As the College celebrates Women in Research this month, we recognize the many scientific contributions of our veterinary alumnae like Dr. Ann Donoghue! She has earned three degrees from MSU: a bachelor’s degree in animal science from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources in 1983, a doctor of veterinary medicine degree in 1987, and a master of science degree in parasitology in 1992 from the College of Veterinary Medicine. Donoghue also recently established an endowed scholarship to support the next generation of veterinary professionals.
What is your current job?
I’m self-employed as a regulatory affairs/clinical development/quality assurance consultant. I help companies navigate the drug approval process, from proof of concept through to FDA approval.
February is Women in Research Month, and we’re celebrating our many veterinary medicine alumnae in research-related fields. What are some research projects you’ve been involved in?
I’ve been involved, or conducted research, in:
- Flea control products for dogs
- Liver fluke diagnosis in cattle and sheep
- Pseudorabies vaccines for pigs
- Fenbendazole for pigs, horses, cats, turkeys and dogs
- Ectoparasiticides for cattle and pigs
- Heartworm diagnostics for dogs and cats in the US, Japan, and Italy
- Slow-release heartworm preventive for dogs
- Growth promotant in cattle
- Slow-release treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension in humans
- Cancer treatment for dogs
- Growth product for eels, and
- Treatment for lice on salmon!
What advice would you give to current veterinary students or students interested in veterinary medicine as a career?
Go for it and keep your mind and heart wide open. When you start, you may think you want to go into companion animal practice, and then find that you love dairy cattle and end up as a dairy specialist, or working for USDA. With a veterinary degree, you can do so many different things.
What led to your decision to create an endowed scholarship fund with the College?
I am a grateful graduate of the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine. My career in veterinary medicine has given me great joy, expansive life experiences, interactions with brilliant people, the ability to make a difference in animal health, and the life-long friendship of classmates. There are so many possibilities and opportunities for veterinarians. However, the cost of obtaining that degree can be prohibitive—I want to help future vets get there! I didn’t graduate debt free, but my debt was manageable. I hope that this scholarship encourages a student to pursue a veterinary medicine career by being able to graduate debt-free or with manageable debt.
How has your MSU veterinary education shaped your life?
Everything about my education as a veterinarian has shaped my life, where I live, what I do, who I interact with!
Who were your favorite professors and why?
Dr. Tjaart Schillhorn van Veen – an unconventional Dutchman who really cared and helped me to find my calling.
Dr. Carla Carleton – deeply committed to making sure her students did well.
Are you part of any professional organizations?
- American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists, President –2005-2006
- World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology, Secretary/Treasurer – 1999-2009
- American Society of Parasitology, various committees
- Larimer County Veterinary Medical Association, President 2013-2015, Secretary/Treasurer (current)
- Society of Quality Assurance, member
- Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Society of Quality Assurance, Director (current)
- American Association of Industry Veterinarians, Executive Board 1991 - 1995
- Entomological Society of America
- Various state and local VMAs and parasitology groups
What are your hobbies or interests outside of veterinary medicine?
Music – I play bassoon in two community bands and a community orchestra, flute in The Harmonic Ketones, a flute quartet, and piano. I have been a member of The Northern Colorado Concert Band for 24 years and vice president for about 10 years.
Swimming – long distance, open-water swimming, including the Horsetooth 10k Swim, Moroccan Swim Trek, and this year, hopefully, the Bosphorus Strait Swim and the English Channel on a relay team. I’m an organizing committee member of the Horsetooth Open Water Swims (annual swim competition) in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Knitting – I volunteer for Knitted Knockers, making breast prostheses for breast cancer survivors.
Plus, gardening, reading, astronomy (former President of the Northern Colorado Astronomical Society), ham radio, and being an election judge (for my county).
What’s your favorite way to celebrate being a Spartan?
Boasting about all the amazing things MSU does and is.
