Large Animal Ultrasound Fellowship

Large Animal Ultrasound Fellowship

Potential candidates:

Recruitment will be open September 15, 2024 for the Large Animal Ultrasound Fellowship position for the 2025-2026 academic year to begin July 29, 2025.  A select number of applicants will be invited to interview after the application deadline.  The successful applicant will be selected and notified by January 31, 2025.

APPLICATION DEADLINE:  November 15, 2024

Application Instructions here

About the Fellowship

The goals of the Large Animal Ultrasound Fellowship are to produce veterinarians with advanced technical and interpretative skills in this important clinical discipline. The species emphasis is equine, but fellows will gain exposure to other large animal species such as cows, goats, sheep and pigs. This position is an 80% clinical appointment with 20% time for off clinic pursuits (see below). Annual salary is $50,183 with medical benefits included. Housing is not provided. The fellowship is one year in length.

This webpage is designed to provide potential applicants with detailed information regarding the program, including overall service information and what to expect from the fellowship. Graduates of the program have gone on to secure faculty positions in large animal ultrasound, residencies in radiology, equine surgery and veterinary sports medicine and rehabilitation and have established regional ultrasound consulting services.

Learn more on our Facebook page

 

About the UC Davis Large Animal Ultrasound Service

The Large Animal Ultrasound Service provides diagnostic imaging services five days per week. The majority of the service caseload is supported by the hospital’s Equine Surgery and Lameness and Equine Emergency and Critical Care Services with a large percentage of musculoskeletal ultrasound examinations. However, a wide variety of ultrasound exams are performed. The candidate selected will receive training in the sonographic evaluation of all areas, including the abdomen, thorax, and ophthalmologic exams. The equine caseload consists of a variety of performance horses, including dressage, hunter/jumpers, eventing, race, endurance, western performance (cutting, reining, roping, barrel racing), pleasure horses and specialty breeds.  A working knowledge of performance horses is beneficial. There is little to no emergency duty. Emergency colic ultrasound evaluations are performed by the surgery resident on call. The Equine Medicine Service and Livestock Medicine and Surgery Service perform medical emergency ultrasound evaluations.
 

Our Equipment

The Large Animal Ultrasound Service has a full range of equipment available for all aspects of equine, livestock and small ruminant ultrasound. Our state-of-the-art ultrasound machines are carefully selected for their superior imaging abilities. We are fortunate to have two excellent ultrasound console systems that allow us to evaluate two patients simultaneously. Both machines excel at musculoskeletal and abdominal imaging. We also have a grab-n-go portable system that facilitates quick responses to stall-side emergencies, intra-operative and other procedures. Transducers available include 6-18 MHz and 5-10 MHz linear transducers for musculoskeletal use, 4-8 MHz microconvex transducers for neonatal and small ruminant abdominal/thoracic imaging, 2-5 MHz curvilinear transducers for adult equine abdominal and thoracic imaging and a 2-5 MHz phased array transducer for cardiac imaging.
 

Our Faculty and Staff

  • Betsy Vaughan, DVM, DACVSMR (Professor, Section Head, Fellowship Director)
  • Charlène Pigé, DVM, DACVR-EDI (Assistant Professor)
  • Mary Beth Whitcomb, DVM MBA, DECVDI (LA Assoc) (Professor Emeritus)
  • Rachel Eya (Technician)
     


Our Fellows

  • 2023-2024 Fellow: Gabriela Castellanos, DVM
  • Dr. Castellanos is a 2017 graduate of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador.  She completed an internship at Brazos Valley Equine Hospital in Stephenville, TX and owned her own private practice in Ecuador prior to her fellowship.  She will be working in private practice in Austin, TX beginning Fall 2024
  • 2021-2022 Fellow:  Karen Shaw, BVMS
  • Dr. Shaw is a 2016 graduate of the University of Glasgow School of Veterinary Medicine. She completed internships at North Carolina State University and UC Davis prior to completing the Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency at the University of Tennessee.  Dr. Shaw currently owns a specialty private practice in Northern CA.
  • 2018-2020 Fellow:  Linda Dillenbeck, BVSc
  • Dr. Dillenbeck is a 2012 graduate of the University of Sydney School of Veterinary Science. She completed a 1-year internship at Agnes Banks Equine Clinic in Australia and then worked in private equine practice prior to her fellowship. She has since completed a diagnostic imaging residency at North Carolina State University and is currently faculty at Colorado State University.
  • 2015-16 Fellow:  Lothar Vanslambrouck, DVM
  • Dr. Vanslambrouck is a 2013 graduate of Ghent University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. After his fellowship, he returned to the Middle East and worked as the lead veterinarian for the Royal Family of Oman for several years before returning to private practice in Belgium.
  • 2014-15 Fellow:  Sue Jones, MVB, MRCVS        
  • Dr. Jones initially returned to Australia to begin a faculty position with the University of Adelaide School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences. She then completed an Equine Sports Medicine Residency at the University of Melbourne  and has recently started an ultrasound consulting practice in Melbourne.
  • 2012-14 Fellow:  Georgette Shields, DVM, DACVR
  • Dr. Shields completed her radiology residency at Colorado State University in 2017 and is a board-certified Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Radiology. She is currently based in the San Diego area where she runs a radiology consulting business for horses and companion animals. 
  • 2011-12 Fellow:  Rachel Gottlieb (Kaplan), DVM
  • Dr. Gottlieb recently established and is co-owner of Seattle Equine Performance in Seattle, WA where she focuses on high-level performance horses with special interest in ultrasound and imaging.  
  • 2009-11 Fellow:  Beth Biscoe, DVM, DACVR
  • Dr. Biscoe completed a radiology residency at Washington State University in 2014 and is a board-certified Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Radiology. She is currently an equine diagnostic imaging consultant and is a radiologist for VetRad.
  • 2008-10 Fellow:  Alex Young, BVSc, DACVR
  • Dr. Young became a board-certified Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Radiology after completing her radiology residency at UC Davis in 2014. After 3 years at the University of Sydney as a faculty radiologist, Dr. Young is now a senior lecturer in radiology at the University of Queensland.
  • 2007-08 Fellow:  Karine Pader, DVM, DACVS
  • Dr. Pader went on to complete a large animal surgery residency at Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine. After a position with the University of Montreal, Dr. Pader returned to her native France where she is currently in private practice. 
  • 2006-07 Fellow:  Suzanne Brenner, DVM
  • Dr. Brenner is the equine ultrasound specialist at Pioneer Equine Hospital in Oakdale, CA and spent several years as a part-time staff veterinarian for the UCD Large Animal Ultrasound Service.  She also provides consult appointments with veterinarians in Northern CA. 
  • 2005-06 Fellow:  Wade Tenney, DVM
  • Dr. Tenney was on staff at Steinbeck Country Equine Clinic for several years before joining the faculty at Tufts University where he is currently an assistant clinical professor, in charge of their Large Animal Ultrasound Service. 
  • 2003-05 Fellow:  Betsy Vaughan, DVM, DACVSMR
  • Dr. Vaughan has been a faculty veterinarian in the Large Animal Ultrasound Service at UC Davis since completing her 2-year ultrasound fellowship at UC Davis. She is currently Section Head and Fellowship Director of the Large Animal Ultrasound Service. 
  • 2002-03 Fellow:  Agustin Almanza, MV
  • Dr. Almanza has practiced throughout Europe and South America and is currently based in his home country of Argentina. 
  • 2001-02 Fellow:  Katie Flynn, BVMS, MRCVS
  • Dr. Flynn is a veterinarian with the California Department of Food and Agriculture.  She is well-known to California equine veterinarians for her work monitoring and communicating about infectious disease outbreaks.  

 

Our Caseload

Since the program's inception in 2001, the Large Animal Ultrasound Service has averaged an annual caseload of approximately 800-900 ultrasound exams, with strong representation of musculoskeletal, spinal/pelvic and abdominal exams and ultrasound guided procedures.

Large Animal Ultrasound Caseload Chart

 

Fellow Responsibilities

Clinical Responsibilities (approximately 80%)

  • The fellow will perform and interpret ultrasound examinations on patients presenting to the Large Animal Ultrasound Service under the direction of faculty from the Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences. Fellow will also perform shock wave treatments on equine musculoskeletal cases. 
  • The fellow will be involved in the clinical instruction of fourth year veterinary students during their senior year rotations.
  • The fellow will be involved in the laboratory instruction of third year veterinary students.
  • The fellow will assist with weekly Combined Imaging Rounds in conjunction with the large animal radiology resident(s) and students.
  • The fellow has the option to complete a 2-3 week small animal ultrasound clinical rotation in the final months of the fellowship. This rotation will give exposure to comparative ultrasonographic anatomy.
  • The fellow will attend weekly Known Case Conference (KCC) with the Diagnostic Imaging Service, interpreting one Large Animal Ultrasound Service case weekly.
  • The fellow will also be expected to embrace their role as Ambassador for the Large Animal Clinic and support efforts to enhance the reputation of the Large Animal Clinic, the Large Animal Ultrasound Service and the fellowship program.

Off-Clinic Time (approximately 20%)

  • Off-clinic time is provided to allow the fellow to pursue individual research interest(s) under the guidance of faculty in the Department of Surgical & Radiological Sciences with the expectation of presentation at UC Davis House Officer Seminar Day and eventual publication in a refereed journal.
  • The fellow will also have the opportunity to rotate through other Services, according to the fellow’s interests.
  • Attend veterinary courses in small and large animal ultrasound.
  • Vacation – the fellow accrues 16 hours per month (24 days in a one-year period).
     

Application Instructions

Requirements to Apply:

  • DVM or equivalent degree from a school of veterinary medicine (AVMA accredited preferred)
  • At least one year of equine related private practice or internship experience
  • Working knowledge of performance horses
  • Demonstrated interest in large animal ultrasound
  • Application materials (see below)
  • A select number of candidates will be invited to interview after the application deadline.  The successful applicant will be selected and notified January 31, 2025.
  • Candidates should be US citizens, US permanent residents, or foreign nationals eligible for a J1 scholar visa (and at the time of application not be subject to holds, bars or in-country rules) or Canadian/Mexican citizens eligible for a TN visa. We will NOT pursue other visa categories.  Candidates will be expected to pay for their visa fees.  The fellowship offer may be withdrawn if written evidence of a visa is not provided by July 1, 2025. 
  • The California Veterinary Medical Board requires all veterinarians working at the University of California, Davis with primary patient care duties to hold a full California license or a University veterinary license. To obtain a University veterinary license, veterinarians who are not licensed in the state of California will be required to take a 3-day course on regionally-important diseases and a short open-book jurisprudence test, in addition to being background checked. The course will be provided by live webinar at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, usually in April. The cost of obtaining the University veterinary license will be the responsibility of the trainee. The limited license only permits individuals to work in California as veterinarians for University-related practice. 
  • NAVLE is not a requirement of the program.

Application Materials (DEADLINE: November 15, 2024)

  • Curriculum vitae
  • Letter of Intent
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Veterinary Academic Transcript(s)

By Email:

All application materials including letters of reference (on letterhead, with signature), may be emailed to the House Officer Affairs Coordinator at vmthhouseofficerapplication@ucdavis.edu. Please see the following page for more information on applying: https://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/education/internships-residencies/howtoapply

Additional information regarding the Large Animal Ultrasound Service and the fellowship program may be obtained by contacting  Dr. Betsy Vaughan.