One Alumni Couple, Two Visionary Careers

Meghan Ramos and Garrett Harvey are helping to advance veterinary medicine in two areas that profoundly impact a dog’s quality of life and longevity: mobility and cancer—Ramos as medical director of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center (PVWDC), Harvey as director of veterinary affairs for FidoCure, a canine cancer research and therapeutics innovator.

Each of their careers is rooted in early callings to help people and animals, which brought them both to Penn Vet and remains their North Star.

One Demonstration Changes Everything

Ramos studied animal science at Rutgers University, finding her field of choice in veterinary medicine.

“I liked the hands-on component and the idea of helping people and animals,” she said.

At Rutgers, Ramos learned about Penn Vet through an undergraduate honors research project with Penn Vet alumna and equine specialist Sarah Ralston, V’80, PhD, DACVN.

Now retired, Ralston was then a professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and a specialist in equine medicine. One of her clients was a longtime supporter of Penn Vet, and Ralston and the client invited Ramos to visit the PVWDC for a working dog demonstration.

“I met all the incredible people doing extraordinary things with working dogs, including Dr. Cindy Otto [executive director of the center]. I fell in love with all of it,” she said.

Hearing her calling, Ramos drove back a few days later to start volunteering. It was, she said, the beginning of a life-changing journey.

Contributing to a Burgeoning Field of Canine Sports Medicine

Ramos chose Penn Vet for her veterinary education because of the Center and continued to work with Otto and the PVWDC team in both research and a veterinary setting.

After graduating from Penn Vet, Ramos enrolled in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania’s two-year Master of Science in Translational Research program. As part of the master’s program, she had a specialty internship at the PVWDC, working on odor detection research that trains dogs to identify disease through scent.

“I also provided veterinary care for the working dogs—overseeing their breeding, musculoskeletal health, fitness, and more,” she said. “And I saw working dog primary care cases at Ryan Hospital.”

In 2020, just as Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital began offering a specialized Canine Sports and Performance Medicine Service, she started a residency in sports medicine and rehabilitation, a burgeoning field that the American Veterinary Medical Association fully recognized as a veterinary specialty in 2018.

In 2023, she completed the residency, which was supported by a private Penn Vet donor and the global specialist veterinary pharmaceuticals company Dechra Veterinary. She then became medical director of the PVWDC and lecturer in sports medicine and working dog sciences.

In addition to her day-to-day at the PVWDC, Ramos works closely with Otto to build and grow the Ryan Hospital service line that diagnoses and treats working dogs, canine athletes, and companion dogs with various mobility disorders and fitness levels.

“Dr. Otto has inspired me since I first met her,” said Ramos. “I wouldn’t be where I am without her, and she continues to be a mentor. I deeply value how she pushes limits, loves to teach, and is a caring and genuine colleague, leader, and veterinarian.”

Earlier this year, Ramos took the exams for board certification from the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation.

“My work is everything I want it to be,” Ramos remarked. “I am proud to help further develop and expand Penn Vet’s sports medicine service and the field overall.”

Veterinary Medicine by Way of Medical School

Unlike Ramos, who knew her professional destiny when she entered the PVWDC, Harvey’s journey to Penn started less linearly. He was on the way to practicing human medicine when he veered onto a new course.

“While in [King’s] college, I took the MCATs and applied to medical school, but, funny enough, doctors dissuaded me,” he said. “During my time shadowing physicians, they discussed how insurance often shapes many aspects of human medicine, highlighting the challenges and constraints they felt within their practices.”

Harvey rethought his plan: “I had finished all my required coursework, so I explored comparative anatomy, animal physiology, and those types of classes. “I grew up around quarter horses and German shepherds and thought about my love for animals. Many synergies came to fruition as my focus shifted to veterinary medicine, which seemed wide open with avenues to improve health care for animals and humans.”

Exploring Frontiers in Canine Cancer Diagnostics and Treatment

Harvey directed his effort toward veterinary school by spending a year working in a mixed animal veterinary practice before enrolling in Penn Vet.

“There are so many uncharted frontiers in animal medicine,” he said. “At Penn Vet, I realized I probably wasn’t strictly bound to work in a clinic but would do something else with my VMD. Penn Vet has a lot of opportunities for ‘nontraditional pathways,’ whether a joint degree program or exposure and access to other schools, like Wharton and Penn Medicine.”

As a student, he got involved with The One Health Company, a translational medicine outfit working in canine and human cancer. With venture capital backing, the company launched FidoCure.

“FidoCure makes the concept of personalized, precision medicine, which has been around for human cancer for almost 20 years, available to dogs with cancer,” he explained. “The platform couples a DNA sequencing diagnostic and access to targeted therapies that veterinarians can use to treat dogs.”

Six years after earning his VMD, Harvey is still with the booming startup. He oversees clinician education, outreach, and impact research, interacting with veterinary oncologists and generalists who use FidoCure with their patients and clients.

“We’ve treated almost 5,000 patients at more than 1,000 different veterinary hospitals,” he said. “I may not be in the exam room, but, in a way, I feel like I’ve touched more patients than I could physically. It’s exciting to be part of this growth company that influences veterinary medicine so profoundly.”

Building Careers and a Marriage

While Ramos and Harvey are on different career paths, they’re each other’s biggest cheerleaders.

“We’ve always been able to align and say, ‘My goals are yours, and yours are mine,’” said Harvey. “That’s probably been the most elegant part of the relationship: I streamline whatever I need to make Meghan’s work possible, and she does the same for me.”

As they’re building their careers, they are also building a marriage. From their home base in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, they parent Harvey’s two children, raise their German shepherd Rico, and enjoy sports (he’s Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Orioles; she’s New York Giants and Yankees). All while navigating the demands of two intense, exciting careers.

“It might get boring if we both did the same thing,” Ramos said. “But we have this lovely balance of understanding each other’s work and having a core love of the profession. We’re always learning something new from each other.”