WSU College of Veterinary Medicine announces recipients of 2019 alumni awards

Fineman worked in private practice for 17 years as a clinical oncologist and practice owner before transitioning to management and leadership full time. She is also an adjunct faculty member in the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine and facilitates small group clinical reasoning exercises in the Diagnostic Challenges Program. She has a special interest in communication skills and their impact on medical and business outcomes.  Fineman currently serves as chief executive officer for the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and previously served as vice president of learning and development with Ethos Veterinary Health. After earning her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from WSU, she completed an internship at Kansas State University and a residency in medical oncology at Purdue University before becoming board certified in oncology.

Pieracci is a veterinary medical officer in the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During her career as a public health veterinarian, she has implemented canine rabies elimination programs in multiple African and Asian countries. Pieracci was a public health emergency responder for the Ebola outbreaks of 2014 and 2018, and for the 2019 novel coronavirus (nCoV) outbreak. She is passionate about using a one health approach to address current and emerging zoonotic diseases. Pieracci earned a master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University, is board certified in preventative medicine, and completed an Epidemic Intelligence Service Fellowship with the CDC. 

Pritt is the assistant vice president of Conflict of Interest and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. She also oversees export control compliance and stem cell research oversight as well as regulatory compliance for one of the largest biomedical research programs in the United States. During her career, Pritt has held numerous positions in academia and industry and is a nationally recognized authority on research program regulatory compliance, animal welfare, and administrative leadership. She has been on faculty at the Harvard Medical School where she served as associate director for animal care, training, and operations, and was the director of regulatory compliance and animal welfare at Covance, Inc. Pritt regularly speaks to research and veterinary audiences across the U.S. and has authored multiple publications on management and regulatory compliance. She earned master’s degrees in managerial science and business administration in health care management and is a charter diplomate by examination of the American College of Animal Welfare. She currently serves as president of the specialty college. Outside of biomedical research, she has also served as the vice president of the American Veterinary Medical Association and was a co-founder and president of the Women’s Veterinary Leadership Development Initiative.

Tornquist is the dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine and a professor of Clinical Pathology at Oregon State University. She continues to head a diagnostic clinical pathology lab and provides diagnostic services in addition to teaching several courses in the professional program. Her research has most recently focused on hematology, infectious, and metabolic diseases of camelids, and diagnostic techniques in a variety of animal species. Tornquist joined the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine faculty in 1996 and was appointed associate dean for Student and Academic Affairs in 2005. She worked in private veterinary practice for six years before returning to academia. She earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Colorado State University before working as a resident at WSU. She is board certified in clinical pathology.