American Association of Veterinary Anatomists

David Cross, President

Welcome to the website of the American Association of Veterinary Anatomists. The AAVA is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the advancement of veterinary anatomical science. We are continuing to update this site in the hopes that it will serve as a useful resource for veterinary anatomists. We have links to a number of sites including a repository of anatomical photos. I have used the latter to supplement pictures I use on presentations and they were very handy when we were shutdown due to the panademic.

Thank you for your interest in our association. Stay safe and get vaccinated. Hopefully things will eventually get back to some semblance of “normalcy”. If you have questions that this site does not answer, please feel free to contact me at crossdt@missouri.edu.

Dave Cross, AAVA President

Karen Hershberger-Braker, Corresponding Secretary, Membership Secretary – Treasurer

Karen is a lecturer in the Departments of Comparative and Pathobiological Science at University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison), School of Veterinary Medicine. She completed her PhD in Virology at Harvard University, then did post-doctoral work on influenza at UW-Madison. Karen earned her DVM at UW-Madison in 2010. Motivated by her long-standing interest in education, Karen taught veterinary technology at a small school before joining the staff at UW-Madison in 2017. One of her favorite aspects of teaching is showing students the practical application of their coursework to clinical procedures. In addition to teaching both large and small animal anatomy, Karen is involved in research on ultrasound-guided regional anesthetic blocks. Her outside activities include frequent participation in local spay-neuter clinics, where she can help provide veterinary services to patients in underserved communities.

khershberger@wisc.edu

Shireen A. Hafez, President-Elect

I am a veterinarian with a PhD in Anatomy, as well as a certificate and a diploma in education. After I graduated from my alma mater Virginia Tech I have taught in five very diverse AAVMC member veterinary schools and two medical schools. This experience allowed me to broaden my outlook and to “live” several curricular designs and teaching techniques in action. I can think “outside my institution’s box” as a result.

I published several articles in the field of angiogenesis before switching to educational research. My research is focused on improving students’ educational experiences. I am particularly interested in emotional intelligence and its relationship to learning as well as curriculum design and outcome assessment.

My goal in serving the association is driven by my passion for anatomy. Anatomy is a vital component of veterinary professional training that must be preserved and enhanced. My commitment to the discipline has only grown stronger over the years, so much so that I need to do more than help students; it is time to officially serve my beloved discipline and all my fellow anatomists. My goal is to serve all anatomists at different levels. I will do my best to enhance the mission and impact of the association.

I appreciate your trust. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I look forward to serving and support.

Shireen A. Hafez, DVM, PhD, PGCertVetEd, FHEA, PgDipVetEd,
AAVA President-Elect
Associate Professor of Anatomy
shafez@vt.edu