2023 Fall Faculty Awards and Reception
Dean Mark Stetter welcomed members of the school’s community during the annual Fall Faculty Reception on October 17 and acknowledged those in outgoing and incoming leadership roles. The school also honored faculty members with awards for excellence in teaching and research, along with others honored for their service.
2023 Zoetis Research Excellence Award
Dr. Stephen McSorley, professor in the Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology, was honored with the 2023 Zoetis Award for Research Excellence. McSorley earned a B.Sc. (Immunology, 1992) and Ph.D. (Immunology, 1995) from Glasgow University in Scotland and has held previous professorial positions at the University of Connecticut Health Center and University of Minnesota.
McSorley has a very strong extramurally funded and productive research program focused on developing immunological tools to study the immune response to bacterial infection. He strives to bridge the fields of bacterial pathogenesis and basic immunology by incorporating the complexity of the pathogen’s biology with state-of-the-art analysis of innate and adaptive immune responses.
2023 Zoetis Distinguished Veterinary Teacher Award
Dr. Julie Dechant was recognized with the 2023 Zoetis Distinguished Veterinary Teacher Award for excellence in teaching in the classroom and the clinic. As a Professor of Clinical Equine Surgical Emergency and Critical Care in the Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences and Assistant Director of the Large Animal Clinic, Dechant received her DVM from the University of Saskatchewan and completed both a MS Degree and Residency in Large Animal Surgery at Colorado State University. She is a Diplomate of both ACVS and ACVECC. She joined the UC Davis faculty in 2004. In 2018, she completed the Post Graduate Certificate in Veterinary Education at Royal Veterinary College.
Dechant teaches in all four years of the DVM curriculum, in VET405, VET409, VET415, VET431, VET432 A, B &C, VET434A & B and VET435A, with guest lectures in VET 435B & C. She also mentors in the VET407 and 416 Connections courses. Her teaching load is among the highest in the school. With a commitment to maintaining our broad species expertise, she has provided didactic content for the camelid species for all three large animal streams in year 3 and she serves as the faculty advisor for the Equine and Camelid Medicine Club.
2023 SVM Innovation in Teaching Award
Dr. Hugues Beaufrere, associate professor in the Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, was recognized with the school’s 2023 SVM Innovation in Teaching Award for exceptional innovation in course material design and presentation, application of active learning techniques, and inspiration of faculty colleagues.
As associate professor in companion zoological medicine, Beaufrere received his DVM from the University of Lyon (2006) and his Ph.D. from Louisiana State University. He is a Diplomate of both the European and American College of Zoological Medicine and joined the UC Davis faculty in 2021.
Beaufrere took on Block Leadership of VET436 in 2022 and reworked the instructional materials for the course. To say this was well received would be an understatement. Students provided numerous comments like the following: “I REALLY appreciate the lecture notes and the module activities you gave us. This was the most helpful teaching I think I've seen so far and I wish that things like this could have happened throughout all the years. Thank you!”
2023 Faculty Distinguished Teaching Award
Dr. Heather Knych was recognized with the school’s 2023 Faculty Distinguished Teaching Award for excellence in teaching pharmacology at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels. As Professor in the Department of Molecular Biosciences, Knych received her DVM (2005) and Ph.D. (2008) from UC Davis. She completed a Residency in Clinical Pharmacology in 2010 and is Board Certified in Veterinary Clinical Pharmacology. She joined the Faculty in 2010.
Knych has a substantial teaching load and receives high praise for her teaching effectiveness across undergraduate, professional, and graduate courses. In addition to teaching in a number of other courses, she is a co-block leader for VET 406 Pharmacology, Nutrition & Toxicology, co-IOR for PTX201Principles of Pharmacology & Toxicology and IOR for VMB 255 Pharmacokinetics. Professional students highly appreciate her lectures noting the organization and clarity of presentation, ability to distill complex pharmacology and pharmacokinetics/dynamics information into readily understandable material and reinforcement through interactive in-class quizzes, application of knowledge in discussions, and Q&A sessions.
2023 Boehringer-Ingelheim Research Mentoring Award
Dr. Lynelle Johnson, professor in the Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, was honored with the 2023 Boehringer-Ingelheim Research Mentoring Award. She joined the UC Davis veterinary school faculty in December of 2000 and in her 23 years as a small animal internist, colleague, and mentor, she has played an integral role in the development and mentorship of students, house officers and junior faculty.
In this time, Johnson has served as a primary research mentor for 43 of 90 peer reviewed manuscripts. She stands out in her dedication to fostering curiosity and research development as part of the teaching hospital’s resident training. Because of the intersection of her various interests, she has served as a research mentor for 27 peer reviewed manuscripts with residents from small animal internal medicine, cardiology, radiology, and surgery. It is the diversity of her interests which is married to her focused expertise on respiratory disease that has led to collaborations such as pharmacokinetic studies of antiviral medications, interventional endoscopy of nasolacrimal ducts, exploration diagnostics and treatment for foxtail inhalation, pulmonary hypertension, and radiographic assessment of cardiac disease.
Congratulations to one and all!