Veterinary Vertex
Veterinary Vertex

Veterinary Vertex

AVMA Journals

Overview
Episodes

Details

Veterinary Vertex is a weekly podcast that takes you behind the scenes of the clinical and research discoveries published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) and the American Journal of Veterinary Research (AJVR). Tune in to learn about cutting-edge veterinary research and gain in-depth insights you won’t find anywhere else. Come away with knowledge you can put to use in your own practice – along with a healthy dose of inspiration to remind you what you love about veterinary medicine. 

Recent Episodes

Companion Animals and H5N1: What Vets and Owners Should Know
DEC 23, 2025
Companion Animals and H5N1: What Vets and Owners Should Know
Send us a text A spike in feline H5N1 cases has many of us asking the same question: how did bird flu end up in our living rooms? We sit down with author and clinician Dr. Jane Sykes to map the path from migratory birds to household pets, spotlighting the two biggest drivers of risk for cats—predation on infected wildlife and contaminated raw diets. The conversation is candid, practical, and rooted in current data, with clear guidance for veterinarians and pet owners who want to reduce danger...
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18 MIN
Bumped-Kinase Inhibitors: A New Path Toward Treating EPM in Horses
DEC 20, 2025
Bumped-Kinase Inhibitors: A New Path Toward Treating EPM in Horses
Send us a text A small structural “bump” on a molecule might be the big breakthrough EPM care has been waiting for. We sit down with researcher and clinician Izabela de Assis Rocha to unpack how bumped kinase inhibitors exploit a tiny difference between parasite and mammalian kinases to hit Sarcocystis neurona where it hurts—motility, invasion, and replication—while sparing the horse. It’s a molecular strategy with practical promise, and the conversation bridges the stall, the lab, and the fu...
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13 MIN
Calmer Pets, Safer Vets: The Power of Low-Stress Care
DEC 13, 2025
Calmer Pets, Safer Vets: The Power of Low-Stress Care
Send us a text A calmer patient isn’t just a kinder visit—it’s a safer workplace. We sit down with researchers Drs. Gene Pavlovsky and Ellen Everett to unpack new data showing that veterinary teams see decreases in bites and scratches when every staff member completes low-stress handling certification. Partial participation helped culture in pockets, but it didn’t move the needle on injuries. The lesson is clear: safety is a system, not a solo skill. We trace where stress truly starts, from ...
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26 MIN
Weighing the Evidence and the Options: Spectrum of Care
DEC 5, 2025
Weighing the Evidence and the Options: Spectrum of Care
Send us a text What if the “gold standard” isn’t the only standard that delivers real results? We sit down with guest editor Dr. Emma Read to explore Spectrum of Care, the evidence-based approach that empowers veterinarians to present a range of medically sound options tailored to each client’s budget, lifestyle, and ability to follow through. Instead of treating alternatives as compromises, we show how tiered choices reduce moral distress, expand access to care, and still protect outcomes fo...
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17 MIN
Draft Horse Colic Myths, Debunked
NOV 27, 2025
Draft Horse Colic Myths, Debunked
Send us a text Think draft horses “do worse” with colic? We put that belief on trial and let the data speak. With equine practitioner and researcher Dr. Jennifer Burns as our guest, we unpack why survival isn’t about breed status—it’s about when the horse arrives and how quickly we act. Drafts are famously stoic, which can mask early pain and delay referral. By the time they reach the hospital, heart rate, lactate, and abdominal protein often paint a sicker picture. The takeaway is both pract...
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19 MIN