Michael S. Davis, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, DACVSMR
Dr. Mike Davis grew up outside Houston, Texas, and from an early age had an interest in exercise physiology, particularly in animals. He earned his veterinary degree in 1988 from Texas A&M University, and practiced in various areas throughout Texas for 4 years before moving to the Marion DuPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Virginia to become board certified in veterinary internal medicine. He earned a PhD in physiology from Johns Hopkins University in 1999, and has been employed as a research physiologist and clinical expert in exercise physiology at Oklahoma State University since 1998, where he was named to the John Oxley Endowed Chair in Equine Sports Medicine. Dr. Davis is a member of the inaugural class of board-certified specialists in the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation of 2012, and recently completed terms as vice-president/president-elect/president/past-president of that organization. Dr. Davis’ work includes the first studies to prospectively prove that exercise while breathing subfreezing air can produce inflammatory airway disease in horses. These studies have helped to explain the higher prevalence of airway disease in horses competing during winter months, and also may help explain the tendency for respiratory viral diseases to occur during colder weather. He also has led the investigative team that identified a practical and effective strategy for preventing exercise-induced gastric ulcers in exercising dogs—a body of work that eliminated the most common cause of death in racing Alaskan sled dogs. Dr. Davis’s current work stems from efforts to improve the performance, longevity, and resilience of military working dogs and includes metabolic studies to determine how to prevent fatigue in endurance athletes by manipulation of fat and carbohydrate uptake by the muscle, management of electrolyte demands, and heat acclimatization. Dr. Davis has been recognized as the Sigma Xi Young Investigator at OSU in 2004 and the Oscar Schalm Endowed Lecturer at the University of California-Davis in 2005, and twice has been awarded the Pfizer/Zoetis Award for Research Excellence in 2005 and 2016, and the Regents Distinguished Research Award from Oklahoma State University in 2008. He received the first ACVIM Hero in Medicine award in 2009 for his work benefiting animal athletes.
Karolynn Ellis, BS, DVM
Dr. Karolynn Ellis is the ISDVMA 2020-2021 Dr. Roland “Doc” Lombard Student Research Award winner. She is a recent graduate of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Her interest in sled dogs began while obtaining her undergraduate degree in Animal Science at Cornell University. She has been working with Dr. Heather Huson for the past 8 years participating in various projects related to sled dogs including the genetics of performance and variations in sled dogs compared to pet dogs. Dr. Ellis became a research technician for the Vaika Aging Sled Dog project when she began veterinary school and she has transported 100 sled dogs from various kennels throughout the U.S. to the research colony at Cornell. She was responsible for helping train these dogs to run on a treadmill and pull a weight-pull cart and she assisted in gathering information to analyze physical performance throughout the aging process. Dr. Ellis became interested in pursuing a residency in Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation and is now attending Colorado State University in a combined small animal rotating/specialty orthopedic medicine and research internship. Dr. Ellis looks forward to being involved with sled dogs in the future in her career as a veterinarian
Kimberly E. Henneman, DVM, DACVSMR (Eq/K9), FAAVA, DABT, CVA, CVC; CVCH
Dr. Kim Henneman is a 1986 graduate of the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine. She holds certifications in veterinary acupuncture, veterinary chiropractic, and Chinese Herbal Medicine. She became the 12th Fellow of the American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncture in 2008, and in 2014, became the first veterinarian to achieve Board-certified Diplomate status in the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation in both Canine & Equine species. Dr. Henneman’s practice is 50% performance equine and 50% companion animal and ranges from the Rocky Mountains to Alaska to Hawaii and New England. Her practice exclusively involves the use of integrative therapies & thermal imaging in sports medicine, rehabilitation, and chronic disease. She works on equine athletes of all disciplines as well as agility, obedience, sheepherding, SAR, police/patrol/detection, sled, and avalanche dogs. Dr. Henneman also is an 11-year trail veteran on the Iditarod, as well as a multi-year fill-in trail veterinarian for the Pedigree Stage Stop Race in Wyoming. Eager to help any animal with health issues, Dr. Kim also has consulted on several zoo animal cases including giraffes, rhinos, and elephants. She is a popular international and national speaker and has contributed to several textbooks, including two VCNA editions, and Canine Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation by authors Christine Zink & Janet Van Dyke. Dr. Kim also is a scientific reviewer for three major veterinary scientific publications. She resides in Park City, Utah, with her engineer/pilot husband, Pat, and a wad of horses, dogs, and cats She enjoys photography, travel, and riding her OTQH mare.
Margret Lenfest, VMD, Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation resident
Dr. Margret Lenfest is a Pennsylvania native currently living in upstate New York where she is a third-year resident at Cornell University in the canine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Department. Her interest in sports medicine developed from her involvement with high performance horses as a breeder and competitor. This interest flourished during vet school when she worked at the University of Pennsylvania Working Dog Center assisting with the research, training, and development of working dogs for search and rescue, law enforcement, and single purpose occupations. Dr. Lenfest also has travelled to Alaska the previous two winters to work as a trail veterinarian on the 1600-kilometer Yukon Quest Sled Dog Marathon, caring for the racing dogs. In her limited spare time, Dr. Lenfest and her Australian Shepherd, Zara, love to hike, eat good food, and travel.
Katie Minor
Katie Minor is presenting on behalf of Dr. Nicole Wanner, the ISDVMA 2017-2018 Dr. Roland “Doc” Lombard Student Research Award winner. Ms. Minor is a veterinary genetics researcher and the manager of the University of Minnesota Canine Genetics Laboratory. Her primary research interests include hereditary neuromuscular and neurologic disorders, and she also investigates urinary, metabolic, autoimmune, oncologic, and cardiac diseases in dogs, cats, and other species. She enjoys collaborating with other researchers, breeders, veterinarians, and owners globally.
Kipling Pedersen, DVM
Dr Kipling Pedersen is the ISDVMA 2018-2019 Dr. Roland “Doc” Lombard Student Research Award winner. He attended Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, where he studied Organismal Biology and went on to the Royal Veterinary College in London to obtain his veterinary degree. He moved to Austin, Texas, in late 2020, and joined Central Texas Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Hospital as an Emergency Veterinarian. He currently lives in New York City and works in general practice and urgent care at Bond Vet. He enjoys travel, especially when he gets to combine it with veterinary medicine. Dr. Kipling has worked on the veterinary crew of both the Gaucho and Mongol Derbies. His other hobbies include surfing, fly fishing, and dangling things in front of his cats, Echo and Foxtrot.
Solange Mikail, DVM, MSc, DACVSMR
Dr. Solange Mikail is an international instructor of kinesiology taping in horses and dogs. Her book, Canine Kinesiology Taping, is planned for publication in August, 2022. Dr. Mikail is based in Brazil, where she operates a complete canine and equine rehabilitation facility called the Vet Physio Institute. At the Institute, she offers educational courses on how the combination of kinesiotaping and biomechanics can aid with the most common orthopedic problems in dogs.
Joseph Thorsrud, BS, PhD candidate
Joseph Thorsrud is the ISDVMA 2021-2022 Dr. Roland “Doc” Lombard Student Research Award winner. Originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan, Mr. Thorsrud always has had a passion for animals, which has led to him working with everything from wild baboons in Africa to farm animals in the US Midwest. His interest in animals brought him to Cornell University, where he began working in Dr. Heather Huson’s laboratory studying genetics. While at Cornell, he also assisted with the Vaika Aging Dog Study, which led to his exposure to sled dogs. As a part of the project, he helped assess the dogs’ physical conditions by training them to run on a treadmill and to pull a weight-pull cart. He was instantly captivated by sled dogs and learned to appreciate the tremendous amount of training and conditioning that contributes to sled dog racing. After completing his undergraduate degree, Mr. Thorsrud began a Ph.D. program under the supervision of Dr. Huson, studying the genomics of working dogs. The focus of his work is based on his desire to improve both the health and the performance of working dogs. This includes studying the genetic basis for performance and health traits and creating breeding strategies to maximize kennel potential. In addition to his work, he has two “sled dogs” of his own—Zeeba, a Saluki, and his granddaughter Crispr— and he often is found spending time with them outdoors.
Jerome A. Vanek, MS, DVM, CCRT, CVC
Dr. Jerry Vanek received his first husky in 1958. Since then, he has been a sprint musher, handler, race marshal, and trail boss, and beginning in 1992, a chief or trail veterinarian on 128 races and 6 expeditions in 13 countries on 5 continents. During this time, he has presented 341 lectures on sled dogs and sports medicine to veterinarians, veterinary students, mushers, and the public in 15 countries on 3 continents, with a special emphasis on training sled dog tour guides and handlers in the care of their canine athletes. While formally trained in veterinary parasitology and public health epidemiology, Dr. Vanek more recently has achieved certification in both canine rehabilitation therapy and canine chiropractic. He resides on his grandfather’s 1881 homestead farm with his partner, Jill, a full-time artist, part-time librarian, and gourmet cook, where he is surrounded by a menagerie of pet plumbing, electrical, masonry, painting, carpentry, gardening, and landscape projects—all in a state of partial completion.
Joseph J. Wakshlag, MS, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, DACVSMR
Dr. Joe Wakshlag Completed a DVM in 1998 at Cornell University and continued studies in both pathology and nutrition, eventually completing a residency in Clinical Nutrition. In 2005, he completed a PhD in pharmacology where he studied the role of transglutaminase in canine and feline mammary carcinomas and amyloid-induced neurodegeneration. After a short time in private practice, he returned to the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine and is currently a Professor of Clinical Nutrition and a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition. In addition, he is a founding Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. His research interests include the effects of natural products (carotenoids and flavonoids) and fatty acids on cancer cell biology, and metabolism in obese and working dogs. More recently he has done extensive work on cannabinoids in dogs and works for Ellevet Sciences overseeing clinical trials. When not working, Dr. Wakshlag enjoys spending time with his family, yet he misses his time spent with his Alaskan Huskies on the trails of upstate New York.