Texas A&M’s VERO Campus Welcomes Anatomic Pathologist To Faculty

Story by Logan Hansen, VMBS Marketing & Communications

December 10, 2024

Dr. Kendall Langsten, an anatomic pathologist, is the newest faculty addition to the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences’ (VMBS) Veterinary Education, Research, & Outreach (VERO) program in Canyon, Texas.

As a clinical assistant professor in the VMBS’ Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Langsten will play a key role in introducing VERO’s 2+2 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program students to anatomic pathology and encouraging them to love the field as much as she does.

Discovering Passions

While growing up in Chicago, Langsten, like many children, loved to explore and was fascinated by nature.

“Even as a little kid, we’d go outside looking for bugs and other animals while playing,” she said. “Animals and science were always what I was interested in.”

Working at an animal clinic during high school solidified Langsten’s choice to pursue a bachelor’s degree in animal sciences at the University of Illinois.

During her undergraduate studies, Langsten discovered her passion for pathology while in a wildlife epidemiology lab that examined large-scale diseases over wildlife populations.

“We started doing a project with North American river otters where we looked for pesticide contaminant levels in their tissues to get an idea of pesticide levels in the environment,” she said. “I just fell in love with pathology. It’s exactly the perfect blend of science and medicine, and you get to be like an investigative reporter.”

Following her undergraduate degree, Langsten attended the University of Missouri for veterinary school. In her desire to implement a greater exploration of research during her veterinary program, Langsten also added on a master’s degree in biomedical sciences.

To further her already elevated credentials, Langsten then completed an anatomic pathology residency at the University of Minnesota before settling into Wake Forest University in North Carolina to earn her Ph.D. in molecular medicine and translational sciences; there, she studied estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer and how it metastasizes to bones.

Making An Impact 

With grit, a love for pathology, and an impressive geographical history in pursuing her degrees, Langsten’s dedication to her veterinary education makes her a valuable asset to the VERO faculty.

In addition, connecting with the unique VERO community in her first few months as an assistant professor has been nothing short of delightful for Langsten.

She notes that an aspect of her residency that she valued highly was the opportunity to get to know students as people through her rounds. Today at VERO, teaching offers her a similar ability to learn about and form connections with the students she is educating.

“It’s small enough that you know everybody, which is wonderful,” Langsten said. ”You get to really know the students, which is very cool.”

“The class I am teaching is called General & Systemic Pathology,” she said. “It’s the discipline of science concerned with how bodies respond to disease and how diseases work in the body. In the classroom, I really focus on making good differential lists for lesions–any abnormal or damaged tissue–that students will see once they’re out in practice.”

Langsten particularly enjoys the hands-on impact she is able to have as she works directly alongside students. Encouragement is key in her teaching as she strives to transfer her love for her veterinary focus to her students.

“Most students are not super interested in anatomic pathology, and that’s because most of them don’t want to become pathologists; they want to be practicing medicine,” Langsten said. “I am trying to make the class more interactive and get them excited about how interesting anatomic pathology is.”

Striving For Achievement

Despite being a little older and a lot wiser than the little girl in Chicago, outside of the classroom Langsten still finds herself exploring the outdoors and experiencing the nature surrounding her.

She enjoys seeking “high-quality fun,” which she defines as a challenging activity that leaves you with satisfaction following its completion. 

“It isn’t fun while you’re doing it, but you’re never going to forget it. You think back with joy,” she said. 

Most recently, she persevered through an exhaustive 13.1 mile half-marathon at the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque. 

“Before moving here, my husband and I rock-climbed a ton,” Langsten said. “We haven’t gotten out to Palo Duro yet, but we are excited to try it soon.”

Langsten also enjoys camping, checking national parks off her bucket list, and simply enjoying the West Texas breeze.

“I’ve never been to this part of the country before, so it’s really exciting to get to explore and see what’s out here,” she said.

“My husband is a public health officer with the United States Air Force, so my family is currently stationed at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico. This ended up being fortuitous because it put me in this area,” Langsten said. “VERO had the perfect job for me, and we’re right where we are meant to be.”

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For more information about the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, please visit our website at vetmed.tamu.edu or join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Contact Information: Jennifer Gauntt, Director of VMBS Communications, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, jgauntt@cvm.tamu.edu, 979-862-4216

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