What first sparked your interest in veterinary medicine (and your specialty) and how did your experiences at Haverford help shape that path?

While I have always loved working with animals and learning everything I can about them, the path that eventually led me to veterinary medicine was not linear by any means. How I ended up with a passion for cardiology is largely due to the one unwavering constant that has been there from my earliest memories—something I can only describe as insatiable curiosity.

Whether he knows it or not, one of my favorite science teachers at Haverford, Stu Alford, had a profound effect on how I view science. He taught an introductory class on the natural world and the ecology of animals, and to this day I still reference some of the things he taught me, such as the migration of eels in the Sargasso Sea, or the subject of siblicide in birds. This class was a big influence on shaping my eventual career path. 

Much to the consternation of my parents, I changed my undergraduate major many times, but ultimately ended up with an undergraduate degree in East Asian Studies. My circuitous career path after college included two years working as a zookeeper at the Saint Louis Zoo, seven years in graduate school conducting scientific research on wild lemurs in Madagascar, four years of leading biking and hiking trips around the world, and eventually I found myself back in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. I started veterinary school with the thought of becoming a wildlife and zoo veterinarian, but I fell in love with the cardiovascular system early in my training, and I have not looked back. 

Looking back at your time at Haverford, is there a teacher, mentor, coach, or experience that had a lasting impact on you?

Without a doubt, two of the most impactful teachers I have had in my life (not just at Haverford) would be my Spanish teachers Rafael Laserna and Rogene Austell/Laserna. Learning from them every day was such a joy—their passion for language and teaching was so palpable and contagious that they changed my life in very positive and meaningful ways. I will forever be grateful that I had the opportunity to learn from both of them, and I think of them both often.  

What does a typical day look like for you leading the cardiology department at Illinois?

Our team is quite large for an academic cardiology residency training program, with four cardiology faculty, five to six cardiology residents and interns, three cardiology nurses, a client services representative, and four to eight veterinary students on a given day. A typical day might start with an hour of morning resident rounds, followed by an hour of rounds with the students on various topics. We see anywhere from four to ten scheduled cardiology appointments per day, while also managing any hospitalized patients with cardiovascular disease, in addition to providing consultations for the other hospital services. Clients may bring their dog or cat to see a veterinary cardiologist for a variety of reasons, and based on the pet's medical history and our physical examination findings, it is our job to figure out which diagnostic tests would be appropriate for each patient. Most cardiology patients will get an echocardiogram (an ultrasound of the heart), which gives us detailed information about our patients' heart size and function, and helps us to determine how to treat our patients. 

Many of our young patients are diagnosed with various forms of congenital heart disease, meaning structural heart disease that they were born with. For many of these patients, we can offer interventional therapies in the form of catheter-based minimally-invasive heart surgeries, just like in people. Additionally, we have many adult patients that benefit from interventional cardiology procedures, including pacemaker placement, heartworm extraction, and transcatheter edge-to-edge repair of the mitral valve (TEER). 

What advice would you share with current Haverford School boys who are interested in starting their own journey in the sciences or in medicine?

If you are fortunate enough to discover something in life that truly excites you, pull on that thread and see where it may lead. Stay curious, don't be afraid to ask questions, and be willing to have the discipline to do the hard work even when things get difficult or boring. The road into science and medicine may not take a linear path, but if you remain engaged with your passion and embrace the challenges that come, that road usually leads somewhere meaningful and worthwhile.