Dual Impact

“It almost became impossible for me to pick a career that would only address only one of those things. At the end of the day, that holistic prospective is so important going forward for medical innovation and all sorts of facets of society,” Kemelmakher said.

UGA is one of only 15 veterinary colleges that offers this innovative course plan that produces scientists with a clinical background who go on to investigate complex human and animal health issues. And as one of the larger programs, alumna Ashley Rasys says UGA offers more flexibility of when to start each portion of the program, which was important to her since she was originally focused only on vet school and was already a year in before applying to the dual-degree program.

“Overall my career path is a bit of a surprise to me because 10 years ago I wouldn’t have imagined myself in research,” said Rasys, who was recently awarded the 2022 Boehringer Ingelheim Veterinary Research Award for Graduate Veterinarians. “The cool thing is that my research took off in a particular area that I was able to leverage all of my DVM background.”

VMSTP students also have the flexibility to choose from any UGA graduate program, as long as they can sufficiently justify how the area of study will benefit the greater good by utilizing the One Health approach.

“I loved how I could do one in cellular biology and it didn’t have to be infectious diseases or didn’t have to be something very clinical,” Rasys said. “Because, if there is one thing I believe, it is that the veterinary field needs to diversify itself. We need to actually make advances in research and if we can do that in so many different ways, we will move the field along much faster.”

Rasys was recruited to a post doc fellowship with the NIH at the National Eye Institute and hopes to eventually run her own lab to continue her research in eye development using reptiles as models. As one of the few researchers at the institute with a DVM background, she says her ultimate wish is to use her comparative knowledge of biological systems to help foster more relationships between human and veterinary medicine.

“I do think that could make a significant impact in furthering research on both sides,” Rasys said. “What the veterinary field has to offer is huge because we have a population of patients and clients that are willing to try anything for those patients that could actually move a lot of research forward drastically.  And there is just not enough understanding on what the other side is doing.”

And while flexibility, variety and the One Health approach are all vital when choosing to start a dual DVM-PhD program, it’s often the people and mentors within the program that are key in helping you finish it.

“There is a massive supportive network around you,” Kemelmakher said. “Just the process itself opens so many doors. As soon as you start considering going into this program, every professor who has one or both degrees is willing to chat with you and offer their perspective, even if you don’t end up choosing that area of research. When you join the program the networking and conversations just multiply exponentially.”

Rasys agrees that the mentors, fellow students and overall networking opportunities were vital in achieving her dual degrees and being successful in her career after graduation.