Dr. An-Khanh Ives grew up all over the United States, realizing her love of animals early in life. In childhood she would bring home found creatures to her not-so-thrilled mom and began shadowing at her local vet clinic at 8 years old. Following high school and a year studying Mandarin in Taiwan, Dr.Ives attended University of Massachusetts- Amherst for a dual Bachelor’s of Science in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, and a Bachelor’s of Arts on Chinese Literature and Language with the goal of becoming a researcher to develop optimized targeted chemotherapy delivery systems. After graduation, she attended NYU- Poly for a year of post baccalaureate education in Biomedical Engineering. By the end of her first year, it was clear to Dr. Ives that her true calling was in veterinary medicine all along. She soon accepted a position as an emergency technician at the Animal Emergency and Specialty Center in Knoxville, Tn. During this time with the referral center, Dr. Ives had the opportunity to experience veterinary medicine hand on, reaffirming her calling.
Dr. Ives graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. Throughout her four years of vet school, any time not in the classroom she dedicated to conducting research as research assistant, mentoring her peers as a teaching assistant, and chairing several clubs including the Secretary of Zoo, Exotic, and Wildlife (ZEW) Club, in addition to volunteering for the Sea Turtle Monitoring Network as a field technician. She spearheaded the collaboration between the RUSVM ZEW Club and local Dolphin Aquarium. Her research culminated in a first author publication in the Journal of Veterinary Microbiology.