Episode 63: A day in the life of a veterinary toxicologic pathologist

Monique Y. Wells, VMD, MS, was set on being a veterinarian from a young age, but when she began her journey at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, doubts of this pursuit began surfacing. However, when she persevered into her second year, she instantly fell in love with the niche field known as pathology.

On this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Wells shared with Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, what ignited her passion, plus the nuts and bolts of being a toxicologic pathologist.

“[What resonated with me in pathology] was getting to the bottom of things, so the exploration of the ‘final answer’ as to what was making an animal ill or dead, but also...what I knew about pathology at the time which was doing biopsies and necropsies and things like that. Just the visual aspect of it was so compelling to me," Wells said.

Wells then touched upon the toxicology aspect of her career and how she focuses on understanding harmful chemicals.

“Toxicology in the industry is focused on the development of chemical products…and all of those things that have a potential of causing harm, the toxicologic pathologist is looking at those entities—those chemicals—and seeing how much of them are required to cause harm, how they cause harm, and whether those harmful things can be reversed after a certain period of time.”

Listen below to hear more about Well's fascinating career and discover how she has been using it as a platform to help propel veterinary medicine in developing countries.

Editors note: All veterinary technician content for this month is supported by Banfield Pet Hospital.