Category: Current

Medical Director, Medical District Veterinary Clinic
Interim Hospital Director, University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital

Dr. Drew Sullivan graduated from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 2011 and completed his MBA in 2020. He began his career as an associate veterinarian at Northgate Pet Clinic in Decatur, Illinois, and completed a special certification in small animal ultrasound in 2012. In 2013, he returned to his alma mater as a faculty member, and in 2014, he was named medical director of the Medical District Veterinary Clinic (MDVC) in Chicago.

In January 2025, Dr. Sullivan was appointed interim hospital director for the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) in Urbana. He now splits his time between Urbana and Chicago, overseeing operations at both hospitals. While much of his current role is administrative, he continues to see patients at MDVC one day each week.

A proud Illini through and through, Dr. Sullivan earned a double major in animal sciences and chemistry as an undergraduate at Illinois—where he was also a varsity cheerleader. During veterinary school, he served as an assistant coach for the university’s cheerleading team. One of his favorite memories is standing courtside when Illinois beat Arizona on the way to the 2005 Final Four.

Outside of work, Dr. Sullivan enjoys spending time with his wife (also an Illinois Vet Med grad), their two children, and their dog, Winnie. He is an avid supporter of Illinois athletics and loves attending and coaching youth sports.

College Update Session

Department Head, Veterinary Clinical Medicine

Dr. Anne Barger received her DVM from UIUC in 1996 and completed her residency in clinical pathology from North Carolina State University. She started as a faculty member at the University of Illinois in 2002 and is currently the department head of Veterinary Clinical Medicine. She enjoys teaching and her research interests include diagnostics of bone tumors and immunocytochemistry.

Urline Luck, all you wanted to know about urine and more

This session will review urine sediment evaluation and getting the most out of the information for your canine and feline patients.

Dean
Louis I. Mund Professor in Veterinary Medicine

Dr. Peter D. Constable’s influential career integrates veterinary scholarship, mentorship, and leadership at the highest levels. He is internationally known both for impactful and clinically relevant research and for statesmanship within veterinary academia. Since 2014 he has led the College of Veterinary Medicine with integrity, open-mindedness, and a deep commitment to the land-grant mission of teaching, research, and service.

Dean Constable’s research spans multiple species and disciplines, from diseases of cattle to biostatistics, veterinary education, and the cardiovascular response to endurance training in dogs. His work on abomasal diseases and acid-base and electrolyte disturbances in domestic animals has changed the practice of large animal medicine. Among his numerous international speaking engagements are multiple invited keynote presentations at the World Buiatrics Congress. He holds board certification in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and the American College of Veterinary Nutrition.

He has published more than 270 peer-reviewed articles and 50 book chapters and is lead author of Veterinary Medicine: A Textbook of the Diseases of Cattle, Horses, Sheep, Pigs, and Goats, now in its eleventh edition and the most heavily cited textbook in veterinary medicine. His mentorship includes serving as major advisor for eight PhD students and teaching dozens of residents, graduate students, and visiting scholars as well as thousands of veterinary students.

Notable awards recognizing Dean Constable include the Kirk Award for Professional Excellence from the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, the Distinguished Alumni Award from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, and the Docteur Honoris Causa from the Université de Liège.

After completing his veterinary degree at the University of Melbourne in his native Australia, Dean Constable practiced in Australia and England. Then he went to The Ohio State University for an internship and residency in food animal medicine and surgery as well as master’s and PhD degrees in cardiovascular physiology. He was recruited to the University of Illinois, where he spent 13 years on the veterinary clinical medicine faculty. From 2006 to 2013 he served as head of the veterinary clinical sciences department at Purdue University, returning to Illinois as dean in 2014.

College Update Session

After participating in this session, attendees will be able to describe major accomplishments, understand key strategic priorities for the coming year, recognize emerging challenges and opportunities, and identify ways to contribute to the college’s continued success.

Executive Associate Dean
Associate Dean, Online Programs and Extension
Professor, Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine

Dr. Lowe, a 1994 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, is an educator, advisor, researcher, and farmer based in Illinois. His passion for helping people lead better lives by improving food production systems has led him around the world, from private practice to academia in his quest to understand food systems and share that knowledge with those that will benefit. As a life-long learner he completed the Executive Veterinary Program in 2000 and a Master of Science degree in infectious disease management in 2004 from the University of Illinois and became board certified in Food Animal Practice by the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in 2004.

Currently Dr. Lowe is a Professor and Associate Dean of Online Programs and Extension. This office offers online veterinary education in our College. He maintains a consulting practice as a member of a consulting group that has advisory relationships with 25% of the beef cattle marketed in the US, 8 of the top 30 swine producers in North America, pork and beef producers in Europe, Australia, the Middle East and Asia, packer-processors, food retailers, restaurant chains and all of the major multi-national animal health suppliers.

His scholarly efforts focus on developing system-based approaches to problems effecting animal and human health. He has active collaborations with St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, investigating factors driving influenza A evolution and relationships with multiple commercial organizations to apply novel technologies to improve veterinarian and caregiver decision making. His lab is working on measuring factors that influence pathogen transmission within and between herds and how management systems influence host response to disease.

He has served on the American Association of Swine Veterinarians Board of Directors, was the recipient of the 2007 Allen D. Leman Science in Practice Award and presented the 2010 Howard Dunne Memorial Lecture. He resides in Illinois with his wife who is also a veterinarian. In his free time, he enjoys a good game of golf and taking Reba, his Brittany spaniel, to the field hunting.

College Update Session

After participating in this session, attendees will be able to describe major accomplishments, understand key strategic priorities for the coming year, recognize emerging challenges and opportunities, and identify ways to contribute to the college’s continued success.

Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs

Dr. Devon Wallis Hague earned her DVM from The Ohio State University and completed advanced training in private practice before joining the University of Illinois, where she currently serves as Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs. A board-certified neurologist, she engages in clinical practice, education, and collaborative care across species.

Dr. Hague is passionate about veterinary student development, with a focus on critical thinking, leadership, and resilience, and enjoys being involved in organized veterinary medicine.

College Update Session

After participating in this session, attendees will be able to describe major accomplishments, understand key strategic priorities for the coming year, recognize emerging challenges and opportunities, and identify ways to contribute to the college’s continued success.

Associate Professor

Dr. Annette McCoy is an Associate Professor in Equine Surgery at the University of Illinois. She has both a clinical and research interest in equine orthopedics, particularly developmental orthopedic disease and osteoarthritis. Her research is focused on orthopedic disease, performance, and gait, incorporating genomics techniques, advanced imaging, and clinical assessment.

Managing a septic joint

Rapid recognition and appropriate treatment of septic joints is crucial to achieve the best possible outcome. This session will review the most common etiologies and clinical presentations for septic joints in foals and adults and will present current recommendations for diagnosis and treatment.

Research roundup: recently published advances in equine medicine and surgery

Join us for a review of ongoing research being conducted at the University of Illinois, as well as highlights from recently published, clinically relevant research articles in equine medicine and surgery.

Roundtable Discussion: What is the Future of Sustainable Equine Emergency Care?

Presented with other leading equine faculty.  After hours emergency work is known to be a key stressor for equine veterinarians, and is an often cited reason for leaving the profession. This has led to industry-wide discussions of what sustainable emergency care looks like moving forward. Join our faculty for a conversation about challenges and opportunities surrounding emergency care for horses in central Illinois.