Dr. Tiffany Martin, D.V.M., M.S., Diplomate ACVR (Radiation Oncology)
Assistant Professor, Radiation Oncology
I grew up in Mammoth Lakes, a small ski resort in Northern California, and completed my undergraduate degree in animal science at the University of Nevada, Reno.
A love for animals is in my genetic makeup, a characteristic I inherited from both my parents. When I was younger, we had a goat, a horse, chickens, and ducks in addition to cats and dogs which, over a few years we pared down to just a couple of dogs and cats.
I completed my veterinary degree at Colorado State University, and during that time my eight-year-old Rottweiler, Dahlia was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and was treated through the Flint Animal Cancer Center. From this, I had the opportunity to experience oncology from both sides, as the clinician, and as the pet parent. Although she underwent chemotherapy, the prognosis was poor. We made sure that her last months were spent doing the things that she loved: playing in the snow, lounging on the couch, and chasing squirrels.
During veterinary school, I liked medical oncology, but once I discovered radiation oncology, I found my focus. As veterinary students, we didn’t get a lot of information about radiation therapy, so I approached one of the radiation oncology faculty at the time, Dr. Jamie Custis, and arranged to do an elective week with him. He was generous with both his time and knowledge and offered a lot of encouragement. I also shadowed several of the radiation oncology residents, learning a bit about how they assembled such complex, precise plans for their patients.
After graduation in 2015, I completed a one-year small animal emergency and critical care internship at DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital in Portland, Oregon; a busy, wonderful hospital with a variety of specialists. I gained tremendous experience and determined that radiation oncology was my destined pathway. Ultimately, I knew I wanted to return to CSU to complete my radiation oncology residency.
Throughout my residency, I had the opportunity to learn from the top radiation, medical and surgical oncologists, as well as treat the incredible patients that came through the Flint Animal Cancer Center. I also solidified my passion for research and teaching veterinary students about the amazing things we can do with radiation therapy. My residency research primarily focused on using stereotactic radiation therapy for treating acromegaly in cats and optimizing the use of a patient-specific customized 3D-printed bolus for superficial radiation therapy.
As a new faculty member at the FACC, I look forward to continuing to train veterinary students, interns, and residents in radiation oncology. Our field is constantly developing and changing and it is important to be at the forefront of those advances. I’m also looking forward to expanding my clinical research and answering the most important question: How can we do better?
In my free time, you can find me and my husband, Jesse, enjoying all of the fantastic things that Colorado has to offer including hiking, skiing, running, paddle boarding, attending concerts and, of course, drinking great beer. We have two dogs, a Lab mix named Riley, and a Chihuahua mix named Rogue, in addition to two cats, Tweak and Pickle. The dogs join us on many of our outdoor adventures, but all of our animals would be considered spoiled by just about any standard.