Veterinary Forensics: What Every Practitioner Needs to Know

David C. Twedt DVM Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Professor of Medicine Colorado State University

Dr. David Twedt graduated from Iowa State University and entered an internship and medicine residency at The Animal Medical Center in New York City in gastroenterology. Dr. Twedt then joined the staff of the Animal Medical Center and was also a research associate at the Liver Research Center of Albert Einstein Medical School.

Dr. Twedt is currently a Diplomate of the ACVIM, Professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Colorado State University and Director of the Veterinary Endoscopy Teaching Center.

Dr. Twedt is past President of both ACVIM Internal Medicine Speciality and College of ACVIM and the Comparative Gastroenterology Society. Publication and research interests include liver, gastrointestinal disease and endoscopy. He has also been the recipient of several teaching awards. He is also the co-editor of Current Veterinary Therapy XIV published in 2008.

Dr Julian Lunn BVSc MANZCVS MVCS, Small Animal Surgeon

Dr Julian Lunn graduated from the University of Sydney in 1996. He spent the first four years in mixed practice in South-eastern NSW and Bath, UK. On returning to Australia, Julian took up a position at the University of Sydney’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital working in the primary accession and medicine referral services before commencing a residency in Small Animal Surgery in 2003.

He successfully gained membership in Small Animal Medicine in 2003 and in Small Animal Surgery in 2006.

Julian completed his surgical residency in 2007, having spent time at Murdoch University and Colorado State University as part of his training. He also graduated with a Master of Veterinary Clinical Studies after completing a thesis on Canine Neural Angiostrongyliasis.

In January 2008, Julian joined Veterinary Specialist Services, Australia’s largest and most comprehensive veterinary referral service offering Surgery, Medicine, Emergency, Oncology, Cardiology, Dermatology, Ophthalmology and Dentistry. VSS sees over 5000 new patients every year.

Through his time at both the University of Sydney and Veterinary Specialist Services, Julian has gained a wide experience in all areas of surgery from cardiothoracic, oncology and vascular to orthopaedic, neurological and trauma procedures.

Robert is a London graduate and has over thirty years’ experience in general practice & emergency Centres. In 2006 he completed the Post Graduate course in Emergency and Critical Care and qualified, as a Member of the Australian College of Veterinary Surgeons, during 2007, in the same discipline. Since then he has developed his interest in Ultrasonography, both in the emergent situation and general Practice and, performs tuition Australia wide.

In Dec 2011 Robert won the Major prize, for his article in the Post graduate C&T magazine, referencing gall bladder sonological appearance in anaphylaxis. In 2010 he completed the Centre of Veterinary Education distance education course in Sonology and, in 2012, attended the European School of Advanced Veterinary Studies completing their advanced ultrasound course.

Robert has been teaching the benefits of ultrasound to both general practitioners and emergency veterinarians since 2011 and now has well over 160 tutorials and workshops (inc. ASAVA 2013 and Improve International 2014) under his belt in QLD, NSW, Victoria, Darwin and S.A.

Robert offers tuition on, a one-to-one basis, and small to larger groups and, can adapt the scope and direction of teaching to suit various requirements. These tutorials can be arranged at a time to suit vet’s needs and, can be undertaken on a day, evening or weekend basis.

Peter Hill BVsc PHD

Peter Hill is a UK veterinary graduate with over 25 years experience of clinical practice and academia. After spending 5 years in a UK companion animal hospital, he trained as a specialist dermatologist at the University of Madison, Wisconsin in the USA.

He obtained a PhD at the University of Edinburgh and subsequently worked as a lecturer, clinician and researcher. After spending some time at Bristol University, he emigrated to Australia and spent 18 months at a specialist referral centre in Sydney.

Following that, Peter returned to academia at the University of Adelaide. Peter is the only veterinary dermatologist in the world to have been board certified as a Diplomate in the UK, Europe and the USA, as well as having a PhD.

He has trained 9 dermatology residents, written 2 textbooks, published over 100 papers and book chapters, and given over 240 invited talks and presentations.

Danièlle Gunn-Moore BSc BVM&S PhD FHEA MACVSc MRCVS, RCVS Specialist in Feline Medicine

Prof Danielle Gunn – Moore graduated with distinction from the R(D)SVS, University of Edinburgh, in 1991. After a year in small animal practice she joined The Feline Centre, University of Bristol, initially as the Feline Advisory Bureau Scholar, then as the Duphar Feline Fellow, and completed a PhD study into Feline Infectious Peritonitis in 1997.

After a short period as Lecturer in Veterinary Pathology, University of Bristol, she returned to Edinburgh to establish the Feline Clinic and is a Professor of Feline Medicine.

She is interested in all aspects of feline medicine; she is an internationally recognised expert in her area, lectures extensively and her work has been published widely.

In 2009, she was awarded the BSAVA Woodrow Award for outstanding contribution in the field of small animal veterinary medicine; in 2011, she was awarded the International Society for Feline Medicine/Hill’s award for outstanding contributions to Feline Medicine. In 2017 she was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology.

Elizabeth A. Giuliano DVM, MS, Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists

Dr. Giuliano received a Bachelor of Science with honors from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York in 1991 and her DVM degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1996. Following graduation from veterinary school, she completed a small animal rotating internship at the Animal Medical Center in New York City in 1997 and remained in private practice in midtown Manhattan the following year.

In 1998, she returned to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to complete a Comparative Ocular Pathology Fellowship. Since July 1, 1999, Dr. Giuliano has been a member of the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Missouri where she completed a residency in veterinary ophthalmology and a Masters of Science degree. She is currently a tenured Professor of the department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery at the University of Missouri and Section Chief of their comparative ophthalmology service. She has authored over 80 articles and text book chapters.

Dr. Giuliano is a dynamic, engaging speaker and has lectured extensively in the academic setting and at national and international meetings. She is the recipient of numerous teaching awards, including two Golden Aesculapius Teaching Awards, the Gold Chalk Award, the Dadd Award, and was Western Veterinary Conference’s “Educator of the Year” in 2018. In 2011, she was elected to the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ACVO) Board of Regents and served as the ACVO President from 2015-2016.

Lorrie Gaschen received her DVM from the University of Florida, was in private practice in Florida for two years after which time she did a diagnostic imaging residency at the University of Bern in Switzerland and became a diplomat of the European College of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging.

She received her PhD in renal transplant imaging in animal models at the University Medical School in Utrecht then returned to the University of Bern where she became an associate professor. Her major research interests are in gastrointestinal ultrasound and vascular imaging as well as MRI.

Currently, she is full tenured professor at the Louisiana State University, Section of Diagnostic Imaging as well as being the Executive Associate Dean for Diversity, Student and Faculty Affairs. She has authored numerous publications and book chapters mainly in the field of ultrasound, vascular and gastrointestinal imaging where she has done the majority of her research and is a frequent national and international lecturer.

Laurent Garosi DVM FRCVS DipECVN, RCVS & European Specialist in Veterinary Neurology

Laurent Garosi graduated from Toulouse Veterinary School, France in 1996. After a year internship in Toulouse, he completed a residency in neurology and neurosurgery at the Royal Veterinary College of London in 1999.

From 1999 until early 2005, Laurent was a senior clinician in neurology/neurosurgery at the Animal Health Trust, Newmarket. He became a diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Neurology in 2002. This led to him gaining the RCVS and European Specialist status in neurology. Laurent moved to Davies Veterinary Specialist in May 2005.

Laurent is past President of the European College of Veterinary Neurology.

He was awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons for Meritorious Contributions to Clinical Practice (MCCP) in 2017.

His main clinical and research interests are cerebrovascular diseases, neuro-imaging and intracranial surgery.

Dr. Martin is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists and a practicing veterinarian in the great state of Texas. He is the owner of Veterinary Behavior Consultations and a co-owner of TEAM Education in Animal Behavior.

He completed a clinical behavioral medicine residency in 2004 at Purdue University’s Animal Behavior Clinic under the mentorship of Dr. Andrew Luescher, DVM, PhD, DACVB, ECVBM-CA. He graduated from Louisiana State University – School of Veterinary Medicine in 1999. He was invited to join Phi Zeta, the honor society of veterinary medicine, while at Purdue University.

Dr. Martin’s professional interests include behavioral development, the prevention of behavioral problems, animal training, and psychopharmacology. He is an international lecturer and teaches a small animal behavior course for veterinary students at Louisiana State University.

He is a published author in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, and Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research and has contributions to the following texts: Blackwell’s Five-Minute Veterinary Consult, Canine and Feline; Blackwell’s Five-Minute Veterinary Consult Clinical Companion – Canine and Feline Behavior; Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice –Behavior; Canine and Feline Behavior for Veterinary Technicians and Nurses; Manual of Parrot Behavior.

Dr. Pike graduated from Colorado State University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2003. After graduation, she was commissioned as a Captain into the United States Army Veterinary Corps.

It was taking care of the Military Working Dogs returning from deployment that spurred her interests in behavior medicine. In 2011, Dr. Pike started a Residency program under the mentorship of Dr. Debra Horwitz, DACVB. In October 2015, Dr. Pike passed the ACVB certifying examination. Dr. Pike is owner of the Animal Behavior Wellness Center in Fairfax, VA (a suburb of Washington DC) where she sees referral behavior cases.

Dr. Pike is a clinical instructor for the on-line education system “E-training for Dogs”, a member of the Fear Free Advisory Committee and a certified animal behavior consultant for IAABC. She was recently named one of the “Top Veterinarians of Northern Virginia” by NoVa Magazine for the third year in a row.

Gemma graduated from Massey University in 2009. She then spent two years in private small animal practice on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.

In 2012 Gemma did a rotating internship at the University of Sydney and in 2014 commenced a residency in Small Animal Medicine at Brisbane Veterinary Specialist Clinic.

She passed her Fellowship exams in 2018 and is a registered specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine.

Her interests include immune-mediated diseases, infectious diseases, oncology and sonography. Gemma owns a stubborn but very cute wire haired dachshund called Hazel.

Kieran Borgeat BSc BVSc MVetMed CertVC MRCVS DipACVIM DipECVIM-CA (Cardiology)

Kieran graduated from the University of Bristol in 2005 with an intercalated degree in Zoology and Veterinary Science.

He worked in first-opinion vet practice for 6 years before undertaking a Residency training programme and Masters degree at the Royal Veterinary College in London.

Since then, Kieran has worked in private referral practice, telemedicine and now a veterinary teaching hospital, where he is Clinical Lead for the Cardiology department.

He is an American, European and RCVS Recognised Specialist in Veterinary Cardiology and works predominantly as a clinician (90%) covering cardiology in all species. He has spoken all over the world on cardiology and interventional radiology, and has a particular interest in feline heart disease.

Dr Christine Hawke BSc (Vet) (Hons), BVSc (Hons), PhD, MACVSc (Veterinary Dentistry)

Christine graduated as a veterinarian from the University of Sydney in 1993. She worked in small animal general practice in Australia and the UK for five years before returning to Sydney in 1999 to commence her PhD studies in immunology at the University of Sydney. After successfully completing these in 2003 and a break to start her family, she returned to the University of Sydney as a Lecturer in the Faculty of Veterinary Science in 2005.

Christine’s growing passion for small animal dentistry resulted in her gaining membership (by examination) of the Dental Chapter of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists in 2006. She is a committee member and NSW representative of the Australian Veterinary Dental Society and a member of the American Veterinary Dental Society. Christine has taught a wide range of dental topics to undergraduate veterinary students, practising clinicians and veterinary nurses in lectures, small group tutorials and wet-lab formats. She is passionate about educating both veterinary staff and pet owners on how to ensure all animals have healthy, pain-free mouths.

Christine founded Sydney Pet Dentistry in 2007, and has limited her clinical practice to small animal dentistry since then. She joined forces with the Animal Referral Hospital in 2009, and still lectures part-time at the University of Sydney. She is currently undertaking her alternate pathway residency training under the mentorship of Dr David Clarke.

Dr. Shannon Holmes
DVM, MSc, DACVR – AXIS – Animal Cross-Sectional Imaging Specialists (Founder) – MRI Subspecialization

Dr. Holmes attended veterinary school at Ontario Veterinary College, completed a rotating internship at Michigan Veterinary Specialists and her radiology residency at Washington State University.  While at University of Florida and more recently University of Georgia as an Associate Professor of Diagnostic Imaging, she was actively involved in neuroimaging research with an emphasis in MRI. Presently, she is the founding radiologist of AXIS – Animal Cross-Sectional Imaging Specialists. She is also a consulting radiologist for the Animal Medical Center in NYC, Hagyard Equine Medical Institute and Animal Health Partners.  Her primary professional interests are neuroimaging, canine and equine musculoskeletal imaging. She sometimes lives in Georgia and rest of time by the lake with her three Chihuahuas Julio, Macarena and Eduardo and her cat Fitzgerald.

Dr. Simon Platt
BVM&S, Diplomate ACVIM (Neurology), Diplomate ECVN, MRCVS – RCVS Recognized Specialist of Veterinary Neurology

Dr. Simon Platt received his veterinary degree from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1992, following which he undertook an internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph and a 2 year period in private practice in the England. Dr. Platt completed a residency in neurology and neurosurgery in 1998 at the University of Florida and afterwards spent 2 years as an assistant professor of Neurology at the University of Georgia. In 2000, Dr. Platt returned to the UK where he was Head of the Neurology/Neurosurgery service at the Animal Health Trust until 2006, from which time he has been at the Dept. of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the University of Georgia where is currently a Professor.  Dr. Platt received the AAVC National resident of the year award in 1998, the BSAVA Blaine award for outstanding contributions to small animal medicine and surgery in 2005, the UGA Clinical Research Award in 2010 and the David Tyler Award for Innovative Teaching in 2012. Dr. Platt has authored or co-authored over 180 journal articles and 50 book chapters and is the co-editor of the BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Neurology and the Manual of Small Animal Neurological Emergencies. Dr. Platt is Past-President of the ACVIM Neurology Specialty and Founder member of the South Eastern Veterinary Neurology (SEVEN) group in the USA. Currently, Simon serves as Editor in Chief of the NAVC journal Today’s Veterinary Practice.

Professor Holger A. Volk
DVM, PGCAP, PhD, DipECVN, FHEA, MRCVS

Holger is currently Professor of Small Animal Diseases and the Head of Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover, the Past-President of the European College of Veterinary Neurology and the current treasurer of the European Board of Veterinary Specialisation. He graduated from the University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover in 2001, where he also did his PhD in Neuropharmacology studying basic mechanisms of drug-resistant epilepsy. He then completed his specialist clinical education doing an internship and a residency in Neurology and Neurosurgery at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC). The RVC also provided him with the chance to not only excel academically, but also in his leadership skills, going through the reigns from lecturer to head of service, clinical director of the Small Animal Referral clinic and last as head of department of clinical science and services. Holger is internationally known for his work in the field of Chiari-like malformation/syringomyelia and epilepsy. Holger has been chairing the International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force, which published recently seven consensus statements for canine and feline epilepsy and was a co-chair of the recent published ACVIM consensus statement about medical treatment of epilepsy. He has been a recipient of several Jim Bee educator excellent in teaching awards, the prestigious  Bourgelat Award  from BSAVA and the International Canine Health Award from the Kennel Club. He has published multiple books and book chapters, >180 articles, >120 conference abstracts, and is a frequent flyer on the international conference circuit.

Dr. Elsa Beltran
Ldo Vet, DipECVN, PGCertVetEd FHEA, MRCVS

Elsa received her veterinary degree from the University Cardenal Herrera Ceu, Valencia, Spain, in 2002, following which she spent two years in general practice before undertaking an internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at University of Barcelona, Spain. Dr. Beltran completed a neurology internship in 2006 followed by a residency in neurology and neurosurgery at the Animal Health Trust, Newmarket, United Kingdom. Dr Beltran obtained the Diploma of the European College of Veterinary Neurology in 2011. In 2014, Dr Beltran joined the Royal Veterinary College, University of London where she is currently working as Senior Lecturer in Neurology-Neurosurgery. Since October 2015 she is the chairperson of the ECVN Credential Committee. She is interested in all aspects of veterinary neurology and neurosurgery, but has a particular interest understanding neurological sequels in dogs after traumatic brain injury, all aspects of neuro-ophthalmology, neuroimaging and neurosurgery. Dr Beltran has a passion for learning on Veterinary Education and she has just achieved the postgraduate Diploma in this field, being a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

Tora Thomas
Veterinary Radiographer

Tora qualified as a vet nurse in 1988 and worked in mixed and equine practice before leaving to take jobs that allowed her to compete in endurance riding.
In 2006 she finished her BSc(Hons) in Diagnostic Imaging and started work at Bristol Royal Infirmary imaging human animals. Four years later she happened upon a job at Bristol University for a veterinary radiographer and 2 years later she gave up humans altogether.

She also taught Animal Science and Vet Nursing to Certificate 4 Level.

In 2015 she decided to leave the UK and make the move to Australia. Hopefully this will become permanent. When not imaging, looking after radiation safety and cuddling kittens she likes to paddle outrigger canoes and walk her 3 crazy dogs.

Siobhan Steven
Veterinary Anaesthesiologist, University of Melbourne

Having been lucky enough to work in various fields in the veterinary industry, from a large mixed practice to specialty surgery, General practice to an equine hospital, Siobhan now works at U-Vet, Melbourne University Veterinary Hospital in the Anaesthesia service. Every day varies in case load and types of cases where she works with other services such as neurology, equine, surgery, medicine and more along with teaching final year veterinary students the practical aspects of Anaesthesia. Being passionate about imparting skills and knowledge to enrich our abilities as vets and nurses and enhance our patients care she is excited to help you learn more about Anaesthesia and analgesia.

Dr. Meng Siak
BVMS, MANZCVS (Canine Medicine), FANZCVS (Veterinary Dermatology)

Meng graduated from Murdoch Veterinary School in 2006. He spent one year in private practice before returning to Perth to pursue his dream of becoming a veterinary dermatologist. From 2008 to 2014, Meng worked in two busy referral dermatology clinics, initially as an intern, then resident in veterinary dermatology. In 2014, he passed examinations to become a specialist veterinary dermatologist with the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists (ANZCVS)

Outside work, Meng is a keen advocate for continued education and is the Oceania/Asia representative for Global Veterinary Dermatology Education Group (GVDEG), a non-profit charitable organisation that offers continued education in underserved countries.

Harold Davis, Jr
BA, RVT, VTS (Emergency & Critical Care) (Anesthesia & Analgesia) University of California–Davis

Harold Davis, BA, RVT, VTS (ECC) (Anesth & Analgesia) is a Registered Veterinary Technician who grandfathered in to take the California Animal Health Technician Examination. He was also certified in Florida as a Veterinary Technician. He is a graduate of California State University, Sacramento with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology. Harold has been in the profession for almost 43 years and was drawn to the profession because of a love of animals and an interest in medicine. Harold has worked in full service veterinary clinic at a local humane society, general daytime practice, private emergency practice and until July 2018 was the Manager of the Emergency and Critical Care Service at the UC Davis William R Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. He worked at UC Davis for close to 36 years. Prior to managing the Emergency Service, he was an ICU technician, coordinator and instructor in clinical practice for all first thru third year veterinary students, and he was the emergency service supervisor. Currently he is a veterinary practice educational consultant/lecturer providing in hospital continuing education opportunities.

As co-founder of the Academy of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Technicians, Harold was instrumental in working with and obtaining from the North American Veterinary Technicians Association (Now known as the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA)) provisional recognition for technicians as specialist. This was the first organization to receive this acceptance. He is also a charter member of the Academy of Veterinary Technicians in Anesthesia and Analgesia. Harold is a former member-at-large to the Board of Directors for the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society (VECCS), having also served as treasurer and president.

Harold is the first non-veterinarian elected as president of this 5000 plus member organization. Harold says that one of the highlights of his career was being selected to serve on the Board of Directors for the North American Veterinary Community; he is Vice President of the Board and Chairman of the Earl Rippie Veterinary Technician Scholarship committee. Harold is a member-at-large on the Executive Board of NAVTA. Harold has served on several continuing education program committees for various organizations such as AAHA, ACVIM, VECCS, and UC Davis. In 1985 Harold was appointed by California Governor George Deukmejian to serve on the Registered Veterinary Technician Examining Committee, a subcommittee of the Veterinary Medical Board. Harold was elected as Chairmen and Vice Chairman; he served a record fifteen years on that committee. He was on the editorial board for the Journal Veterinary Technician. Harold is the recipient of many awards and honors. He is a national and international speaker having spoken in eleven countries. Harold has published several book chapters, journal articles and is currently working on the second edition of his co-edited book entitled Advanced Monitoring and Procedures for Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care.

Vicky Ograin
MBA, RVT, VTS (Nutrition)

Vicky received her technician degree from Los Angeles Pierce College in 1983. She served in private practice for many years in California, and then 18 years ago began a new career with Hill’s Pet Nutrition, where she is a Specialist, Global Education in the Global Professional Veterinary Affairs department, where she focuses on developing and educating on nutrition. She is credentialed in California and Kansas.
In 2007, she completed a Bachelor of Science and in 2008, she completed a Masters, both in Business Administration.

Vicky obtained her Veterinary Technician Specialty (VTS) in nutrition in June 2013 and serves as secretary for the Academy of Veterinary Nutrition Technicians. She is a life member of the
National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA), and was the 2014 president of NAVTA. Currently she serves as the NAVTA CE Committee chair.

Vicky speaks nationally and internationally and is a published author.