A Not So Traditional Path to Veterinary School: Chasing the American Dream
Like many veterinarians, Dr. Waka Blair, DVM ’10, dreamed of working with animals as a child. She fondly recalls adopting abandoned kittens and telling her teacher she wanted to be a veterinarian. However, growing up in Osaka, Japan made that dream difficult to pursue and she realized early on that societal expectations wouldn’t allow it. Over time, her passion for animals faded–but a new love took its place: a fascination with America.
The UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine has once again secured the top spot in the nation in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report rankings of professional and graduate programs, marking its 10th consecutive year as No. 1.
The rankings, based on peer assessment surveys from academic leaders across the country, reflect the school’s sustained excellence in education, research, clinical care, and global impact since first earning the top ranking in 2016.
Breathing in common disinfectant chemicals known as quaternary ammonium compounds, or QACs, may be far more harmful than swallowing them, according to a mouse study led by researchers at the University of California, Davis. The study found significant lung injury at blood QAC exposure levels similar to those measured in humans.
Spooner was an active 2-year-old Australian shepherd/poodle mix when owners Judith and Brad noticed problems with his claws in 2022. His veterinarian suspected he had symmetric lupoid onychodystrophy (SLO), a painful, immune-mediated disease that causes brittleness of the claws with abnormal growth and ultimately loss of the claw.
UC Davis placed second in the world and first in the nation in veterinary science in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026. Quacquarelli Symonds, or QS, is considered one of the most influential international authorities on university rankings.
Since veterinary science was added to the rankings in 2015, UC Davis has been first in the world five times and is No. 2 for a seventh time.
Professor Pamela J. Lein considers whether micro- and nanoplastics are accumulating in the brain and the question of whether they are promoting neurological dysfunction and disease.
In February 2025, Nature Medicine published a startling report by a team of researchers at the University of New Mexico that estimated the human brain was 0.5% plastic by weight.
On March 20, 2026, the UC Davis veterinary hospital hosted the 47th annual Gerald V. Ling Veterinary Intern and Resident Research Symposium (VIRRS). The day-long event featured short presentations of research findings from house officers (residents, fellows, interns) to fellow house officers, faculty, staff, students, and guests.
When the H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus was discovered on a poultry farm in Asia in 1996, there was little indication that it would become so widespread and so destructive. Within 30 years, it reached every continental region except Oceania, infecting more than 400 million poultry, tens of thousands of elephant seals and sea lions, about 1,000 people and many other mammals and wild birds.
Pinnipeds, which include seals and sea lions, have been hit unusually hard by the virus.
This award recognizes an SOT member who has made seminal and substantial scientific contributions to the understanding of the science of toxicology and is actively involved in toxicological research.
In recognition of a long-standing career of influential scientific contributions to neurotoxicology and her seminal work defining how environmental exposures and gene–environment interactions disrupt nervous system development and function, Pamela J. Lein, PhD, is presented with the 2026 SOT Distinguished Toxicology Scholar Award.
Previous studies have shown that adding red seaweed (Asparagopsis taxiformis) to beef cattle rations could reduce methane – a potent greenhouse gas – produced by the animals by up to 90%.
But those results were in controlled settings – not wide-open rangelands.
“While each patient has a unique story, I am always drawn to the bond between a family and their older parrot or tortoise that was raised by my client’s grandparents,” stated Dr. Krista Keller, discussing memorable moments in her career as an exotic animal veterinarian.
On March 4, the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine welcomed donors, students, faculty and school leadership for our annual Evening of Gratitude, a celebration of the philanthropic support that makes scholarship and fellowships possible.
The California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory (CAHFS) and the Department of Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology have welcomed Dr. Roberto Olivares as an assistant professor of clinical diagnostic pathology, effective March 1, 2026.
A major five-year study on California’s Central Coast led by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Western Center for Food Safety at the University of California, Davis, is helping scientists better understand how harmful bacteria can move through the environment.
