Scientific Advisory Board

Dr. Katherine Kramer  joined VCA Canada Vancouver Animal Wellness Hospital (Vancouver, British Columbia) in 2011 after practicing in North Carolina for nine years. As an integrative veterinarian, she became interested in alternative modalities early in her career, blending herbs and acupuncture with Western medicine to promote optimal health. Katherine is a graduate of the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine and holds an acupuncture certification from the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society and a tui-na certification from the Chi Institute. She is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in Canine and Feline Practice.

Incorporating cannabis in her practice has been a natural progression and has resulted in her becoming a vocal proponent for research and the use of cannabis as a therapeutic agent. She is a member of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, the College of Veterinarians of British Columbia, the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, the American Association of Feline Practitioners,  and the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management and is the Medical Director of the VCA-Canada Vancouver Animal Wellness Hospital. In addition to lecturing and consulting work, Katherine currently serves as a director of the Canadian Association of Veterinary Cannabinoid Medicine. She is a co-editor and co-author of the first veterinary cannabis textbook, Springer's 'Cannabis Therapy in Veterinary Medicine', scheduled to be published June 2021.

Dr. Peyton received her veterinary degree from the University of Florida and completed a small animal internship at Texas A&M University.  She completed her residency in Emergency and Critical Care at the University of California Davis and is board certified in Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care Medicine.  

Following her residency, she worked in private practice developing two ECC services and a residency program for ECC.  During this time, Dr. Peyton also completed acupuncture training with the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society and animal rehabilitation certification with the Canine Rehabilitation Institute.  Following this, she went on to be certified by the International Veterinary Chiropractic Association.  She returned to the University of California Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital in 2014 as Chief of service of the Small Animal Integrative Medicine service and is a founding member and Associate Director of the UC Davis Center for Advancing Pain Relief. 

Her clinical and research interests include the recognition and treatment of pain and advancing novel techniques for burn and wound management in all species.   In 2019, Dr. Peyton received the UC Davis Chancellor’s Innovation Award for her development of a fish biological bandage and work with burned animals in wildfires. Dr. Peyton also serves on the UC Davis Cannabis and Hemp Research Center Steering Committee to help further develop cannabis research in the animal and veterinary community. 

Dr. Hoda Erjaee is a clinical researcher with 6 years of experience in various therapeutic areas and her life’s passion has always been helping patients. She received her DVM degree in 2014 and completed her PhD in Pharmacology in 2017. During her DVM studies, she enjoyed working with all species from small animals to cattle and equine patients. Her PhD research was focused on plant-based medicine for animals and oxidative stress. She has published over 15 articles in peer-reviewed journals since 2014.

Dr. Erjaee has particular interest in clinical trials, and she has managed several studies including but not limited to oncology, gastrointestinal, and immunology. Dr. Erjaee has significant experience in clinical development operation and clinical trial administration. She is also the founder of a training website for clinical research to help individuals learn more about clinical trials. She is passionate about improving patient outcomes and patients’ quality of life through novel medicine. She believes that clinical studies have a significant impact on the lives of patients and their families.