News

We have had many changes in our program since the last newsletter. With residents finishing their training and moving on, and new ones beginning their programs, we have lots of new faces. Please see their bios for more details. Here is an easy-to-read update:

Residents:
Dr. Jeff Bryan finished his residency and PhD and took a faculty position at Washington State University School of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Kim Johnson finished her residency and PhD and took a faculty position at Mississippi State University, her alma mater.

Dr. Wendi Rankin finished her residency and Master’s degree, and is currently in referral practice in the Bay area in northern California.

Dr. Armando Villamil is currently completing his PhD and will complete his residency in 2009.

Dr. Kim Statham completed an internship at Kansas State University and began her residency in 2007. She is currently in her second year. She recently got married to become Dr. Ringen.

Dr. Kerry Rissetto completed an internship at the University of Missouri and was chosen to stay on as our first year resident.

Dr. David Bommarito completed a residency at the University of Missouri in radiation therapy and passed his board examinations to become boarded in radiation therapy. He also was chosen to stay on as a first year medical oncology resident and part-time radiation therapist.

In addition, we have had several changes in technical staff. Ms. Debbie Tate, LVT, joined us as an in-house hire from the anesthesia department. Debbie is our Clinical Trials Coordinator and has really done a great job organizing and publicizing our available clinical trials. Ms. Lisa Boland, LVT, also joined our group from within the hospital, transferring from critical care to become our chemotherapy and clinic nurse. We could not survive each day without her. Lastly, Mr. Jeff March has joined our group to help with radiation therapy treatments and with other clinical cases. All of these folks have been valuable additions to our growing team!

Currently our oncology faculty consists of Dr. Carolyn Henry and Dr. Kim Selting. We are recruiting for a third oncologist and hope to have the position filled soon. Dr. Henry recently completed her term as President of the Specialty of Oncology for the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM), and now sits on the Board of Regents. Dr. Selting is currently Chair of the Examination Committee for the Certifying Examination in Oncology, and is also President of the Veterinary Cooperative Oncology Group (VCOG). In addition to these activities, both Dr. Henry and Dr. Selting serve on advisory boards for pharmaceutical companies, and back home maintain clinical service and teaching responsibilities.

For research, we have continued to increase the number of clinical trials available and currently have funded or partially-funded trials available for several tumor types. These trials offer cutting edge therapy, often with little or no cost. Please visit our clinical trials page on this website for more details, or call Debbie Tate at 573-882-7821. Additionally, we have launched a national searchable database for clinical trials at www.vetcancertrials.org which will ultimately contain trials from all across the United States. In addition to the trials unique to the University of Missouri, we also continue to participate in the Comparative Oncology Trials Consortium (COTC) and the Canine Comparative Oncology Genomics Consortium (CCOGC) as part of a national effort to advance cancer research for both animals and people.

Thank you for visiting our site. Please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Oncology Service at 573-882-7821 with any questions regarding cancer and its treatments.