Anesthesia and Pain Management
Jenessa Gjeltema, DVM, Dipl. ACZM
Research Focus: Effects of environmental plastic pollution on animal, human, and ecosystem health. Application, evaluation, and validation of clinical diagnostics and therapeutics in zoological species.
(See also: Wildlife/Exotic Animal Medicine)
Affiliated departments: UC Davis One Health Institute, Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center and Department of Medicine and Epidemiology
As Assistant Professor of Zoological Medicine and Senior Veterinarian at the Sacramento Zoo, Dr. Jenessa Gjeltema, DVM, Dipl. ACZM, a board-certified specialist in Zoological Medicine, provides both clinical services and engages in research in the field of Zoological/Wildlife Medicine.
Possible student research projects include:
- Development, evaluation, and validation of research techniques for the study of environmental microplastic contamination
- Investigation of the health effects of plastic pollution in animals and ecosystems
- Conservation medicine for Western Pond Turtles (Actinemys marmorata)
- Disease pathology and environmental risks affecting captive and free-ranging endangered Puerto Rican crested toads (Peltophryne lemur)
- Application, evaluation, and validation of clinical diagnostics or therapeutics in zoological species
To contact Dr. Gjeltema - jgjeltema@ucdavis.edu
Kristin Grimsrud, DVM, PhD
Assistant Clinical Professor, Dept of Pathology, School of Medicine
Associate Director of Vivaria and Veterinary Care, Mouse Biology Program (MBP)
(See also: Genetics/Genomics, Pharmacology/Toxicology, Translational Research)
Dr. Grimsrud is a laboratory animal veterinarian and her research focuses on translational medicine and animal model optimization and development. Her current major research efforts are in collaboration with the Knockout Mouse Project, Metabolic Mouse Phenotyping Center and Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center. Additionally, she is involved in a variety of microbiota bariatric surgery research projects that utilize mouse models. Lastly, Dr. Grimsrud has a strong interest in translational clinical pharmacology where she investigates variation in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in special populations (e.g. burn patients, pediatrics) and assess the influences of polymorphisms on drug efficacy.
Research projects that students could be involved with relate to studies to optimize anesthesia and analgesia protocols, optimizing superovulation techniques in rodents and a variety of other projects related to the genetically engineered rodent models and microbiota/gnotobiotic research.
Contact Information:
Email: kngrimsrud@ucdavis.edu
Office Phone: 530-757-3220
Bruce Hammock
Department of Entomology & UCD Comprehensive Cancer Center
Director, NIEHS-UCD Superfund Research Program
PI, NIH Biotechnology Training Program
(See also: Arthritis/Degenerative Disease, Dentistry/Oral Biology, Food Animal Medicine, Pharmacology)
Dr. Hammock’s laboratory has a long collaboration with faculty and students in the school of veterinary medicine. His laboratory develops mass spectral and biosensor analytical methods for environmental contaminants and drugs in companion animals. The laboratory is working on a new branch of the arachidonic acid cascade and is developing drugs to block arthritic and laminitic inflammation in horses and inflammatory and post surgical pain in dogs and cats associated with injury, diabetes, age and other criteria.
Projects:
Use of inhibitors of the soluble epoxide hydrolase to potential treat disease in companion animals such as dogs and cats as well as horses and livestock species.
Pharmacokinetic analysis in development of novel pharmaceuticals for veterinary use.
Fundamental mechanism of action of regulatory lipids.
Natural food additives to expand the efficacy of omega 3 fatty acid supplements in food of companion animal and livestock species.
Development of CNS acting drugs to treat disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease and depression.
See http://www.biopestlab.ucdavis.edu/ for additional information.
Michelle Hawkins, VMD Dipl. ABVP (Avian Practice)
Anesthesia, analgesia, wildlife
Department of Medicine and Epidemiology School of Veterinary Medicine (see also: wildlife/exotics)
Dr. Hawkins current research area is in advancing clinical and research techniques aimed at improving the health of wild birds of prey during rehabilitation. Her areas of particular interest include pain management and other therapeutics as well as specific infectious and toxicologic diseases affecting these species. Dr. Hawkins has a number of active research projects, and would be interested in talking to students who have an interest in clinical or basic science research in these areas.
Dr. Hawkins can be reached at mghawkins@ucdavis.edu.
Heather Knych, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACVCP
(See also: Phamacology/Toxicology)
Dr. Knych is a clinical veterinary pharmacologist with research interests in (1) pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic relationships of drugs in performance horses (2) pain management and treatment of inflammation in horses and (3) equine drug metabolism in horses, including the identification of polymorphisms leading to altered drug clearance and therapeutic effects. The lab has a dedicated exercised (treadmill) research herd that is used for in vivo studies and a fully equipped analytical (mass spectrometry) and molecular pharmacology lab.
Please contact Dr. Knych (hkknych@ucdavis.edu) for potential projects.
Nancy E. Lane, MD
Professor of Medicine and Rheumatology
Director: UC Davis Center for Musculoskeletal Health
Director: Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH)
(See also: Epidemiology, Translational Research)
Dr. Lane is translational scientist in musculoskeletal diseases, specifically osteoporosis and osteoarthritis including laboratory base models for over 20 years. Her research has included evaluating how agents to treat osteoporosis affect bone quality, performs proof of concept phase 2 on an NIH funded clinical trial to determine how treatment with PTH could stimulate new bone formation in glucocortioid induced osteoporosis and if an antibody to nerve growth factor could reduce pain in osteoarthritis.
Dr. Lane also has performed epidemiologic studies of osteoarthritis of both the knee and hip in men and women. Dr. Lane has received mentoring awards and currently is the director of UC Davis's K12 program on Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health. Dr. Lane has mentored over 30 trainees in her academic career and has published over 300 articles or chapter.
Currently, Dr. Lane performs preclinical laboratory based studies to determine how bone active agents are used to treat osteoporosis and change bone quality and bone strength; and how a novel hybrid compound, LLP2A-‐Ale, can direct mesenchymal stem cells to the bone surface and augment bone formation in bone disease states including osteoporosis, osteonecrosis and fracture healing.
Mentees are welcome to work on all aspects of this on‐going research.
Please visit Dr. Lane’s website for more information.
Joao H. N. Soares, MV, MSc, DSc
Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia
(See also: Surgery, Emergency, and Critical Care; Pulmonary Medicine)
Dr. Joao Soares is a veterinary anesthesiologist with a research interest in respiratory function during anesthesia, including the use of specialized monitoring such as respiratory mechanics, electrical impedance tomography and volumetric capnography. Current research projects are 1) Evaluation of methods to choose positive end-expiratory pressure during mechanical ventilation of anesthetized dogs; and 2) retrospective study on the occurrence of postanesthetic pulmonary complications in dogs and cats anesthetized at the VMTH.
Potential STAR projects are: 1) Anatomic and alveolar dead space in anesthetized dogs of different breeds; or 2) Effects of blood sampling duration upon arterial blood gases in anesthetized horses in lateral and dorsal recumbency. Both projects will be performed in anesthetized patients of the UCDavis VMTH. Other projects in the area of respiratory physiology applied to anesthesia may be discussed depending on the student interest.
Dr. Soares can be reached via email at jhsoares@ucdavis.edu.