Dr. Rosenstein graduated from veterinary school at Ross University in 2018. She then completed a rotating internship and most recently an emergency and critical care residency here at Ocean State Veterinary Specialists Dr. Rosenstein’s professional interests include sepsis, toxicities, and critical anesthesia. When no in the ICU, she enjoys spending time with her fiancé, their dog, Cille, and cats Tony and Gertrude.

ONCOLOGY

Dr. Caleb Alexander grew up in New York and spent summers in Rhode Island. He completed his Bachelor of Science followed by a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota. Following veterinary school, he happily moved back to the East Coast for a small animal rotating internship at Tufts University VETS in Walpole, MA. Dr. Alexander completed his training with a 3-year residency at the New England Veterinary Oncology Group in Waltham, MA to become board certified by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in medical oncology.

Dr. Alexander considers it a privilege to provide care and longevity to pets with cancer and hope for their families. He has a particular interest in the treatment of hemangiosarcoma, lymphoma and osteosarcoma.

Dr. Alexander enjoys alpine skiing, spending time with his family (both human and four legged), and watching his favorite sports teams, the New England Patriots and the Golden Gophers of the University of Minnesota.

BOARD CERTIFIED—OPHTHALMOLOGY

Dr. Marcia Aubin received her DVM degree from Iowa State University in 1988, and upon graduation worked in general practice and later as an ophthalmology intern. From 1998 through 2001, she attended Colorado State University, where she completed her master’s degree in clinical science and her ophthalmology residency. She became board certified by the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmology in 2003. She has since practiced in California and Cape Cod, and has been on staff with OSVS since 2003.

Dr. Aubin has served on the board of the RIVMA from 2006–2012 and served as RIVMA President in 2011. When not working, Dr. Aubin enjoys cycling, kayaking, SUPing, and hanging with her pooches.

BOARD CERTIFIED—SMALL ANIMAL SURGERY

After completing his undergraduate degree in Biology at Northeastern University in 1993 Dr. Besancon attended veterinary school at Iowa State University, completing his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in 1997. Dr. Besancon then completed a one-year rotating internship in Small animal Medicine and Surgery, and a two year surgical internship in Small Animal Surgery at VCA South Shore in Weymouth, MA. He then returned to Iowa State University for a year-long Orthopedic Fellowship, followed by a 3-year Small Animal Surgical Residency at the University of California-Davis to complete his formal surgical training. In 2005 he completed his board certification, becoming a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. Specializing in the practice of small animal surgery, Dr. Besancon provides care to pets suffering from a variety of diseases and conditions. He has been trained in and enjoys all aspects of surgery.

In his down time Dr. Besancon enjoys spending time with his wife and three children, along with their Golden retriever. He enjoys golfing, fishing, painting, and spending as much time as possible in the woods of Maine.

BOARD CERTIFIED—INTERNAL MEDICINE

Dr. Block completed his veterinary degree at the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University in 1991. He then completed an internship at Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston in 1992. He obtained his residency training in internal medicine at Purdue University and became board certified by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in 1994. Dr. Block pursued his interests in animal welfare and the human–animal bond by entering a degree program at the Center for Animals and Public Policy at Tufts University and he obtained his Master’s Degree in 1997. Dr. Block is the past president of the Rhode Island Veterinary Medical Association, The Society for Veterinary Medical Ethics, and The Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association and he is the current President of the Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine Association. He was a founding board member and Treasurer for 10 years of the non-profit Companion Animal Foundation which helps to provide reduced-cost veterinary care for those in need.

He is the father of two beautiful children, Elsa and Derek, and happily married to his equally beautiful wife, veterinarian Justine Johnson. His “extended family” includes four horses, two goats, two dogs, and three cats, some of which his beautiful children actually help to care for.

Dr. James Cellini is originally from Kennesaw, GA and attended the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) where he received his bachelor’s degree in biology in 2005. He attended The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine for veterinary school and graduated in 2009. Following veterinary school, he completed his small animal rotating internship at Veterinary Specialists of South Florida, followed by a neurology internship at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists in Houston, TX. He worked as an emergency doctor in Albuquerque, NM after the internship. He then completed a neurology and neurosurgery residency in New Mexico and became board certified in 2017. He worked as a staff neurologist at MedVet Chicago from 2016 to 2020. Dr. Cellini is very excited to have recently joined Ocean State Veterinary Specialists in 2021 to continue providing care for pets with neurologic dysfunction.

Dr. Cellini loves all things neurology, although he takes particular interest in spinal surgery and management of meningitis.

In his personal time, Dr. Cellini enjoys the opposing hobbies of cooking (he fancies himself a professional chef in a past life) as well as being active and exercising. Most importantly, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Liz, and their daughters, whom he is excited to watch grow up in beautiful Rhode Island.

BOARD CERTIFIED—SMALL ANIMAL SURGERY

Dr. Coronado completed his veterinary degree at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine in 1994. He then completed an internship at Purdue University in 1995. He obtained his residency training in small animal surgery at the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine, where he completed a master’s degree in 2000. He then worked as the staff neurosurgeon at the University of Wisconsin until joining the staff of OSVS in 2002. Dr. Coronado became board certified in small animal surgery in 2004. His surgical interests include surgical oncology and reconstruction, neurosurgery, and laparoscopic/thoracoscopic procedures. He is a member of the Society of Veterinary Soft Tissue Surgery, Veterinary Endoscopy Society and the Veterinary Society of Surgical Oncology, and he serves in committees through the American College of Veterinary Specialists.

In his free time, he enjoys being active outside through swimming, bicycling and running, and he enjoys sharing his passion of traveling and food with his two children. He is proud to be Texas born and raised, and he is a die-hard (Texas A&M) Aggie!

BOARD CERTIFIED—INTERNAL MEDICINE

Dr. Sarah Crain completed her veterinary degree at the University of Minnesota in 2008, followed by a rotating internship at North Carolina State University. She then spent a year practicing emergency medicine at a clinic in northeastern Pennsylvania. She returned to Minnesota for her residency in small animal internal medicine and completed a master’s degree in veterinary science, and became board certified in 2014. Following her residency, she spent several years at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts, where she taught and did research focusing on the effects of canine stem cells on the immune system. She also got involved with STEM education programs for middle and high-school students. She is thrilled to join the team at OSVS! Her main clinical interests include gastroenterology, pancreatic, autoimmune, and infectious disease.

In her spare time, Dr. Crain volunteers at low-cost spay/neuter and vaccine clinics. She loves spending time outdoors, hiking, camping, and swimming. She also loves traveling, reading, cooking, and painting and drawing. She lives in Providence with her cat, Lando, and her beagle, Baxter.

BOARD CERTIFIED—EMERGENCY/CRITICAL CARE

Dr. Terry Hallowell is a Florida native who graduated from the University of Florida, College of Veterinary Medicine in 2007 with a special interest in emergency and critical care. She went on to complete a 1 year rotating small animal medicine and surgery internship at Veterinary Specialists of South Florida and completed her 3-year residency training in emergency and critical care at BluePearl-Tampa (formerly named Florida Veterinary Specialists). She received her board certification and become a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care in 2011. After taking a position in Monroeville, PA at Allegheny Veterinary Emergency Trauma & Specialty for several years, she relocated to Rhode Island to join the team at Ocean State Veterinary Specialists in 2013.

Dr. Hallowell’s professional interests include pulmonary critical care, cardiology, endocrine emergencies, toxicology, anesthesia, acute kidney injury, and sepsis.

Dr. Hallowell and her husband Max enjoy many outdoor activities together such as hiking, biking, boating, kayaking, paddle boarding, as well as winter activities such as skiing and winter hiking. Their other hobbies include traveling and exploring restaurants and music. They have two dogs named Patches and Blaze and a calico cat named Sassafras.

BOARD CERTIFIED—EMERGENCY/CRITICAL CARE

Dr. Johnson completed her veterinary degree at the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University in 1991. She completed an internship at the Santa Cruz Veterinary hospital in California in 1992. After a few years doing general practice, teaching anatomy at a veterinary school, and completing a research project, she entered a residency program at Tufts University in the study of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care. She became board certified in this specialty in 1997.

Dr. Johnson has published several articles and textbook chapters in the topics of head trauma, nosocomial infections, and pain management. She has also lectured to veterinarians and technicians at regional veterinary conferences. She is an active member of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care. She is the director of the internship and residency programs at OSVS.

Dr. Johnson enjoys riding her horse, planting (but not weeding) her garden, scuba diving, and other outdoorsy stuff. Most of all she loves spending time with (but not cleaning up after) her husband (Dr. Gary Block of OSVS), two amazing children, and a menagerie of pets that includes horses, goats, dogs, cats, tortoises, and about 60,000 honeybees.
CEOs You Should Know – Dr. Justine Johnson

BOARD CERTIFIED—CARDIOLOGY

Dr. Adam Kane is originally from snowy Syracuse, NY and attended the University of Rochester where he received his bachelor’s degree in molecular genetics in 2003. He attended the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University for veterinary school and graduated in 2008. Following veterinary school, he completed his small animal rotating internship here at Ocean State Veterinary Specialists. He worked as an emergency doctor in Syracuse after the internship. He then moved to Raleigh, NC to participate in research on the golden retriever model of muscular dystrophy with North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He returned to the north east for his cardiology residency at the Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, MA where he became board certified in cardiology in 2014. Dr. Kane is very excited to return to Ocean State as our first full-time cardiologist.

Dr. Kane loves all things cardiac, although he takes particular interest in electrophysiology/arrhythmias and interventional medicine.

In his personal time, Dr. Kane enjoys being active and exercising, watching movies, being a die-hard Syracuse basketball fan (go Orange!), and spending time with his wife, Missy, and his adopted greyhound, Bannon.

BOARD CERTIFIED—INTERNAL MEDICINE

Dr. Becky Kessler Vodnick, born and raised in Westchester County, NY, completed her undergraduate degree at Brown University in 2003. She then moved to the “gorges” Ithaca, NY where she completed her veterinary degree at the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University in 2007. Her post-graduate veterinary education includes a rotating internship at our very own Ocean State Veterinary Specialists (2008), a fellowship in Blood Banking and Transfusion Medicine at the Matthew J Ryan Veterinary Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia (2009), and residency training at Cornell University (2012). She received her board certification from the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in 2012, shortly after which she relocated to Rhode Island to re-join the OSVS team that helped shape her early veterinary career. Dr. Kessler’s clinical interests are widespread and include hematology and transfusion medicine, auto-immune disease, gastroenterology, endocrinology, and renal disease, and she is thrilled to be a part of the team of passionate doctors, nurses, and support staff at OSVS.

Personally, Dr. Kessler lives locally with her husband and two daughters. Outside of work, Dr. Kessler enjoys hiking with her family, baking desserts, recreational tennis, and downhill skiing.

Bio coming soon…

BOARD CERTIFIED—NEUROLOGY

Dr. Marini received her veterinary degree from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2006. She then moved to Washington State University for her internship and on to Phoenix, Arizona, for a neurology residency at the Veterinary Neurological Center. She completed her residency in 2010 and achieved board certification in neurology with the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in 2012. Her special interests within neurology include diagnosing and treating encephalitis, refractory seizure treatment, and the role of physical therapy in recovery from neurological diseases.

Outside of work, Dr. Marini enjoys training and competing in agility and scent work with her Pembroke Corgi, Wally, and they competed in agility at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show this year! If she’s not training or hiking with Wally, she enjoys traveling, rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles and drinking wine with her sommelier husband.

Dr. Laurie Monhait is originally from Delaware and completed her undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Haverford College, outside of Philadelphia, PA. She then went on to complete her veterinary training at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, graduating in 2011. After veterinary school, she completed a rotating internship at VCA South Shore in Weymouth, MA, and a specialty internship in internal medicine and critical care at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists in Houston, TX. She then returned to the New England area to complete her internal medicine residency at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, MA. In 2016 Dr. Monhait relocated to Rhode Island to join the Internal Medicine team at Ocean State. Dr. Monhait enjoys all parts of Internal Medicine but has a special interest in endocrine diseases and gastrointestinal disorders.

Outside of work, Dr. Monhait enjoys spending time with her husband, son, and furry family (two cats and a dog). Additionally, she enjoys running, hiking, cooking, exploring restaurants, and spending time with friends.

BOARD CERTIFIED—RADIOLOGY

Dr. Newell completed her veterinary degree at the University of Minnesota in 1989. She then completed an internship at the Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in 1990. Her residency training was obtained at the University of Georgia and she became board certified by the American College of Veterinary Radiology in 1994. She served as an Assistant Professor and Co-Section Head of Radiology at the University of Florida for five years before joining the staff of OSVS in 2000.

Dr. Newell has published numerous journal articles and has lectured on many topics in diagnostic imaging at veterinary schools and veterinary conferences. In her free time, she enjoys raising vizslas and border terriers, growing bonsai and gardening, and chasing little white balls around pretty grassy fields.

BOARD CERTIFIED—SMALL ANIMAL SURGERY

Dr. Chris Ralphs graduated from the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University. He then continued his training with a general internship at the Veterinary Referral and Emergency Center in Norwalk, Connecticut, and a surgical internship at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists in Houston, Texas. He completed his surgical residency at the University of Minnesota. Following his residency, Dr. Ralphs was in practice for three years at Pittsburgh Veterinary Specialists in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, before moving to Rhode Island to join Ocean State Veterinary Specialists. He enjoys soft tissue, neurologic and orthopedic surgery.

On those days when he is not at work, Dr. Ralphs enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters and exploring the outdoor pursuits in the area.

AVIAN/EXOTICS SPECIALIST

Dr. Lucy H. Spelman is one of 128 veterinarians board certified in zoological medicine. Her work experience includes domestic animal, zoo animal, and wildlife medicine, as well as zoo administration, media consulting, writing, and teaching. She has also traveled extensively—her patients have included giant pandas in China, Asian elephants in Burma, giant river otters in Guyana, and mountain gorillas in Rwanda. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in biology at Brown University (1985), she earned her veterinary degree from the University of California at Davis (1990), completed a residency in zoological medicine at North Carolina State University (1994), and received her board certification from the American College of Zoological Medicine (1994). She worked for the Smithsonian Institution for nearly 10 years, first as associate veterinarian, and then as director (2000–2004) of the National Zoo in Washington, DC. She was a consultant for Discovery Communications before moving to Rwanda in 2006, where she served as the field manager for the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project for nearly three years.

Dr. Spelman returned to the United States in 2009 to teach undergraduate students interested in animal health and conservation, first part-time at Brown University, and now part-time at the Rhode Island School of Design. She serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Mountain Gorilla One-Health Program, based in Rwanda, and as Secretary of the Karanambu Trust Board of Trustees, based in Guyana, South America. She enjoys public speaking and is also a published author. She and a colleague, Dr. Ted Mashima, published The Rhino with Glue-on Shoes in 2008, a collection of 28 stories by zoo and wild animal vets. In addition to long walks with her Labrador retriever, she enjoys reading, photography, and exploring the out-of-doors.

The Rhino with Glue-On Shoes: And Other Surprising True Stories of Zoo Vets and Their Patients

BOARD CERTIFIED—SMALL ANIMAL SURGERY

Dr. Sweet completed his veterinary degree at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine in 1989, and stayed on there to complete an internship the following year. He completed his small animal surgery residency training at the North Carolina State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, and became board certified by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1994. He spent a year at Washington State University as a clinical instructor in small animal surgery, and then two years as an Assistant Professor of Small Animal Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Sweet joined the staff of OSVS in 2003. He was on the board of the Rhode Island Veterinary Medical Association from and served as its president in 2007. He was honored with the RIVMA Veterinarian of the Year award in 2008. He has also served on the board of directors of the Companion Animal Foundation and the Ocean State Animal Coalition. He continues to volunteer at the Potter League Pets in Need Veterinary Clinic. His clinical interests include pain management, soft tissue surgery, minimally invasive surgery, and oncologic surgery including reconstruction techniques. His personal interests include tai chi, reading, and enjoying the company of his wonderful family.

BOARD CERTIFIED—INTERNAL MEDICINE

Dr. Paul Worhunsky graduated from Ross University in 2004 after completing his clinical year at Auburn University. He spent the next 2.5 years in general practice before moving on to a 1 year rotating small animal medicine and surgery internship at the University of Illinois. He then completed a 3 years residency training program in internal medicine at Cornell University. He moved into private specialty practice in Campbell, CA where he spent the next 3 years as a staff internist. He recently relocated to Rhode Island to join the team at Ocean State Veterinary Specialists.

Dr. Worhunsky’s interests include endocrinology and gastrointestinal disease.

Dr. Sara Wilkes graduated from Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2020. She went on to complete a 1-year rotating internship at BluePearl North Hills in Pittsburgh PA followed by a 3-year internal medicine residency at BluePearl Maitland in Orlando, FL. She is thrilled to be working at both OSVS and BSVESS. Her main interests include gastroenterology, kidney disease, and autoimmune conditions.

When she is not at the clinic, Dr. Wilkes enjoys hiking, reading (especially fantasy and historical fiction), traveling, and spending time with her cat, Gabby.