Dr. Allan Gunn has joined the Department of Population Health and Reproduction as Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor of Livestock Herd Health and Reproduction, effective May 2026.
Dr. Gunn received his BSc.Agric degree (1984) from the University of Natal, South Africa and his BVM&S (1993) from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Dr. Karyn Bischoff joined CAHFS-Davis as faculty toxicologist and Toxicology Section Lead in May 2025.
She received her DVM from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, followed by a residency in Veterinary Toxicology and MS in Veterinary Pathology at Oklahoma State, and an MS in Public Health from Cornell University. She is board certified in Veterinary Toxicology and previously served as the Director of Analytical Toxicology at the New York State Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory from 2004-2025 prior to joining CAHFS.
The California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory (CAHFS) and the Department of Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology have welcomed Dr. Roberto Olivares as an assistant professor of clinical diagnostic pathology, effective March 1, 2026.
Dr. Woutrina Smith has been appointed as Executive Director of the One Health Institute (OHI) effective January 1, 2026, for a five-year term. As Executive Director, she will provide administrative leadership for the OHI and will guide its professional, academic, and business affairs. She replaces Dr. Michael Ziccardi, who has transitioned to Interim Director at the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center after Dr. Kirsten Gilardi’s retirement. Ziccardi led OHI for the past 5.5 years.
The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine has appointed Dr. Jessica Morgan as the new Associate Director of the Center for Equine Health (CEH), effective November 1, 2025. Her five-year term will include primary oversight and administrative responsibility for the Center’s equine facilities on the UC Davis campus and its Templeton Farms facility in Templeton, California. In this role, she will supervise the equine care staff and help ensure the health and welfare of the horses at both sites.
Last week, Dean Mark Stetter presented town halls to highlight some key 2024 accomplishments and a general overview of the state of the school as we go into 2025. (Listen here.) Key topics included updates on our strategic initiatives, information on our upcoming accreditation process, and recent master planning for our Veterinary Medical Complex.
This year, the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine hosted Buddy the Elf—or at least the Fair Use tribute version of him. Buddy brought the reindeer in for health checks before their big night, visiting the various areas of the school and meeting with Dean Mark Stetter along the way.
Among the herd were some unexpected members, including reindeer that looked suspiciously like cows, horses and dogs. In addition, Buddy was joined by a band of elves, who also might look familiar to people connected to the school and its students, staff and faculty.
The school has developed four key Strategic Initiatives to bridge the transition from a Strategic Plan designed to sunset in 2024 and a new five-year Strategic Plan.
In this inaugural issue of Mondays with Mark, the Dean touches on upcoming 75th Anniversary celebrations, recent flooding in Tulare, and an update on our house officer program.
