UConn Extension<\/a> program.<\/p>\nThe pathology residents perform autopsies on animals, also known as necropsies, that are submitted to the CVMDL from all over the state and often from outside Connecticut as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe CVMDL could not function as it does without the pathology residents, and the residency program would not be able to function as it has without the CVMDL,\u201d says Frasca. \u201cThe two have grown together in a very synergistic way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graduates from the program have come from, and go on to work in, all corners of the world \u2013 including Chile, Kenya, Japan, France, and Mexico.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of the most diverse programs we have at the University,\u201d Frasca says. \u201cWe get individuals from all over the world coming to Connecticut for this program. They go on to represent UConn all around the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Francisco Carvallo-Chaigneau, who is originally from Chile, first heard about the program while visiting his brother, who was a student at UConn. There he connected with professors in the Department of Pathobiology and Veterinary Science.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me it would be an honor to work with all these research stars,\u201d Carvallo-Chaigneau says.<\/p>\n
He kept in touch with the UConn faculty and in 2008, he started the residency program.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe UConn program was unique,\u201d Carvallo-Chaigneau. \u201cThat\u2019s where I really learned pathology. I knew pathology, but then I learned it. I was able to apply it in a much more practical way. We knew we could trust them [the faculty]. We knew we could count on them. It was not just a distant student-teacher relationship. For me it was perfect, beginning to end.\u201d<\/p>\n
After completing the program, Carvallo-Chaigneau worked briefly for a pharmaceutical company before moving into academia. He is currently a clinical associate professor in veterinary pathology at the Virginia Tech College of Veterinary Medicine.<\/p>\n
Dr. Vanessa Schumacher graduated from UConn with her bachelor\u2019s degree in 2003. During her time as an undergraduate, she worked in the histology lab in the CVMDL. That experience showed Schumacher first-hand what the residents did.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was just fascinating to me, how these veterinary pathologists could really find these clues in a tissue sample and make diagnoses that could help farmers to better take care of their herds or people to get some closure about the death of a pet,\u201d Schumacher says. \u201cI thought it was really exciting and the people were really engaged, and that spoke a lot to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
During her time at UConn and in veterinary school, Schumacher developed an interest in fish pathology and wildlife medicine \u2013 something she knew she could pursue at UConn.<\/p>\n
Schumacher graduated from the residency program in 2010. After spending a few years working on zoo animal pathology, Schumacher now leads pathology at Roche, a Swiss pharmaceutical company.<\/p>\n
Schumacher and her team look at samples from animal research studies. They characterize in-vitro systems and animal models.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really helpful for pathologists to give input as to the structural and the functional aspects of those systems to see if they are relevant for understanding the in-vivo form as well,\u201d Schumacher says.<\/p>\n
Schumacher says her time in the program at UConn helped her develop the independence and problem-solving skills she uses daily now and the connections she has maintained for more than 10 years since.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat really stands out are those interactions with the people and the passion of the colleagues for pathology,\u201d Schumacher says.<\/p>\n
Dr. Emily Reinhardt completed the program in 2020 and is now a senior pathologist with the CVMDL and an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Pathobiology and Veterinary Science.<\/p>\n
Reinhardt says one thing that attracted her to the UConn program was that residents get to work on cases from the time they walk in the door until they make a diagnosis. Other programs associated with veterinary schools tend to get cases from animal hospitals where someone has already made an assessment, or veterinary students do most of the hands-on work.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou get to be more connected to the material,\u201d Reinhardt says. \u201cYou get to see the raw pathology. For me that was a big draw.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reinhardt says the program not only prepared graduates to pass the board exams to become certified veterinary pathologists, but to be good ones.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey always told us: \u2018We want you to pass the board exams, but we also want you to be successful pathologists,\u2019\u201d Reinhardt says. \u201cIt\u2019s a wonderful program, not just because it prepares us for board exams, but it will really prepare you for the workforce as a pathologist.\u201d<\/p>\n
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