May 15, 2021
National Academies of Practice adds new fellows
The National Academies of Practice, an interdisciplinary organization of health care practitioners and scholars, accepted five new fellows of the Veterinary Medicine Academy and inducted Jen Brandt, PhD, AVMA director of well-being and diversity initiatives, as a fellow of the Social Work Academy.
Dr. Brandt is a licensed independent social worker, grief and trauma therapist, and specialist in communications on health care teams. She founded the Honoring the Bond Program at The Ohio State University to recognize the human-animal bond by supporting animal owners and animal care professionals. She speaks at veterinary colleges and conferences and is a senior trainer and facilitator for the Institute for Healthcare Communication. Her seminars offer opportunities to promote diversity and inclusion, increase self-awareness, improve well-being and resilience, resolve conflict, and enhance team communication. She joined the AVMA staff in 2017.
Dr. Nelva Bryant (Cornell ’93) started out in small animal clinical practice for a year, then completed additional training in veterinary pathology and joined the Army for three years. She transferred to the U.S. Public Health Service and held positions related to animal and public health. She gained knowledge of veterinary pathology, infectious and zoonotic diseases, veterinary public health, dog importation regulations, and national and international regulations on animal transportation. After retiring from the USPHS, she was employed by Delta Air Lines as staff veterinarian. In 2020, she founded DVM Transportation Consultants.
Dr. Mark D. Markel (California-Davis ’83) is dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine and collaborates on oversight of the UW-Madison Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education. An equine surgeon by training, he has been a UW-Madison faculty member since 1990, conducting research in comparative orthopedics. He was associate dean for advancement for the veterinary school for 11 years. He serves on the board of the AO Foundation, an interprofessional orthopedic foundation. He also is the 2021-22 president of the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges.
Dr. Jonna Mazet (California-Davis ’92) is a professor of epidemiology and disease ecology at the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, where she founded the UC-Davis One Health Institute and was its first executive director. She is active in international one-health education, service, and research programs, notably in relation to pathogen emergence, disease transmission, and ecological drivers of new diseases. She is director of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s One Health Workforce—Next Generation, a transdisciplinary educational project to help professionals in Africa and Asia address health threats.
Dr. Katherine Pelican (Minnesota ’97) was deputy director and principal investigator for the U.S. Agency for International Development’s One Health Workforce Project that worked with universities in Africa and Asia to strengthen the multisectoral workforce responsible for addressing pandemic threats. She leads an international partnership to implement new one-health tools to improve multisectoral cooperation around infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, natural disasters, and other challenges. She is a founding co-director of the Strategic Partnerships and Research Collaborative at the University of Minnesota charged with establishing multidisciplinary programs to address global challenges.
Dr. Charlene Siza (Auburn ’13) is a public health veterinarian and epidemiologist who works at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an emergency public health epidemiologist. She is part of the Global Rapid Response Team, which assists countries on humanitarian and emergency responses. She has responded to outbreaks of Ebola, polio, and cholera in Africa and Zika virus in Brazil. Previously, she worked as a CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service officer at the Alabama Department of Public Health and as a small animal veterinarian in Nashville, Tennessee.