Dr. Diego Portela, DACVAA, University of Florida 

Dr. Portela received his veterinary degree from the School of Veterinary Sciences, University of Buenos Aires, (Argentina). In 2009, he obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Pisa, (Italy) focusing his research on small animal regional anesthesia and worked as a post-doc until 2013 in the anesthesiology department of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, University of Pisa. In 2016, Dr. Portela completed his residency in anesthesiology at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine (Ithaca, NY), and joined the faculty to work as a Clinical Instructor in anesthesiology. Dr. Portela is a Diplomate from the ACVAA and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Florida (Gainesville, FL). He maintains a strong interest in regional anesthesia and focuses his research on developing novel approaches. He is a co-instructor at the Cornell small animal locoregional anesthesia boot camp and has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and textbooks on the topic. More bio information regarding Dr. Portela may be found at the University of Florida website.

Dr. Marta Romano, DACVAA, University of Florida 

Dr. Romano received her DVM degree cum laude from the University of Pisa (Italy). She also holds a Masters in small and exotic animal anesthesia and pain management as well as a Ph.D. with a focus on the stress response of dogs to surgery and anesthesia. Dr. Romano worked in private practice in Italy before moving to the United States in 2013. She completed her residency in veterinary anesthesiology at Cornell University and is board-certified with the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia (ACVAA). Currently, she works as a clinical assistant professor at the University of Florida. Her main research interests are pain management of small, large and zoo animals, as well as the development and application of new regional anesthesia techniques. More bio information regarding Dr. Romano may be found at the University of Florida website.

Dr. Teresa DeFrancesco, DACVIM, DACVECC, North Carolina State

Dr. Terri DeFrancesco is a Professor in Cardiology and Critical Care with tenure at the North Carolina State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, in Raleigh, NC. She is also the Assistant Department Head in the Department of Clinical Sciences and Small Animal Focus Leader.

Dr. DeFrancesco completed her DVM degree at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) and also completed a small animal rotating internship at Virginia Tech with residencies in Cardiology and Emergency/Critical Care at the College of Veterinary Medicine at NC State University. She is double boarded in Cardiology and Emergency and Critical Care and has been on faculty at NC State since 1995. She has been the recipient of the Cobblestone TAGS Faculty Excellence Award in Cardiology Endowment, a two-time recipient of the Pfizer Norden Teaching award, a six-time recipient of the Clinician of the year award, and the NCVMA NCSU Clinician of the year award. Dr. DeFrancesco has authored 70 peer-reviewed publications in clinically relevant research studies, clinical reviews, case series and case reports as well as 16 book chapters. She is a nationally and internationally recognized speaker with over 200 hours of continuing education in clinical cardiology and emergency medicine.

Dr. DeFrancesco’s areas of interest include improving the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure in dogs and cats, point-of-care ultrasound, cardiac emergency management including arrhythmias management, pacemaker and ventilator therapy. More bio information on Dr. DeFrancesco may be found at the North Carolina State University website.

Dr. Jennifer Gambino, DACVR, Mississippi State

Dr. Jennifer Gambino completed her DVM at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine after clinical rotations at Louisiana State University. She did a small animal rotating internship at Fifth Avenue Veterinary Specialists in New York and worked in practice for 7 years (predominantly at the nationally recognized ASPCA Animal Hospital, NYC).  She completed a Diagnostic Imaging Residency and Clinical Instructorship at Mississippi State University (MSU) and completed an MRI fellowship with Dr. Patrick Gavin in Sandpoint Idaho. At MSU, she served as an Assistant Professor of Diagnostic Imaging. Currently, Dr. Gambino works with Idexx Laboratories as well as serving as an adjunct Professor in Diagnostic Imaging at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, TN. She also works in marine mammal and turtle conservation at The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (Gulfport, MS), an affiliate of Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Gambino is a proponent of minimally invasive and minimally distressing techniques, best practices and integrative collaboration. Her clinical interests include interventional ultrasound and CT-guided procedures for abdominal, lung and musculoskeletal disease states, intraoperative ultrasound-guided brain tumor removal, MRI and CT imaging for oncologic and traumatic diagnoses with a focus on brain, head and spinal imaging. Her interests include imaging marine mammals and sea turtles to enhance, expound or establish imaging protocols for clinical reference, improved care, shorter rehabilitation periods and earlier release times. More information about Dr. Gambino’s research interests may be found at Researchgate Gambino Profile.

Dr. Greg Lisciandro, DACVECC, Hill Country Veterinary Specialists

Dr. Gregory Lisciandro, DABVP, DACVECC, received his DVM, at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University. He completed a rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery at The Animal Medical Center, New York City, and his residency in Emergency and Critical Care at the Emergency Pet Center, San Antonio, Texas. He hasdeveloped and published the clinical utility of abdominal FAST (AFAST) and its fluid scoring system, thoracic FAST (TFAST) and Vet BLUE (lung ultrasound) and continues to be actively involved in ongoing collaborative research internationally. He is an ACVECC At-large Regent on the Board, and a member of ACVECC Education Guidelines Committee and Scientific Committee. Dr. Lisciandro has been practicing veterinary medicine for 27-years — half in general practice and half in emergency and critical care, most recently as Chief of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care, Emergency Pet Center, San Antonio, TX. He is currently a consultant for Hill Country Veterinary Specialists, President of the International Veterinary Point-of-Care Ultrasound Society (www.IVPOCUS.org), and CEO of FASTVet.com, specializing in veterinary ultrasound training. He has been an annual guest lecturer at the TRISAT Critical Care Webcast Series to medical doctors; and been involved in collaborative research with veterinary schools and medical doctors. He is also the editor and chapter author of the textbook Focused Ultrasound Techniques (Wiley, 2014) translated in 6 languages. Current list of Dr. Lisciandro’s publications may be found at FASTVet.com.

Dr. Nilam Soni, MD, MS, FHM, FACP

Dr. Nilam Soni is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Director, Hospital Procedure Service; Co-director, Longitudinal Medical School Ultrasound Curriculum; Director, Critical Care Ultrasound Education, VHA SimLEARN; Assistant Director, Point-of-care Ultrasound Training Programs, Division of General & Hospital Medicine/Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, South Texas Veterans Health Care System, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio.  **Dr. Soni’s complete CV can be viewed by clicking the LINK.

Dr. Nilam Soni has been interested in point-of-care ultrasound applications since medical school and learned how to perform point-of-care ultrasound exams and integrate the findings into patient care. He has been teaching point-of-care ultrasound to healthcare professionals for over a decade. By collaborating with hospitalists, critical care, and emergency medicine physicians, he has developed training curricula to teach point-of-care ultrasound to diverse groups of healthcare professionals including nurses, advanced practice providers, and physicians. He continues to lead educational programs in point-of-care ultrasound locally, nationally, and internationally.

He is the lead editor of the book, Point-of-Care Ultrasound, which was awarded the 2015 British Medical Association’s President’s Choice Award and has been translated into Chinese and Spanish. His current work includes evaluating the impact of integrating point-of-care ultrasound in clinical care and formulating guidelines for the use of point-of-care ultrasound to guide bedside procedures. Dr. Soni was awarded a Quality Improvement Partnered Evaluation grant to evaluate the implementation of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National point-of-care ultrasound training program. More bio information on Dr. Soni may be found at the UTHCS website.