Dottie Cimino Brown, DVM, DACVS, MS, is a visionary in veterinary medicine whose leadership has helped shaped how clinical care and research integrate into one seamless continuum. As vice president of Science and Healthcare Innovation at Mars Veterinary Health (MVH), she brings together nearly 3 decades of surgical, academic, and epidemiological expertise to drive system-level advancements that benefit pets, practitioners, and the profession at large.

Her journey began in veterinary surgery. After earning her DVM, Brown completed an internship and surgical residency at the University of Pennsylvania, where she served on faculty for 25 years. There, she built and led the Veterinary Clinical Investigation Center, a translational research program that strengthened the infrastructure for efficient, high-quality trials across the university’s academic teaching hospitals. Recognizing that rigorous clinical research required more specialized skills, she pursued a master’s in clinical epidemiology from Penn’s medical school, an investment that paid dividends in her ability to design studies, analyze outcomes, and mentor others in evidence generation.

In 2017, Brown made a bold shift into industry. She joined Eli Lilly’s animal health division, helping bridge human and veterinary science in translational and therapeutic development. With Elanco, she contributed to global teams in early research and development across species. Then, in 2023, she took the leading role in establishing MVH’s science function. In this capacity, she shapes strategy and execution for science and innovation across the world’s largest network of veterinary hospitals.

Under her leadership, MVH has launched 2 important initiatives. The Clinical Studies Site Network (CSSN) enables coordinated, multisite clinical trials across 60 hospitals nationwide. It dramatically increased enrollment—in 1 case, boosting monthly recruitment fourfold to roughly 200 animals—for the PetCare Biobank study, which will ultimately collect clinical, genetic, and lifestyle data from 20,000 dogs and cats. Meanwhile, her Outcomes-Based Healthcare (OBH) initiative reimagines care through the lens of pet owners. By developing and validating owner-reported outcome measures and integrating them into electronic medical records with intuitive data visualizations, her team is spearheading a shift toward care that’s measurable, individualized, and outcomes-driven.

In reflecting on the honor of a lifetime achievement award, Brown shared how it prompted deep reflection on her career path. “Having something that says lifetime achievement…makes you go, ‘Wow, I’ve been around for a really long time.’ It made me think about all the different touchpoints along the way…and how appreciative I am,” she said. That appreciation fuels her mentorship. Having received guidance throughout her own journey, she’s committed to ensuring she a coach and ally for younger veterinary professionals who may not yet see the full scope of opportunity in the field.

Her advocacy extends to boosting diversity in science and veterinary leadership. Brown actively promotes opportunities for women and girls in STEM and works to foster environments where associates can grow their clinical skills, engage in research, and contribute to meaningful real-world evidence. Within 1 year of creating MVH’s Medical Affairs Science Team, she guided the development and publication of the inaugural Science Impact Report. This was a compendium of hundreds of peer-reviewed studies conducted by MVH associates in 2024, covering topics from dental disease and obesity to dermatologic conditions.

Brown’s unique blend of surgical acumen, epidemiological training, academic career-building, and industry leadership gives her the rare ability to design and implement infrastructure that elevates veterinary science as a whole. Her work exemplifies how a strategic, human-centered approach to innovation can reshape care delivery, research, and professional development, impacting patients and practitioners now and in the future.

The 2025 class of dvm360 Veterinary Heroes will be honored at a celebratory luncheon in the dvm360 Fetch Kansas City Conference. 

Click here learn more or register for the event.

Articles

Dottie Cimino Brown, DVM, DACVS, MS, wins the 2025 dvm360 Veterinary Hero Lifetime Achievement Award.

2025 Veterinary Heroes: Dottie Cimino Brown, DVM, DACVS, MS (Lifetime Achievement Award)

The Middlesex County Office of Health Services recently reported that a bat in the township of Piscataway, New Jersey, tested positive for rabies. The bat was located near River Road and Barbour Place, making this the third rabid animal in Piscataway and the sixth in Middlesex County.

According to a release from Middlesex County, on August 11, 2025, a Piscataway resident noticed a bat in their living room. The bat was then trapped and picked up by an animal control officer who brought it to the New Jersey Department of Health Laboratory for testing. Here, it was reported on August 13, 2025, that the bat was positive for rabies. There was no human exposure with the bat, but 1 animal was exposed, and the resident was notified to consult with both their physician and their cat’s veterinarian.

The Middlesex County Office of Health Services continues to monitor the rabies cases, and residents should report wild animals presenting with signs of unusual behavior to the police department. Additionally, the county recommends residents avoid contact with wild animals, report any bites from either domestic or wild animals to their local health department, and talk to their physician immediately. All families should ensure their pets are up to date on their rabies vaccinations.

The county is also advising residents to follow the following guidelines to prevent rabies from being transmitted to themselves or their pet

Immediately report a bite from a wild or domestic animal to your local health department:

 It is also advised to wash animal bite wounds thoroughly with soap and water as soon as possible. Contamination of open scratches or cuts with saliva of potentially rabid animals should also be washed off immediately. Anyone bitten should consult a physician immediately.

Report any wild animals showing signs of unusual behavior:

 Signs of unusual behavior could include appearing sick, problems swallowing, moving slowly, biting at everything if excited, paralysis, acting aggressively, and more. Anyone who sees an animal acting like this should avoid contact and call their local animal control officer or police department.

Be sure  family pets are up to date on vaccinations:

 If a family is unsure, they should consult with their veterinarian, and if not vaccinated, call the local health department for free rabies clinics in the area.

 All garbage containers should have tight-fitting lids. Do not leave pet food or water outside, do not allow rainwater to collect in outdoor containers or equipment, and keep yards free of garbage and debris.

Avoid contact with stray pets or animals.

Try to prevent pets from coming in contact with wild animals.

Screen off vents to attics and other areas that could be used as a shelter for bats.

Rabies can impact all warm-blooded mammals, including humans, and is found in the saliva of a rabid animal. Rabies can be transmitted by a bite or possibly by an open cut being contaminated. According to the release, New Jersey is enzootic for raccoon and bat variants of rabies. Bats, skunks, groundhogs, foxes, dogs, and cats represent approximately 95% of animals diagnosed with rabies in the United States.

Middlesex County Office of Health Services rabies update. News release. Middlesex County Office of Health Services. August 8, 2025. Accessed August 16, 2025. 

https://www.middlesexcountynj.gov/Home/Components/News/News/1778/328

This positive result is the sixth rabid animal reported in Middlesex County and the third in Piscataway for 2025. 

Bat tests positive for rabies in New Jersey

After spending time with his sister who is a practicing veterinarian, Ryan Gallagher, chief executive officer and co-founder of Scribenote, wanted to help find a way to save her time when she was doing her medical records at the end of the day, resulting in the creation of Scribenote. On this episode, our host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, and Gallagher discuss Scribenote and how it works, plus why it was important for the company to emphasize the importance of the human-animal bond in the company's mission. 

Below is a partial transcript, edited lightly for clarity

if you could walk us through just a little bit on, you know how AI listens to the appointments and turns those conversations into usable medical records, that would be useful to some to those of you listening, I know you probably well, how does that? How does that really work? So, can you walk us through just a little bit of that?

Yeah, so, I mean, it's, it's just a couple steps. The first step is to take the audio from the exam room and save that in the cloud. The actual first thing that we do is save it to your device, first, in case you're like, offline, or your you know, Wi Fi connection is not strong, but once that syncs with the cloud, we take that audio and we transcribe it using models tailored more to like veterinary lingo. So you know, you can count on Scribenote not to just transcribe your conversation accurately regardless of accents actually, including regardless of languages. Scribenote supports multiple different languages being transcribed, but then to be sort of accurate and capturing your veterinary verbiage at the same time. 

And then we take that transcript audio, which you can access later. And it's also worth noting that you can always access the audio later as well, so you have sort of 2 layers of fallback to your medical record of extra sort of memory and then we take that audio, and then we've run that through large language models, so the same kind of technology that powers popular AI tools like chatgpt, and we then take those large language models and we make them sort of tuned towards spitting out a medical record of highly accurate, highly relevant and. Sort of tuned to you, medical record structure.

Podcasts

Learn more about Scribenote and the evolution of artificial intelligence, plus its impact on veterinary medicine, in this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast presented by dvm360

The Future of Vet Care: AI, Efficiency, and the Human-Animal Bond

“I really don’t have a job,” Barden Greenfield, DVM, DAVDC, told 

. “I have a passion. I just love to do what I do.”

For Greenfield, owner of Your Pet Dentist in Nashville, Tennessee; educator; author; and 2025 winner of the Veterinary Heroes Award in dentistry, his love for the profession was kindled by witnessing the dramatic impact dentistry procedures have on the lives of patients. When he began his journey in dentistry, there were not many residencies available in the specialty and few veterinarians practiced dentistry. Still, while Greenfield was working in private practice, a friend involved in the specialty suggested he pursue a residency. 

“And sure enough, I did a residency and [was] able to complete it and pass it,” Greenfield said. “And it has just opened up my world.”

He shared that his favorite part about being a veterinary dentist is that he is not only able to practice it but teach it as well. “Being able to speak at national meetings, local meetings, international meetings, and to really preach that dental gospel of sorts, of why it’s so important—being able to do that, I think, is an honor. I think it’s also a privilege, but I think it’s also a necessity. I think we have to teach the younger generations and even some of the older ones like myself why it is so important to put dentistry in the forefront, and veterinary schools are still behind.”

“There [are] so many diseases that occur secondary [to] having poor oral care and that can contribute to comorbidities of liver, heart, kidneys, lungs. Therefore, if I can get people to understand that a clean and healthy mouth will help the rest of the body, I think it [would be] a success,” he continued.

According to Greenfield, one of the lessons being a veterinary dentist has taught him is patience. “...You have to be patient. I think that you have to know that some things are very difficult and that it takes practice, practice, practice,” Greenfield emphasized. “[Some] veterinarians want to just try something and get it done. And you can't do that. You've got to practice on procedures.”

He shared that when conducting labs on cadavers of pets that have been put to sleep for various reasons, he is reminded that “those pets gave their lives for something.” This inspires him to encourage his students to honor the sacrifice by being patient and diligent in their work. “When I teach in labs, I tell veterinarians, ‘Look, this pet died, was euthanized, and you've got to justify this. You've got to do the very, very best you can in this lab so that you can make that euthanasia justifiable in the sense of being better for other pets’,” Greenfield said.

“And so, the things that [I have] learned is you have to be patient and you have to be diligent and you have to continue, to continue, to continue to talk about it in the sense of awareness. It's just not once and done. It's something that has to be done all the time,” he continued.

An active participant on the boards of the American Veterinary Dental College, American Veterinary Dental Society, and Foundation for Veterinary Dentistry, Greenfield said that winning the 2025 Veterinary Heroes Award is both an honor and a privilege. “Knowing the previous participants who were friends of mine—to be in that same category with them is truly an honor. I don’t take that lightly. I think that it’s something that I’m humbled by and feel very blessed to have been nominated and selected,” he said. “And I know that with that award comes responsibilities.... It’s something [where] you go, ‘Well, thank you. But let’s work more. Let’s work forward. Let’s do more.’ And I think that [winning the award] reenergizes me to keep doing what I’m trying to do.”

The 2025 class of dvm360 Veterinary Heroes will be honored at a celebratory luncheon in the dvm360 Fetch Kansas City Conference. 

Barden Greenfield, DVM, DAVDC, wins the 2025 dvm360 Veterinary Hero award in the dentistry category.



2025 Veterinary Heroes: Barden Greenfield, DVM, DAVDC (Dentistry)

Cheese, one of the patients who received treatment at NC State Veterinary Hospital after becoming severely ill from ingestion of oclacitinib chewable tablets. (Images courtesy of NC State University)

North Carolina (NC) State University College of Veterinary Medicine has issued an alert to cat owners who have dogs taking oclacitinib chewable tablets (Apoquel; Zoetis), as the school’s hospital has been seeing cases of severely ill cats following ingestion of the canine allergy medication. Recently, NC State Veterinary Hospital treated 2 cats that developed acute kidney injury and required hemodialysis to support their recovery after they ate the pork liver–flavored tablets.

“Previous reports of very high ingestions like this have resulted in death,” Tyler Johnson, DVM, DACVECC, a fellow in advanced emergency and critical care and extracorporeal therapies at the NC State Veterinary Hospital, said in the university alert.

 “The incidence of Apoquel ingestion–related toxicity has increased at our hospital since the release of a chewable formulation that, for some reason, cats seem to be inclined to eat. Both of the cats we treated actively sought out the medication.”

Oclacitinib tablets are used to manage itching associated with allergic dermatitis in dogs of at least 12 months of age.

 The medication is also intended for control of atopic dermatitis in dogs of the same age group.

In NC State’s report, Shelly Vaden, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, a professor of small-animal internal medicine at NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine and president of the American College of Veterinary Nephrology and Urology and of the International Renal Interest Society, expressed the importance of client education on the dangers of oclacitinib to cats, especially for families with cats and dogs in the household. She recommends prescribing dogs who live with cats the nonchewable form of oclacitinib tablets,

 which would prevent the cat from accessing the medication.

“We’re hoping veterinarians start asking whether there are cats in the household before prescribing the chewable form,” Vaden said.

 “We believe that households with cats should rely on the original, nonchewable form of Apoquel or be extra diligent in keeping the chewable form away from their cats.”

Yu Ueda, DVM, PhD, DACVECC, director of extracorporeal services and an emergency & critical care specialist; and Tyler Johnson, DVM, DACVECC, a fellow in advanced emergency and critical care and extracorporeal therapies; work together on a patient at NC State Veterinary Hospital. 

Ingestion of the oclacitinib chewable tablets carries the risk of severe clinical signs in cats. In these felines, too much of the medication can cause lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, facial swelling, liver damage, and kidney injury. Some cats may even require intensive care hospitalization, according to NC State.

 Cats who develop severe kidney injury may also need to undergo hemodialysis, like the 2 patients NC State treated.

Both of the patients treated at NC State experienced a full recovery following 4 dialysis treatments. Cheese, the first cat who received treatment at NC State for oclacitinib toxicity, underwent standard decontamination procedures—which include induced vomiting and administering charcoal—at his local veterinarian following ingestion. After his state did not improve, Cheese was referred to NC State. 

“I don’t think that our treatments for either of these cats did anything to remove the medication that they ingested, but what it did do is support their injury well enough that they were able to have a pretty quick recovery,” Johnson said.

“What we essentially did with dialysis was intervene for the kidneys that weren’t functioning well and allow time for those kidneys to recover enough to heal themselves.”

Although Cheese may develop kidney disease as an older cat, he is currently doing well, and “it’s like nothing ever happened,” Johnson said.

To date, only a select group of veterinary specialty, referral, and academic hospitals in the US provide all types of extracorporeal therapy like hemodialysis, hemoperfusion, or therapeutic plasma exchange to help remove toxins or other harmful substances in an animal’s bloodstream. From Washington, DC, to Florida, NC State is currently the only veterinary center that offers all forms of this therapy.

There have been no studies conducted that evaluate the effectiveness of this type of therapy to remove oclacitinib from the bloodstream—or even whether the therapies remove the drug from the bloodstream at all.

 Still, according to NC State, Johnson is preparing a case study on the 2 treatments for publication, something the school says is “the first step leading to clinical studies and an official treatment protocol.”

“The scientific literature is very sparse,” Johnson said in the university report.

“We talked to poison control centers to see what they have amassed, and they will follow up with some of these cases to understand what happened to them. That’s where a lot of the information is coming from right now. Our case study demonstrates, at least for [the 2] animals that were severely affected, how we can successfully support them through it.”

Any cases of oclacitinib chewable tablets ingestion by a cat should receive immediate veterinary attention. “Decontamination procedures such as inducing vomiting and administering charcoal can be administered, but extracorporeal therapies may be required in cases of large ingestions,” wrote NC State.

Wheeler BE. Alert: NC State seeing cats severely ill from ingesting chewable allergy medicine for dogs. NC State College of Veterinary Medicine. August 5, 2025. Accessed August 14, 2025. https://news.cvm.ncsu.edu/alert-nc-state-seeing-cats-severely-ill-from-ingesting-chewable-allergy-medicine-for-dogs/

Zoetis announces FDA approval of Apoquel chewable (oclacitinib chewable tablet) for control of pruritus associated with allergic dermatitis and control of atopic dermatitis in dogs. News release. Zoetis. June 13, 2023. https://news.zoetis.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2023/Zoetis-Announces-FDA-Approval-of-Apoquel-Chewable-oclacitinib-chewable-tablet-for-Control-of-Pruritus-Associated-With-Allergic-Dermatitis-and-Control-of-Atopic-Dermatitis-in-Dogs/default.aspx

Two cats who ingested the dog allergy medication experienced acute kidney injury and required 4 rounds of hemodialysis.

Veterinary school warns of severe feline illness following ingestion of oclacitinib chewable tablets

Earlier this year, an 11-year-old Newfoundland/Labrador mix named Darla was treated at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital for a canine acanthomatous ameloblastoma (CAA), a benign but invasive oral tumor. Given the cost of the procedure and Darla’s age, the decision to put Darla through surgery was not an easy one for her owners, Roger and Yolanda Gombert. Financial assistance from a nonprofit organization ultimately helped make the treatment possible.

According to UC Davis, Darla has been in the care of Roger and Yolanda from a young age, when they rescued her as a puppy. After Roger and Yolanda received Darla’s CAA diagnosis, they were referred to the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, where both the Radiation Oncology and the Dentistry and Oral Surgery (DOSS) Services at the hospital evaluated Darla. Thereafter, the team at UC Davis explained that although the tumor was benign, it would progressively erode the jaw aggressively without treatment. The damage would cause Darla pain and make it difficult to eat. Eventually, Darla would require palliative care.

“Surgery was recommended as the best course of action,” wrote UC Davis in its report.

CAA typically presents as a raised, red, gingival mass with an irregular surface, though an irregular and red appearance is not always seen.

 Radiographs often reveal invasion into surrounding bone, along with alveolar bone resorption and tooth displacement.

 According to studies, computed tomographic imaging has shown that CAA lesions located within bone are often cystic in appearance and may behave more aggressively than those confined to soft tissue.

 Prognosis is generally “excellent” if the tumor is completely removed.

Signs of CAA include facial swelling most often in the lower jaw, oral bleeding, loose or missing teeth, excessive drooling and bad breath. Some patients may show no clinical signs, and the tumor may be found incidentally during an examination of the dog’s mouth.

 CAA can occur in all breeds of dogs but is most common in Golden retrievers, Shetland sheepdogs, and Cocker spaniels.

With the diagnosis explained and the treatment option outlined, Roger and Yolanda were left with a difficult choice. “Should we subject an older, though active, dog to costly and painful procedures?” Roger wondered.

 “What sort of future could she, and we, expect?”

While discussing Darla’s future with the UC Davis care team, Roger and Yolanda found out they qualified for a grant from Petco Love Foundation in partnership with the Blue Buffalo Foundation, which supports cancer treatments for companion animals with pet owners with limited resources or for service animals. The couple then decided to proceed with Darla surgery.

In April, Darla had the tumor completely removed by veterinarians at UC Davis specializing in dentistry and oral surgery. Her mandible was left largely intact. Darla recovered without complications, and no additional treatment was required.

“These days, the only visible signs of her surgery are a slight gap in her teeth (from which a rogue kibble occasionally escapes) and a tendency to drool a little more when she’s excited for treats,” said UC Davis.

Keilbach L, Warren R. Philanthropic support and specialized surgery saves dog with oral tumor. News release. UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. August 7, 2025. Accessed August 14, 2025. https://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/news/philanthropic-support-and-specialized-surgery-saves-dog-oral-tumor

Fiani N, Lommer MJ, Chamberlain TP. Clinical behavior of odontogenic tumors. In: 

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Dogs and Cats

. 2nd ed. Verstraete F, Lommer MJ, Boaz A. Elsevier; 2021. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/veterinary-science-and-veterinary-medicine/canine-acanthomatous-ameloblastoma#chapters-articles

Canine acanthomatous ameloblastoma (CAA). Animal Dentistry & Oral Surgery. July 21, 2021. Accessed August 14, 2025. https://animaldentalspecialist.com/canine-acanthomatous-ameloblastoma-caa/

Acanthanomatous ameloblastoma in dogs: Diagnosis, treatment & prognosis. PetCure Oncology. Accessed August 14, 2025. https://petcureoncology.com/acanthomatous-ameloblastoma-dogs-diagnosis-treatment-prognosis/

A grant help helped pay for the removal of a canine acanthomatous ameloblastoma in an 11-year-old Newfoundland/Labrador mix 