Dr. Bruner is a clinical assistant professor in the dermatology and otology service.
Tell us about your background.
I was one of those kids who always wanted to become a veterinarian and then actually became one. A native of the Hoosier State, I attended Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine before returning home to Fort Wayne, Indiana, to practice small animal general medicine for four years.
In what would later look more like luck than skill, I was offered the opportunity to return to Purdue for a year as visiting scholar in comparative dermatology, followed by a three-year residency in veterinary dermatology. I have been a board-certified veterinary dermatologist since 1999.
My time between then and now has been spent in private specialty practices in the Greater Cincinnati, Ohio, area. In the past 25 years I co-owned a multi-specialty hospital with my husband, a veterinary internal medicine specialist.
I am thrilled to be circling back to academia, and especially the University of Illinois, at this stage in my career as it allows me to do the things I enjoy most: practice clinical medicine and share dermatology with the next generation of veterinarians.
How did you become interested in dermatology?
To be honest, my initial interest in dermatology was driven by desperation. As a young primary care doctor, I was overwhelmed by the multitude of patients with skin and ear conditions that scratched and scooted their way into my office weekly. Despite a solid education, I felt ill-prepared to address them all. I was frustrated with what I didn’t know about dermatology in 1991. Perhaps most importantly, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed working with these patients, and their people, on what would likely become life-long projects.
Tell us about one of your favorite cases.
At the risk of sounding trite, they are all my favorite cases! Every single patient with a dermatologic disorder is just a bit different from the last, which is what makes my job so intriguing.
I think of myself as a skin detective. Even though I may be seeing my fifth allergic cat of the day or my third dog with pemphigus this month, each one of them will have a nuance to their condition that I need to discover and address. And if it’s not the patient that has the unique situation, it’s their family, which somehow adds to the challenge.
While many of my patients’ conditions are not life-threatening, the quality of life for them—and their humans—is often negatively impacted by their skin and ear problems. My job is to improve their situation through treatment and owner education and to help them to live their best lives as the important family members they are. In return, I learn something new from my patients and clients every single day, so it’s always a pleasure to come to work.
What are your special interests?
Inside the clinic, I am loving the teaching aspect of veterinary dermatology. It’s refreshing to see each case through a student’s eyes and gain new perspectives on learning. I’ve always been partial to the first three vowels of dermatology, Allergies, Ears, and Immune-mediated dermatoses, but I’m enjoying them so much more when I’m evaluating them with students.
Outside the clinic, I enjoy travel, hiking, nature photography, and reading mystery novels. I spend large amounts of time on the phone with my own three college students, and I am currently “mom” to three French bulldogs, a macaw, a gargoyle gecko, and a turtle, most of which I have inherited from the previously mentioned three college students.
