chris Adin to the role of executive associate dean. Many of you may know Dr. Adin from his service as chair of our department of small animal clinical sciences since 2018, and as a faculty member in our small animal surgery service in the early 2000s. Dr. Adin’s appointment became effective in October. In other appointment news, Dr. Ashley Allen-Durrance will be joining our Office for Academic and Student Affairs in January to serve as assistant dean of admissions and student success. An emergency and critical care specialist, Dr. Allen-Durrance has been a member of our UF faculty since 2014.
I appreciate every one of you and all you to for the college, the veterinary medical profession and your communities.
With Gratitude,
Dana N. Zimmel, D.V.M.
Dean and Professor
