Leading Veterinarian Care

Kenneth Salleng, DVM, was only 13 years old when he set his sights on becoming a veterinarian. As a teen on his family’s 30-acre backyard farm in rural Kentucky, he was hooked by his first real work experience with a local veterinarian traveling from farm to farm.

“I would start IVs, collect samples, run samples, hold the animals, whatever prep needed to be done,” said Salleng, who recently took on the role of director of veterinary care, Comparative Medicine at Florida Atlantic University.

Salleng’s journey to FAU began by earning a bachelor’s degree from Berea College in Kentucky and a doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He furthered his education with a residency in laboratory animal medicine and pathology and a postdoctoral fellowship in pathology at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. He also became a certified professional on the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and is a diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine.

For almost 20 years, he was an assistant professor at East Carolina University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Tenn., where he held several positions including clinical veterinarian, associate director of the Division of Animal Care and director of the Office of Animal Welfare Assurance. Salleng also served as chief of the veterinary pathology in the department of comparative medicine at East Carolina University and as a staff veterinarian at private practices.

“Ken has a lot of experience in lab animal medicine, and he’s very talented in pathology, which is a field where our researchers often ask for support,” said Sylvia Gografe, DVM, Ph.D., assistant vice president for Research, Comparative Medicine at FAU.

he is responsible for health management of all animals on FAU campuses, from mice to turtles to fish, including health surveillance, quarantine and environmental monitoring programs. But it’s Salleng’s proficiency in animal lab pathology where he says he hopes to make a huge impact at FAU. “I can help researchers and determine why animals are dying through gross necropsy perspective and evaluating the tissues,” he said.

Overall, Salleng’s combined decades of education, expertise and experience make him a perfect fit. “This is a job where I (will practice) pathology, work with investigators, closely monitor the animal populations and help out using my degree and knowledge.”