Drs. Nick Dervisis and Shawna Klahn (Oncology Faculty)
Dr. Nick Dervisis – Comparative Oncology
Dr. Nick Dervisis, originally from Greece, earned his DVM degree from Aristotle University in Thessaloniki. His passion for oncology began in his final years of vet school, sparked by clinical rotations and a family connection—a relative was an oncology nurse at a major cancer hospital. At that time, there were few veterinary oncologists in Europe, which motivated him to seek further training in the United States.
After completing his veterinary studies and serving in the Hellenic Army, he moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and completed a combined medical oncology residency and a Ph.D. in Comparative Medicine and Integrative Biology at Michigan State University. After three years on the faculty at MSU, he joined the VA-MD College of Veterinary Medicine with Shawna Klahn, where they built an innovative oncology research and clinical service program. The goal was to provide cutting-edge, compassionate cancer care for pets and use companion animal cancer as a model for human disease.
Dr. Shawna Klahn – Comparative Oncology
Born in Illinois, she Wisconsin in high school, and is a "double-Badger" (BS and DVM). She completed her rotating internship in beautiful Fort Collins, then completed an oncology residency at Michigan State in 2011. She spent the first year out of residency in a private specialty practice in SC, and the past 12 years co-creating the Oncology program at Virginia Tech with Dr. Dervisis. In 2023, she completed a 2-year mentored research program through the integrated Translational Health Research Institute of Virginia (iTHRIV) with a focus on clinical trials in pets with cancer, and concurrently, a graduate program in Regulatory Affairs. Her goal was to expedite the translation of discovery into tangible, marketable advances in the management of cancer in both humans and companion animals.
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