University of Florida
Pre-Veterinary Medicine Club
House Program
This program was implemented in Spring 2020 to promote participation, engagement, and connection among members. All PVMC members have been randomly divided into 4 groups, called Houses, that are each named after a distinguished alumni from UF's College of Veterinary Medicine. Each House contains a variety of members of different ages, interests, and backgrounds to promote diversity. The House System will also create new leadership positions to help build overall excitement towards team-oriented goals. The Houses will be an all inclusive way to promote bonding that will be essential not only in vet school, but in a future career as a veterinarian. For further explanation, view the powerpoints below!
Meet the Houses
Dr. Julio Ibañez has achieved a variety of accomplishments throughout his life. Dr. Ibañez graduated from the first veterinary class at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in 1980. He is currently the owner of Quail Roost Animal Hospital located in Miami. He has been actively involved in the Florida Veterinary Medical Association. Dr. Ibañez has received numerous awards, one being the FVMA's Gold Star Award in 2003 for outstanding contributions to veterinary medicine. He also received the Alumni Achievement Award with his colleague, Dr. Kaplan-Stein. For many years, he has been included in the Dean’s Circle of Excellence. Dr. Ibañez has served on the executive boards of the South Florida Veterinary Medical Association and the South Florida Veterinary Foundation. He visits the UF CVM for many events throughout the year with his wife, Maria. Overall, Dr. Julio Ibañez is involved with the University and contributes his time, talent, and knowledge into research for the College of Veterinary Medicine.
In 2009, Dr. Dani McVety graduated from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine and started her own business just three months later. Inspired by one of her emergency patients and her love of the human-animal bond, Dr. McVety began an in-home euthanasia service called Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice. She later partnered with Dr. Mary Gardner and together they have created a team of over 90 veterinarians and have helped more than 50,000 families from all over the country. Dr. McVety shows us what it means to be innovative in the field of veterinary medicine. What started as a side-gig to help pay back student loans, is now one of the fastest growing and unique businesses in the industry.
Besides her role as a veterinarian and entrepreneur, Dr. McVety is a speaker, writer, and consultant who often presents for professional and student audiences. She discusses a variety of topics that include the art of communication, confronting burnout, fostering innovation in a changing field, overcoming failure, and everything in between. Calling upon her past experiences, Dr. McVety encourages students and professionals to learn from their failures and use these challenges to better themselves both personally and professionally. Dr. McVety has also been the recipient of many awards and honors such as the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine’s Distinguished Young Alumni Award (2013), the Florida Veterinary Medical Association’s President’s Award (2014), and Pet Industry Woman of the Year (2016).
Dr. Dana Zimmel graduated from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine with a passion in neonatology, exercise physiology, and endocrine diseases. She joined the University of Florida staff in 2002, and became a clinical professor in the large animal clinical sciences. In 2010, she became chief of staff of the University of Florida’s veterinary hospitals. She held this position until she was appointed associate dean in 2015. During her time as chief of staff and associate dean, patient caseload doubled at the UF Veterinary hospitals. As of 2020, Dr. Zimmel was declared the Interim Dean for the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine and continues to hold this position today.
In addition to being in a leadership role at the University of Florida, Dr. Zimmel has been granted such accolades as the University of Florida Alumni Achievement Award, the Outstanding Contribution Award from the Florida Association of Equine Practitioners, and she has twice received the University of Florida Superior Accomplishment Award. After working for almost 20 years at the University of Florida, Dr. Zimmel possesses a wealth of knowledge of the veterinary field. Having the opportunity to work alongside her through the new University of Florida Pre-Veterinary Club House Program will be an incredible and highly educational experience.
Dr. Tyrell Kahan, UF College of Veterinary Medicine graduate class of 2011, represents the vast potential that veterinarians possess upon graduation with a DVM degree. After obtaining both his Bachelor’s in Animal Sciences and DVM from the University of Florida, Dr. Kahan went on to practice small animal medicine. After three years in small animal practice, he moved to Rwanda to explore parasite transmission between humans and mountain gorillas. During this time, he also worked with Veterinarians Without Borders in Uganda to survey the prevalence of tuberculosis and brucellosis in humans and livestock species. Upon returning to the United States, Dr. Kahan continued his education by working towards his Master’s in Development Practice from Emory University. More recently, he served as a pre-med instructor at the Cambridge College of Healthcare and Technology and currently works as a livestock research advisor for USAID in Washington, D.C.
Outside of his daily work schedule, Dr. Kahan has written many publications, covering a broad spectrum of topics which include but are not limited to: biosecurity, livestock production, and parasite infestation. He has worked with non-profit organizations, such as Oceana, which works to preserve and restore our world’s oceans on a national scale. He has received awards such as Outstanding Youth Alumni from UFCVM and the AAAS Cash Incentive Award from the USAID Bureau for Food Security. On top of his outstanding work in the veterinary and medical fields, Dr. Kahan speaks four languages! He is the embodiment of well-roundedness and passion that we should each strive for, recognizing how much he has already accomplished in just nine years.
Click the icon to learn more about the House System!
Not sure what House you are in? Email our secretary at ufpvmcsecretary@gmail.com.