Dr. Hondalus is a graduate from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University, and following graduation, she was an equine and small animal private practitioner. She subsequently completed a Large Animal Internal Medicine Residency at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology at Temple Medical School. As a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard School of Public Health working to create an improved vaccine against human tuberculosis, she became more aware of health care disparities nationally and globally and developed a passion for collaborative interdisciplinary efforts to address such inequities. At UGA she has headed an extramurally funded infectious disease research laboratory, trained PhD and MS students, been recognized for excellence in teaching, been a Lilly Teaching Fellow, a Service Learning Fellow, a Women’s Leadership Fellow, and an Aspire Fellow. In her present role as Assistant Dean of Preclinical Academic Affairs, she oversees the veterinary program for first- and second-year veterinary students. She also teaches and administers the combined DVM-MPH Dual Degree Program, a collaborative effort between the College of Veterinary Medicine and the College of Public Health.