Small Animal III Speakers

Dr. Mandy Wallace is an Associate Professor of Small Animal Surgery at the University of Georgia. She is a 2010 graduate of Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine and completed an internship in small animal medicine and surgery at Colorado State University in 2011. She was the PennHIP research fellow at the University of Pennsylvania prior to completing a combined Master of Science degree program and Small Animal Surgery residency at the University of Florida in 2016. She became board certified by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2017. Dr. Wallace’s research interests are in hepatic vascular anomalies, septic peritonitis, novel wound treatments, and biomaterials for soft tissue surgery.

Dr. Brigetta Hughes received her DVM from the University of Tennessee and Masters in Avian Medicine from PDRC at the University of Georgia. She has 15 years of commercial poultry field experience in addition to private practice and teaching experience. The past 10 years she has busy in diagnostic lab work seeing many poultry cases every day. She is currently the director of the Mitchem Sparks Diagnostic Lab in Boaz, AL. She also serves as an affiliated Professor for the Department of Pathobiology at Auburn University, is among the avian experts on VIN, and is the chair for the Small Flock Committee of the American Association of Avian Pathologists.

Ryan Gibson (@thebraindogtor) is a veterinary educator and neurologist from Auburn University. His teaching focuses on foundational neuroscience, applications in clinical neurology, and microanatomy. His virtual consulting services (The Brain Dogtor LLC) are aimed at improving access to care for neurological patients and supporting general practitioners. Dr. Gibson collaborates with researchers in exploring new drugs for neuropathic pain, translating the age of the neurological system across species, seizure therapies, and veterinary education. He founded Pet Parent Educators, which aims to increase client education following the diagnosis of chronic conditions such as seizures and diabetes.

Originally from Puerto Rico, a graduate of Tuskegee University (DVM), Dr. Vientós-Plotts completed a rotating internship at Auburn University followed by a small animal internal medicine residency, post-doctoral fellowship and PhD at the University of Missouri. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Small Animal Internal Medicine at the University of Missouri. Her research and clinical interests center around the microbiome, the respiratory and gastrointestinal systems and how they interact with each other. In 2022, she co-founded The BREATHE Clinic, a subspecialty clinic that operates under the umbrella of the Internal Medicine Service. BREATHE is an acronym for Bringing REspiration & Aerodigestion Toward Health.

Bio Coming Soon!

Kate Barnes is a native of Connecticut and obtained her veterinary degree from Oregon State University. After graduation, she completed a small animal rotating internship at Cornell University and then a small animal surgery residency at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. Post residency, she moved to Baton Rouge and spent 2 and a half years as faculty at Louisiana State University. Currently, she is an Associate Professor of Small Animal Orthopedic Surgery at Texas A&M University. She has written and published multiple peer-reviewed scientific papers and enjoys teaching both on the clinic floor and in the classroom.

Bio Coming Soon!