Veterinarian follows a call to dermatology

Photo: Kristen Coppock Crossley/dvm360

Joya Griffin, DVM, DACVD, loves seeing her patients experience ‘extreme makeovers.’ The practicing dermatologist in Louisville, Kentucky—and star of television’s Nat Geo Wild unscripted show Pop Goes the Vet with Dr Joya—said the ‘extreme makeover’ of one of her first patients ultimately led her on the path to her career specializing in dermatology.

Griffin presented the morning keynote address on Day 2 of the 2025 Fetch dvm360 Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her talk—sponsored by Blue Buffalo—took attendees on a journey of her career in veterinary medicine, which began as a young child, growing up in Ohio. At that time, Griffin resided across the street from a veterinarian who was also her science teacher at school.

“He was really an integral in my life and my development as a young student,” Griffin said. “And then I also had the example of a Black veterinarian in Dayton, Ohio, who we would take our pets to, and they would do our vaccines for us. And that was really kind of a great experience too…Seeing that really allowed me to see the possibility for myself in veterinary medicine, and so my parents supported me, and they pushed me forward.”

Photo: Kristen Coppock Crossley/dvm360

She spoke about her family’s menagerie of animals, which included cats, dogs, and frogs as well as a snapping turtle and, for a day, a rabbit. “Like many of you, I felt like I had a special connection to animals, and I wanted to spend my life treating them,” Griffin said.

Her sister’s dog Gizmo was adopted when Griffin left home for college at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. “[Gizmo] had this terrible skin disease. She lived in this E collar for a year,” Griffin said. “She was miserable.”

“Gizmo did not have the care that she needed for her skin,” Griffin said. At the time, she said, some of the technologies and medications that we have now to treat skin disease were not available then. “We also didn't have the finances, really, to commit to her on a continuous basis to keep her skin as good as it needed to be,” Griffin added.

After a groomer recommended euthanasia for Gizmo, and Griffin had moved on to Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New York, she sought more specialized care for the family pet. “I stole her from my sister, and I took her to Cornell with me. And the first thing that I did was I took her to the dermatology service,” Griffin said.

The team’s treatment plan first focused on relief, reducing inflammation and resolving infection. They also addressed active parasites and potential food hypersensitivity, while working to rule out causes of the skin disease. Antibiotic and antifungal medications, and an intense bathing routine were among the therapies the team tried with Gizmo. ”Eventually, during my internship year, I was able to perform intradermal testing on her and start her own immunotherapy after we had achieved the diagnosis of atopic dermatitis,” Griffin said.

The speaker next showed Fetch attendees a photo of Gizmo post-diagnosis and treatment. The image showed a healthy dog with a full coat of thick hair, and Griffin added that the pet no longer had the odor associated with her skin disease. Gizmo’s journey to wellness is what drew Griffin to veterinary medicine, she added.

“Gizmo was my extreme makeover,” Griffin said. “I saw firsthand what it meant when you can clear up the skin disease in a patient, and what that can mean to the family, and how you can improve the quality of life of that animal and of that pet parent.”

As a Cornell student, Griffin earned multiple awards for her work in veterinary medicine. These accolades included the Dermatology Service Award for demonstration of aptitude in clinical dermatology and for her research on Malassezia otitis externa. She later completed an internship in Chicago, Illinois, at VCA Berwyn and Aurora Animal Hospitals, and earned the Intern Abstract Award for a presentation on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, before returning to Cornell for a residency.

Griffin, who admitted that she enjoys “gross things,” now practices veterinary dermatology at Animal Dermatology Group in Louisville. She has shared some patient cases and clients she sees in the clinic on television, as part of Pop Goes the Vet with Dr Joya and with the Fetch audience, addressing multiple conditions in the hour-long lecture.

“It truly is amazing, these extreme makeovers we can give these pets,” Griffin said. She then left attendees with an actionable question: “What extreme makeover are you going to make?”

Reference

Griffin J. Extreme Makeover: Derm Edition. Presented at: Fetch dvm360 Conference; March 14-16, 2025. Charlotte, NC.