1500 Wire Road
Auburn , AL 36849

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Auburn University's JT Vaughan Large Animal Teaching Hospital


Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine’s John Thomas Vaughan Large Animal Teaching Hospital provides state-of-the-art veterinary care and serves as a referral hospital and community practice facility to residents throughout Alabama and neighboring states. With board-certified specialists and a nationally renowned faculty, clients of the teaching hospital benefit from the combined expertise of faculty specialists, residents, interns, DVM students and veterinary technicians utilizing a team-based approach to patient health care.

The facility bears the name of legendary equine veterinarian Dr. J.T. Vaughan. For more than 60 years, Dr. Vaughan has been associated with Auburn veterinary medicine, earning a DVM in 1955 and earning the rank of the fifth dean of the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine. The department has earned both national and international reputations in reproduction, surgery, internal medicine, lameness evaluation, and large animal therapeutics. While the primary goal is to prepare students for entry into large animal clinical practice, Auburn also prepares veterinarians for specialty practice, post-graduate education, academics, and research.
Aime Johnson , DVM, DACT
Dr. Johnson graduated from North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine in May of 2000. She entered private practice in North Central Texas where she spent a majority of her time working with performance horses, with a special interest in reproduction. She left private practice to participate in a neonatal internship at Marian DuPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Leesburg, Va. She completed an an equine theriogenology residency at Texas A&M in 2005, and was board certified in the American College of Theriogenologists in August 2007. She joined the faculty at Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine in August 2007.
Anne Wooldridge , DVM, MS, PhD, DACVIM-LA
Dr. Anne Wooldridge received her DVM from Texas A&M University in 1997 (Summa Cum Laude). She completed a rotating internship in large animal medicine and surgery, a residency in large animal internal medicine, and a Master’s degree at Louisiana State University. Her thesis projects investigated the effects of various drugs on smooth and skeletal muscle contractile function in the equine esophagus. She currently is an Associate Professor in Equine Internal Medicine where she sees clinical cases on the equine internal medicine service, and trains veterinary students, residents and graduate students. Her research interests are: endocrine and metabolic disease in horses, endocrinopathic laminitis, vascular disease, equine regenerative medicine, equine endothelial progenitor cells, smooth muscle disorders (feline respiratory disease, equine gastrointestinal motility). Her research in horses is primarily focused on vascular and metabolic disease in the horse, with special interests in laminitis and advancement of regenerative therapies in horses.
Debra Taylor , DVM, MS, DACVIM-LA
Debra Taylor’s passion is equine podiatry – the professional study, care, and treatment of the foot. Dr. Taylor’s interest lies in discovering methods to readjust the load of a laminitic foot to promote healing. Understanding the mechanics of blood flow, weight distribution, and local anatomic structures of a healthy foot compared to that of a laminitic foot will allow for treatment management options to be developed to improve the prognosis of horses suffering from laminitis. The focus of Auburn’s podiatry research is to investigate the natural adaptations of bone and soft tissue to load and imposed demands on the equine hoof. We hypothesize that the collateral cartilages and digital cushion of horses remodel in response to certain types of exercise. If this is true, exercise protocols may be designed to improve overall hoof health. We have established a method to evaluate the volume of the collateral cartilages and digital cushion and the fibrocartilage percentage of the digital cushion with advanced imaging and computer analysis software. We collaborate extensively with the private sector hoof care industry and hope to make big advances in this area with the presence of a new state-of-the-art MRI facility on campus.
Erin Groover , DVM, DACVIM-LA
After completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at the University of Georgia in 1997. Dr. Groover continued her education and received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from UGA in 2001. After completion of her residency, she worked as a Clinical Instructor of Equine Internal Medicine at Washington State University before coming to Auburn University in May 2007. Dr. Groover is an active member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Equine Practitioners, and the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. Dr. Groover’s clinical interests include equine gastrointestinal, lower respiratory, and renal diseases.
Fred Caldwell , DVM, MS, DACVS
Caldwell received his DVM from Auburn University and is currently an associate professor in Equine Sports Medicine and Surgery in the JT Vaughan Large Animal Teaching Hospital. He is a board-certified diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. His current work involves the development of a novel desmitis/tendonitis model in the horse using a diode laser with a minimally invasive approach to the ligament or tendon. The goal is to successfully validate this model and utilize it to evaluate regenerative medicine techniques such as mesenchymal stem cells and autologous conditioned serum therapy in horses.
Hui-Chu Lin , DVM, MS, DACVA
Dr. Hui-Chu Lin received her veterinary medicine degree from the National Ping Tung University of Science and Technology in Taiwan in 1980, followed by two years of private practice in Taipei, Taiwan. She finished a residency in Veterinary Anesthesiology and a Master’s Degree at the University of Illinois in 1990 and 1991, respectively. Following her residency and graduate study, Dr. Lin began her professional career as an assistant professor in the Department of Large Animal Surgery and Medicine at Auburn University in 1990. She is currently a professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Auburn University
Jennifer Taintor , DVM, MS, DACVS, DACVSMR
Currently I have developed a new model for acute synovitis through the injection of a natural agent that is consistent, short-lived, and results in no long-lasting detrimental effects. Using this model, we hope to clinically evaluate the efficacy of antimicrobials when immersed in an inflamed environment, and the effectiveness and longevity of pain medications, such as tildren, in the treatment of acute synovitis.
John Schumacher , DVM, MS, DACVIM, DABVP
Although my research interests vary as a result of many years of involvement in the clinical practice of equine medicine, surgery, and reproduction, my recent focus is equine lameness. Through collaborative research we have developed novel and refined diagnostic methods for localizing the source of pain in equine lameness. Other investigations have included the modification of human orthopedic therapeutics to the horse, examination of the efficacy of steroids and antibiotics within the joint, and investigation of innovative methods to improve reproductive health of aged mares.
Lindsey Boone , DVM, PhD, DACVS-LA
Dr. Lindsey Boone received her DVM from the University of Georgia in 2008. She afterwards completed an internship in large animal medicine and surgery at Texas A&M University in 2009, and then completed a large animal surgery residency at the University of Georgia in 2012. Following her residency, Dr. Boone served as a large animal clinical instructor in Equine Surgery at the University of Georgia from 2012-2013 while completing her Ph.D. in physiology and pharmacology from the University of Georgia in 2013. She then became an associate surgeon in a large equine sports medicine and surgery referral practice in Tryon, N.C., prior to joining the equine faculty at Auburn. Dr. Boone was board certified by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2015.
Reid Hanson , DVM, DACVS, DACVECC
Dr. Hanson graduated with honors from the University of Georgia with a double major in biology and animal science in 1979, all while serving as a scholarship athlete in swimming. He earned the DVM at the University of Georgia in 1983. He completed an equine medicine and surgery internship at Cornell University in 1984, and completed his residency in equine surgery at the University of Florida in 1987. Dr. Hanson was an assistant professor in large animal surgery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine from 1987-1990. He gained invaluable experience as an equine surgeon and practitioner in Charlottesville, Virginia for two years working on sport and race horses. He joined the surgical faculty at Auburn University in 1992, and is currently a Professor of Equine Surgery and Lameness.
Robyn Wilborn , DVM, MS, DACT
Originally from Elba, Ala., Dr. Wilborn received a bachelor’s degree in animal science in 1998 and a DVM in 2002, both from Auburn University. She relocated to Wichita, Kansas where she spent three years working in mixed animal practice. She returned to Auburn in spring of 2005 and completed a theriogenology residency at Auburn University in 2008. Dr. Wilborn is currently an Associate Professor of Theriogenology in the JT Vaughan Large Animal Teaching Hospital and co-director of the Equine Reproduction Center. Clinical interests involve theriogenology (reproduction) of all species including cattle, camelids, sheep and goats, with a particular interest in equine and canine theriogenology.