Dr. Katie Fanning joined Salem College in 2023 as an Assistant Professor of Health Science and Coordinator of Salem Scholars having previously served as an adjunct in 2017.
Dr. Fanning is energized by Salem’s new focus on health-based careers. As a Veterinarian, Dr. Fanning is interested in bringing a comparative lens on the study of human anatomy, physiology, and pathologies. She is currently teaching the Anatomy & Physiology and Human Biology courses. She is looking forward to adding additional courses to support growth in the Health Science Major including: Animal Nutrition (required for entry to veterinary school) and Parasitology, among others.
Dr. Fanning’s research experience is as a NIH T-32 Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Comparative Medicine/Molecular Medicine and Translational Science at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Her research focus was on understanding the mechanisms of diabetes mellitus as a long-term side effect of radiation exposure in Rhesus macaques.
Dr. Fanning’s clinical interests include preventative medicine, animal behavior, and palliative care. She worked in corporate, private practice for a number of years where she prioritized mentorship of students (high school- professional school) ultimately becoming a regional coordinator of student externship experiences. Most recently, she served as Medical Director at Forsyth Humane Society for 3 years to support their transition into the county shelter. There, she developed policy and procedures related to: medical staff onboarding and training, preventative care and infectious disease management, minimizing animal stress, surgery, and euthanasia.
Dr. Fanning is excited to leverage her diversified professional background to help inform and engage students to best prepare them to be the future leaders in health!
Word of Encouragement/Quotes
“… I’m reminded of something my supervisor said to me when I was a student chaplain: “Don’t just do something. Stand there.”
— John Green, The Anthropocene Reviewed
We are mostly driven and encouraged to do, do, do! I encourage you to also spend time listening, reflecting, and just being. There is something revolutionary and rebellious about the work of being still. There is also something vital about it.
Fanning, KM, Pfisterer, B., Davis, A., Presley, T., Williams, I., Wasserman, D.M., Cline, M., & Kavanagh, K. (AJP; September 2017). Changes in microvascular density differentiate metabolic health outcomes in monkeys with prior radiation exposure and subsequent skeletal muscle ECM remodeling