Awards & Recognition

The UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine hosted its annual Alumni Weekend from October 23-25. On Saturday evening, the 2026 Rising Star and Alumni Achievement Awards were presented to our outstanding alumni. Congratulations to this year’s awardees!

The American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) annual convention was held recently in Indianapolis, and Dr. Fauna Smith was recognized with the inaugural Innovation in ADGA Leadership Award.

The new award celebrates vision, dedication, and innovation. It recognizes ADGA members ages 25–49 who demonstrate leadership early in their dairy goat careers through service to the ADGA, participation in its programs, and meaningful contributions to education, outreach, or mentorship.

The Veterinary Genetics Lab, led by Professor Rebecca Bellone, is this year’s Lab Safety Award winner in the Weill School of Veterinary Medicine. 

Each year, more than 980 UC Davis laboratories participate in the lab safety review program, run by EH&S, which feeds into the Lab Safety Awards.

The Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service recently attended the Veterinary Dental Forum (VDF), the annual meeting of the American Veterinary Dental College (AVDC).

Dr. Rachel Hanford, a third-year resident in medical oncology received the Edward L. Gillette Memorial Award for Outstanding Research Poster Presentation, presented recently at the annual Veterinary Cancer Society Conference. 

A documentary chronicling a groundbreaking collaboration between UC Davis veterinary and pediatric neurosurgeons has received a 2026 Northern California Emmy Award.

Produced by the UC Davis Health video team, Saving Viggo: The Kitten Surgery That Could Help Babies with Hydrocephalus won in the Health/Medical — News or Long Form Content category. The award recognizes senior video content producer Christopher Nelson, director of news and media relations Pamela Wu and contributing photographer Kevin Ulrich.

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). 

Lu Dao, DVM ’13, was recently named the 2026 Community College Advisor of the Year by the Health Professional Student Association (HPSA). Dr. Dao is a veterinarian and the Chair of the Agriculture Department at Los Angeles Pierce College in Woodland Hills, California. As a child, he lived across the street from the college and used the campus farm as his playground.

The UC Davis William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) recently acknowledged the dedication and hard work of its staff members with the annual VMTH Staff Excellence Awards. Chief Veterinary Medical Officer Dr. Michael Mison presented the awards.

The VMTH Staff Excellence Awards are divided into these categories:

The UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine’s Advancement team has earned three 2026 Circle of Excellence Awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), receiving international recognition for the integrated fundraising and communications campaign behind the public launch of the school's Limitless Campaign to expand the Veterinary Medical Complex.