Professor Emeritus Frank Verstraete has set the benchmark for innovation and best practice in veterinary science, establishing standards that are now applied worldwide. An alumnus of the University of Pretoria (UP), he is recognized as a scholar whose research, clinical work and teaching laid the foundations for procedures that continue to guide the treatment of animals across species.
For this, the University of Pretoria conferred him with an honorary doctorate in Veterinary Science during the Faculty of Veterinary Science graduation ceremony on September 5, 2025.
Two professors in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Population Health & Reproduction recently won awards recognizing outstanding achievements in their work with avian diseases. The recipients received their awards at the 2025 American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP) Annual Meeting, held this summer in Portland.
Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco and the University of California, Davis have completed the first clinical trial of a new cancer drug in pet cats, offering hope for a disease that has long been nearly impossible to treat. The study found 35 percent of the cats with squamous cell carcinoma who received treatment had their disease controlled with minimal side effects. The drug will likely be effective for humans with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The study was published today in Cancer Cell.
Scramble, a Jack Russel terrier, was diagnosed with a brain tumor, most likely a meningioma, and treated at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. He received a course of stereotactic radiotherapy which shrank the tumor and has helped him maintain a high quality of life for more than three years.
Earlier this summer, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) vacated the judgments of lower appellate courts in several cases concerning the constitutionality of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act and sent those cases back to the lower courts for further consideration. The ruling essentially keeps the act intact, favoring the ability of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) to provide national, uniform safety and integrity oversight for Thoroughbred racing.
A sculpture of a towering life-sized horse titled "John (1984)" created by artist and UC Davis alumna Deborah Butterfield is on permanent display on loan from the UC Davis Fine Arts Collection in the school’s Multi-Purpose Teaching Building. "John" is one of several pieces of public artwork that exist across the School of Veterinary Medicine campus.
Employees and clients of the UC Davis William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) are enjoying a new photo exhibit that invites viewers to reflect on their relationship with the land—and each other.
Getting Luanne ready for the stage is a multi-step process. First, she takes a bath. Next, she’s dried with a towel, followed by a blow dryer. Finally, time to moisturize. Beard oil is applied to her legs, comb and wattle.
Darla, an 11-year-old Newfoundland/Labrador mix, underwent oral surgery at UC Davis to remove a canine acanthomatous ameloblastoma, a benign tumor affecting her lower jawbone.
UC Davis Veterinary Medicine is one of only three veterinary schools to receive the Insight Into Academia Magazine’s 2025 Excellence in Mental Health and Well-Being Award, recognizing the school's commitment to supporting scholars and helping them transition into an emotionally demanding profession.
Tribute originally published in San Francisco Bay Times
It’s hard for us to use the past tense when describing our phenomenal sister and sister-in-law Patty Gaffney. But slightly less than two years ago, Patty was diagnosed with aggressive metastatic breast cancer completely out of the blue. And in July, she passed away at age 48–yet another life tragically cut short by the disease.
The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) welcomed 57 new house officers (41 residents, 8 fellows, 8 interns) into its advanced training programs this year. The UC Davis SVM House Officer Program is the largest of its kind in the United States with 144 total house officers (124 residents, 10 fellows, 10 interns) advancing their skills in approximately 40 training programs. These programs range from one to four years in length, during which veterinarians focus on a specific aspect of specialty medicine such as oncology, equine surgery, internal medicine, or anesthesiology.
The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine’s Center for Continuing Professional Education is proud to announce the launch of AggieVET 2026, a brand-new, two-day veterinary conference designed to deliver premier continuing education for the entire veterinary community. The inaugural event will be held May 30–31, 2026, both in-person at UC Davis and virtually for participants around the world.
