The University of California, Davis, has announced the appointment of K. Gary Magdesian,DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, ACVECC, ACVCP,chief of neonatology and critical care at the university's, William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, as the the Roberta A. and Carla Henry Endowed Chair in Emergency Medicine and Critical Care. Magdesian is the first to hold this honor, which was made possible by a generous gift from the estates of the sisters for whom the endowment is named.

"The endowed chair will contribute to the advancement of veterinary emergency and critical care by furthering teaching, clinical developments, and research," Magdesian says. "It is a tremen¬dous opportunity to both learn and teach new things, to be creative and broaden our thought processes, and to better veterinary emergency and critical care medicine in the process."

A faculty member since 1997, Magdesian developed the first residency in the nation to empha¬size large animal critical care. Magdesian investigates Clostridium difficile, the most common infec¬tion of critically ill horses being treated with antibiotics. He is also developing new methods for early diagnosis of infections in foals. Magdesian teaches veterinary students in the classroom and the clinic, and he provides advanced training of veterinary specialists.