UF veterinary professor honored for contributions in surgical oncology

Sarah Boston, D.V.M, D.V.Sc., an associate professor of surgical oncology at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, has been honored by the Veterinary Society of Surgical Oncology.

Boston, who also serves as the group’s president, received the Stephen J. Withrow Award during the society’s annual meeting, held Oct. 23-26 in San Antonio, Texas as part of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons’ annual conference. The award is given for advancing the art and science of surgical oncology, said Julius M. Liptak, B.V.Sc., a society founding fellow and former Withrow Award Winner.

More than 100 society members voted on the winner from a pool of 11 nominees, Liptak said.

A native of Calgary, Canada, Boston joined UF’s veterinary medical faculty in 2012. She received her D.V.M. degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1996, and a D.V.Sc. degree from the University of Guelph in 2003, with a concurrent residency in small animal surgery.

Subsequently, Boston performed a fellowship in surgical oncology at Colorado State University. Board-certified in small animal veterinary surgery, Boston is also a founding fellow of surgical oncology in the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. Her research interests include osteosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, soft tissue sarcoma and cancer staging.

Surgical oncologists are trained surgeons who have completed a post-residency training program in surgical oncology.

According to its website, the society aims to advance the art, science and practice of surgery for the treatment of cancer in animals and people, and to disseminate knowledge to help provide the highest-possible standard of surgical treatment for cancer.

Withrow, for whom the award is named, established the Colorado State University Flint Animal Cancer Center and currently serves as its executive director. He is known as the father of veterinary surgical oncology and is a source of inspiration to veterinarians worldwide.

The University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine is supported through funding from UF Health and the UF Institute of Food of Agricultural Sciences or IFAS.