Event postponed due to COVID-19
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and related travel restrictions, we have had to postpone the Cayman Islands Veterinary Conference until 2021.We are willing to offer a full refund of registration fees paid, or these can be transferred as payment for next year’s conference. If you transfer payment until next year, your cost of the conference will be capped at this year’s amount even if there is an increase. If you would like a refund, please email lgreen@stmatthews.edu with a mailing address for where you would like your refund check sent.
We thank you for the tremendous support and look forward to hosting you next year. More details on the new conference date and logistics will follow.
St. Matthew’s University is pleased to announce its first Destination Veterinary Conference to be held on SMU’s 7-Mile Beach Campus on Grand Cayman from October 15-18, 2020.
The theme of the conference is “Medicine and Surgery in Practice Today”. On the 15th of October there will be an Ultrasound Wet Lab conducted by Dr. Brian Poteet. Half day sessions will be offered from the 16th through 18th with renowned speakers covering, Small Animal Surgery, Small Animal Medicine, Exotics, Equine Medicine, Farm Animal Medicine and more.
These half day sessions will run from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm, allowing for fun and relaxation in the afternoon while enjoying the beauty of the Cayman Islands. The cost to register for the conference is only US$350, with participation in the optional Ultrasound Lab an additional $200. Our registration page will be posted soon.
Please visit this web site regularly for updates regarding speakers and the program. Come for Continuing Education and Fun in the Sun! For more information, please contact either:
Dr. Brendan Lee blee@stamatthews.edu
Dr. Samantha Shields sshields@stmatthews.edu
Friday 16th October
A Networking Cocktail Party will be held at Sunshine Suites Hotel, offering the attendees an opportunity to interact with each other and the students of SMU. Light refreshments will be provided along with a cash bar.
Sunday 18th October
A Closing Dinner will be held at the beautiful Ristorante Pappagallo on Sunday 18th from 7:00 pm. https://www.pappagallo.ky/
Attendance for the dinner must be booked separately at USD$75 per person.
Excursions can be booked through the hotel or tour providers. Extensive information regarding tourist activities may be accessed at the Cayman Islands Tourism Association website, https://www.cita.ky/
The recommended hotel for the CIDV Conference is the Sunshine Suites Grand Cayman Island Resort, which is located next door to the conference location (St. Matthew’s University main campus).
It is also a short walk from the sparkling ocean waters and white sand of Grand Cayman’s famous Seven Mile Beach, just down the road from the 18-hole North Sound Golf Course, and near dozens of shops and restaurants. Amenities include complimentary continental breakfast and free wireless internet. Guests are offered comfortable accommodations, excellent guest services, plus access to a host of amenities at the hotel’s neighboring sister property on Seven Mile Beach. Discounted rates have been negotiated for conference attendees.
Attendees are responsible for booking their own accommodations using the link below: https://sunshinesuites.com
Attendees’ booking code: SMUALU
Attendees may also contact the property directly, and should mention St. Matthew’s University Alumni Group:
Main phone number : +1-345-949-3000
Direct line: +1-345–814 –1717
Email : ssr.reservations@sunshinesuites.com
All Conference attendees are responsible for transportation to and from the airport. Estimated taxi fare to the Sunshine Suites (conference hotel) from the airport is US$25 one way. Please note that the Sunshine Suites does not offer airport shuttle service.
CIDVC has arranged for discounted car rental rates with Economy Car Rental, located at the Grand Cayman airport.
Economy size Hyundai i10 – US$35
Midsize car Hyundai accent – US$45
SUV Hyundai Tucson/Hyundai Creta – US$60
Van Hyundai H1, 9 passengers – US$75
All vehicles are right hand drive, automatic, with radio and a/c. Rates are per day and include fees and insurance (accident collision and third party liability). Drivers must be 25-75yrs old. Please contact Economy Car Rental via the link below, and be sure to mention the special CIDVC rate. https://economycarrental.com.ky/contact-us/
Would your organization like to be one of the promoted conference sponsors?
A range of conference sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information, please contact Dr. Brendan Lee at blee@sstmatthews.edu.
Dr Patricia Biello graduated from the Faculté de médecine vétérinaire of the University of Montreal in 2009.
She then completed a rotating internship, followed by an Emergency and Critical Care specialized internship in a private referral centre near Montreal, where she continued to work until 2015.She became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care in 2018 after completing a residency at the Ontario Veterinary College – University of Guelph. She worked at the University of Montreal, before returning to the Ontario Veterinary College as an Assistant Professor in 2020.
Dr. Lindsey Bullen earned her BA in Chemistry and BS in Zoology in 2008 at North Carolina State University.
She remained at NC State for her post-baccalaureate training where she received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 2012, completed a medical and surgical internship in 2013, a residency in 2016, and a fellowship in 2017.Following her board-certification in veterinary nutrition, Lindsey created the Clinical Nutrition Service at the Veterinary Specialty Hospital of the Carolinas and has been working there since.
Dr. Bullen is particularly interested in clinical nutrition application, specifically: critical care, multi-disease state, and assisted feeding. Though she is no longer in academia, Dr. Bullen brings experience and a strong passion for teaching. She currently lives in Apex, North Carolina with her husband, Nathan, and their two boys, 4-year-old Arthur and 1-year-old Rowan.
Dr. Veronica Feigel was born and raised in Ottawa, Canada. She completed her undergraduate degree in Maastricht, The Netherlands, while competing internationally in show jumping throughout Europe.
She then received her Veterinary degree from St. Matthews School of Veterinary Medicine in Grand Cayman, followed by an internship at Virginia Equine Imaging.She worked in small animal general practice for a few years, and realized her true passion lay in Veterinary Ophthalmology. She then completed a 3 year comparative veterinary ophthalmology residency at VCA Alta Vista Animal Hospital, and now works at Animal Eye Guys in West Palm Beach, Florida.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her rescue dogs (one of which is from Grand Cayman), and her horses.
Dr. Tisha Harper received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of the West Indies, Trinidad West Indies in 1995.
She completed her surgical residency training and obtained her Master’s degree in Veterinary Clinical Medicine at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in 2003.Dr. Harper achieved Diplomate status in the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2005. She is a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner and recently attained Diplomate status in the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation in 2019.
Dr. Harper has worked in both small animal private practice and academia and currently heads the small animal orthopedic and rehabilitation services at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana Illinois.
Her research interests include treatments/modalities to improve the quality of life for pets with chronic osteoarthritis, peri- and post-operative analgesia and fracture repair.
Dr. James Morrisey is a 1992 graduate of Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.
After graduation, he worked in a small animal/exotics practice in Syracuse, NY and doing lab animal medicne at SUNY Syracuse for 2 years. Dr Morrisey then did an internship in Exotic Pets, Wildlife and Zoological Medicine at Kansas State University from 1994-95. He then completed a Residency in Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine at the Animal Medical Center in New York City from 1995-1997.After completing the residency he spent a year (97-98) as a clinical instructor at the University of Wisconsin, then headed back to the AMC for another 4 years. During that time Dr. Morrisey worked part-time at the Bronx Zoo. In 2002 he returned to his alma mater and now is Chief of the Exotic Pet Service at Cornell University.
He has published articles on a variety of topics in avian, reptile and small mammal medicine and surgery. Comparative hematology and transfusion medicine, control of thymomas in rabbits, and other spontaneously occurring problems in pet exotics are the focus of his research.
In addition to teaching exotic pet medicine, Dr. Morrisey also lectures and works with students, house officers and other groups on health care communications and non-technical competencies as they relate to veterinary medicine.
Dr. Brian Poteet received his DVM and MS degrees at Texas A&M University. He completed a three-year radiology residency at the University of Tennessee in 1994.
He is board certified by the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the American Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine. He currently is the founder and Managing Director of VitalRads, a veterinary teleradiology company based in Cypress (Houston), Texas.He is also an Associate Professor at Texas A&M University and Adjunct Assistant Professor at St. Matthews University, Grand Cayman, BWI. Dr. Poteet has authored several scientific journal articles and chapters in textbooks.
He has presented at numerous national and international veterinary meetings on topics ranging from ultrasound, radiology interpretation, digital radiography as well as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and nuclear medicine.
Dr. Cynthia Ward received her VMD and PhD degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.
She completed residency training at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania in small animal internal medicine, and a reproductive endocrinology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.She was on faculty at the University of Pennsylvania until 2005, when she moved to the University of Georgia where she is currently a professor of small animal internal medicine. She has been Chief of the Small Animal In-patient Medicine section since 2007. Dr. Ward’s research interests include small animal endocrinology, feline hyperthyroidism, and feline and canine diabetes mellitus.
Dr. Ward has been honored by numerous teaching awards including: the Alumni Teaching Award in 2003, the Norden Distinguished Teaching Award in 2000 and 2009, and the National SCAVMA Teaching Award in 2009. She has an active research program in clinical and basic endocrinology.
She has authored or co-authored 39 research abstracts, 43 journal articles, and 11 book chapters. Dr. Ward is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Small Animal Internal Medicine).
Dr. Chris Winslow is a board-certified specialist in Theriogenology.
She earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from St. Matthew’s University, and completed an internship in Food Animal Medicine and Surgery followed by a residency in comparative Theriogenology at Oklahoma State University.Dr. Winslow became certified in veterinary acupuncture through the Chi Institute in 2017 and is pursuing ongoing training in Chinese herbal medicine. She is a full time faculty member at Midwestern University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in Glendale, Arizona.