Alumni

Lu Dao, DVM ’13, was recently named the 2026 Community College Advisor of the Year by the Health Professional Student Association (HPSA). Dr. Dao is a veterinarian and the Chair of the Agriculture Department at Los Angeles Pierce College in Woodland Hills, California. As a child, he lived across the street from the college and used the campus farm as his playground.

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 Veterinary Scientist Training Program (VSTP) is celebrating 25 years of training clinician-scientists to advance the health of both animals and people. An August event brought together program alumni, including Dr. Kim Dodd, the dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University and Dr. Roxann Brooks Motroni, the National Program Leader for Animal Health at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

This past weekend, the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine hosted its annual Alumni Weekend, which welcomed nearly 250 alumni and friends back to campus. Over the course of three days, classes celebrating milestone reunions (60, 55, 50, 40, 30, 25, 20, and 10 years) gathered to reconnect, explore campus, join the fun Halloween-themed TG, honor award recipients, and learn about many new and exciting things happening at the school.

On Saturday, October 25, 2025 the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine hosted the annual Alumni Awards Banquet to recognize and celebrate the 2025 Rising Star and Alumni Achievement award winners. Congratulations to this year's awardees!

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.

Dr. Sandy Willis, a 1984 graduate of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, was elected chair of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Board of Directors (BOD). Dr. Willis, District 11 representative on the AVMA BOD, was elected chair on July 20 while meeting during AVMA Convention 2025 in Washington, D.C., held in conjunction with the 40th World Veterinary Association Congress.

Dr. Sanam (Sunny) Thukral was close to graduating from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine when she passed away in November of last year after a 30-month battle with glioblastoma. She was awarded a posthumous DVM during commencement ceremonies this May with her family accepting it on her behalf.