People
Head of Lab
Dr. Jeryl Jones (PhD, DVM, DACVR)
Dr. Jones is a veterinary radiologist and professor in the department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at Clemson University. She moved to Clemson in the spring of 2015 from West Virginia University’s Animal and Nutritional Sciences Division in Morgantown, WV. Dr. Jones completed her undergraduate degree in Pre-Professional Studies, Zoology from Clemson University. During her time at Clemson she worked as a research assistant for several projects and developed an interest in research. She went on to earn her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree from the University of Georgia. Upon completing veterinary school, Dr. Jones worked in private veterinary practices in Syracuse, NY; Aiken, SC; and Barnwell, SC.
After 7 years in private practice, she entered a residency program at Auburn University to become a board certified veterinary radiologist. During her residency program, she rediscovered her interest in research and went on to earn a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Biomedical Studies from Auburn University. Her research interest currently focuses on using diagnostic imaging techniques to study causes of lower back pain in working dogs. Dr. Jones also participates as a collaborator on other research projects related to diagnostic imaging in animal models. She serves as an adjunct professor in the Small Animal Clinical Sciences Department at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. Her role as the Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal, Veterinary Radiology & Ultrasound, allows her to stay current in the field of veterinary radiology and provide valuable insights into scientific writing for students. Dr. Jones enjoys hiking, bird watching, traveling, and spending time with her husband Bob, dog Ellie, and cat Vitis.
Lab Group
Spring 2018 Lab Group (left to right) Top: Annah Nieman, Amanda Biddlecome, and Emma Rovitz. Bottom: Connie Brinks, Kris Murray, Dr. Jeryl Jones, and Morgan Houde.
Graduate Members
Michael Carnevale
Michael Carnevale is from West Long Branch, New Jersey. He attended West Virginia University for his undergraduate degree, majoring in Animal and Nutritional Sciences. He was introduced to Dr. Jeryl Jones during his junior year who introduced him to imaging techniques in lower back disease in dogs. After graduating from West Virginia University, he wanted to continue his education and further his understanding about this degenerate disease. He followed Dr. Jeryl Jones to Clemson University in pursuit of a Master of Science (thesis) degree in Animal and Veterinary Science. In his spare time, he enjoys fishing, boating, hanging out with friends and his canine buddy Diego, a mixed breed he rescued from Cheat Lake Animal Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Connie Dragicevich
Connie Dragicevich is originally from the Baltimore, Maryland area and is pursuing a Master's degree with Dr. Jones. She is highly passionate about companion animals and is interested in a research or pet industry-related career. She got her undergraduate degree from University of Maryland in 2014 and post-graduation she got experience working in an animal shelter and in a veterinary clinic. Currently she lives in Easley, SC with her husband, 2 cats, and 2 dogs. In her spare time she likes to hike with the dogs, cook, paint, and explore new eateries.
Kris Murray
Kris Murray is from a small town called West Grove, Pennsylvania. They earned their undergraduate degree from Penn State, majoring in Animal Science with a minor in Equine Science. Their love of research was ignited through the Penn State Equine Research Team where they participated in projects involving growth, behavior, and nutrition. These experiences led Kris to pursue their Master’s degree in Animal and Veterinary Science with a project focusing on the behavioral indicators of lower back disease in working dogs. After graduation, Kris hopes to become involved with animal behavior research and focus on its relation to health, environment, and humans. Outside of school, Kris likes to read comics, hike, and play with their cat Pudge.
Undergraduate Members
Emma Rovitz
Emma Rovitz was born and raised in Long Beach, New York. She is currently a senior Animal and Veterinary Sciences major with a Pre-Veterinary concentration. Upon graduation, she plans to attend veterinary school and work with both large and small animals. In her spare time, she enjoys long walks with her dog, Mowgli, reading, listening to music and baking. Her love for dogs and interest in learning new research skills is what led her to Dr. Jones and imaging research team.
Annah Nieman
Annah Nieman is from Jacksonville, FL, but her family currently lives in Aiken, SC. She is a senior Animal and Veterinary Sciences major with a Pre-Veterinary concentration. Annah aspires to work with military working dogs after achieving her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. She enjoys reading, hiking, cuddling with dairy cows, and spending time with people. Along with her participation in our lab, Annah is also a member of Clemson’s Canine Genetics Laboratory and volunteers at Clemson’s sheep farm. She decided to join the team because of her passion for working dogs and interest in research.
Previous Members
Amanda Biddlecome
Amanda Biddlecome is a senior Animal and Veterinary Sciences major. She was raised in the small town of Edgefield, SC. After graduation in 2018, she is planning on pursuing a veterinary degree to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a veterinarian. She enjoys hiking, reading, painting, and spending quality time with friends. Currently, she is a volunteer at the Greenville Zoo as well as being involved with Campus Outreach. She decided to join the team so that she could gain experience in the research field and so she could learn skills that she would not be able to learn elsewhere.
Morgan Houde
Morgan Houde is from Camden, SC, and is currently a junior Animal and Veterinary Science Major with a Pre-Veterinary concentration. She is planning to pursue her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine to accomplish her goal of becoming a small animal veterinarian. She enjoys tennis, running, cycling, skiing, hiking, rowing, and swimming. She is a member of Club Tennis and Pre-Vet Club at Clemson. In addition to her love of dogs, she decided to join the team because of her desire to gain research experience as well as knowledge in the field of radiology that will help her in her future career.
Carolyn Hynes
Carolyn Hynes was born and raised in Charlotte, NC. She is currently a senior Animal and Veterinary Sciences major with a Pre-Veterinary concentration and a business minor. After graduation, she plans to attend veterinary school to pursue her dream of becoming a veterinarian. In her spare time she enjoys playing with her dogs, being outside, and spending time with family and friends. Her love for dogs as well as her interest in radiology and animal rehabilitation led her to join the imaging team.
Carolyn wil be attending NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine in Fall 2018.
Meenakshi Mukherjee
Meena is originally from Kolkata, India. She got her undergraduate degree in genetics from Bangalore University (India) and her masters’ degree in biomedical genetics from VIT University (India). Meena then went on to get her PhD in genetics and developmental biology with a focus on canine genetics from West Virginia University (Morgantown, WV) under the supervision of Dr. Jones. In her doctoral research, she studied the phenotype and genotype of lumbosacral stenosis in Labrador retrievers. She is currently working as a postdoc in the Driskell lab at Washington State University (Pullman, WA), where she is attempting to understand the biology of fibroblast heterogeneity in skin and the role said heterogeneity plays in wound healing. Outside of work and research, she loves to spend time with her loyal four-legged companion (her dog) Maggie – cooking, watching TV or going for walks. Meena loves the energy of a college campus, so she wants to continue working and building a career in academia.
Samantha Sanders
Samantha Sanders is an Animal and Veterinary Science major with a Pre-Veterinary concentration from Barnwell, SC. She plans on graduating Clemson in 2017 and attending vet school the following fall. Her hobbies include watching college football (Go Tigers!), playing soccer, and spending time with friends, family, and animals. In her spare time, she works at Tiger Town Animal Hospital in Clemson as well as participating in the Pre-Vet club. One fun fact about her is that she has a twin sister that attends USC (Clemson’s rival school). She decided to join the imaging team because as a future veterinarian, this will help in learning to read computed tomography, learning anatomy (in the lumbosacral region), and give her research experience for the future.
Sam will be attending Mississippi State University College of Veterinary, Class of 2021!
Sara Beeland
Originally from Aiken, SC, Sara Beeland is a senior at Clemson University studying Animal and Veterinary Sciences with a pre-veterinary concentration. After graduation she plans to attend veterinary school in pursuit of becoming a small animal veterinarian. In her free time she loves to dance and do anything outdoors with family and friends. She has a heart for animal orthopedics, which led her to join the Imaging Lab team!
Sara will be attending the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, Class of 2021!
Dani- Irene Chaney
Dani-Irene Chaney is originally from Las Vegas, Nevada. She enlisted her junior year of high school into the Army Reserves and went to basic training the summer between her junior and senior year. Dani went to AIT the summer after. She is currently attending Clemson University as an undergraduate student majoring in Animal and Veterinary Sciences with a minor in military leadership. She joined the ROTC program at Clemson and is planning on commissioning in 2018. Dr. Jones was assigned as her academic advisor sophomore year and was able to help her get an internship at the military dog hospital in Pennsylvania. Dani then became interested in Dr. Jones’s research involving military working dogs.
Dani will be attending the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, Class of 2021!
Katherine Olson
Katherine Olson is a senior Animal and Veterinary Sciences major with a concentration in Pre-veterinary medicine and is double-minoring in Microbiology and Biological Sciences. Born and raised in Franklin Lakes, NJ, she decided from a young age to pursue a career in veterinary medicine and will be attending vet school in the Fall of 2017. A long-standing interest in the important role working and service animals play in the lives of the humans they help led her to the Imaging Lab team. In her spare time, Katherine enjoys volunteering with Gamma Sigma Sigma, reading, spending time with friends, and spoiling her partially blind rescue cat, Marcus!
Katherine will be attending Tufts University College of Veterinary Medicine, Class of 2021!
Tina Rowland
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii and raised in Columbia, SC Tina earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Clemson University in 2014. Her love for research was fostered through unique research opportunities on Dr. Gustavo Lascano's Ruminant Nutrition team and Dr. Heather Dunn's Animal Atlases and Companion Animal Atlas team. Tina was introduced to Dr. Jones through Dr.Strickland following her senior seminar presentation on military working dogs. She decided to remain at Clemson and work toward her Master's degree with Dr. Jones investigating lower back disease in working dogs. She is appreciative that her research has the potential to help military personnel as she grew up in an Army household. Tina enjoys baking and hiking when she is not at school.
Tina Rowland accepted a position at the University of South Carolina as IACUC (institutional Animal Care and Use Committee) Coordinator.
Tina (Rowland) Kimmett has just been appointed as the new Planning and Exercise Coordinator for Clemson Livestock Poultry Health https://www.clemson.
Mascots
Ellie Jones
Although not originally from Australia, Ellie Jones is an Australian Shepherd born in Pennsylvania and adopted from her previous owner at the young age of 12 weeks. Her hobbies include attempting to train her human parents, taking naps on her father’s lap, and pondering about the mysterious object in her backyard that the humans call a sprinkler. Ellie’s high-energy personality occasionally gets her in trouble when she tries to give hugs and kisses at the door! If Ms. Ellie is in a good mood she likes to meet new people and dogs, especially if offered a Zuke’s treat! While Ellie is not the most experienced with Image Analysis, her enthusiasm more than makes up for her lack of technique. Ellie's high energy personality keeps the team motivated.
Vitis Jones
Mr. Vitis Jones, originally from Montgomery County, Virginia was rescued from a shelter when he was 6 months old. Vitis, who was named after a genus of vining plants, took to his name quickly once his human parents caught him eating plants! His favorite hobbies include trying to attack his frog catnip toy and taking naps on a heated pad, which was strategically placed on a window seat by the humans. He is known to hold grudges and does not care for his younger canine sister who thought it would be funny to chase him around the house when he first arrived.One of the more experienced members of the lab team, Vitis Jones spends his days supervising. His wisdom and critiques are an essential part of the lab team's success.