Officers
Click on the name to view a brief biography of each officer.
- President: Craig Ruaux
- Immediate Past President: Jorg Steiner
- President Elect: Al Jergens
- Secretary-Treasurer: Jan Suchodolski
- At-Large Member 1: Keith Richter
- At-Large Member 2: Katie Tolbert
- Webmaster: Kate Arnell
Jörg M. Steiner, med.vet., Dr.med.vet., PhD, DACVIM, DECVIM-CA,
AGAF
Contact Information
E-mail: jsteiner@cvm.tamu.edu
Phone: 979-862-4046
Fax: 979-458-2230
Professional Appointment
Professor with Tenure, Small Animal Internal
Medicine
Dr. Mark Morris Chair in Small Animal Gastroenterology and
Nutrition
Director, Gastrointestinal Laboratory
Biography
Jörg Steiner received his veterinary degree from the
Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany in 1992. He did an
internship in small animal medicine and surgery at the University
of Pennsylvania from 1992 to 1993 and a residency in small animal
internal medicine at Purdue University from 1993 to 1996. He
received his Dr.med.vet. degree from the Ludwig-Maximilians
University in Munich, Germany in 1995 in recognition of research on
feline trypsin and feline trypsin-like immunoreactivity. In 1996 he
achieved board certification with the American College of
Veterinary Internal Medicine and the European College of Veterinary
Internal Medicine. In 2000 Dr. Steiner received a PhD from Texas
A&M University for his work on canine digestive lipases and
their use for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal disorders in the
dog. In 2012 was recognized as a Fellow of the American
Gastroenterology Association. He currently serves as Professor with
the Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery and the
Department of Veterinary Pathobiology at Texas A&M University.
In 2016 Dr. Steiner was named the Dr. Mark Morris Chair in Small
Animal Gastroenterology and Nutrition. He also serves as Director
of the Gastrointestinal Laboratory at Texas A&M University and
is involved in a wide variety of research in small animal
gastroenterology. He has authored or co-authored more than 230
peer-reviewed articles, 80 book chapters, and 350 research
abstracts.
Al Jergens, DVM, PhD, ACVIM
Contact Information
E-mail: ajergens@iastate.edu
Professional Appointment
Professor, Small Animal Internal Medicine
Biography
Al Jergens is a Professor of internal medicine at Iowa State
University, College of Veterinary Medicine. His clinical
interests include GI endoscopy, inflammatory bowel disease, and
host-microbiota interactions mediating GI disease. His
research interests include clinical trials investigating
host-microbiota interactions mediating GI health and disease, and
animal models of disease.
Jan Suchodolski, MedVet, DrVetMed, PhD, AGAF
Contact Information
Gastrointestinal Laboratory
Texas A&M University, College of Veterinary Medicine
Dept of Small Animal Clinical Sciences
4474 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-4474
E-mail: JSuchodolski@cvm.tamu.edu
Phone: 979-458-0933
Fax: 979-458-4015
Professional Appointment
Diplomate ACVM (Immunology)
Associate Professor, Small Animal Medicine
Associate Director for Research, Head of Microbiome
Sciences
Biography
Jan Suchodolski
graduated with a veterinary degree from the University of
Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria in 1997. In 2005 Dr.
Suchodolski received his PhD in Veterinary Microbiology from Texas
A&M University for his work on molecular markers for the
assessment of the intestinal microbiota. His research is focused on
the canine and feline
microbiome, with an emphasis on how intestinal pathogens
lead to disturbances in the intestinal microbiota. Dr. Suchodolski
currently serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the
Department of Small Animal Medicine at Texas A&M University and
as the Associate Director of Research, Head of Microbiome
Sciences.
Keith Richter, DVM, MSEL, Diplomate ACVIM
Contact Information
E-mail: krichter@ethosvet.com
Phone: 858-975-7500
Fax: 858-875-7525
Professional Appointment
Chief Medical Officer, Ethos Veterinary Health
Biography
Dr. Keith Richter is a graduate of Cornell University, College
of Veterinary Medicine. He completed an internship at the
California Animal Hospital in Los Angeles and his Internal Medicine
residency at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Richter has
also completed a Master of Science degree in Executive Leadership
at the University of San Diego.Dr. Richter's experience includes
serving on the Internal Medicine staff of Angell Memorial Animal
Hospital in Boston, serving as Clinical Assistant Professor of
Medicine at the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, and
he was a professor at the Cornell University College of Veterinary
Medicine. Dr. Richter was also on the Board of Directors of
National Veterinary Associates, Inc., from 1997-2004. A
Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine,
Dr. Richter’s special interests include gastroenterology and liver
disease. Dr. Richter is recognized for his skill in endoscopic
techniques including gastroduodenoscopy, colonoscopy and
bronchoscopy. In addition, he has been a pioneer in veterinary
thoracoscopy and laparoscopy. He is also proficient in
ultrasonography and percutaneous biopsy techniques. He has authored
several scientific articles and textbook chapters and lectures
frequently at local, national and international scientific meetings
as well as many veterinary colleges around North America. He has
also collaborated with gastroenterology programs at the Boston
University School of Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, UC San Diego Medical Center and Scripps Memorial
Hospital. Dr. Richter is the founder, and served as the CEO,
of the Veterinary Specialty Hospital of San Diego. Dr. Richter is
also a past president and current Board member of the Comparative
Gastroenterology Society. Dr. Richter has had the distinction
of being on the Board of Regents of the American College of
Veterinary Internal Medicine and has served on its examination and
credential committees. Dr. Richter is the current Chief
Medical Officer of Ethos Veterinary Health, and will establish the
organization as a leader in veterinary referral medicine. He will
be setting the bar for clinical excellence by providing rigorous
continuing education for clinical staff members, encouraging
collaboration, medical innovation and leveraging science to remain
on the cutting-edge of veterinary medicine. Additionally, he will
help lead a strategic focus in the development and
commercialization of scientific opportunities, as well as the
development of a national reference laboratory.
M. Katherine Tolbert, DVM, PhD, DACVIM
Contact Information
Email: mtoler2@utk.edu
Professional Appointment
Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee, College of
Veterinary Medicine
Biography
Dr. Katie Tolbert completed her veterinary degree and small
animal medicine and surgery internship at the University of
Georgia. She then completed a small animal internal medicine
residency at North Carolina State University. Following her
residency, she pursued a Ph.D. in Comparative Biomedical Sciences
at North Carolina State University. She is currently on faculty as
an Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee, College of
Veterinary Medicine. Her clinical research program is focused on
small animal gastroenterology with a specific interest in the
investigation of the efficacy of anti-secretory drugs and
gastroprotectants and the rationale for their use in the treatment
of acid-related disorders, organ failure, and inflammatory diseases
in companion animals. Her basic science research program is
dedicated to characterizing the pathogenic mechanisms of feline
Tritrichomonas foetus infection and exploring novel therapies to
prevent and/or ameliorate T. foetus-induced colitis.
Kate Arnell, DVM, DACVIM
Contact Information
Veterinary Specialty Hospital of San Diego
10435 Sorrento Valley Road
San Diego, CA 92130
Email: kharnell@gmail.com
Phone: 858-875-7500 ext. 651
Fax: 858-875-7525
Professional Appointment
Small Animal Internist, Veterinary Specialty Hospital of
San Diego
Biography
Dr. Kate Arnell is a 2006 graduate of the University of
California, Davis. She completed a one-year general rotating
medical and surgical internship at the Veterinary Specialty
Hospital in 2007. She then completed a three-year internal medicine
residency program at VSH in 2010, and has been a board-certified
internal medicine specialist at VSH since that time.