Zoetis Distinguished Teaching Award

This year’s Zoetis Distinguished Teacher Award was presented to Klaus Hopster, assistant professor of anesthesiology at Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center.

The Zoetis Distinguished Teacher Award is the most prestigious teaching award in veterinary medicine. It is presented annually to a faculty member at each college of veterinary medicine in the United States. Its purpose is “to improve veterinary medicine education by recognizing outstanding instructors who, through their ability, dedication, character and leadership, contribute significantly to the advancement of the profession.” The entire Penn Vet student body votes on the recipient.

A student said, “Dr. Hopster manages to be funny, encouraging and patient, while still maximizing student learning.”

The William B. Boucher Award

The Boucher Award honors a house officer at New Bolton Center for excellent teaching, as was exemplified by William Boucher over four decades at Penn Vet.

This year’s winner is Courtney Pope,  a resident in internal medicine at Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center.

“Dr. Pope has quickly gained recognition not only as a talented clinician, but as a fabulous teacher,” said colleague Ray Sweeney. Words students have use to describe her include: “welcoming, approachable, awesome instructor, a joy to work with, enthusiastic, patient, a shining star, kind, makes learning fun, and treats students like peers.” One student summed it up best: “Dr. Pope is spectacular!”

V’18 Philadelphia Teaching Award

Ariel Mosenco is a clinical associate professor with the small animal internal medicine section. Dr. Mosenco also serves as head of feline radioactive iodine therapy.

“Dr. Mosenco seamlessly works as both a mentor and a friend,” said 2018 Class President Sophie Eiger. “He’s able to challenge students to think critically while also ensuring their comfort in the hectic environment of the hospital. Dr. Mosenco has been a true pleasure to work with this past year. On behalf of V’18, I want to personally thank you for being so welcoming this past year and for helping to prepare us for our future as veterinarians.”

V’18 New Bolton Center Teaching Award

The New Bolton Center Campus Teaching award was awarded to Jennifer Linton, assistant professor of clinical equine field service. Dr. Linton’s areas of research interest include pregnancy loss in the mare, poor performance and behavioral changes in horses and small ruminant reproductive neoplasia.

A student said, “Dr. Linton makes a sincere effort to get to know every student who rides in her truck. She engages with us about life at Penn Vet and never misses an opportunity to teach, especially if it has to do with reproduction. She gives great advice and is invested in students succeeding in school and as future veterinarians. It is clear that she loves Penn Vet and sincerely cares about each one of the students here.”

V’19 Philadelphia Teaching Award

Heather Rudolph is a certified veterinary technician. As the teaching lab coordinator, Ms. Rudolph has developed and manages the hands-on Clinical Skills Lab for students at Penn Vet. The students have access to models to practice skills such as restraint, venipuncture, gowning and gloving, clinical pathology and suturing. Before coming to Penn Vet, Ms. Rudolph worked in emergency and critical care at Crown Veterinary Specialists and Quakertown Veterinary Clinic.

A student said, “Our junior surgery course during third year, in which we perform a spay, can be intense. Heather Rudolph has been extremely instrumental in our success, taking the time to teach us about everything related to patient care, from blood draws to  catheterizations. She always sent us reminder text messages about what to expect on surgery day, would respond to our text messages no matter how late they were, and was always there to save the day when something went wrong. One time the spay dogs did not have transportation to make it to Penn Vet. Heather took it upon herself to rent a van and drive a two-hour round trip to pick up the dogs at the shelter and make sure we were able to perform our surgeries in time and fulfill our requirements for clinical exercises. That’s dedication.”

V’19 New Bolton Center Teaching Award

Ray Sweeney, professor of medicine and chief of the section of medicine and ophthalmology, has spent his entire 30-year career at New Bolton Center. Dr. Sweeney’s clinical specialty is internal medicine of large animals, and his research work is focused on paratuberculosis and other infectious diseases of cattle. He teaches in all four years of the veterinary curriculum, including lectures, hands-on laboratories and clinical instruction of fourth-year students.

A student said, “In the beginning of the year, third years have the option to participate in large animal block. With all of the horses, cows, sheep and goats there are literally a lot of moving parts to this block. In addition to the snow days, the ice days, and the Eagles winning the Superbowl, there have been a lot of shifts in the schedule. Dr. Ray Sweeney worked diligently to make sure that our large animal block experience went as smoothly as possible. Because of that and so much more, not only is Dr. Sweeney a great professor, but he’s also a great friend to us all.”

V’20 Laboratory Teaching Award

James Lok is a professor of parasitology. In addition to his commitment to teaching second- and third-year veterinary students, Dr. Lok is also an active member of the microbiology/virology/parasitology component of the Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group at Penn. His research interests are in the molecular and neuronal control of the infective process in parasitic nematodes.

“During the Class of 2020 orientation, Dr. Lok didn’t have a slideshow or interesting pictures on the screen, but when he started to speak, everyone turned their antennae to listen,” said 2020 Class President Patrick Pilon. “That day there wasn’t any information on parasitic life cycles or different infection routes. Instead he spoke about our potential. He told us about how amazing we all were to be sitting in this room, that all of us are extraordinary people. That every single one of us will make a profound difference in the life of our clients and patients. Dr. Lok continued to inspire us during our parasitology course with his dedication to teaching one of the toughest subjects for second year students.  His devotion to our learning, preparation for clinical parasitology, and willingness to help students find that evasive protozoan is why the class of 2020 would like to present Dr. Lok with the Laboratory Teaching award.”

V’20 Lecture Teaching Award

Nicole Weinstein is an associate professor of clinical pathology at Penn Vet. She is the course leader and primary instructor in the second year clinical pathology course and is the head of the clinical pathology laboratory in the veterinary hospital.

A student said, “Dr. Weinstein can break down complicated topics into digestible pieces, while maintaining a fun learning environment. She works hard to give material that truly challenges students while reminding us to be objective, because our patients will not have read the clinical pathology textbook. She prepares students for their clinical year and beyond.”

V’21 Laboratory Teaching Award

Barbara Smith Grandstaff, assistant director and lecturer of anatomy, teaches gross anatomy, developmental biology and neuroscience courses at Penn Vet. Her research focuses on functional morphology of vertebrates, vertebrate paleopathology, and late Cretaceous coastal ecosystems. Her recent publications include descriptions of new taxa of fossil fishes and studies of the skeletal histology of Cretaceous fishes. A recent description of healed fractures in wild artiodactyls was inspired by a broken and healed deer tibia, which Eric Deeble, VMD Class of 2013, found in Fairmount Park during his first year at Penn Vet.

A student said, “She is a wonderful person both in and out of the classroom. Snow or shine, you know she’ll be in class, and when she is out of the class you can count on her to answer emails until the wee hours of the night. Dr. Grandstaff has become famous for her unfathomable wealth of anatomical knowledge as well as her positive attitude, always ending interactions with a comforting ‘You betcha!’ or ‘Hope that helps!’ No matter what class she is involved in, it is obvious that she genuinely cares about her students and their successes. She always finds very clear and distinct ways of explaining complex ideas to us, often using her cats Shadow and Argy as examples. We most likely will not miss the workload of anatomy or neuro labs, we will certainly miss working with Dr. Grandstaff in class.“

V’21 Lecture Teaching Award

Rose Nolen-Walston, associate professor, large animal internal medicine,  has been teaching and practicing internal medicine at Penn Vet for the last 11 years.

A student said, “With the perfect combination of enthusiasm, clinical relevance, and an arsenal of dollar-store props, Dr. Nolen-Walston gave some of the most thought-provoking, well-delivered and intriguing lectures we have experienced thus far. Her passion for veterinary medicine is contagious and we greatly look forward to working with her in the future in clinics.”