Gunther van Loon graduated from Ghent University, Belgium, in 1992 and has worked at the Ghent University, Department of Large Animal Internal Medicine, ever since. In 2001 he finished his PhD on “Atrial pacing and experimental atrial fibrillation in equines”. In 2004 he became Diplomate of the European College of Equine Internal Medicine and in 2011 Associate Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging. In 2015 he received the Merial Applied Equine Research Award for outstanding research regarding ‘Advances in Equine Cardiology’, awarded by the WEVA. He is Full Professor in Large Animal Internal Medicine at Ghent University and his major interests are all aspects of cardiology, and thoracic and abdominal ultrasound. Areas of research include advanced imaging (speckle tracking, tissue Doppler, 3D, intracardiac echo), biomarkers, vascular disease, and arrhythmias and electrophysiology (atrial tachycardia/fibrillation, 3D mapping, ablation). Gunther has published mainly in the field of equine internal medicine and cardiology and lectures regularly at national and international courses and conferences.

Celia M Marr graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1985 and her clinical career has focused on Cardiovascular Medicine, Internal Medicine, Intensive Care & Medical Imaging, and she has held positions in the University of Pennsylvania, University of Cambridge and the Royal Veterinary College and worked in racehorse practice in Lambourn. Currently, she is based at Rossdales Equine Hospital and Diagnostic Centre in Newmarket. Celia has published widely on medical disorders of the horse. She is a Diplomate of the European College of Equine Internal Medicine, Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, Honorary Member of British Equine Veterinary Association, Honorary Professor of the University of Glasgow and Editor-in-Chief of Equine Veterinary Journal..

Equine internist and ultrasound/cardiology expert Dr. Cris Navas joined Penn Vet’s faculty last year, but his history with the School goes further back. From 2008 to 2012, Navas was a cardiology and ultrasound fellow and then lecturer at New Bolton Center. He left for a few years to teach elsewhere in the U.S. and Switzerland before returning to the Kennett Square area in 2019.

Navas’s main interest is exercise-related deaths and cardiac disease in athletes. “It’s an issue that needs to be fixed and has gained public attention recently,” he said. “We’re learning more all the time as new technologies increase our capacity to collect data, but we need better tools and more knowledge to interpret the data.” He is currently testing wireless heart rate monitor wearables that are streamlined for equine wearers, friendly for users, and better able to collect data from a larger population of horses than traditional wired patches. Dr. Cristobal Navas holds a surcingle fixed with a W2ND wireless heart monitor. Dr. Cristobal Navas holds a surcingle fixed with a W2ND wireless heart monitor.

At the same time, he’s also using digital technology, such as handheld ultrasound devices, to create an equine telehealth program. “Remote access and telecommunication tools will allow us to access many more people and advise in real time on cases around the world,” said Navas.

Dr. Virginia Reef, a 1979 graduate of The Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, completed a rotating internship in large animal medicine and surgery, and a residency in large animal medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. Dr. Reef subsequently became the Director of the Large Animal Cardiology and Ultrasound Service.  Shortly thereafter she was instrumental in establishing the Section of Sports Medicine and Imaging at New Bolton Center and has been the Chief of that Section for the past 18 years. Dr. Reef has worked on the faculty at Penn for the past 27 years, advancing through the ranks of assistant, associate, and full professor. She has trained the majority of academics focusing on equine cardiology and ultrasonography in the United States, as well as many individuals in private practice and overseas. Based on her many accomplishments, Dr. Reef was granted a prestigious endowed chair at Penn and currently serves as the Mark Whittier and Lila Griswold Allam Professor of Medicine. She is one of the charter diplomates of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation and is a large animal associate member of the European College of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging. In addition to numerous original publications, she is the author and editor of a standard textbook on equine diagnostic imaging, “Equine Diagnostic Ultrasound.”