Speakers

Brian McCornack is a professor and department head for entomology in the College of Agriculture at Kansas State University (K-State). He is also a co-director of engagement for the Institute for Digital Agriculture and Advanced Analytics (ID3A) and leads the American Honey Institute, a new K-State initiative that supports the beekeeping industry. His research and extension programs focus on plant-insect interactions, ecosystem services, and integrated pest management, with an emphasis on natural enemies, invasive species, and innovative strategies for managing key pests. He integrates remote sensing, sensor technologies, and artificial intelligence to improve pest monitoring and management. He holds degrees from Luther College, Michigan State University, and the University of Minnesota.

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In her copy of Dr. Seuss’s My Book About Me, four- year old Dani wrote that she wanted to be a trapeze artist or an animal doctor. She decided against the circus, and today Dr. Dani Rabwin is a veterinarian, author, speaker and mentor. She is the founder of Ready, Vet, Go, a remote veterinary mentorship program and community that supports new and early veterinarians and complements the clinical mentorship that practices provide to their new associates. She graduated from UC Davis in 2004 and completed an internship at Michigan Veterinary Specialists. She feels extremely privileged to be able to help veterinarians thrive in this profession that she loves so much.

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Dr. Roush is the current Associate Dean of Academic Programs and Student Success in the College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, and Professor of Small Animal Surgery. He has been a faculty member at Kansas State University since 1989.

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Dr. Durgam is an Associate Professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University. She earned her BVSc degree from India in 2007, completed a combined Masters and rotating Equine Internship at University of Illinois in 2010, followed by a Large Animal Surgical Internship with an emphasis in Equine Sports Medicine at Tufts University. She then completed a combined Equine Surgery Residency and PhD at University of Illinois in 2015 and became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2016. She was faculty at Ohio State from 2016 to 2025, prior to joining Texas A&M. At Texas A&M her clinical practice is focused on equine orthopedics, advanced imaging and sports medicine. As a research-intensive faculty member, her research program focuses on understanding structure-function adaptations influencing tendon injury development and identifying biological processes that enhance tendon healing while incorporating innovative large animal models.

Becky is an Assistant Professor of Equine Internal Medicine at Texas A&M University and director of the Legere Laboratory for Equine & Veterinary Innovation (LLEVI). Prior to veterinary school, she was a biomedical engineer and earned her MS in Equine Exercise Physiology at Sul Ross State University. She is a graduate of K-State CVM Class of 2015, followed by a private practice equine internship, equine internal medicine residency at Auburn University, MS in Biomedical Sciences at Auburn University, and PhD at Texas A&M University. Her clinical and research interests focus on equine respiratory medicine, neonatology, and critical care medicine.

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Scott Fritz is Section Head of Toxicology at the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. He provides diagnostic toxicology services for bovine practitioners and producers, with a particular focus on trace mineral evaluation and herd-level case interpretation. He travels the country teaching veterinarians and students how to perform liver biopsies in cattle. He works daily with veterinarians to interpret results and integrate test findings into clinical and management decisions. Dr. Fritz coordinates the veterinary toxicology course at KSU and teaches across the DVM curriculum, including beef production and diagnostic medicine.

Dr. Todd Gunderson grew up in eastern Idaho in an agricultural community, where his family operated a small dairy farm and sparked his lifelong passion for rural veterinary medicine. He earned his DVM from Washington State University in 2009 and spent much of his career working with beef cow-calf operations across the Mountain West, including several years in Alberta, Canada. His clinical experience also includes equine, dairy, feedlot, small ruminant, and small animal medicine. Dr. Gunderson completed a master’s degree and residency in epidemiology and population medicine at Mississippi State University and joined the faculty at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2024, where he teaches Beef Production Medicine.

Dr. Isaac Jumper is an assistant professor at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine (MSU-CVM). He is a 2018 graduate of MSU-CVM, completed a Ph.D. in 2023 and is board-certified in preventive medicine and epidemiology. Dr. Jumper works in the large animal ambulatory service at MSU-CVM providing primary care to livestock producers, and also serves as the herd veterinarian for all Mississippi State University beef cattle and small ruminant herds/flocks. His research interests include mitigating the risk of production limiting diseases in beef cattle while improving antimicrobial stewardship. Dr. Jumper grew up on a family-owned cow-calf operation in northeast Arkansas, and enjoys watching baseball (the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the St. Louis Cardinals). His wife, Tyler, is also a veterinarian, and they have two Corgis (Lincoln and Tesla) and a Border Collie (Gus).

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 Dr. Miesner is originally from rural New Mexico and earned his DVM from Washington State University in 1999. After beginning his career in mixed animal practice in Pasco, Washington, he completed a residency, master’s degree, and ACVIM certification in Food Animal Medicine and Surgery at The Ohio State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. A faculty clinician at Kansas State University since 2006, Dr. Miesner primarily teaches third- and fourth-year veterinary students, using clinical cases and daily consultations as core teaching tools. His collaborative research interests include innovative teaching methods, pain and welfare, ruminant and swine nutrition, and bovine lameness. Outside of work, he enjoys endurance biking and running, fly fishing in remote mountain locations and family time.

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Caitlyn Mullins is the senior Livestock Internal Medicine resident at K-State. She completed her veterinary training at North Carolina State University and continued to Colorado State University before landing at K-State. In her position, she manages the care of both referral-level advanced medicine cases and surgical cases. She most recently published research documenting the use of blood and plasma transfusions in camelids and enjoys contributing to the advancement of livestock care through applied research. Current areas of professional interest include student teaching, animal welfare, large animal neonatal medicine and resuscitation, metabolic diseases, and management of pet livestock animals. She enjoys spending time with her poodle partner, Stella.

Dr. Brad White is the E.J. Frick Chair and Professor at Kansas State University, where he also serves as Director of the Beef Cattle Institute. He earned his DVM from the University of Missouri–Columbia and a master’s degree from Mississippi State University. Prior to his academic career, Dr. White spent six years in mixed animal practice. His current work focuses on beef cattle teaching and research, with an emphasis on bovine respiratory disease.

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Dr. Chieko Azuma is a Clinical Professor of Radiation Oncology in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She earned her DVM from Nippon Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in Tokyo, Japan. She completed radiation oncology residency and a PhD in comparative biomedical sciences at North Carolina State University. She is a diplomate of American College of Veterinary Radiology (Radiation Oncology). Dr. Azuma’s research focuses on biological effects of therapeutic radiation, the roles of companion animals as sentinels for environment and cancer and excellence with cutting edge clinical research and outreach.

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Dr. Calder has practiced veterinary medicine in New Jersey and Maine, with experience in general practice, the behavior service at the San Francisco SPCA and community practice teaching at several veterinary schools. Her passion for animal behavior led her to complete a residency with the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists, becoming a Diplomate in 2017. Currently, she runs a veterinary behavior consultation practice and is the Director of Behavior Educational Content at the Veterinary Information Network® (VIN®). She is also the co-author and editor of Low Stress Handling® and Behavior Modification of Dogs and Cats (2nd ed.) and Low Stress Handling®: A Practical Guide to Cooperative Care. Dr. Calder is deeply committed to helping veterinary students feel confident managing behavior cases in practice.

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Sunday Cozzi, DVM, CPEV graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in 1999. With a background spanning small animal practice, HQHVSN surgical services, and clinical care for a variety of species, she brings a wealth of experience to her current focus: elevating end-of-life care for companion animals. For over a decade, Dr. Cozzi provided in-home support to families during their most challenging times, ensuring dignity and comfort for pets nearing the end of their lives. Providing consulting services to Euthabag since March 2024, she continues to be passionate about sharing her expertise on delivering compassionate end-of-life care.

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Dr. Brooke Davis is from California. She received her bachelor's degree from UC Santa Cruz, then came to K-State to earn her DVM in 2020. She stayed at K-State to complete a one-year internship in shelter medicine in 2021, then moved to Colorado to practice at the Human Society of Boulder Valley, a hybrid shelter & general practice clinic. Dr. Davis returned to K-State in 2025 to join the shelter medicine faculty. She teaches shelter medicine concepts, surgical techniques and the importance of preserving the human-animal bond through access to veterinary care. Her veterinary interests include HQHVSN surgery, shelter medicine, access to care and teaching.

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Michael Dryden, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVM, is an Emeritus University Distinguished Professor at Kansas State University. He received his DVM from K-State, spent 2.5 years in private practice and then received his M.S. & Ph.D. in Veterinary Parasitology from Purdue University. He is the author/co-author of >150 journal articles and >15 book chapters. He has lectured in 23 countries presenting > 1,250 invited seminars. He has received numerous awards, including the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists Distinguished Parasitologist of the Year and the only veterinary parasitologist to be named the American Association of Veterinary Microbiologists Distinguished Microbiologist of the Year.

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Dr. George is currently serving as a Medical Affairs Specialist at Elanco Animal Health. He grew up in Kansas City and after earning his DVM degree at Kansas State University, he completed a rotating internship at VCA Mission, followed by an internal medicine residency at Kansas State University. After residency, Dr. George moved to the Pacific Northwest where he built an internal medicine service at BluePearl Tacoma and practiced in the Tacoma and Olympia areas prior to joining Elanco. His professional interests include endocrinology, nephrology, and gastroenterology. When not working, he enjoys cooking, traveling, and hiking throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Dr. Kimberly Reeds is an Associate Professor of Oncology in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She earned her BS in Animal Science and DVM from Oklahoma State University, followed by a radiation therapy internship at Purdue University. She completed her MS and oncology residency at Kansas State University, achieving board certification in medical oncology (DACVIM) in 2012. Dr. Reeds' research focuses on the impacts of nutrition on oncology patient survival, cancer epidemiology, and comparative oncology. She teaches clinical oncology to veterinary students and provides expertise in small animal oncology.

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Dr. Upchurch is an Associate Professor of Small Animal Soft Tissue Surgery at the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology and a DVM from Auburn University prior to completing a rotating internship at the University of Pennsylvania, a surgical internship at Louisiana State University, and a surgical residency and Master of Science at Kansas State University. After becoming board-certified, he completed a MSc in Veterinary Education through the Royal Veterinary College. His clinical interests include suture materials, wound management and reconstruction, as well as preclinical and clinical instructorship of veterinary students.

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Dr. Kapaldo is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine (KSU-CVM). He is from Northern Virginia, earned his B.S. in Biology at Slippery Rock University (PA), his DVM from KSU-CVM, completed a one-year rotating internship at the Animal Medical Center (NYC, NY), before completing his residency in Anesthesia and Analgesia at KSU-CVM.

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