Join our global, free virtual event and hear the latest on the fight against pet cancer and how to support both patients and pet parents.

Ann Hohenhaus is board certified by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in Oncology and Small Animal Internal Medicine. In 2021, she was selected to be a member of the influential World Small Animal Veterinary Association’s Oncology Working Group. As Director of Pet Health Information at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center, she writes the Animal Medical Center blog and hosts a monthly podcast, “Ask the Vet.” Also, she has been awarded the Maxwell Medallion from the Dog Writers Association of America and the DeBakey Award from the Foundation for Biomedical Research for her work in veterinary journalism.

Sarah Boston is a veterinary surgical oncologist who is an ACVS board certified small animal surgeon and an ACVS Founding Fellow of both Surgical Oncology and Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery. She practices in the Toronto area and is currently enjoying locum life. Up until recently, she has spent most of her career in academia as a tenured faculty member at both the University of Guelph and the University of Florida. Dr Boston is also a best-selling author of the book, LUCKY DOG: HOW BEING A VETERINARIAN SAVED MY LIFE and the creator of The Cageliner, a satirical online newspaper for veterinary professionals. Her newest passion is stand up comedy. She just completed the Humber College Comedy Performance and Writing Program and is working out how to bring comedy into veterinary medicine. She believes veterinarians need to laugh more.

Sue Ettinger (DVM, Diplomate ACVIM (Oncology)) has over 20 years of experience in veterinary oncology. She completed her residency in medical oncology at Animal Medical Center in New York City and has been honored with numerous awards, including the Western Veterinary Conference Small Animal Continuing Educator of the Year. She's an international speaker, a book author, and engaging YouTube vlogger. Sue is passionate about raising cancer awareness and promoting early detection through her "See Something, Do Something, Why Wait? Aspirate®" campaign. In addition to leading a thriving oncology service at Guardian Veterinary Specialists in New York, Sue has a strong social media presence, with over 45,000 followers on Facebook and 23,000+ on Instagram, where she shares valuable resources and support for pet owners and veterinary professionals.

Nick is Clinical Director and co-founder of AURA Veterinary, a centre for excellence in oncology, soft tissue surgery, internal medicine and interventional radiology. Recognitions include MA, VetMB, CertVR, CertSAS, DiplECVS, DACVS, FRCVS, RCVS Recognised Specialist in Small Animal Surgery (Oncology), EBVS® European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery, ACVS Specialist in Small Animal Surgery, ACVS Founding Fellow of Surgical Oncology, and Professor, Surgical Oncology, Univ. of Surrey School of Veterinary Medicine. Nick qualified from Cambridge Vet School followed by a residency there in Soft Tissue Surgery and Oncology. He completed a Fellowship in Surgical Oncology at the Animal Cancer Center at Colorado State Univ. He was Head of Oncology at the Univ. of Florida. Nick moved back to the UK in 2014 and was appointed Professor of Surgical Oncology at the Univ. of Surrey School of Veterinary.

Dru Forrester received her DVM from Auburn University and completed an internship, small animal internal medicine residency, and M.S. degree at Texas A&M University. She was a faculty member at Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, and Western University of Health Sciences and served in a variety of academic roles. Dru currently serves as Director of Global Veterinary Innovation at Hill’s Pet Nutrition and is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Kansas State University. Dru enjoys teaching and has received numerous teaching awards including the national Norden/Pfizer Distinguished Teacher Award. She is passionate about helping others learn and enhancing communication effectiveness. Dru’s professional areas of interest include nephrology, urology, and clinical nutrition.

In her current role as Associate Director, Product Design at Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Melissa Vanchina leads research into the drivers of taste preference for dogs and cats, as well as understanding pet parent perception of and opinions on pet food attributes. Using data and insights generated by this research, she and her team develop taste solutions that can be applied across the entire portfolio of Hill’s pet foods. During her thirteen years with Hill’s, Melissa has studied and worked on improving the taste of most of the foods developed by Hill’s, including leading the development of the breakthrough Enhanced Appetite Trigger (E.A.T.™), a patented technology which drives increased intake in Prescription Diet k/d foods, and leading the product development of Prescription Diet Onc Care. Melissa has a MS in Food Science from the University of Georgia.

Iveta Becvarova, DVM, MS, is a Diplomate ACVIM (Nutrition). She is Director of Global Academic and Professional Affairs at Hill’s Pet Nutrition, USA and she is an Adjunct Faculty member in the Dept. of Clinical Science, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State Univ. Past positions include Director of Academic Affairs at Hill’s Pet Nutrition Europe and Clinical Instructor and Clinical Assistant Professor – Veterinary Nutrition at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine (VMCVM). Dr. Becvarova completed her Master of Science degree in Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences and Nutrition Residency program at the VMCVM and earned her DVM degree from the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Czech Republic. She is a past president of the board of the ACVN, and a member of the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition (AAVN). Dr. Becvarova conducted studies in obesity, body composition and oxidative stress.

Lisa Weeth received both veterinary degree and residency training at the University of California, Davis. She has been in specialty practice offering in-person or telemedicine nutrition consultations since 2007 and since 2018 has been heading the Nutrition Department at Metropolitan Animal Specialty Hospital in Los Angeles, California. In addition to her clinical practice, Weeth is a frequent lecturer at regional, national, and international veterinary conferences; serves on the WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee; and is on the Executive Board for the American Association of Veterinary Nutrition.

Cecilia Villaverde Haro, BVSc, PhD, is a Diplomate (Nutrition) of the ACVIM (Board-Certified Veterinary Nutritionist®), and Diplomate ECVCN (EBVS® European Specialist in Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition). She obtained her veterinary degree and PhD in animal nutrition by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Spain. She was a post doctoral researcher in feline nutrition at the University of California Davis, where she also completed a residency in small animal clinical nutrition at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. After working as the chief of service of the veterinary teaching hospital nutrition service in Barcelona (UAB), she is now a consultant in clinical nutrition for Expert Pet Nutrition and Veterinary Information Network (VIN). She is co-chair of the WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee and has written several articles and book chapters on the topic of companion animal nutrition.

Susan Little earned her BSc from Dalhousie University (Nova Scotia, Canada) and her DVM from the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph. She is board certified in Feline Practice and is part owner of two feline specialty practices in Ottawa, Canada. She has served on the board of the International Council for Veterinary Assessments and the Winn Feline Foundation, and is a peer reviewer for veterinary journals. as well as the author or co-author of many journal articles. Susan is the recipient of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Assoc. Small Animal Practitioner Award, the NAVC Small Animal Speaker of the Year Award, and the International Society of Feline Medicine/Hill's Pet Nutrition Award for outstanding contributions to feline medicine. She is the editor and co-author of The Cat – Clinical Medicine and Management (1st edition 2015, 2nd edition coming in 2023) and August's Consultations in Feline Internal Medicine, Volume 7.

Sheilah Robertson (BVMS (Hons), PhD, DACVAA, DECVAA, DACAW, DECAWBM (WSEL), CVA, MRCVS.) is a graduate from the University of Glasgow with specialized training in anesthesia and pain management. She is board certified in anesthesia and in animal welfare by the respective American and European Colleges and holds a certificate in small animal acupuncture. Her research interests have focused on the recognition of pain in cats and feline specific pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of opioids. She is the senior medical director of Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice, a large network of veterinarians dedicated to end-of-life care. Dr Robertson is also a courtesy Professor in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

Walter Brown (BS. RVTg VTS (ECC)) is an Emergency and Critical Care specialty veterinary technologist, social media public figure, influencer, comedian, and founder of SKINNI GO LIVE LLC. Walter received his veterinary technology degree from Fort Valley State University and was academically trained in emergency and critical care at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. Walter is a veterinary technologist program liaison for United Veterinary Care. He combines his background in veterinary medicine with comedy to bring education and relief to veterinary professionals worldwide. He cultivates relationships with veterinary technology programs and provides students with opportunities and resources to pave the way for future career interests. His ultimate dream is to create veterinary assistant programs for inner-city and charter schools in low-income areas. In the meantime, his online content continues to go viral.

Jolle Kirpensteijn, Chief Veterinary Officer of Hill’s Pet Nutrition, graduated from the Utrecht University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, followed by a fellowship in surgical oncology at the Colorado State University Comparative Oncology Unit, USA. A Diplomate of the American and European College of Veterinary Surgeons, he was a professor of surgery and received the title Founding Fellow in Surgical Oncology of the ACVS. Past President of WSAVA, Jolle has published over 100 peer reviewed articles and 250 lectures worldwide reflecting his main clinical and research interest in surgical oncology, endoscopic and reconstructive surgery.

Following his medical science training in Amsterdam, Dr. Anninga specialized in paediatrics with a focus in haematology and oncology. He earned his PhD from Leiden University in 2013 (“Clinical and molecular features of high-grade osteosarcoma.”). Most recently Dr. Anninga is based in the princess Maxima Center for Oncology in Children in Utrecht, Netherlands, working to meet the cancer care needs of children and young adults.

Elli is a graduate of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and holds a postgraduate degree from the National School of Public Health in Athens, Greece. She is also a Professional Coach certified by Adler International, Toronto, Canada and a Certified Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. She has extensive experience in coaching and mentoring individuals, leading workshops and training business teams in several countries across Europe.
In 2017 she started her own business as an independent consultant originally based in Prague and later in Athens to help veterinary practitioners market their services, inspire, and motivate their teams and engage with clients. She is a member of the Board of the Hellenic Veterinary Medical Society and co-Chair of the WSAVA Professional Wellness Group.

Nienke Endenburg is a clinical psychologist and received her PhD for work on the human-animal relationship at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. Her research is centered around the welfare of humans and animals, and their relationship in different contexts and cultures. She is an associate professor focused on translating scientific evidence to practical information to optimize animal and human welfare. Nienke has extensive post-graduate and clinical experience in health and child psychology. She councils veterinary students and practicing veterinarians about professional wellness. Nienke is a member of the Dutch Council for Animal Affairs, the co-chair of the Professional Wellness Group of WSAVA and was a member of the Animal Welfare Guidelines committee. She was a former member of the Animal Welfare and Wellness Committee of WSAVA.

Sarah Holliday is a registered veterinary nurse with over 15 years’ experience in the veterinary profession. Sarah began in small animal practice gaining experience in orthopaedics, emergency and critical care and surgical nursing. She has previous experience in clinical coaching, lecturing and managing the nursing team. Sarah has worked with a vast selection of different species to include primates, seals and British wildlife. In 2015, Sarah joined the nursing team at a leading referral hospital specialising in soft tissue and oncology, and became the senior medical oncology nurse where she supports both the client and the patient during their oncology journey; providing client education, diagnostic imaging and oncology treatment. Sarah is passionate about delivering gold standard clinical standards, ensuring the oncology patient has a good quality of life and is provided with dignified end of life care.