News Release
March 4, 2009
Contacts:
Dr. Robert David Whitley, Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center, (515) 294-4900
Ms. Tracy Ann Raef, Veterinary Communications, (515) 294-4602
Ophthalmologist expands specialty services at ISU Veterinary Medical Center
Ames, Iowa – Dr. Robert David Whitley, DVM, MS, a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist, has joined the faculty at the Dr. W. Eugene and Linda Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center (VMC) at Iowa State University. He is the second board-certified ophthalmologist on staff and was hired to meet an increased demand in specialty eye care for pets. Last year more than 1,500 patients were treated for specialty eye care at the VMC, a 50 percent increase from three years ago.
“Dr. Whitley is a perfect fit for the VMC,” said Dr. Sally Prickett, Director of the VMC. “He has a wealth of experience and will be an asset to the center, referring veterinarians, clients and their patients, and our students.”
Whitley has extensive expertise working with small animals and in providing medical and surgical ocular care to horses. He also has experience examining and treating ocular diseases in owls, hawks and eagles at the Southeastern Raptor Center at Auburn University, Alabama. Whitley joins veterinary ophthalmologists Dr. Daniel Betts and Dr. Sinisa Grozdanic in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at Iowa State University.
“I am excited to be joining the faculty at Iowa State and working with Drs. Betts and Grozdanic in the ophthalmology section at the Veterinary Medical Center,” Whitley said. “I look forward to helping grow the ophthalmology program in clinical service, instruction, resident training and research.”
Veterinary ophthalmology closely mirrors the science and advances in human medicine. New advancements in human ophthalmology are often introduced into veterinary medicine, allowing vision-saving and quality-of-life procedures to be available for animals.
Whitley is a 1977 graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Auburn. He completed his internship at the University of Missouri, Columbia, and his residency training at the University of Florida, Gainesville, and Auburn. Prior to joining the faculty at Iowa State, he was professor and chief of ophthalmology at Auburn since 1989 where he also served as acting associate dean for admissions and standards and as department head of clinical sciences. He also served on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and the University of Florida.