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NEW FACES
by Lianne Carr
After earning a DVM from the University of California-Davis in 1994, Dr. John Angus pursued a career in small animal private practice for five years. During this time he found that he had an affinity for the many dermatologic cases he encountered, and so he decided to enter a residency program to better understand them.
“I wanted to get deeper into the physiology of diseases,” he says, “but it’s hard to get in-depth on one area while working in a busy general practice.”
He came to the University of Illinois because of the outstanding reputation of Dr. Karen Campbell and the entire dermatology program. He finished his residency this spring, and began as a visiting clinical assistant professor on June 1.
In addition to his responsibilities as a clinician and instructor, Dr. Angus is pursuing a Ph.D., which he hopes to complete in the next three years. “My major focus will involve lymphocyte migration in the skin. Many clinical dermatologic diseases, from demodicosis to lupus, involve an abnormal lymphocyte response; immunology is a natural complement to dermatology.”
Although he thoroughly enjoys teaching and research, Dr. Angus cannot see himself leaving the clinical setting altogether. “It’s very important to me to stay in clinics. I’m a veterinarian first,” he says. After he finishes his Ph.D., Dr. Angus hopes to obtain a tenure-tack position in academia where he can continue to practice medicine and instruct students.
Outside the veterinary realm, Dr. Angus enjoys “traveling, hiking, and seeing things I haven’t seen before. Right up until my sophomore year in college my goal was a career with the national park service; now I just visit parks.” He also has a great interest in art, and enjoys painting and exploring art museums.
The love of teaching brought Dr. Anne Barger, clinical assistant professor of clinical pathology, back to the College of Veterinary Medicine from a position with Antech, a veterinary diagnostic laboratory in Chicago, Ill., where she had worked for the past two years.
“I really liked where I was, but I missed teaching very much,” she says. “The path group is great here, and this being my alma mater, I knew it was a good place.”
Dr. Barger’s education at the University of Illinois includes a bachelor’s, a master’s, and a DVM, which she completed in 1996. She then headed to North Carolina State University for a three-year residency in clinical pathology with a focus in immunology. She was boarded in clinical pathology in 2000.
Her duties on the clinical pathology faculty include serving in the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory clinics and teaching fourth-year rotations. She will also lecture on cytology and clinical chemistry and give presentations to second-year students in the clinical pathology course.
Dr. Barger developed an interest in pathology while working as an emergency technician for the clinical pathology laboratory during her third and fourth years of veterinary school. The experience made her feel involved in cases throughout the clinics. “I got an overview of everything in the hospital,” she says.
Dr. Walter Hoffmann, now professor emeritus in the College, encouraged her to consider a residency in clinical pathology. Dr Barger says, “It was Dr. Hoffmann’s fault.”
“Oncology is a field that, over the next 20 years, is going to change dramatically,” says Dr. Sarah Charney, new visiting clinical assistant professor of oncology. “Scientifically, we are beginning to explore specifically targeted therapies. Oncology is moving away from broad-based chemotherapy and radiation and moving toward therapies directed at the molecular basis of cancer. It is very exciting to be involved in the treatment of cancer during this revolutionary time.”
After receiving her DVM from the University of Illinois in 1998, Dr. Charney completed a one-year internship at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, followed by a two-year residency in oncology at the Animal Medical Center in New York City, N.Y. Last year she returned to the University of Illinois as an oncology fellow, and in October she began her new position as a visiting clinical assistant professor.
Dr. Charney is excited to be part of the College’s oncology team. “There is a great, innovative, dynamic faculty in oncology doing many interesting research projects at both the laboratory and clinical level.”
She not only gets great satisfaction from the treatment of her patients but also enjoys the teaching aspect of her clinical duties. “It is rewarding to teach others diagnostic and treatment approaches to the cancer patient,” she says.
Dr. Charney also enjoys reading, traveling, hiking, and gourmet cooking.
Dr. Thomas K. Graves brings a passion for all aspects of the University’s mission—teaching, research, and service—to his role as assistant professor of small animal medicine in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine.
Before earning a DVM degree at Cornell University in 1991 Dr. Graves worked as a laboratory assistant for Dr. Mark Peterson, veterinary endocrinologist and associate director for the research arm of the Animal Medical Center of New York.
After completing an internship at Ohio State University and a residency at Michigan State University, Dr. Graves continued his interest in endocrinological research at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in Rochester, N.Y., where he earned a PhD in pharmacology. He is currently establishing a research program focusing on the regulation of intracellular calcium as it relates to endocrine diseases.
Clinical practice is also a high priority for Dr. Graves. While earning his doctoral degree he continued at a veterinary practice about a day a week “just to keep my finger in it.” He is board certified in small animal internal medicine.
Dr. Graves has a strong clinical interest in hyperthyroid cats and is collaborating with a researcher at Northwestern Medical School in Evanston, Ill., on a study of the feline receptor for TSH, a calcium-mobilizing hormone that controls the production of thyroid hormones. He has lectured widely on clinical endocrinology issues, feline medicine, and geriatric medicine.
Outside of work, Dr. Graves is a Pekingese breeder and has served as the president of the Pekingese Club of America for the past 4 years. He’s also a member of the President’s Council of the Canine Health Foundation for the American Kennel Club.
And which aspect of veterinary medicine does he like best?
“Working with veterinary students in clinical rotations is probably my favorite thing to do,” he says. “That’s when I can make the most impact. It’s fun seeing the light bulb go on.”
“I like all the toys and equipment we have here,” says Dr. Jennifer Grimm, of the facilities at the College’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital. “Many schools do not have as nice a CT, MRI, or nuclear medicine equipment.”
The visiting clinical assistant professor of imaging has a long history at Illinois. After receiving a DVM here in 1998, she spent one year in practice before returning to the College to complete a residency and master’s degree in veterinary imaging.
Currently serving part time, Dr. Grimm has clinical duties in radiology, ultrasound, CT, MRI, and nuclear medicine, seeing mainly small animal and equine, and occasionally food animal patients.
She enjoys her role as an instructor as well. “I like teaching students. I love interacting with senior students and helping them learn.” In the future, Dr. Grimm sees herself staying in academia, and possibly pursuing a consulting career in imaging.
Outside veterinary medicine, she and her husband, Dr. Kurt Grimm, visiting assistant professor of anesthesiology, enjoy adventuring in their handcrafted kayaks. Dr. Grimm also loves gardening and takes pleasure in drawing and painting.
Dr. Joan Jorgensen has already mastered many diverse aspects of veterinary medicine, and she brings her skills at juggling a busy workload to her role as assistant professor in veterinary biosciences.
She currently teaches and serves as coordinator of the pharmacology course. Her research examines testis/ovary development in mice using the Affymetrix Gene Chip. Through the monitoring of over 36,000 genes over four different time intervals, Dr. Jorgensen hopes to find changes in genes that will increase knowledge of signaling pathways for gonad development. In addition, in the summer of 2003, she will begin teaching and seeing cases at the Large Animal Clinic in equine internal medicine.
Dr. Jorgensen joined the College after many academic and clinical experiences across the country. After receiving both her undergraduate and DVM degrees from the University of Wisconsin, she headed to North Carolina State University in 1993 for an equine ambulatory internship. She then completed a residency program in equine internal medicine at NC State and was boarded in 1997. Continuing her education, Dr. Jorgensen received her Ph.D. in molecular endocrinology in 2001 from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. While working on her Ph.D., Dr. Jorgensen continued to see patients by consulting for a local racetrack, where she saw many lameness referrals as well as pneumonia and neurological cases.
When not immersed in veterinary medicine, Dr. Jorgensen enjoys being a new mom, staying busy at home with her baby daughter. In the future, Dr. Jorgensen hopes that her career will achieve a balance between research, academic instruction, clinical instruction, and seeing patients as well.
For Dr. Debra Sauberli, visiting clinical assistant professor of theriogenology, reproductive medicine has always held great interest. She worked on horse farms for many years, so mares and foals have particular appeal for her. In veterinary medicine, she says, “I liked neonatal medicine better than anything, and that led to reproduction.”
After receiving her DVM from Illinois in 1991, Dr. Sauberli worked for three years in a predominantly small animal clinic with some equine. For the next five years, she was the resident veterinarian for an equine breeding farm in Springfield, Ill. The farm also had a few longhorn cattle and a petting zoo with goats and llamas. Concurrently, she worked at a general equine practice. Following these years in practice, Dr. Sauberli came back to Illinois and began a three-year residency in theriogenology.
Her current position is partially funded through the Edith Kosterka Equine Reproduction Endowment Fund. In addition to her duties as clinician, Dr. Sauberli is committed to instructing future veterinarians, saying, “A large part of academia is bringing your clinical experiences back to help students.”
Dr. Sauberli is currently completing her master’s thesis on ovulation-inducing drugs in mares. She plans to take board exams for theriogenology in 2003.
Dr. Sauberli enjoys her three horses and participates in obedience and agility with her dog. She is talented in art and enjoys painting and drawing.
Dr. Christine Warzee has joined the University of Illinois Cancer Care Clinic as a visiting assistant professor in surgical oncology. Dr. Warzee is excited about her new position and says she enjoys the multimodality approach to treating the oncology patient.
“Cancer therapy is not just surgery alone, chemotherapy alone, or radiation therapy alone,” she says, “but a combination of these modalities. I really enjoy interacting with the medical oncology team in order to provide the best care for my patients.”
Originally from Belgium, Dr. Warzee received her veterinary degree in 1993 from the University of Liege. After two years of private practice in Paris, France, she decided to pursue a surgical career in the United States. She was a surgical intern at Hollywood Animal Hospital in Hollywood, Fla., and then attended the University of Florida as an intern in small animal medicine and surgery.
In 1997, Dr. Warzee began a surgical residency at Michigan State University. She says that “the challenge of surgery” combined with the “owners’ dedication to their pets” is what attracted her to the field. After completion of her residency, Dr. Warzee spent a year as a visiting assistant professor at Auburn University in surgical oncology and soft tissue surgery. A strong oncology program brought her to the University of Illinois in August 2001 for a surgical fellowship with Dr. Nicole Ehrhart.
For Dr. Allison Worster, equine surgery is “a passion that has never waned.” Dr. Worster brings this passion to the University of Illinois after diverse academic and clinical experiences.
After receiving her DVM from Oklahoma State University in 1995, Dr. Worster completed an internship at Kansas State University and a surgical residency at Cornell University. She continued at Kansas State as a large animal emergency surgeon before entering private practice for two years at the Equine Specialty Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.
Dr. Worster then pursued a master’s degree at Cornell University, conducting research with mesenchymal stem cells and articular cartilage. Her work focused on the effect of growth factors (Transforming Growth Factor- B1 and Insulin-like Growth factor I) on the transformation of stem cells into articular cartilage. Dr. Worster plans to continue her research here at Illinois with the ultimate goal of developing a three-dimensional cell matrix, analogous to cartilage, which could be inserted arthroscopically into a joint.
Dr. Worster was boarded in equine surgery in 2001, and joins the University of Illinois as an assistant professor in equine surgery. Her surgical focus is primarily orthopedics, but she performs soft tissue surgery as well.
Every morning, Dr. Worster rides her Thoroughbred. She says, “Horses are more than just a hobby; they are a career for me.” She also runs 3 to 5-mile cross-country events and participates in intramural sports.
