Get to Know Dr. Ángel Abuelo
Dr. Angel Abuelo, DVM, MRes, PhD, MSc (Vet Educ), DECBHM, DABVP (Dairy Practice), FHEA, MRCVS
What made you want to or decide to join the editorial board of the MVM when the opportunity was presented?
The MVM is to go-to reference manual for anything veterinary-related. Many veterinarians and veterinary students use it as the first reference for consults. Knowing how much impact this manual has made it impossible to decline the opportunity to join the editorial board.
What about this work/role on the MVM is meaningful to you?
I see my role as a great service to the veterinary profession. The MVM has a great reputation and the number of professionals that use it worldwide is astonishing. Thus, I find a great professional satisfaction in working as part of the team that ensures that the content of the manual remains accurate and up to date, as this tool has a great impact in our profession.
What about this work/role on the MVM is meaningful to you?
I see my role as a great service to the veterinary profession. The MVM has a great reputation and the number of professionals that use it worldwide is astonishing. Thus, I find a great professional satisfaction in working as part of the team that ensures that the content of the manual remains accurate and up to date, as this tool has a great impact in our profession.
How do you see the MVM helping to educate students and professionals?
Similarly to veterinary professionals, the MVM is widely used by students and efforts are continuously underway to ensure that the content is presented in a simple and visually-appealing manner. This can help students and professionals grasp complex concepts. Although a manual can obviously not substitute veterinary medical education, with an ever-evolving profession where new evidence is coming out daily, having a resource that is continuously vetted and updated can serve as a useful first step in the practitioner’s quest for evidence-based information. Thus, facilitating the continuous development and learning of students and professionals.
Tell us something unexpected about your day-to-day work life.
I am in an unhealthy relationship with caffeine! I couldn’t survive a day at work without several shots of expresso.
What other projects are you working on?
My team is working in a variety of research projects focusing on strategies to improve host resilience during stages of increased disease risk in dairy cattle through optimization of immunity utilizing strategies such as nutritional interventions or vaccination protocols.
If you had to choose another profession outside the veterinary profession, what might that be?
I like to travel a lot, so I think that alternative professions might have been becoming an airline pilot or flight-attendant. However, being 6’8” tall, I’m not sure spending a lot of time inside an aircraft would have been the smartest move 😊. I’ll probably stay with cows; they are more size-appropriate.
What do you do for fun?
I like to exercise (I’m an early-morning gym goer now) and weather-permitting (which is not always possible in the Midwest of USA) I like to cycle, kayak, hike with my dog, and overall enjoy the Great Lakes. I also like to cook and read, as well as traveling to new places.