Interns
Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group is home to a highly competitive post-graduate internship training program, certified by the California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA). VMSG admits only twelve veterinarian doctors who have graduated at the top of their respective Veterinary Schools.
These Intern Doctors apply and are placed though the Veterinary Internship and Residency Matching Program (VIRMP). They have been chosen to take part in this additional year of intensive training instead of pursuing private practice, in order to gain advanced skills, to go on to Residency or become eligible for board certification.
Interns
Dr. Amanda Hummel
Dr. Amanda Hummel graduated from Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, Pennsylvania in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. In 2009 she received a D.V.M from Michigan State University. She enjoys running, taebo, cooking, photography and painting in her free time. She currently lives with her two cats, Annabelle and Marleigh who love sun bathing and cuddling on their favorite blanket. Dr. Hummel would like to adopt a dog in the near future.
Her veterinary interests include general medicine and surgery. She would like to work with search and rescue dogs as well as therapy animals. She hopes to eventually return to the east coast.
Dr. Amy Reck
Amy Reck is originally from Pittsburgh, PA, and a proud Pittsburgh Steelers fan. She attended Miami University of Ohio for her undergraduate studies. After an initial career in accounting, where she worked in both Seattle and San Diego, she joined the Peace Corps and moved to Romania. During this time, she decided to pursue her true passion of caring for animals and, upon return, she completed her veterinary studies at Oklahoma State University. Amy’s professional interests lie in internal medicine and shelter medicine. In her spare time, she enjoys running, hiking, traveling, and spending time with her two adopted dogs, Tululah and Maverick.
Dr. Angela Brelsford
Dr. Angela Brelsford was raised in a small farming community in Central California. She moved to Davis, CA to attend UC Davis and graduated with a B.S. degree in Biology. She has recently graduated from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. In her spare time she enjoys snow skiing, running, yoga, reading, and good food. She lives with 3 cats - two elderly Siamese, Mason and Lily, and a much younger trouble-maker named Lil’ Bear .
Dr. Brelsford plans on applying for a residency program in Internal Medicine following her internship here at VMSG. She is interested in returning to Davis, but is also excited at the prospect of exploring other areas of the country while continuing to focus on small animal medicine.
Dr. Charlotte Rockwood
Dr. Charlotte Rockwood graduated from Lewis and Clark College with a BA in English. After working in a small animal clinic near Portland, OR for several years, she realized that she had found her passion and decided to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. Dr. Rockwood returned to her home state of California to complete her prerequisites for veterinary school at Sonoma State University before attending veterinary school at UC Davis.
Dr. Rockwood enjoys hiking, reading, cooking and gardening in her spare time. She lives with her two cats, Skye and Basque, who both enjoy curling up in her lap at the end of the day. She also enjoys frequent visits from her husband and two dogs, Porter and Lena, who have remained in Northern California.
Dr. Rockwood plans to join a small animal general practice in Northern California on completing her VMSG internship.
Dr. Diana Simões
Dr. Diana Simoes grew up in a bilingual family, living in both Portugal and New York. Following her deep passion for animals, she studied biology at Vermont’s Bennington College and Oberlin College in Ohio, and received her B.A. in 2000. Her international upbringing and sense of adventure inspired her to study birds in the Colombian Andes, endangered fish in the Amazon, and zoology at the NY Bronx Zoo.
After graduation, Dr. Simões joined the Peace Corps where she worked for two years in Togo, West Africa. Her years of service helped Dr.Simões realize her dream of becoming a veterinarian. Two weeks after her return, she drove a used VW with all of her belongings from NY to California in order to pursue that dream.
In 2009, she graduated from U.C. Davis Veterinary School. When not rooting for her favorite contestant on American Idol, Dr.Simões enjoys traveling, running, and playing with Oscar, the howling Rottweiler, and Frankie, the spunky 3-legged Terrier mix.
Dr. Simões holds a special interest in shelter medicine and dentistry. She is thrilled to be a part of VMSG, and in the future hopes to work in a small animal practice in Southern California and provide relief work for international and local animal rescue organizations.
Dr. Jeremy Wong
Dr. Jeremy Wong graduated from UC Davis with a BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology and took a year off before continuing at UC Davis Veterinary School. He is a San Francisco native and has never been in Southern California for more than a week. He enjoys cooking, poker, basketball, camping, the beach, indoor rock-climbing, and Polynesian culture. He lives with his dog Ziggy, a Welsh Pembroke Corgi whose greatest joy is taking a walk and acting bigger than he is.
Dr. Wong is looking to do a residency in Neurology, preferably back in Davis, following his internship at VMSG. He would love to return to his home of SF and give back to the city that raised him.
Dr. Justin Fischer
Dr. Justin Fischer was born and raised in Santa Barbara and received a B.S. in Physiology from UC Santa Barbara before attending veterinary school at UC Davis. He is an avid Lakers and Raiders fan and enjoys playing basketball and volleyball as well as hiking and snowboarding. In his spare time, Dr. Fischer loves playing his bass guitar, restoring his vintage Porsche and spending time with his family. His biggest fan and most loyal supporter is his beautiful wife, Whitney, and they live with their “children” Henry the Pomeranian, and Ocho the wonder cat.
Dr. Fischer is thrilled to finally be a member of this great profession and hopes to stay in his native Central Coast when his VMSG internship is completed. He loves surgery and is interested in pursuing a surgical residency but is also very interested in emergency medicine and general practice and hopes to one day own his own general or specialty hospital.
Dr. Kate Byrne
Dr. Kate Byrne was raised on the East coast in central New Jersey. She earned a BS in Biology from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH in 2005 before attending the University of Minnesota, School of Veterinary Medicine. She loves the ocean and enjoys sailing and other outdoor activities. A competitive swimmer through high school and college, she continues to swim on her own and through US Masters swimming. She is excited to learn more about California and enjoy the warm weather after four very cold Minnesota winters. She lives with Zoe, a very talkative cat. Zoe loves chasing her toy mice around the house and lives to eat her food.
Dr. Byrne is excited to join VMSG for her internship. Following her internship, she is considering completing a residency in internal medicine or joining a small animal general practice.
Dr. Kristi Gibbs
Dr. Kristi Gibbs is originally from Southern California and grew up in the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys. She graduated from Washington State University (WSU) with a BS in biology. After graduation, she worked at the University of Washington (UW) Medical Center researching alternatives to shoulder implants in humans. She then completed a comparative anatomy graduate program between WSU and UW to receive an MS in veterinary medicine from WSU. Finally, she completed her DVM at the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine. She enjoys volunteering at zoos and aquariums and has spent time at the Los Angeles Zoo, Woodland Park Zoo, and the Shedd Aquarium. She also loves to read and spend time with her two miniature dachshunds, Dodger and Kirby.
Dr. Gibbs is looking to stay in California, hopefully the Central Coast, after her internship at VMSG. She would like to join a small animal general practice and possibly incorporate pet fish medicine into their practice.
Dr. Maria Huh
Dr. Maria Huh graduated from UCLA with a B.S. in physiological sciences. She worked for an advertising agency for several years prior to attending University of Minnesota, College of Veterinary Medicine. She enjoys watching cooking and food shows, reading and arts and crafts. She lives with Maddie, a cute elderly beagle. Maddie enjoys chasing and howling after Phoebe, a domestic long hair cat. Most of the time, Maddie can be seen sleeping on her favorite red papasan and dreaming about a good hunt. Phoebe just waits to be fed and adored for her beauty.
Dr. Huh is excited to be returning to California and doing an internship at VMSG. She is interested in oncology, surgery, internal medicine and shelter medicine. She is also interested in wildlife and exotics, such as pocket pets.
Dr. Mariko Kramer
Dr. Mariko Kramer received both her BS and DVM from UC Davis. She took three years off in between degrees and spent one amazing year in Melbourne, Australia. She married her high school sweetheart Mike Roush in August 2007 and they live together with Riley a German Shepherd mix adopted from the colony dog program at UC Davis. She enjoys outdoor activities like hiking, camping, canoeing, and fishing.
Dr. Kramer is still considering whether she wants to do a residency in internal medicine or go into general practice. She is also interested in shelter medicine and would like to be actively involved in helping local shelters.
