Dr. Hilary Clayton graduated as a veterinarian and worked in a mixed veterinary practice for two years before becoming returning to academia to complete a PhD. She was a faculty member with responsibilities for teaching and research at veterinary colleges in Great Britain, The Netherlands and Canada before moving to the US in 1997 as the first incumbent of the Mary Anne McPhail Dressage Chair in Equine Sports Medicine at Michigan State University. Dr. Clayton’s research focuses on equine sports medicine, especially biomechanics and conditioning of sport horses, and the interaction between rider and horse. She uses a variety of equipment, including motion analysis, an array of force plates, a saddle pressure mat, rein tension sensors and electromyography, to analyze the horse’s gaits and movement patterns and the response to different types of tack, equipment and riding styles. Recently, she has focussed her research efforts on performing evidence-based research to measure the effects of physiotherapeutic techniques in horses. She has published six books (Conditioning Sport Horses, Colour Atlas of Large Animal Applied Anatomy, Equine Locomotion, The Dynamic Horse, Clinical Anatomy of the Horse, Activate Your Horse’s Core) and many scientific manuscripts and magazine articles.

Dr. Clayton is a Past President of the Association for Equine Sports Medicine. She is Vice President of the American College of Veterinary Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine and is a member of the US Equestrian Federation’s Dressage Committee. She has been awarded the Norden Distinguished Teacher Award and has been inducted into the International Equine Veterinarians Hall of Fame, the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and the Midwest Dressage Association Hall of Fame. She has competed in a variety of equestrian sports including eventing, show jumping, combined driving and polo. She currently shows dressage horses up to the Grand Prix level and has earned the US Dressage Federation’s gold, silver and bronze medals.

Dr. Linda Blythe did all her veterinary training at University of California Davis, including a DVM in 1974, large animal internship in 1975 and a PhD program in Comparative Pathology in 1979. She was then recruited to start the new veterinary college at Oregon State University in 1978 and has remained there for her entire academic career because Oregon is just a wonderful place to live and work.

Her research focus initially was on the nervous system of the horse. She mapped the cutaneous innervation of the fore and hindlimbs using neurophysiological instrumentation. Discovery of temporohyoid osteoarthropathy and the role of vitamin E in equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy were hallmarks of her research in horses. Dr. Blythe then turned her attention to the needs of greyhounds, both racing and retired and was the lead author on two textbooks, Care of the Racing Greyhound and Care of the Racing and Retired Greyhound, as well as a number of research articles on these dogs.

Excited by what she learned about rehabilitation of animals while on sabbatical leave in Australia, she organized the First International Veterinary Symposium on Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy in 1999, which has continued every two to three years in either the USA or Europe. Dr. Blythe was on the organizing committee for establishment of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation as a board certified specialty in the AVMA.

Her first love though is working with students, teaching neuroscience and canine sports medicine. She has twice received the Norden Teacher of the Year Award and also the OSU Burlington Award for Teaching Excellence. In 2010, she was inducted into the Greyhound Hall of Fame.

Dr. James (Jimi) Cook received a BS degree from Florida State University in 1988. After a short career as a professional water skier, he completed the DVM degree in 1994 at the University of Missouri. He then went on to a small animal rotating internship at the University of Minnesota. He returned to the University of Missouri in 1995 for a dual PhD-Small Animal Surgery Residency program. He completed his PhD in Pathobiology in 1998 and became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1999. His PhD research involved developing a unique in vitro system of chondrocyte culture for studying osteoarthritis.

In 1999, he co-founded the Comparative Orthopaedic Laboratory at the University of Missouri, which is a research laboratory involving the College of Veterinary Medicine, The School of Medicine, and The College of Engineering. Today, more than 30 scientists are currently involved in this laboratory’s research in the areas of osteoarthritis, tissue engineering, and articular cartilage physiology. He has over 100 peer-reviewed publications to his credit in both the veterinary and human medical literature. He has received extensive funding for his research, including grants from The National Institutes of Health, The Orthopaedic Trauma Association, The Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Zimmer, DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc, and Arthrex. He has received numerous awards including America’s Best Veterinarian in 2007, the Orthopaedic Research Society’s New Investigator Recognition Award, the Norden Distinguished Teacher Award, MU Alumnus of the Year, MU Faculty-Alumni Award, The Bloomberg Memorial Research Award, The Hohn-Johnson Research Award, The Bojrab Research Award, The MU Graduate and Professional Council Gold Chalk Award, and The University of Missouri Superior Graduate Achievement Award.

Dr. Cook was president of the Veterinary Orthopedic Society for 2008-2009. He holds six US Patents and has seen two biomedical devices through to FDA approval and human clinical trials. His clinical interests are in arthroscopy, minimally invasive orthopaedic surgery, orthopaedic tissue engineering, cartilage repair, and management of osteoarthritis. He regularly speaks at major national and international meetings. He currently has a dual appointment at the University of Missouri in Small Animal Orthopaedics and Orthopaedic Surgery (human), and is the Director of The Comparative Orthopaedic Laboratory and the William & Kathryn Allen Distinguished Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery. He is also the co-founder and co-director along with his wife Dr. Cristi Cook (also faculty in Vet Med) of Be The Change Vacations — a non-profit organization dedicated to building schools in third world countries so that children around the world can receive the opportunities that only education can provide.

Dr. Sherman Canapp, originally from Maryland, completed a combined DVM/MS at Kansas State University in 1999 with his Masters in Clinical Science in Surgery. After graduation, Dr. Canapp completed an internship in small animal medicine and surgery at the University of Missouri followed by a three-year residency in small animal surgery at the University of Florida. Dr. Canapp became a member of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2004. In 2005, Dr. Canapp completed his certification in Canine Rehabilitation.

Dr. Canapp completed his masters research, resident research, and advanced training in the treatment of joint diseases. Dr. Canapp’s current research is in the area of regenerative medicine for the treatment of sports related soft tissue injuries. Dr. Canapp is a reviewer for many scientific veterinary journals. He publishes and lectures frequently on the subjects of osteoarthritis, sports medicine, rehabilitation therapy and canine arthroscopy. In 2007, Dr. Canapp was elected as the founding president of the American Association of Rehabilitation Veterinarians (AARV). In 2009, Dr. Canapp was included as an instructor for the Canine Rehab Institute.

Dr. Canapp currently practices orthopedic surgery and sports medicine at the Veterinary Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Group (VOSM) in Annapolis Junction, MD where he is Chief of Staff. Dr. Canapp is also an orthopedic surgery and sports medicine consultant for the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the Maryland Zoo, the Washington D.C. and Regional Police K-9 Units and Search and Rescue dogs, TSA, NSA and Military K-9 units, the Washington D.C. Animal Rescue League, National agility, fly ball, field trial, and disc dog organizations, Nutramax Laboratories, Edgewood, MD, Merial Animal Health Company, Smith & Nephew, Inc., and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The area of particular interest to Dr. Canapp is canine sports related injury and arthroscopy. In addition to the use of regenerative medicine for the treatment of sports related injury (shoulder and Achilles tendon injuries), Dr. Canapp’s current research studies include the use of functional hinged stifle braces for cranial cruciate ligament injury; canine diagnostic joint blocking; Intra-articular injections (Hyaluronic acid; Cortisone) for the treatment of elbow osteoarthritis; therapeutic ultrasound (EXOGEN) on the healing of TPLOs; Canine Unicompartmental Elbow Resurfacing (CUE); and the effects of glucuronoxylan sulfate sodium for the treatment of osteoarthritis (FDA efficacy trial).

Dr. Kevin Haussler is an Assistant Professor at the Equine Orthopaedic Research Center at Colorado State University and is involved in research into the objective assessment of pain, spinal-related disorders and the initiation of chiropractic and physical therapy/rehabilitation research for the management of musculoskeletal injuries.

His research interests are investigating the causes and treatment of musculoskeletal pain and injuries; developing objective assessment techniques of back pain and stiffness; evaluating spinal movement and the conservative (non-surgical) management of back problems and sacroiliac joint disorders; assessing spinal conformation in horses as it relates to saddle fit; and clinical research in the areas of veterinary chiropractic, physical therapy modalities, and musculoskeletal rehabilitation.

Dr. Haussler graduated from The Ohio State University, College of Veterinary Medicine and completed a small animal internship in Sacramento, California. To further his training in the conservative management of spinal-related disorders, he attended Palmer College of Chiropractic-West and completed the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association certification. In 1992, he began a private veterinary chiropractic practice for both equine and small animal patients.

He also attended the University of California-Davis to pursue a Ph.D. in spinal anatomy and pathology in thoroughbred racehorses and completed post-doctorate training at Cornell University involving the evaluation of normal back mobility, back muscle pain and spinal flexibility in horses. While at Cornell, he directed the newly formed Integrative Medicine Service which provided chiropractic, acupuncture and physical therapy services to both small and large animals.

Dr. Joe Wakshlag completed his DVM at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1998 and continued residency training in pathology from 1998-2000. From 2001-2005 he completed a Clinical Nutrition residency training program and a PhD in pharmacology, becoming board certified in Veterinary Nutrition in 2008. After a short time in private practice he returned to Cornell University as a Clinical Nutritionist in 2006. During his professional and graduate education to present day, he has been personally involved in sled dog racing and is the owner of a small kennel of Alaskan Husky sled dogs. Dr. Wakshlag is well published in the area of canine sports medicine and skeletal muscle physiology examining areas such as the acute phase response of exercise, exercise effects on glucose and glycogen metabolism during, and the effects of diet and exercise on skeletal muscle proteolysis.

Dr. Zink is a Professor and Director in Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. She also is President of Canine Sports Productions and a Veterinary Sports Trainer at Veterinary Orthopedic Sports Medicine Group.

Dr. Zink received her DVM (summa cum laude) in 1978 from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. She also earned a PhD from the University of Guelph in 1985 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in 1988.

Dr. Zink consults with owners of canine athletes on a variety of sports medicine-related subjects including, retraining for performance after injuries/surgery, techniques for training and competing with dogs that have developmental/genetic disorders such as hip or elbow dysplasia, gait analysis, and lameness evaluation.

Dr. Zink teaches the Canine Sports Medicine course for the Canine Rehabilitation Institute. From 1993 to the present, Dr. Zink also has presented more than 100 two-day Coaching the Canine Athlete® seminars in the US, Canada, South Africa, Japan, and Australia.

Her research interests include canine gait and gait analysis in performance dogs, relationship of structure to canine performance, and effects of gonadectomy on structure and behavior of performance dogs.

In 2009, Dr. Zink was named AWVF’s Woman Veterinarian of the Year. She also received the DWAA Maxwell Award in 2005 for Best Series in an All-Breed Magazine and the DWAA President’s Award for Best Dog Publication of 2008. Dr. Zink has been featured in articles in Dog Fancy and Dog World magazines.

Dr. Andris Kaneps is a surgeon, lameness diagnostician, and clinical practitioner at the New England Equine Medical and Surgical Center in Dover, NH. He is a 1978 graduate of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Kaneps completed his Master’s degree and Equine Surgery Residency in 1981 at The Ohio State University. He completed his doctorate at the University of California-Davis in 1994.

Dr. Kaneps gained his sport horse practice experience in Minnesota, Oregon, California, and New England. He served as a faculty member of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University and The Ohio State University and at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California-Davis.

An author of multiple scientific articles, Dr. Kaneps is the co-editor and author of Equine Sports Medicine and Surgery (Saunders 2004) and Equine Exercise Physiology (Saunders 2007). With Dr. Steve Adair at the University of Tennessee he developed the curriculum for, and teaches in, the certification program for equine physical therapy that results in the designation Certified Equine Rehabilitation Practitioner (CERP).

As a member of the organizing committee of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dr. Kaneps was part of the collaborative effort that resulted in AVMA recognition of this new veterinary specialty. He is a charter Diplomate of the organization, serves as a Regent on the Board of Directors and as co-chair of the curriculum/examination committee.

Dr. Kaneps specializes in equine orthopedic and soft tissue surgery, lameness diagnosis and treatment, sport horse performance issues and equine physical treatment.

Dr. Christopher Kawcak is one of the Senior Scientists and Associate Professor, Iron Rose Ranch Chair at the Equine Orthopaedic Research Center at Colorado State University.

His educational background includes; PhD Clinical Sciences, 1998, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO; MS in Clinical Sciences, 1995, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO; Resident in large animal surgery, 1992-1995, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO; Intern, 1991-1992, Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, KY; DVM, 1991, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO; Bachelors Degree in Veterinary Science, 1988, University of Nevada, Reno, NV.

Dr. Kawcak’s clinical interests include lameness diagnosis and orthopaedic surgery.

Dr. Kawcak’s research interests include subchondral bone histomorphometry, biomechanics, and imaging of early subchondral disease in pathogenesis of joint disease. Dr. Kawcak joined the CSU faculty in 1998 as an Assistant Professor after completing his PhD. His collaborations with the Biomedial Engineering Program at CSU and other laboratories worldwide have allowed for more sophisticated assessment of joint disease and healing. Dr. Kawcak is currently involved with research projects evaluating a new type of horseshoe, the effects of exercise on the incidence of musculoskeletal injury, and the development of computerized models of joints. He has many publications and has been an invited speaker in Europe.

His honors include: Ken Atkinson Scholar in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; 1995-98.