Professor

Dr. Pamela Wilkins is an internationally recognized expert in critical illness in neonatal foals. She earned her veterinary, master’s, and PhD degrees at Cornell University and is a diplomate of both the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Large Animal) and the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care. She served as an equine clinician and faculty member at Cornell as well as at the University of Pennsylvania New Bolton Center before joining the faculty at the University of Illinois in 2008.

Dr. Wilkins’s professional honors include the Specialty Lifetime Achievement Award in Large Animal Internal Medicine from the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (2023), the Boehringer-Ingelheim World Equine Veterinary Association Applied Research Award (2018), the Ira M. Zaslow Distinguished Service Award from the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society (2018), and the Intervet/Schering-Plough AH International Equine Emergency and Critical Care Educator Award (2009).

In 2024 she was named the inaugural Delores R. Pajak Professor in Companion Animal Practice.

Addressing Localized Infections in the Foal

Foals can develop localized infections early in life that may impact immediate health and future performance. Passive transfer of antibodies is an essential factor in preventing early disease, but even good levels of immunity can be overwhelmed in certain instances resulting in generalized sepsis or localized infections such as pneumonia, umbilical infections, and septic synovitis. This presentation will focus on recognition and treatment of these problems.