Announcing the 2024 Diplomates of the American Board of Veterinary Toxicology

Michelle Carlino, DVM, DABT, DABVT

Dr. Michelle Carlino received her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from the University of Iowa in 2007. After interning at the Shedd Aquarium, Brookfield Zoo, and working in veterinary clinics, she decided to pursue becoming a doctor of veterinary medicine and attended Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, graduating in 2014. After graduation she worked in general practice and at an in-home hospice care and euthanasia organization before finding her way into veterinary toxicology in 2016. She has worked in the veterinary toxicology field ever since. She is currently an Associate Veterinarian in Clinical Toxicology at Pet Poison Helpline and she became a diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology in 2021. She has 3 dogs and 4 cats who keep her very busy. When not at work, she loves reading, kayaking, hiking, cooking, and spending time with her friends and family.

Chelsea Sykes, DVM, DABVT

Dr. Chelsea Sykes was born and raised in central California. She obtained her DVM at the University of California, Davis in 2012 and then practiced small animal medicine for 4 years in Florida. She then transitioned to high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter surgery and moved to Kentucky to become the surgery lead at the SNIP Clinic in Louisville. Many run ins with algal blooms, poisonous animals, and drug-drug interaction consultations lead her to apply for a residency in veterinary toxicology. She completed a vet toxicology residency at the California Animal Health & Food Safety Lab System in the spring of 2024 and is now the toxicologist at the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Washington state. She enjoys hiking with her dog, spending time on the water, traveling, and baking.  

Jennifer Kendall, DVM, DABT, DABVT

Dr. Jennifer Kendall grew up in North Carolina and graduated from North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2016. Following graduation, she moved to Washington for an internship and subsequently worked as an emergency veterinarian in the Seattle area until joining the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center in 2020 where she currently works. She lives in Idaho with her husband, cat, two dogs, and eight chickens. Her favorite hobbies are gardening (fruits & veggies), food preservation, cooking, reading, and playing in the great outdoors.

Sara Lister, DVM, DABT, DABVT

Dr. Sara Lister is originally from Oklahoma. She obtained her veterinary degree from Oklahoma State University's College of Veterinary Medicine in 2007 and subsequently did an internship in emergency medicine in Washington, D.C., after which she worked primarily in emergency medicine with some general practice sprinkled in over 12 years. She began working at the APSCA Animal Poison Control Center in 2019 and became a diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology in 2022. She currently live in Illinois with her fiancé Nick and is "owned by" 3 cats (Matt Damon, Stewart, and Lt. Dan) and 1 Brussels Griffon (Tyrion). 

Robert Kinobe BVM (Hon), Ph.D, MANZCVSC, GCE, DABVT

Robert attained a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery with Honours at Makerere University (1996), following which he worked as a Veterinarian and Associate Lecturer at the same university for three years. In 2004, Robert completed a PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology, studying the role of cytochrome P450 enzymes in the initiation of antiepileptic drug induced hypersensitivity reactions, at the University of Queensland in Australia. This was followed by two Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (2004-2008) with the Canadian Institute of Health, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada at the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, and Queens University in Ontario Canada. Robert was then appointed to faculty in the College of Public Health, Medical & Veterinary Sciences at James Cook University as Lecturer (2008), Senior Lecturer (2013), and Associate Professor (2024). Robert is not in clinical practice presently, but he shares a passion for research in applied clinical pharmacology and toxicology, and undergraduate as well as postgraduate teaching. Robert has authored/co-authored numerous peer reviewed publications in basic Pharmacology & Toxicology, Experimental Therapeutics, Nutraceutics and Antimicrobial Resistance. Robert is also a qualified member and past President for the Veterinary Pharmacology Chapter of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists.

Sarah Alpert, DVM, DABT, DABVT

Dr. Sarah Alpert graduated from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine with her DVM degree in 2008. Following this, she worked in clinical practice and taught in a veterinary technician program. For the past 9 years, she has been at an animal poison control center where she has been able to share her joy of toxicology with other veterinarians, industry partners, and other veterinary professionals. She will soon be commissioning in the US Army as a Field Veterinary Service Officer and is looking forward to her first position which will focus on food and water safety as well as laboratory testing while based in Europe. She is eager to join the ranks of fellow diplomates of the ABVT! She and her husband (of one month) live in Minneapolis with their 3 dogs and are embracing the chaos of all the changes and adventures to come. She enjoys pottery, hiking, kayaking, travel, and lazy days with her family.  

Leah Swanson, DVM, DABT, DABVT

Dr. Leah Swanson obtained her BS from Eastern Washington University and DVM from St. George’s University, spending her fourth year at Washington State University in 2012. After graduation, she worked at a busy general practice and emergency clinic in Washington state. She started her career in clinical toxicology in 2017 with ASPCA APCC and moved to Pet Poison Helpline in 2024. Dr. Swanson became a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology (DABT) in 2022 and a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Toxicology (DABVT) in 2024.

Outside of her love for veterinary medicine and toxicology, Dr. Swanson enjoys reading, gardening, spending time with friends and family, and is an avid foodie. She aspires to cultivate her own poisonous plant garden one day. Dr. Swanson resides in South Carolina with her significant other and 2 dogs named Olive (Bernese mix) and Wolsey (Miniature Poodle/Gremlin mix).

Kallesh Jayappa, BVSc & AH, MVSc, PhD, DABVT

Kallesh Jayappa is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Medicine, University of Virginia (UVA), Charlottesville, VA. He earned Bachelor of Veterinary Science & Animal Husbandry (BVSc & AH, DVM equivalent) and Master of Veterinary Science (MVSc) degrees from India. He then practiced mixed animal veterinary medicine while working as Veterinary Officer in India, before joining the PhD program at the University of Manitoba, Canada. After receiving PhD, Dr. Jayappa joined the UVA and has been leading the collaborative research on cancer drug discovery in human and companion animals suffering from hematological malignancies. His multidisciplinary team consists of physician scientists, nanochemists, toxicologists, and molecular biologists. Dr. Jayappa currently resides in Charlottesville with his family. In his free time, he enjoys reading, visiting animal clinics, and travel. 

Colette Wegenast, DVM, DABT, DABVT             

Dr. Colette Wegenast is a graduate of Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and has been with the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) since 2007. She has enjoyed helping pet owners and veterinarians manage toxicology cases through different roles at the ASPCA, most recently as the Director of Quality Assurance for the APCC. Dr. Wegenast is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology (ABT) and embraces opportunities to collaborate on projects involving publishing APCC data trends and exchanging ideas and information. Her two orange cat supervisors (Claire and Cal) keep her on task at work, and she is kept busy outside of work by her husband and two kids.