New Faces
by Lianne Carr

Dr. Chris Byron has come to Illinois as the College’s newest assistant professor in equine surgery.

He has always wanted to practice in a university setting, and his interest in surgery began at Cornell University, where he earned a veterinary degree in 1998.

“As students we had the opportunity to be surgery technicians at night,” he recalls. “Through that experience, I became interested and eventually realized that I might be able to pursue it as a career.”

Next Dr. Byron completed an internship at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky., from 1998-1999. He then attended Michigan State University for a surgical residency from 1999 to 2002. During that time, Dr. Byron also received a master’s degree, conducting research on glucosamine function and nutraseuticals in cartilage physiology. He then worked for a year in Cleveland, Ohio, in a private equine specialty hospital.

Dr. Byron became boarded by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in February 2003. He will participate in the research of the orthopedic biology group, headed by Dr. Matthew Stewart, also in veterinary clinical medicine.

Outside of work, Dr. Byron enjoys listening to jazz and blues music, playing guitar, and cycling.

Dr. Rachael Carpenter, a clinical assistant professor in anesthesiology, came to Illinois after a variety of clinical and academic pursuits.

Upon completing a DVM degree from the University of Tennessee in 1999, Dr. Carpenter’s goal was to become an equine surgeon. While she was completing an internship at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky., anesthesiology, which had always been an interest, became her professional pursuit.

“I had always liked anesthesia,” she notes. “I liked that you had to know about surgery, pharmacology, and drug interactions. I felt that the demands of anesthesiology would make me a well-rounded clinician.”

Dr. Carpenter then went to Michigan State University where she completed an anesthesia residency in 2002. Before coming to the University of Illinois, she worked near Akron, Ohio, in a small animal emergency referral practice.

Dr. Carpenter expects to sit for the American College of Veterinary Anesthesiologists board examination in May and plans to take the critical care board examination in the future as well. She participated in rescue thoroughbred work at Michigan State and enjoys riding.

Dr. Sherrie Clark has been involved with swine theriogenology at the University of Illinois ever since she earned her DVM from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. From 1996 to 1999, Dr. Clark completed a residency in swine therio-genology with Dr. Gary Althouse. During her residency, she conducted research using ultrasound technology to investigate the relationship between boar testicular diameter and average total sperm numbers in boars standing at stud. During that time, she also graduated from the Executive Veterinary Program in Swine Health Management.

Dr. Clark then stayed at the University of Illinois to pursue a PhD in reproductive physiology in the Department of Animal Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences with Dr. Matt Wheeler. She was able to stay active in veterinary medicine by having a joint appointment with the College of Veterinary Medicine and ACES, allowing her to spend time at the clinics while continuing her studies and research.

Her research utilized a state of the art microfluidic culture system (microchannel) that would be considered similar to a “synthetic oviduct” that was originally designed for use by the Department of Defense for bioterrorism research. The microchannel was used as an embryo-culturing device in her research to reduce polyspermy (more than one sperm fertilizing an egg), a major problem in swine reproduction.

Dr. Clark became boarded by the American College of Theriogenologists in September, started her position as assistant professor in October, and completed her PhD in December.

Currently, Dr. Clark is organizing her lab and is excited about beginning a collaborative project with Dr. Rex Hess, veterinary biosciences, on factors involved in stimulation of sertoli cell development and proliferation.

“We each have our own part and we meld well together,” says Dr. Clark.

In the future, she would like to work with Drs. Tony Goldberg and Federico Zuckermann, both veterinary pathobiology, to further investigate boar infertility using assays and genetic markers. Dr. Clark may also continue work started by former resident Dr. Kristin Clements on alkaline phosphatase and ejaculatory failure in boars.

Dr. Clark feels fortunate to have had such great opportunities throughout her many academic pursuits and says, “I am so pleased with how my program turned out. I got some really good breaks.”