News

This article first appeared in the CCAH Update newsletter, Spring 2026.

It isn’t often that researchers involved in the fundamental aspects of translational medicine get to meet a patient who has benefitted from a decade or more of basic science. So, when Dr. Stephen McSorley and his postdoctoral researcher Dr. Marietta Ravesloot-Chavez met Snoopy on the last day of his clinical trial, there were lots of ear scratches to deliver. 

Summer has found a new forever home after being hit by a car that required several surgeries at the UC Davis William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH). The approximately 1-year-old German shepherd’s long journey back to health required a large team of veterinary professionals and volunteers. Their dedication to providing care to underserved communities, and saving animals in the process, has given a young dog a new lease on life in the perfect landing spot.  

The UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine welcomed 155 students of the Class of 2030 in the annual White Coat ceremony on Friday, August 21.

Dr. Karolynn Ellis has joined the Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Service at the UC Davis William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) as an assistant professor.

Dr. Heather Knych and her team at the Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory were recently awarded the 2025 Dechra Analgesia Prize from the Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists. The team was recognized for their publication, “The impact of transdermal application site on pharmacokinetics and selected pharmacodynamics of buprenorphine in horses” in the journal Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia (VAA). 

Dr. Michael Lairmore, Dean Emeritus of the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine, has published a biographical feature honoring fellow Dean Emeritus Dr. Frederick A. Murphy, Jr., who died June 23, 2026, at age 92.

Dr. Marvin Goldman, professor emeritus of the school and a pioneering radiation biologist whose research helped establish international safety standards for radioactive materials, died July 20, 2026. He was born May 2, 1928, in Brooklyn, New York.

On Saturday, August 1, a call came in from the Tevis Cup: a rider had been separated from her horse, and the horse was now somewhere deep in the Granite Chief Wilderness at 7,200 feet — no road, no trail, no way in on foot or by vehicle.

The Butte County Sheriff’s Office helicopter launched with North Valley Animal Disaster Group technical animal rescue members Susan Marshall and Norm Rosene aboard, and flew to those coordinates. Overhead, we confirmed it: the horse was there, and still standing.

The UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) welcomed 63 new house officers (44 residents, 13 interns, 6 fellows) 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 approximately 140 total house officers advancing their skills in 53 distinct training disciplines (37 residencies, 9 internships, 7 fellowships) for the 2026-27 academic year.

Sometimes, people are just in the right place at the right time. Thankfully for Aika, neurologist Dr. Christine Toedebusch happened to be in the Emergency Room at the UC Davis William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) when the 5-year-old corgi arrived. While she was checking on another patient, Dr. Toedebusch noticed Aika from across the room.