Paula Larenza Menzies

Paula Larenza Menzies is Professor of Small Animal Clinical Studies in the Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Melbourne. She earned her veterinary degree from the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences at La Plata National University, Argentina in 1994, a Dr. med. vet. from the Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Switzerland, a PhD from the Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Zurich in 2009, and is a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia (DipECVAA) since 2006. Her academic career includes positions as Assistant Professor in Anaesthesiology and head of the Small Animal Anaesthesia Service at the Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern from 2007 to 2012; Assistant Professor (tenure track) of Veterinary Anesthesiology at the University of Helsinki Faculty of Veterinary Medicine from 2013 to 2018; and Professor and Head of the University Clinic for Anaesthesiology and Perioperative Intensive-Care Medicine at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna from 2019. She joined the University of Melbourne as Professor in Small Animal Clinical Studies.

Professor Larenza Menzies' research focuses on veterinary anesthesia and analgesia, encompassing pharmacokinetics of anesthetics like ketamine and methadone, regional anesthesia techniques such as nerve blocks and transversus abdominis plane injections, postoperative pain management, and hemodynamic effects of sedatives in various species including dogs, horses, ponies, sheep, and pigs. Her work has contributed to advancements in balanced anesthesia protocols and stereoselective drug disposition. Key publications include 'Prevalence and risk factors for canine post-anesthetic aspiration pneumonia (1999–2009): a multicenter study' (Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia, 2014, 114 citations); 'Balanced anesthesia in the equine' (Clinical Techniques in Equine Practice, 2007, 93 citations); 'Stereoselective pharmacokinetics of ketamine and norketamine after racemic ketamine or S-ketamine administration during isoflurane anaesthesia in Shetland ponies' (British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2007, 61 citations); and 'Effects of a low dose infusion of racemic and S-ketamine on the nociceptive withdrawal reflex in standing ponies' (Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia, 2008, 71 citations). With over 1,150 citations on Google Scholar, her research impacts clinical practices in veterinary perioperative care. She serves as guest editor for the Special Issue 'Advances in Veterinary Analgesia' in the journal Veterinary Sciences (MDPI).