College receives funding to create new residency in theriogenology

Dr. Audrey Kelleman, chief of the UF Veterinary Hospital’s theriogenology service, with a Siberian husky puppy whose owner, Sally O’Connell, named Audrey in appreciation of Kelleman’s help with her birth.

The UF College of Veterinary Medicine has been selected through a competitive grant application to receive funding from the American Kennel Club, the AKC Canine Health Foundation and the Theriogenology Foundation for a new residency focused on small animal reproduction.

This is the first such program funded at UF, which offers a two-year program that provides advanced clinical training focused on small animals.

The college offers collaborative opportunities in canine and equine genetics research, as well as genetics and management of large breeding populations with Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc.

“The AKC Canine Health Foundation and its donors recognize the importance of supporting the next generation of clinicians and investigators,” said the foundation’s executive director, Dr. Calvin Carpenter, in a press release announcing the funding awards to both UF and the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.

“These bright specialists are critical to breeding programs and the health of current and future generations of dogs,” he said. “As genetic testing options for dogs expand with ongoing technological advances, specialists trained in clinical genetics will be invaluable to help breeders and dog owners make sense of the resulting information.”