Veterinary Medicine

Summer 2021

Paul Johnson remembered

Paul Johnson was an instructional supervisor in the Department of Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology and Physiology at Washington State University, where he spent 36 years overseeing the Worthman Anatomy Teaching Museum while also creating display specimens. He passed away peacefully at his home on November 14, 2020.

Browse a gallery of PJ and his time at WSU, and read the memories from a few of the many veterinary medicine students he helped over the years.

Photos courtesy WSU College of Veterinary Medicine

Memories of PJ
Veterinary students share their memories of Johnson over the years…

Kyle Frandle … » More …

Map of the Iditarod sled race route 2020

Spring 2021

A race at the top

Cold temperatures didn't hold back a Washington State University veterinarian from work at the Iditarod. » More ...

Fall 2020

Tracking down an equine mystery

A “Hall of Fame” expert tracks down the cause of catastrophic racehorse injuries. » More ...

Fall 2020

Viral haystack

WSU virologist Michael Letko and colleagues have found a way to identify coronaviruses likely to affect people. » More ...

Fall 2019

Where have all the frogs gone?

WSU researchers have a deep love of the Pacific Northwest and its amphibian wildlife. They're leading the work to save and protect frogs and salamanders from some of the deadliest diseases in nature. » More ...

Fall 2019

Bryan Slinker

After 11 years as dean of Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, Bryan Slinker (’80 DVM, ’82 PhD Vet. Sci.) is retiring. » More ...

Summer 2019

Medicine that lands on all fours

Pets can be a vital anchor for people caught in the slow-motion disaster of homelessness. In Spokane and Seattle, Washington State University nursing and veterinary medicine students work together with the University of Washington and nonprofit partners to deliver vital care to both homeless people and their animal companions. » More ...

Summer 2019

Tails of comfort

Veterinarian, author, and counselor Robert Slack helps health-care workers who struggle with substance use disorders, mental health problems, or both. » More ...

Winter 2018

Bison

The day the bison herd swam across the river says it all.

About 80 of the legendary mammals, known for hardiness and stubbornness, decided to cross the half-mile wide Pend Oreille River in 1994—bulls, cows, and even calves—and all survived the crossing, recalls Ray Entz, natural resources director of the Kalispel Tribe of Indians in northeast Washington.

That same rugged strength of the wooly North American bovines—whether you call them bison or buffalo—helped the entire resilient species survive. Although bison are now the national mammal of the United States, they once balanced on the cliff of extinction … » More …

Winter 2018

Superbugs

A woman lies dying in a hospital bed in an acute care facility in Nevada. She has a common infection induced by a common bacterium, Klebsiella pneumoniae. But she’s untreatable: her infection is resistant to all 26 of the antibacterial drugs available in the United States capable of treating the bacterium. The infection spreads further, which causes her blood pressure to drop precipitously until she finally succumbs to septic shock.

While death by “superbugs” is still fairly rare, the World Health Organization warns that, if bacteria keep evolving drug resistance at the rate they have been, such bugs will globally cause 10 million deaths per … » More …