- President: Tracy Hill
- Immediate Past President: Katie Tolbert
- President Elect: Julien Dandrieux
- President Elect Incoming: Sina Marsilio
- Secretary and Treasurer: Emily Gould
- At-Large Member (Sponsorship): Sue Yee Lim
- At-Large Member (Grants): Karin Allenspach-Jorn
- At-Large Member (Grants) Incoming: Angela Rollins
- At-Large Member (Education): Sara Jablonski
- At-Large Member (Education) Incoming: Sarah Schmidt
- At-Large Member (Meeting): Patricia Ishii
- Webmaster & Social Media: Betty Chow
Tracy Hill, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM), PhD, DECVIM-CA
President
Contact Information
E-mail: tracy.hill@ethosvet.com
Professional Appointment
Director of Science – Ethos Veterinary Health
Biography
Dr. Tracy Hill is the Director of Science at Ethos Veterinary Health. Her primary clinical interest areas include gastroenterology and minimally invasive treatment modalities. She has taught small animal gastroenterology in the didactic veterinary curriculum. Her research is focused in two main areas, including minimally invasive therapies and the effect of various systemic disease states on gut function and gastrointestinal injury. Currently, funded research projects include examining acute gastrointestinal injury in dogs with critical illness and evaluating three colonoscopy preparation protocols for efficacy in dogs.
M. Katherine Tolbert, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (SAIM, Nutrition)
Immediate Past President
Contact Information
E-mail: ktolbert@cvm.tamu.edu
Professional Appointment
Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University, College of Veterinary Medicine
Biography
Dr. Katie Tolbert completed her small animal internal medicine residency and Ph.D. in Comparative Biomedical Sciences at North Carolina State University. She is a clinical associate professor in the Gastrointestinal Laboratory at Texas A&M University and is a member of the Dog Aging Project consortium. She also holds a position as a Clinical Veterinary Instructor at North Carolina State University and also completed an alternate-track residency in small animal nutrition at the University of Tennessee. Her clinical interests and research program are focused on the treatment of acute and chronic gastrointestinal diseases in dogs and cats. She has published over 70 peer-review manuscripts and received the Zoetis award for Excellence in Veterinary Research in 2018.
Julien Dandrieux, BSc, Dr med vet, PhD, DACVIM, GCUT, MRCVS
President Elect
Contact Information
E-mail: julien.dandrieux@ed.ac.uk
Professional Appointment
Senior Lecturer in Small Animal Medicine, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh
Biography
Dr. Julien Dandrieux received his veterinary degree from the University of Bern. He did a rotating internship at the University of Bern followed by a residency in Small Animal Internal Medicine as a joint program of the University of Bern and Louisiana State University. Julien became a Diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, DACVIM (SAIM), in 2008. Julien worked thereafter as a faculty at the University of Liverpool, before re-locating at the University of Melbourne. He was awarded a PhD from the University of Melbourne studying chronic enteropathy and immunosuppressant in 2019. Julien is currently working as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh and his main interests include chronic gastrointestinal disease, in particular protein-losing enteropathies, immune-mediated diseases, and the use and adverse effects of immunosuppressant.
Sina Marsilio, Dr. med. vet., PhD, DACVIM (SAIM), DECVIM-CA
President Elect – Incoming
Contact Information
E-mail: smarsilio@ucdavis.edu
Professional Appointment
Associate Professor of Small Animal Internal Medicine, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
Biography
Dr. Sina Marsilio received her veterinary degree from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hanover, Germany, in 2004. She went on to complete a doctoral program (Dr. med. vet.) in 2007, focusing on feline chronic enteropathies at the Department of Pathology in Hanover. Following her doctorate, Dr. Marsilio pursued advanced clinical training, completing an internship in private practice and a residency in Small Animal Internal Medicine at the University of Giessen, Germany, and the Royal Veterinary College in London, UK. She became board-certified by both the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM, Small Animal Internal Medicine) and the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ECVIM, Companion Animals) in 2014. After board certification, Dr. Marsilio further specialized in small animal gastroenterology through a PhD program at the Texas A&M Gastrointestinal Laboratory. Her research focused on the identification of novel diagnostic biomarkers for feline chronic enteropathies. In 2019, she joined the faculty at UC Davis, where she currently serves as an Associate Professor in Small Animal Internal Medicine with a clinical and research focus on small animal and comparative gastroenterology.
Emily Gould, DVM, MS, DACVIM (SAIM), PhD
Secretary & Treasurer
Contact Information
E-mail: egould@cvm.tamu.edu
Professional Appointment
Assistant Professor of Small Animal Internal Medicine, Gastrointestinal Lab, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biochemical Sciences
Biography
Dr. Emily Gould earned her DVM from the University of California at Davis (UC Davis) and her MS at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine (UTCVM), followed by a dual small animal internal medicine residency/PhD also at the UTCVM. She became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in 2019, and joined the TAMU Gastrointestinal Laboratory immediately following her residency to continue her PhD. In 2021, Emily joined the TX A&M College of Veterinary Medicine as an assistant professor of SAIM in the GI Lab. Her research areas of interest include the interplay between local gut and peripheral immunity, mechanisms of cell death, and the immunomodulatory effects of acid suppressants (namely in response to mast cell disorders). She is passionate about the education and teaching of students, interns, and medical residents, and has an interest in mental health wellness in veterinary medicine.
Sue Yee Lim
At-Large Member (Sponsorship)
Contact Information
Professional Appointment
Assistant Professor of Small Animal Internal Medicine, Gastrointestinal Lab, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biochemical Sciences
Biography
Karin Allenspach-Jorn, Dr.med.vet. FVH, DECVIM-CA, PhD, FHEA, RCVS, AGAF
At-Large Member (Grants)
Contact Information
E-mail: karin.allenspach@uga.edu
Professional Appointment
Professor of Comparative Medicine, Department of Pathology, University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine
Biography
Dr. Karin Allenspach received her veterinary degree from the University of Zurich. She did an internship in small animal emergency medicine and critical care at Tufts University and a residency in small animal internal medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and is a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. She was awarded a PhD in Veterinary Immunology from the University of Bern, Switzerland for her work on Canine Chronic Enteropathies. Karin has published > 130 peer-reviewed publications and has a current H factor of 43. She is currently employed as Professor of Comparative Medicine at the University of Georgia, Athens, USA and is a PI of the SMART Translational Medicine Lab at UGA, which focuses on the development and culture of adult stem stem-cell-derived organoids from various species. Her latest efforts have resulted in the founding of a start-up company (3D Health Solutions, Inc.) with the goal of commercializing assays for drug screening based on organoid methods.
Angela Rollins, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (Nutrition)
At-Large Member (Grants) Incoming
Contact Information
Email: awitzel@utk.edu
Professional Appointment
Clinical Professor of Small Animal Nutrition, Assistant Department Head of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, University of Tennessee, College of Veterinary Medicine
Biography
Dr. Angela Rollins is a Board-Certified Veterinary Nutritionist® and Clinical Professor at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, where she earned her DVM, PhD, and completed her residency in nutrition. She is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Nutrition) and a Past-President of the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition. Dr. Rollins has published extensivey in the field of animal nutrition, with her primary research focus on the physiology, treatment, and prevention of obesity in companion animals.
Sara Jablonski, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (SAIM)
At-Large Member (Education)
Contact Information
E-mail: sjw@msu.edu
Professional Appointment
Assistant Professor, Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Michigan State University, College of Veterinary Medicine
Biography
Dr. Sara Jablonski received her DVM from Colorado State University (CSU) in 2011. After one year in general practice, she returned to CSU where she completed a one-year Fellowship followed by a residency in Small Animal Internal Medicine (SAIM). She completed her SAIM residency in 2016 and remained at CSU to serve on clinics and complete a PhD studying protein-losing enteropathies in dogs. She graduated with her PhD in December 2018 and was a CSU faculty member until June 2020. Dr. Jablonski joined the faculty at Michigan State University in July 2020. She is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Small Animal Internal Medicine). Her principal areas of interest include chronic gastrointestinal disease, specifically canine protein-losing enteropathies, hepatobiliary disease, and immune disorders.
Sarah Schmid, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM)
At-Large Member (Education) – Incoming
Contact Information
Email:
Professional Appointment
Assistant Professor of Small Animal Internal Medicine, University of Tennessee, College of Veterinary Medicine
Biography
Patricia Eri Ishii, DVM, PhD
At-Large Member (Meeting)
Contact Information
E-mail: pishii@stonewell.com.br
Professional Appointment
Segment Marketing Manager (Life Sciences Global team), Promega Corporation
Biography
Dr. Patricia Ishii grew up in Brazil, and completed her Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. in the Gastrointestinal Laboratory at Texas A&M University. Following her graduation, she is currently working at Promega Corporation where she acts as a Segment Marketing Manager at Promega Corporation on the Life Sciences Global team, responsible for the Academia and Government business segment. In addition, she recently founded a gastrointestinal focused laboratory named Stonewell Gastrointestinal Vet in her hometown, Sao Paulo, Brazil, to bridge the technology gap currently available in Brazil, and to build a collaborative research center. Her clinical and research interests are focused on the chronic gastrointestinal diseases of small animals, intestinal barriers dysfunctions, and biomarkers such as miRNAs.
Betty Chow, BVM&S, MRCVS, DACVIM (SAIM)
Webmaster & Social Media
Contact Information
E-mail: betty.chow@vca.com
Professional Appointment
Staff Internist; Internal Medicine Specialty Internship Director; VCA Animal Specialty & Emergency Center, Los Angeles
Biography
Dr. Betty Chow grew up in Hong Kong, and received her veterinary degree from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland in 2010. She spent time in Hong Kong working under a VIN feline consultant before pursuing a small animal rotating internship at the University of Glasgow, Scotland from 2012-2013. She then flew across the pond for an internal medicine/oncology specialty internship at Mississippi State University from 2013-2014, and an internal medicine specialty internship at BluePearl Veterinary Partners in Grand Rapids, Michigan from 2014-2015, before starting her internal medicine residency at the Veterinary Specialty Hospital of San Diego in 2015-2018. She is currently a staff internist and internal medicine specialty internship director at a specialty hospital in Los Angeles. Her interests are in gastroenterology, clinical nutrition, and feline medicine, and continues to collaborate in clinical research and publish in various peer-reviewed publications.
[Last updated: May 2nd, 2025]
