American Board of Veterinary Practitioners

06/04/2026

USDA confirmed a New World screwworm case in South Texas today. Read our statement here: https://txfb.us/firstnwscase.

Get the latest situation updates on confirmed cases and other USDA news at screwworm.gov.

Report suspected infestations immediately:

Livestock & Pets
Report to Texas Animal Health Commission
tahc.texas.gov

Wildlife
Report to Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
tpwd.texas.gov/screwworm

06/03/2026

Congrats to Ashely Rone-Friesen, one of our 2026 Dennis French Fellows. She received a scholarship to attend the 2026 ABVP Symposium in Boston.

She writes:
"My name is Ashley Rone-Friesen and I am a third-year veterinary student at Iowa State University! I am originally from North Dakota and attended the University of North Dakota for my undergraduate studies. While at Iowa State, I developed an interest in the different career paths you can take after graduation and was introduced to the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP). I was lucky enough to be awarded a French Scholarship through the ABVP to attend the 2026 ABVP Symposium in Boston, MA! The symposium was a wonderful way to network with ABVP diplomats and learn about so many different aspects of veterinary medicine. Having training opportunities after veterinary school that are more flexible to obtain board certification is a great way to help expand knowledge and skill sets when working in with certain species or in niche fields. This is incredibly important when we are faced with a veterinary shortage especially in more rural areas where specialists cannot easily be reached. I would highly recommend the ABVP symposium to any veterinary students in the future!"

06/02/2026

Congratulations AABP member Dr. Jess McArt!!

Jessica McArt named dean of College of Veterinary Medicine

ITHACA, N.Y. – Jessica McArt, D.V.M. ’07, Ph.D. ’13, has been named the Austin O. Hooey Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), effective July 15. Her appointment was approved May 20 by the Cornell Board of Trustees’ Executive Committee and ratified June 2 by the State University of New York’s Board of Trustees.

McArt has the distinction of being the first female dean of the college. As a professor of ambulatory and production medicine and chair of the Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences in CVM, she will succeed Lorin Warnick, D.V.M., Ph.D. ’94, who has served as dean since 2016 following a year as interim dean, and plans to return to research and teaching at Cornell.

“Jessica is the right person to lead our world-class College of Veterinary Medicine into the future as we face new opportunities and challenges,” said Provost Kavita Bala. “I am deeply grateful to Lorin for his outstanding leadership, and I look forward to working with Jessica to continue to grow CVM’s research, teaching and outreach mission. She has the commitment and expertise to enhance the college’s reputation as one of the premier veterinary programs in the world.”

As dean, McArt plans to advance initiatives that combine CVM’s disciplines with other entities at Cornell to drive discovery, enhance programs that meet community and public health needs, and support students’ educational interests, among other goals.

“I am very passionate about the College of Veterinary Medicine and I’m excited to work with faculty, staff and students to advance the opportunities this college has to offer, in collaboration with colleagues across Cornell and beyond,” McArt said. “Dean Warnick accomplished a great deal during his tenure and I'm very excited to build upon the solid foundation he has left us.”

McArt joined Cornell in 2014 as assistant professor of ambulatory and production medicine. She served as section chief in the Ambulatory and Production Medicine Clinic from 2017-22 and as a visiting scientist with the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action at Agriculture Victoria, a government institution in Bundoora, Australia, from 2023-24.

McArt received a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College (1999) and a DVM and a doctorate in comparative biomedical sciences from Cornell. She is a diplomate in the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (Dairy Practice).

# # #

06/01/2026

Happy Pride Month!

06/01/2026

Congrats to Christina Holmes, DVM, one of our new ABVP Diplomates in Canine & Feline Practice.

Christina attended Texas Tech University and graduated cm laude with a Bachelor's of Animal Science in 2007. She then went on to attend Texas A&M and graduated cm laude in 2016. After graduation, she did an emergency/critical care internship with Thrive Pet Healthcare Specialists San Antonio and loved emergency medicine so much she decided to put down roots in San Antonio and stay on as a staff doctor. She has been with this practice since graduation and have cultivated new doctors through their externship and internship programs. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, traveling, sampling local cuisine, and hiking to enjoy the beauty and peace of the natural world.

05/31/2026

Did you know a group of parrots is called a pandemonium? Which is quite funny considering the word pandemonium means wild and noisy.

On , let us celebrate these intelligent and magnificent birds and give a very big shout out to all the avian, zoo, wildlife, and other veterinary professionals out there caring for these feathered friends!

05/29/2026

Congrats to Heather Jay Pedersen DVM, one of our new ABVP Diplomates in Equine Practice.

Dr Pedersen started her career as a veterinary technician and worked in equine neonatal ICU in Kentucky and New Zealand before graduating from Massey veterinary school in New Zealand in 2012. She Completed a fellowship in Equine internal medicine in Kentucky and an internship in Equine practice in Edmonton Alberta. She owns an ambulatory practice in Kamloops, BC. Dr. Pedersen is passionate about equine dentistry and internal medicine.

05/27/2026

Congrats to Megahn Kostka, one of our 2026 Dennis French Fellows. She received a scholarship to attend the 2026 ABVP Symposium in Boston.

She writes:
"Hi! My name is Meghan Kostka, and I am a second-year student in the collaborative University of Alaska Fairbanks/Colorado State University DVM program. In the future, I hope to practice in a rural mixed-animal setting with a strong interest in food-animal medicine. As a French Scholarship recipient, I attended the ABVP Symposium, where I met practitioners from across the country and participated in a variety of lectures led by experienced professionals. My favorite session was on pet pigs! I especially enjoyed the wide range of topics and the camaraderie among diplomates, particularly within the food animal and equine tracks."

05/25/2026

Congrats to Alesha Rose Rimmelin DVM, one of our new ABVP Diplomates in Canine & Feline Practice.

Dr. Rimmelin earned a degree in English before attending Texas A&M for veterinary school where she graduated with honors. She completed a yearlong ER internship and currently serves as the Internship Director of the same hospital at which she was trained, in San Antonio. She has worked Emergency Medicine her whole career, and loves the pace and challenges of the ER. She is blessed with a great husband and two awesome kids

05/24/2026