For many in the veterinary profession, their career path is the fulfillment of a childhood dream. That was not true for Dr. Rebecca Smedley, biopsy coordinator and senior academic specialist in the Anatomic and Surgical Pathology Section at the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Neither was it true for second-year Anatomic Pathology resident, Dr. Allison Gerras. And their respective paths to veterinary pathology were similarly indirect and somewhat unexpected.
I owe a great deal to ALL my mentors.
— Dr. Rebecca Smedley
Early on, Smedley dreamed of being a teacher. But in junior high and high school, her interest and aptitude for biological sciences and her love of animals fused into an interest in veterinary medicine. As a high school senior, Smedley visited the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine and met Dr. Jon Patterson, now professor emeritus, Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation and former anatomic pathologist at the Laboratory.
“It was the first time I’d ever heard about a pathologist in veterinary medicine. I was pretty naïve at that age,” Smedley remembers. “I thought, ‘Who would want to do that? That seems rather morbid.’”
Gerras says she was 21 or 22 years old before she realized she wanted to go to vet school. She pursued a master’s degree because of her interest in comparative biology and zoology. During that program she started to learn more about pathology, lab animal medicine, and how vast the field of veterinary medicine can be.
“I processed tissue to look at them histologically and optimized immunohistochemical markers,” explains Gerras. “I just loved looking at something grossly and then breaking it down to a cellular and molecular level to see what the cells are doing and how you can link that to the rest of the animal. That interest in pathology stuck with me throughout vet school.”
Smedley credits Dr. Jon Patterson and Dr. Tom Mullaney, professor emeritus, Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation, and former associate director at the Laboratory, for her initial love of pathology. “They taught pathology classes when I was in vet school. They were such phenomenal teachers, and made it so much fun, that I fell in love with pathology during class and started going to gross rounds,” recalls Smedley. “And then somehow, they asked me to be a summer necropsy student—I had no idea that I would be any good at it—but it ended up being the best summer of my life, working out on the necropsy floor, doing necropsies with the pathology group. After that I was hooked.”
Gerras lights up remembering her time as a summer necropsy student at the Laboratory. "It was the best job ever. That’s what officially pushed me into going this route.”
While working as a small animal practitioner at Town & Country Animal Clinic in Greenville, Michigan for four years after graduation, Smedley realized that her favorite part of practice was surgery because she could see pathology lesions. She then applied for an anatomic pathology residency at MSU. During her residency, Smedley found that she liked the different patterns that can be seen in tumors and the cancer biology behind it. In addition to tumor pathology, especially melanocytic tumors, Smedley has a special interest in liver pathology. As she honed her areas of interest and expertise, her mentors played a critical role.
I love finding answers.
— Dr. Allison Gerras
“Dr. Mullaney was one of my mentors and he specialized in hepatic pathology—he was such a great teacher that he made it infectious.” says Smedley. “That’s what really drew me into liver pathology. Upon retirement, he gave me a complete teaching set of microscope slides of various liver lesions. I cherish this set because it reminds me of all the stories he would tell about these cool lesions. I learned so much from our entire team of pathologists during my residency and we all continue to learn from each other every day. I owe a great deal to ALL my mentors.”
In her residency, Gerras is actively seeking out experiences to hone her own interests in pathology. “I go to different rounds and spend as much time as I can immersing myself in what I’m doing—through ocular rounds led by Dr. Dodd Sledge, Anatomic Pathology section chief at the Laboratory, I’ve found that I have a real interest in ocular pathology. I’m also interested in research and toxicologic pathology, which is the program I’m in. In my third year of residency, I will go to Charles River Laboratories and learn more about laboratory animals as well as safety assessment for preclinical trials.”
Gerras continues, “From a resident’s point of view, I really like learning here. There are so many pathologists here, as well as residents; there are so many resources. It makes it easy to get opinions and consults from experts in different departments.”
Working in a diagnostic laboratory is not like working in clinical practice or research. On the surgical pathology side, pathologists like Smedley are primarily reading biopsies submitted by veterinarians and veterinary oncologists throughout Michigan and across the United States. They also get many submissions that come from countries around the globe. During the weeks when she’s on primary biopsy duty, Smedley reviews 30 to 40 biopsy cases per day. When she’s on back-up biopsy duty, she has about 15 cases assigned to her daily. That work is incredibly rewarding.
“I love helping veterinarians and owners get answers and find out what’s going on with their pet. We don’t provide treatment, but I enjoy being able to talk to veterinarians and give them a prognosis, point them in the right direction so that the animal gets the best treatment they possibly can,” says Smedley.
In addition to biopsy duty, Gerras spends 30 percent of her time on necropsy duty. Performing postmortem examinations to identify underlying disease or conditions that may have contributed to an animal’s death is rewarding for her.
“I love finding answers,” explains Gerras. “Some of the most challenging cases are herd animal necropsies. Those can be difficult because multiple animals could be affected but we may only get one for necropsy making communication and understanding of what is occurring in a herd or colony very important. When I can help farmers and veterinarians find answers, I really enjoy that. It may be helping them locate management resources or suggesting follow-up testing for other animals in the herd.”
For Smedley, another large component of her work is training and mentoring Gerras and the other pathology residents. “I enjoy teaching the next generation like Allie and helping them to become good pathologists and diagnosticians. That’s a rewarding part of my job—seeing the residents progress from their first year to their third year and then out into life as a pathologist. Training the next generation of pathologists was a primary goal of my early mentors and I feel fortunate to be able to pass on that training. My job has allowed me to combine my early love of animals, biology, and teaching.”
Because of the wide breadth of the caseload at the Laboratory, Smedley and Gerras have seen an enormous variety of species submitted through the biopsy and necropsy services. They recently had a biopsy sample from a butterfly, a case that they worked on together, but other memorable submissions have included polar bears, bobcats, camels, sea lions, and sloths. Of course, there are also plenty of dogs, cats, horses, cows, pigs, poultry, and other domestic animals.
“It’s really fun and you have to dig into the books when you get something that you’ve never seen before,” says Gerras.
Away from work, Smedley’s and Gerras’s pets are almost as diverse as the caseload they see at the Laboratory. Gerras has two greyhounds and two snakes, a ball python and a red tail boa constrictor. Smedley has a black lab, a cat, three sheep, two goats, and seven chickens.
