Junjie Shao, MS, '18 PhD, is a scientist at Pharmgate in St. Paul, Minn.

Willie Greggs, DVM, '13 PhD, is an associate veterinarian with Banfield Pet Hospital in Smyrna, Ga.

Dionne Benson, ’11 DVM, was recently appointed Chief Veterinary Officer for The Stronach Group. For the past seven years, Benson has been the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer for the internationally-renowned Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) in Lexington, KY.

The position will include directing safety and welfare, as well as veterinary research initiatives for all of The Stronach Group facilities across the country. Benson also serves on several veterinary committees within the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) and was instrumental in working with the California Horse Racing Board to refine the medication rules for horses racing at Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields to be consistent with, or in some cases stricter than, most of the IFHA standards.

Alphonso Lago, DVM, '09 PhD, owns DairyExperts, a herd health consulting and research company in Tulare, Calif., and recently hired Kruthika Patel, MVSc, '19 MS, as a research associate.

Jun Han, DVM, ’08 PhD, professor of virology in the Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine at China Agricultural University College of Veterinary Medicine, will soon lead research and international affairs as the Associate Dean of the China Agricultural University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Chris Pachel, '02 DVM, DACVB, CABC, visited campus in March to teach a special course on animal behavioral challenges and work with the Animal Behavior Club. Pachel is the owner and primary clinician for the Animal Behavior Clinic in Portland, OR. He completed a one-year clinical residency at the U of MN Veterinary Medical Center in 2005.

Melissa Milstein, ’18 DVM, PhD student, assisted in the rescue of two dogs near Lake Elmo, Minn., over the winter and was honored for her outstanding actions by the Washington County Sheriff Department on April 19.

Mikayla Schroeder, ’17 DVM, started a new position as surgical oncology intern at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Jing Du, ’17 PhD, is a postdoctoral scientist with Susan Quaggin, MD, at Northwestern University in Chicago, Ill.