Year in Review: NC State College of Veterinary Medicine 2025
For starters: Discovered first drug to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in cats. Awarded a $5.5 million NIH grant to contribute to the nationwide opioid addiction fight. Alerted cat owners on the dangers of cats overdosing on canine allergy medicine.
From the discovery of the first drug to successfully treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in cats to the award of a $5.5 million NIH grant to contribute to the nationwide opioid addiction fight, 2025 has been a life-changing year for the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, its people and its community.
Our leadership in the veterinary field also has been on display as we hosted our first Cat Camp to engage early-career DVMs in focusing on feline care and led an international forum on recrafting veterinary curriculum. And our faculty members have earned time in the spotlight, with Dr. Brian Gilger’s being recognized with NC State’s highest faculty honor and Dr. Lydia Love’s becoming the first DVM in the country certified in patient safety.
Here’s a look at some of the stories from the year that define us.
1 | For Victor Rivas, Aoi Nakanishi-Hester and other research-minded students, the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine’s DVM/Ph.D. program, which provides the opportunity to combine a doctor of veterinary medicine degree with a Ph.D., is an undeniable example of the college’s world-class caliber. Dr. Joshua Stern, associate dean for research: “This is a really great way to kind of kill two birds with one stone, right? You’re in a place where you’re already learning the faculty, you’re learning the labs, you’re getting comfortable. You’re amassing all of this experience, and you can move right into a Ph.D. program in that process. The two programs really do kind of have a symbiotic relationship that takes a life of its own.” Read the story.
2 | When a routine calving took a turn that endangered the life of a newborn calf, it was harrowing for the Dawkins family. Starlight, born to first-time mother Luna, failed to nurse within her first 24 hours of life, was deprived of essential immune-boosting colostrum and rapidly developed pneumonia and sepsis. The family veterinarian referred Starlight to the NC State Veterinary Hospital. Owner Kristi Dawkins: “NC State was amazing. They called us every day, at least twice a day. It was a learning process for me. I would have many, many questions, and our veterinarians were always very thoughtful to not talk above my head. They were very specific on what was going on, just so helpful. The communication was phenomenal.” Read the story.
3 | Dr. Brian Gilger, a professor of ophthalmology at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, won the highest academic honor that NC State University presents to faculty members: the Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence. Dr. Brian Gilger: “If I have any particular talent, it’s the ability to surround myself with wonderful individuals. I have prided myself on conducting research in ophthalmology that would directly benefit my patients and their caregivers, and I hope I have improved their lives.” Read the story.
4 | The American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine recognizes approved fellowship programs in interventional cardiology, and Dr. Kursten Pierce became one of only two veterinarians with FACVIM after her name. The assistant professor of cardiology and another veterinarian completed the specialized interventional cardiology fellowship several years ago. Dr. Joshua Stern, associate dean of research: “This rare credential awarded by ACVIM is a wonderful recognition of something Dr. Pierce’s colleagues, clients and patients already knew. She is an incredibly talented clinician and innovator in the space of interventional cardiology.” Read the story.
5 | The NC Department of Environmental Quality awarded Dr. Tal Ben-Horin, an assistant professor of shellfish pathology, a $200,000 grant to continue studying whether the genetic lines of farmed oysters that survive mass casualty events can be used to breed more resilient oysters. Dr. Tal Ben-Horin: “The industry sites produce the oysters just like they would on a commercial scale. Sometimes they do great. Sometimes they see lots of mortality. We have a portfolio of lines that have been through a mortality event on these commercial farms. This leads us to think maybe we can select for resilience in some capacity. Maybe we can select desirable traits through breeding and then use those in production.” Read the story.
6 | Students at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine have access to all kinds of internships, externships and research experiences during their four years of school. This summer, six students shared their experiences as they took their classroom knowledge and applied it in the real world. Student Aniya Brown, who spent several weeks in South Africa: “This journey has been enriching, eye-opening and truly transformative. It has challenged my assumptions, deepened my passion and broadened my understanding of what it means to be a veterinarian. I’ve come to see that real conservation goes beyond just caring for animals. It requires listening to people, understanding systems and advocating both ecological and social change.” Find their dispatches here.
7 | Dr. Ronald Li, an associate professor of emergency and critical care at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, won the 2025 Career Achievement in Feline Research Award from the American Veterinary Medical Foundation. Dr. Ronald Li: “I’m very humbled by this award because there are still so many questions I want to answer. There’s still so much work left to do, but I deeply appreciate being recognized for my work in platelets and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in cats. I’m trying to understand the mechanism of why cats die of blood clots with HCM, and how we can help them.” Read the story.
8 | Having successfully launched a new curriculum for students last fall, the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine hosted a first-of-its-kind international forum to share lessons learned and to foster collaboration among the world’s veterinary institutions. More than 20 representatives from 12 U.S. veterinary colleges attended the event in Raleigh, with more than 80 more participating virtually from across the world. Jesse Watson, Ed.S, director of curriculum and educator development: “The veterinary education community doesn’t necessarily have the habit of talking to each other about how to build curriculum or how to coordinate it. But because we’ve been a leader in this area, we have had an increasing number of requests coming our way, saying, ‘How did you guys do it?’ or ‘Can you fly out and talk to us?’” Read the story.
9 | Only a few weeks after a human egg is fertilized, a sheet of cells called the neural plate widens, stretches and rolls up to create a tube. This delicate dance of cells forms what will become our brain and spinal cord. How the cells “know” what they will become is not well understood, but new research by Eric Brooks, a developmental biologist, and his colleagues offers clues. Dr. Eric Brooks: “One of the really fascinating things about development is it’s generally kind of progressive. You’re building on things that have already happened. And so the stages that we highlighted in this atlas are really important.” Read the story.
10 | The 125 members of the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine’s Class of 2029 took the first steps onto the four-year path to professional. The students, who have an average age of 23, represent 14 states, Puerto Rico and four countries, with North Carolinians coming from 36 counties. Dr. Lysa Posner, associate dean of academic affairs: “You are going to study to be scientists and clinicians and veterinarians and have a whole bunch of other opportunities that you didn’t even know existed. Those of you who say, ‘I know exactly what I want to do,’ the world is really big with different ideas, so try them all on.” Read the story.
11 | The NC State College of Veterinary Medicine treated two cats that developed acute kidney injury after eating chewable Apoquel prescribed to dogs also living in their households and issued an alert to cat owners. Both cats required hemodialysis for support but fully recovered after in-clinic care. Dr. Tyler Johnson: “Previous reports of very high ingestions like this have resulted in death. The incidence of Apoquel ingestion-related toxicity has increased at our hospital since the release of a chewable formulation that, for some reason, cats seem to be inclined to eat. Both of the cats we treated actively sought out the medication.” Read the story.
12 | As part of its ongoing effort to combat opioid addiction, the National Institutes of Health is accelerating research into the mechanisms and impacts of pain, awarding a $5.5 million grant to an interdisciplinary research team led by Dr. Margaret Gruen to study how chronic pain affects how dogs think and behave. Dr. Margaret Gruen: “The NIH has put a lot of funding into trying to find alternatives to opioid medications and into just a better understanding of basic pain biology and the biopsychosocial components,” says Gruen, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist who has DVM and a Ph.D. “The way that people process or think about pain and the way pain makes people feel are an important part of treatment.” Read the story.
13 | Expanding on its commitment to advance feline-focused research and care, the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine hosted its inaugural Cat Camp, a weekend devoted to equipping 35 veterinary residents from 28 colleges across the U.S., Canada and Europe to become the next generation of feline-focused veterinary clinician scientists. Dean Kate Meurs: “Cat Camp represents NC State’s commitment to leading the future of feline medicine. By bringing together the brightest early-career minds in veterinary medicine and connecting them with world-class researchers and resources, we’re creating spaces where the next generation of feline clinician scientists can thrive.” Read the story.
14 | In the year since NC State’s new dairy facility began cooling cows, providing state-of-the-art milking technology and giving students experience in best industry practices, the collars around the cows’ necks have communicated with computers: Cow 708 has been lying down more than usual, Cow No. 695 has stopped eating a sufficient amount and Cow 701 has gone into estrus and is ready for breeding. Dr. Alllison West, clinical veterinarian at the Teaching Animal Unit: “For anything the system flags, we look at the cows and ask what’s happening. Are they uncomfortable? Is that why they’re not laying down? Do they have a metabolic problem, and that’s why they’re not eating or not ruminating? This is preventative care at its finest.” Read the story.
15 | Dr. Lydia Love, a clinical associate professor of anesthesiology, is appointed to the new position of director of patient safety at the NC State Veterinary Hospital after becoming the first veterinarian in the country to become a Certified Professional in Patient Safety. The CPPS credential is awarded through the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Dr. Anthony Blikslager, director of Veterinary Medical Services: “That Dr. Love is the first veterinarian ever to receive this particular certification is a reflection of her dedication and highlights the fact that NC State is at the forefront of the patient-safety field in veterinary medicine. Most vet schools are moving toward more patient safety efforts, but we’ve had an ad hoc committee for years.” Read the story.
16 | Between them, military veterans Olivia Di Ruzza and William “Joe” Hampton have been deployed to more than 10 countries, commanded scores of fellow military members and made innumerable critical decisions affecting their troops and seamen so a key anatomy exam barely tested the nerves of the first-year veterinary students. Olivia Di Ruzza: “I’ve had to switch my mindset to start studying again, but I think the discipline that I gained through the Army is what helps me to stay focused and motivated. I was put in a lot of high-stress situations where I was the one responsible for making the decision so I feel prepared for anything.” Read the story.
17 For the first time, Dr. Christopher Mariani and his team successfully employed laser interstitial thermal therapy or LITT to treat naturally occurring gliomas in pet dogs. Mariani’s work means that pet dogs now could be treated with LITT and that researchers studying new techniques and protocols for humans have a naturally occurring model in dogs. Dr. Christopher Mariani: “They are experimenting with this in mice, but the problem is, you obviously can’t use the human neuronavigation system in a mouse. Plus, it’s an artificial system because you’re making artificial tumors in an immuno-compromised host. We’ll be treating pet dogs with naturally occurring tumors who have very few treatment options.” Read the story.
