Rate My Professor Jessica Ward

Jessica Ward is a distinguished professor in Agricultural and Veterinary Science affiliated with the Iowa State University Foundation, holding the positions of Associate Dean for Academic Programs, Professor, and Phyllis M. Clark Endowed Professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She earned a BS in Biology and Biological Anthropology from Duke University in 2005, a DVM from North Carolina State University in 2011, completed a small animal rotating internship at Ohio State University in 2012, a cardiology residency at North Carolina State University in 2015, became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in Cardiology in 2015, and received a Postgraduate Certificate in Veterinary Education from the Royal Veterinary College in 2024. A faculty member since 2015, she previously served as assistant dean for extramural student programs, creating the ISU-CVM Practice Partners Program to facilitate student recruitment and job placements. In the Cardiology Section of the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center, she oversees fourth-year students, interns, and residents while teaching clinical cardiology to third-year veterinary students.

Dr. Ward's research specializations include small animal clinical cardiology, point-of-care ultrasound for emergency diagnosis of congestive heart failure, pharmacology of drugs for heart failure treatment, and scholarship of teaching and learning. Her contributions to the field are evidenced by key publications such as "Accuracy of point-of-care lung ultrasonography for the diagnosis of cardiogenic pulmonary edema in dogs and cats with acute dyspnea" (2017, 126 citations), "Evaluation of point-of-care thoracic ultrasound and NT-proBNP for the diagnosis of congestive heart failure in cats with respiratory distress" (2018, 113 citations), "Distribution of alveolar-interstitial syndrome in dogs and cats with respiratory distress as assessed by lung ultrasound versus thoracic radiographs" (2018, 82 citations), and "Clinical presentation, cardiovascular findings, etiology, and outcome of myocarditis in dogs: 64 cases" (2020, 51 citations). She has earned major awards including the ISU CVM William O. Reece Advising Award (2024), APLU Food Systems Leadership Institute Fellowship (2024), ISU CELT Excellence in SoTL Award (2024), ACVIM William R. Fenner Early Career Award for Outstanding Service (2023), Zoetis Distinguished Veterinary Teacher Award (2019), and Iowa State University Award for Early Achievement in Teaching (2019). Ward serves in leadership roles across university committees, the CVM Dean’s Cabinet, ACVIM credentials and awards committees, and as an AVMA Council on Education site visitor.