Lance Wheeler
Clinical Assistant Professor
Emergency & Critical Care
Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences
Research and Scholarly Interests
Emergency & Critical Care:
- Extracorporeal Blood Purification (Therapeutic Plasma Exchange, Hemoperfusion, and Renal Replacement Therapies)
- Coagulation and Antithrombotic Monitoring
- Toxicology
- Feline Idiopathic Chylothorax
I am also interested in practice innovation and clinical workflow optimization within Emergency and Critical Care.
Biography
"Lance Wheeler, DVM, DACVECC, is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care at Texas A&M University. He provides primary and supervisory care on the small animal emergency and critical care services, while also building and leading advanced programs that expand the hospital’s capabilities. Dr. Wheeler founded and directs the TAMU Small Animal Extracorporeal Blood Purification (ECBP) Program, establishing therapeutic plasma exchange, hemoperfusion, and peritoneal dialysis services, and writing all associated protocols, training materials, and workflows. He also supervises the canine and feline blood donor program, overseeing more than 20 active donors and supporting over 100 transfusions annually. An engaged educator, he coordinates ECC resident topic rounds; delivers skills labs and CE for interns, residents, technicians, and referring veterinarians; and integrates AI- and dictation-based documentation into clinical training. Nationally, he has served as an invited instructor and course leader for a sold-out IVECCS wet lab on feline urethral obstruction, including development of a novel phantom model for ultrasound-guided pigtail catheter placement. His scholarly work focuses on coagulation, toxicology, extracorporeal therapies, and practice innovation, and he is the creator of The Monster Hunter’s Guide to Veterinary Parasitology, a large, freely accessible parasite image database."
Education
Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care
Small Animal Emergency & Critical Care, 2023
Texas A&M University, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences | College Station, TX
Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care Medicine Residency, 2023
DoveLewis ER & ICU Animal Hospital | Portland, OR
Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care Medicine Specialty Internship, 2020
Texas A&M University, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences | College Station, TX
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Summa Cum Laude, 2019
Texas A&M University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences | College Station, TX
Bachelor of Science in Animal Science, 2014
Licensure
Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners: 15842
Honors & Awards
| Award/Honor | Organization | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Texas Veterinary Medical Foundation Earl Waddell Award | Texas A&M University, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences | 2023 |
| Summa Cum Laude (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) | Texas A&M University, College of Veterinary Medicine | 2019 |
| Phi Zeta Honor Society | -- | 2018 |
Professional Organizations
American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (ACVECC) | 2020 - Ongoing
Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society (VECCS) | 2018 - Ongoing
American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) | 2018 - Ongoing
Emergency & Critical Care Clinical Instructor
Clinical Rotations: Each clinical rotation lasts 2 weeks and involves instructing groups of 1–10 senior veterinary students for more than 40 hours per week. Since becoming a faculty member, I have been assigned to clinical duties for 16–17 weeks per year, in addition to participating in a faculty rotation during inter-semester breaks. Clinical rotations carry different course numbers depending on the students’ curricular track:
- Companion Animal track: VSCS 940-302, VSCS 945-301
- Mixed Animal track: VSCS 940-304, VSCS 945-315
- Equine track: VSCS 940-304
- Production Track: VSCS 940-304
- Alternative track: VSCS 940-304, VMID 975-308
DVM Students
| Name | Trainee Position | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Emily Press | Career Goal Mentor | Fall 2025-Fall 2027 |
| Kennedy Shalloup | Career Goal Mentor/VMSRTP | Spring 2025-Fall 2027 |
| Annabelle Newton | VMSRTP | Spring 2025-Fall 2025 |
| Ashley Priest | Career Goal Mentor | Fall 2024-Fall 2026 |
| Sofia Prata | Career Goal Mentor | Fall 2024-Fall 2026 |
| Victoria Caballero | Career Goal Mentor | Fall 2023-Fall 2025 |
| Hannah Haney | Career Goal Mentor | Fall 2023-Fall 2025 |
| Lilly Nelson | Dallas Community College Tech License Oversight | Fall 2023-Fall 2025 |
House Officers
| Name | Trainee Position | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Vida Hanchate | ECC Resident | Summer 2025-Summer 2028 |
| Kelsey Long | Rotating Intern | Summer 2025-Summer 2026 |
| Will Tammaro | Rotating Intern | Summer 2025-Summer 2026 |
| Molly Haman | ECC Resident | Summer 2024-Summer 2027 |
| Keleigh Collinsworth | ECC Resident | Summer 2024-Summer 2025 |
Other
| Name | Trainee Position | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Joseph Knue | Rotating Intern at Friendship Hospital for Animals | Summer 2025-Fall 2025 |
Research Publications
Flynn, G.E., C.I. Riffe, K.M. Aicher, L.R. Wheeler. Phentolamine Infusion for the Treatment of Norepinephrine Extravasation in a Dog. J. Vet. Emerg. Crit. Care. 2025; 35(2): 156–161.
Wheeler, L.R., T.H. Edwards, J.A. Heinz, L.L.F. Scott, L.E. Grantham II, J.D. Keesee, A.F. Henderson, A.C. Gerardo, G. Hoareau, J.A. Bynum. Comparison of assessment of coagulation in healthy dogs by the TEG 6s and TEG 5000 viscoelastic analyzers. J. Vet. Diagn. 2022; 34(5): 780-788.
Grimes, M., J.C. Heseltine, M.B. Nabity, S.D. Lawhon, L.R. Wheeler, A. Cigarroa, and J.A. Lidbury. Characteristics associated with bacterial growth in urine in 451 proteinuric dogs (2008-2018). J Vet Intern Med. 2020; 34: 770-776.
Zriba, S., D.G. Garcia-Gonzalez, O.H. Khalaf, L.R. Wheeler, S.P. Chaki, A. Rice-Ficht, T.A. Ficht, A.M. Arenas-Gamboa. Vaccine safety studies of Brucella abortus S19 and S19ΔvjbR in pregnant swine. Vaccine: X. 2019; 3: 1-8.
Abstracts
Shalloup, K., E. Ross, M. Stavropoulos, C. Hall, A. Newton, M. Haman, E. Venn, L.R. Wheeler, J. Heinz, T. Edwards. “Hemodynamic shock alters platelet mitochondrial respiration in dogs.” Oral presentation at the Veterinary Medical Scientist Research Training Program (VMSRTP) Symposium, August 2, 2025, College Station, Texas. Presented by mentee Kennedy Shalloup.
Newton, A., G. Peltier, K. Shalloup, S. Cardin, L.R. Wheeler, T. Edwards. “SynthoPlate™ decreases clot formation time in canine thrombocytopenic blood.” Oral presentation at the Veterinary Medical Scientist Research Training Program (VMSRTP) Symposium, August 2, 2025, College Station, Texas. Presented by mentee Annabelle Newton.
Yankin, I., S. Boysen, L.R. Wheeler, J. Heinz, C. Stoner, K. Gommeren. “Evaluation of the Veterinary Rapid Ultrasound in Shock (vetRUSH Protocol) to identify the underlying cause of shock in dogs with undifferentiated cardiovascular instability.” Oral presentation at the European Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Symposium, June 5, 2025, Dubrovnik, Croatia. Presented by Igor Yankin.
Foley, A., L.R. Wheeler, L. Nelson, I. Yankin. “Utility of corrected chloride concentration as a screening tool for hypoadrenocorticism in dogs.” Poster presentation at the 28th International Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Symposium (IVECCS), September 2022, San Antonio, Texas.
Wheeler, L.R., I. Yankin, J.A. Grimes, V. Dickerson. “Surgical management of feline idiopathic chylothorax: a retrospective study of perioperative complications and risk factors for perioperative mortality.” Abstract presentation at the 27th International Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Symposium (IVECCS), September 2021, Nashville, Tennessee.
Wheeler, L.R., T.H. Edwards, J.A. Heinz, L.L.F. Scott, L.E. Grantham II, J.D. Keesee, A.F. Henderson, A.C. Gerardo, G. Hoareau, J.A. Bynum. “A comparison between the TEG 6s and TEG 5000 analyzers to assess coagulation in healthy dogs.” Abstract presentation at the 27th International Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Symposium (IVECCS), September 2021, Nashville, Tennessee.
Wheeler, L.R. and K. Snowden. “Focus-stacked digital micrographs: easy-to-use, rapid, inexpensive methods for obtaining high quality microscopic digital images.” Abstract presentation at the 63rd Annual American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists (AAVP) meeting, July 2018, Denver, Colorado.
Sawant, O., L.R. Wheeler, J. Ramadoss, V. Naik, G.Wu, and S.E. Washburn. “Maternal glutamine supplementation prevents alcohol-induced fetal cerebellar Purkinje cell loss and improves antioxidant status.” Abstract presentation at the 39th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Research-Society-on-Alcoholism (RSA), June 2016, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Nation, K., L.R. Wheeler, R. Lunde, M. Stanton, C. Goodlett, T. Cudd, S.E. Washburn. “Gestational choline supplementation ameliorates t-maze reversal learning deficits in weanling lambs induced by first trimester binge alcohol exposure.” Poster presentation at the annual Research Society on Alcoholism meeting, June 2013, Orlando, Florida.