News

***This article first appeared in the Fall 2026 issue of Synergy magazine***

Throughout his academic career, Raffi Miranda was always a non-traditional student, studying part-time while in community college and completing an Animal Science degree at UC Davis. So, it’s not out of the ordinary for him to be on a non-traditional path to veterinary school.

***This article first appeared in the Fall 2026 issue of Synergy magazine***

As early as he can remember, Gabe Gil has been around horses and had a passion for them. As a small child in Mexico, he would help his family working with equines as field and transport animals. At 15, Gil worked at a horse racing farm—breeding, training, and even racing the horses. That is when his passion for them truly began. However, obligations with his education and family would delay Gil’s ability to make the animals his career.

***This article first appeared in the Fall 2026 issue of Synergy magazine***

Growing up in the Santa Cruz mountains, John Kirby was always around animals, be it his dogs, the wildlife surrounding him, or at the nearby horse ranch where he worked. One of his father’s close friends was the late Dr. Gerald Heagerty, DVM ’64, who showed Kirby behind-the-scenes activities at his clinic. This was where his first thoughts about a career in veterinary medicine began.

***This article first appeared in the Fall 2026 issue of Synergy magazine***

“The average career length of a veterinary technician is about six years,” said Jody Nugent-Deal, a long-time registered veterinary technician (RVT) at UC Davis. “It’s a shame to see so many talented technicians leave the profession. I want them to realize that there are many avenues they can pursue to improve and lengthen their careers, especially at a place as large as our hospital with so many positions available.”

Distinguished Professor Emeritus Dr. John E. Madigan has released a new book, Awakening at Birth: What the Newborn Foal Revealed About Birth, Consciousness, and Neurodevelopment. With a foreword by renowned animal behaviorist Temple Grandin, PhD, Awakening at Birth tells a medical mystery story that extends well beyond veterinary medicine: a veterinarian investigating newborn foals discovers biological signals that may change how we understand the transition to consciousness at birth, with potential implications for infant care and neurodevelopment.

Dave Aguilar took precautions and tried to be fool proof by foaling out his mare Sierra (Cajos Wild Angel) at his primary veterinarian’s clinic. Sierra had multiple healthy foals in prior years and usually foaled near the same number of gestation days each time. However, this year she gave birth to Banks (MP My Goodbye Banks) about three weeks early.

UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine Professor Dr. Denis Marcellin-Little was recently named President of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS). Dr. Marcellin-Little was elected President-elect in 2025 and assumed the role of President at the 2026 ACVS Surgery Summit.

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.

A large contingent of representatives from the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine recently presented research projects at the 2026 American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) Surgery Summit, ACVS’ annual conference, held this year in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

Fourth-year DVM students Dylan Caro and Rohit Chopra presented their bone density research projects, while third-year DVM student Tyler Misraje presented her project about bone behavior with joint replacement implants.

In addition, the students fielded questions from the surgeon audience. 

Coefficient Giving, a philanthropic funder and advisor committed to cost-effective, high-impact giving, has awarded $30 million to the University of California Malaria Initiative (UCMI) to advance its work in preventing the mosquito-driven spread of malaria. The new funding continues a partnership between Coefficient Giving and UCMI that began in 2019 and will support UCMI's growing collaboration with the Government of Equatorial Guinea to implement UCMI’s gene drive technology in support of the country's national malaria elimination goals.