Veterinary Nutrition: Past, Present and Future

Dr. Stockman is boarded by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. He graduated from the Hebrew University in Israel with a degree in veterinary medicine, and following an internship, he completed two residency programs at UC Davis. He then worked as a senior researcher at the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition and later as a Clinical Instructor at Colorado State University where he established the Clinical Nutrition Service. Dr. Stockman is currently an Assistant Professor at University of California, Davis.

Dr. Boothe graduated from Texas A&M University in 1980, interned at Auburn University (1980), returned to TAMU, completing a residency in small animal internal medicine (DACVIM, 1985), a PhrMA Fellowship and PhD in Veterinary Clinical Pharmacology (1989; DACVCP [Clinical Pharmacology], 1991). In 1990, she joined TAMU in the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, moving in 2003 to the departments of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology and Clinical Sciences at Auburn University. She directed the Clinical Pharmacology Laboratory until her retirement from Auburn as an Alumni Professor Emerita in 2022. At Auburn, Dr. Boothe was an active instructor, mentor of graduate students/residents, researcher, and author, activities which she largely continues today with her retirement as a happy team member of the Veterinary Information Network.

Dr. Lindsey Bullen received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 2012, followed by a medical and surgical internship in 2013, a residency in 2016, and a fellowship in 2017, all from NCSU.  Following board-certification, in 2017 Lindsey created the Clinical Nutrition Service at VSH Carolinas.  In partnership with Dr. Emily Luisana, Dr. Bullen created the Clinical Nutrition Service at Friendship Hospital for Animals in the DC area in 2022.  2025 brings exciting change, as Drs. Bullen and Luisana once again team up to create Peak Veterinary Specialists, a consulting firm focused on providing specialized nutrition services to their patients and clients, which allows them to support, not only FHA, but hospitals and universities all over the nation. Dr. Bullen brings practical experience and a passion for teaching.  She was welcomed back to NCSU CVM this year to run the Clinical Nutrition Course following the retirement of her mentor, Dr. Saker. Regarding professional focus, Dr. Bullen particularly enjoys nephrology, critical care, multi-disease state, and assisted feeding.  When she is not in clinics or speaking, Dr. Bullen acts as an industry advisor and consultant through her own company, Bullen Veterinary Consulting, PLLC.

Dr. Branter grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. She completed her Bachelor of Science at the University of Victoria. Upon completion, she attended the University of Melbourne Veterinary School in Australia and graduated with Honors in 2006. Following veterinary school, she completed a small animal rotating surgical and medicine internship at the Animal Medical Center in Manhattan, NY. Dr. Branter completed a three-year small animal internal medicine residency at the University of Wisconsin- Madison and received board certification in 2011. During her residency, she developed a strong interest in Interventional Radiology/Interventional Endoscopy and went on to complete the first year-long, full-time IR/IE Fellowship at the Animal Medical Center, NYC. Dr. Branter also headed a full-time Interventional Radiology department in Los Angeles for 4 years. She then founded a specialty/emergency hospital in Victoria, BC and teaches Interventional Radiology techniques internationally. In addition to being endlessly passionate about her field and her patients, Dr. Branter loves the outdoors, is eco-conscious and can be found hiking or biking when not at work. Dr. Branter is bilingual, speaking both English and French fluently.

Dr. Churchill is Professor at the UMN CVM and a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine-Nutrition. She completed two residencies and her PhD at the U of M (internal medicine and clinical nutrition) before taking a faculty position there. She is passionate about all aspects of small animal nutrition including the role of addressing changes in nutritional needs of patients throughout life during health and disease. Dr. Churchill is the director of the clinical nutrition residency program and the nutrition service at UMN. She also serves on the Boards of Pet Nutrition Alliance and the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention.

Dr. Danao is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Her research interests are high pressure processing (HPP), high pressure homogenization and freeze drying. She coordinates the HPP & Engineering Services Laboratory of The Food Processing Center, which provides consultation, training and testing services that help U.S. human and animal food manufacturers comply with USDA FSIS and FDA food safety regulations. Dr. Danao also teaches a class in Pet Food Manufacturing to support the Food Technology for Companion Animals undergraduate minor program

Dr. Delaney received his BS in Zoology from the University of California, Santa Barbara and DVM from the University of California, Davis (UCD). He completed a small animal medicine and surgery internship at what is now VCA Sacramento Veterinary Referral Center and the first full-time Clinical Nutrition Residency and an MS in Nutrition at UCD. He has been a board-certified veterinary nutritionist® since 2003. He is the co-editor & co-author of Applied Veterinary Clinical Nutrition, 1st & 2nd editions. He is the founder of Davis Veterinary Medical Consulting, Inc. whose brands include Balance It®, Vet Assistant AI® , and vetnutritionist.AI

Dr. Donnelly is a Veterinary Medical Officer in the Division of Animal Food Ingredients at the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM). Her work at CVM involves conducting pre-market reviews and responding to inquiries concerning pet food products and ingredients, as well as collaborating with state feed regulators, industry groups, and pet food companies on regulatory matters. Prior to joining CVM in 2018, she practiced small animal medicine in the DC metro region. She holds a DVM from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, an MS in biology from the University of Miami, and a BS in biology from Cornell University.

Dr. Larsen earned a PhD in Nutritional Biology and a DVM from UC Davis. She is a board-certified veterinary specialist in nutrition. She is the service chief and provides clinical nutritional consulting through the Nutrition Service at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. She also mentors residents and students, and teaches in the veterinary curriculum as well as for the Graduate Group of Nutritional Biology.

Dr. Luisana is a board-certified veterinary nutritionist. She is a proud Raleigh, NC native and received her DVM at North Carolina State University. She worked in general practice for several years before returning to NCSU for a residency in Veterinary Nutrition. She completed a Clinical Nutrition fellowship with BluePearl Veterinary Specialty Hospital of the Carolinas. In conjunction with Dr. Bullen, she established the Clinical Nutrition service at Friendship Hospital for Animals in D.C. and is a co-founder of Peak Veterinary Specialists. 

Dr. McGrane was born is Australia and graduated from RMIT University (Melbourne) with a PhD in Applied Chemistry on the rheological properties of starch.  He has worked for Mars Petcare for over 25 years in the field of pet sensory science and palatability research and is currently a Senior Research Manager leading the sensory team at the Waltham Petcare Science Institute in the UK, the global science centre for Mars Petcare.  Scott has over 40 publications and patents in the field, is a Board member of the European Chemoreception Research Organization (ECRO) and Editorial Board member of the Chemical Senses journal.

Dr. Murphy earned dual bachelor’s degrees in animal sciences and Biological Sciences from Rutgers University and a DVM from Iowa State University. She completed a rotating internship in New York City, followed by a clinical nutrition residency and PhD at the University of Tennessee, focusing on energy metabolism and satiety in dogs. Dr. Murphy worked as a clinical nutritionist at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in New Jersey before returning to UT as Chief of the Veterinary Nutrition Service in 2016. Her interests include obesity prevention and treatment as well as dietary management of gastrointestinal disease.

Dr. Parker is Clinical Professor of Small Animal Internal Medicine and Nutrition at The Ohio State University. She received her DVM from Tufts University, followed by a small animal internship at the Animal Medical Center in New York City. She then completed a small animal internal medicine residency at Iowa State University and a nutrition residency at Tufts University. She is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (SAIM and Nutrition). Dr. Parker’s primary areas of interest include gastrointestinal disease, kidney disease, obesity management, and vitamin D metabolism, as well as nutritional management of a variety of canine and feline diseases.

Dr. Guazzelli Pezzali is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Pet Food Program at Kansas State University. She earned her DVM from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, her MS from Kansas State University, and her PhD from the University of Guelph. During her MS, she studied the effects of different carbohydrate sources on nutrient digestibility and sulfur amino acid metabolism in dogs. During her PhD, Dr. Pezzali developed and validated the indicator amino acid oxidation technique in cats, using this method to empirically determine the phenylalanine and methionine requirements of adult cats. The overarching goal of her research program is to employ both basic and applied approaches to explore new ingredients, processing techniques, and dietary strategies that support the development of sustainable products that support the health and well-being of companion animals.

Dr. Queau graduated from the Veterinary School of Toulouse (France) in 2007, before completing an internship in Renal Medicine & Hemodialysis and a residency in Small Animal Clinical Nutrition at the University of California, Davis. He became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition, now ACVIM (Nutrition), in 2011. He joined the Royal Canin Research & Development Center initially as Research Nutritionist, advising new product development and leading the urology and nephrology research programs, and later as manager of the veterinary research team. In 2023, he joined BluePearl as Divisional VP of Medicine for the East region in the US.
 

Dr. Rollins is a Board-Certified Veterinary Nutritionist® and Clinical Professor at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Rollins is a life-long volunteer, having completed all her education and training at the University of Tennessee, including her DVM, PhD, and nutrition residency program. Dr. Rollins is currently a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Nutrition) and Past president of the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition. She has authored numerous research publications in the field of animal nutrition with a primary research focus on companion animal obesity physiology, treatment and prevention. 
 

Ashley works at Texas A&M as part of a team to progress clinical nutrition through direct patient care, research, and teaching. Before her current role, Ashley was a veterinary nurse on the clinical nutrition service at the University of Tennessee for the past 12 years. She received her veterinary nursing specialty in nutrition in 2018 and currently serves as the secretary for the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition.  Ashley completed her master’s degree in 2023 at the University of Tennessee in animal science focusing on equine nutrition. Looking forward, she hopes to enhance nutrition support for hospitalized patients and promote the utilization of veterinary nurses in nutrition.

Dr. Su obtained his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the Western University of Health Sciences, and he completed a rotating internship at a private practice in Los Angeles after graduation. Dr. Su pursued additional nutritional training with a specialty internship at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine and completed his residency in clinical nutrition at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Su has worked primarily in the pet food industry, developing different types of diets and supplements. He is currently the Head of Nutrition at Native Pet.

Dr. Weeth graduated from University of California, Davis, in 2002, and completed her Clinical Nutrition residency in 2007. She became a Board-Certified Veterinary Nutritionist that same year and has been in Nutrition Specialty practice ever since. She is currently Medical Director and head of the Nutrition Department at Metropolitan Animal Specialty Hospital in Los Angeles, California, and in addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Weeth is a frequent lecturer at regional, national, and international veterinary conferences; serves on the WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee; and is on the Executive Board for the American Association of Veterinary Nutrition.