MMI Faculty
Cailin R. Heinze, VMD, MS Diplomate ACVN
Dr. Heinze is the Chief Academic Officer for MMI. She received her VMD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in 2004. After veterinary school, she worked in private small animal/exotics practice for a few years on the east coast before moving to California to pursue a residency in clinical nutrition at UC Davis.
Dr. Heinze completed her residency and then earned a Master’s degree in Nutritional Biology at UC Davis prior to joining the faculty of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in January 2011.
Dr. Heinze is a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist®. She taught biochemistry and clinical nutrition and ran the Clinical Nutrition Service at the Foster Hospital for Small Animals until June 2019. She currently holds the title of Adjunct Associate Professor at the Cummings School.
Her professional and research interests include nutritional management of renal disease, long chain fatty acids, and cancer nutrition. In her leisure time, Dr. Heinze enjoys DIY projects, dressage, and gardening.
Marjorie Chandler, DVM, MS, MANZCVS, Diplomate ACVN and ACVIM (SA), MRCVS
Dr. Chandler has a BS from California State University, and a MS (Animal Nutrition) and DVM from Colorado State University (CSU). After several years in mixed and emergency practice, she did residencies in small animal medicine and clinical nutrition at CSU and Massey University, NZ.
Dr. Chandler is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and the American College of Veterinary Nutrition, a member of the Australia New Zealand College of Veterinary Science (Small Animal Medicine), Chair of the FEDIAF Scientific Advisory Board, founding member of the European Veterinary Nutrition Educators Group, and Co-Chair of the WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee.
Dr. Chandler is an independent consultant in small animal nutrition and internal medicine, Clinical Nutritionist for Vets-Now Referrals, Glasgow, and Internal Medicine Specialist for Moorview Referrals in Newcastle, U.K.
Martha Cline, DVM, Diplomate ACVN
Dr. Martha Cline is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine. She completed a small animal rotating internship at Oradell Animal Hospital in Paramus, NJ and then returned to the University of Tennessee for a small animal clinical nutrition residency. She is board certified with the American College of Veterinary Nutrition. In 2013, she joined the staff at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in Tinton Falls, NJ where she currently practices small animal clinical nutrition full time. Dr. Cline is also a member of the Specialty Advisory Board for Compassion First Pet Hospitals.
Dr. Cline is the current president of the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition (AAVN) and has served on their executive board since 2013. She has lectured on topics surrounding veterinary nutrition at regional, national, and international conferences. Dr. Cline has also authored and co-authored several book chapters and peer-reviewed articles in veterinary nutrition. She is the co-editor of the textbook “Obesity in the Dog and Cat.”
Dr. Cline’s clinical interest includes obesity management, critical care nutrition, and nutritional interventions for a variety of diseases including urinary, renal and gastrointestinal disease.
Andrea J. Fascetti, VMD, PhD, Diplomate ACVN and ACVIM (SA)
Dr. Fascetti graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine. Following graduation she completed an internship and medicine residency at The Animal Medical Center in New York City. She holds a doctoral degree in nutrition from the University of California, Davis. She is a Diplomate of both the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and the American College of Veterinary Nutrition. Andrea is currently a Professor of Nutrition at the University of California, Davis.
She received the AVMF/Winn Feline Foundation excellence in feline research award in 2016. She has authored over 70 peer-reviewed publications. She is a co-editor of the textbook, “Applied Veterinary Clinical Nutrition.”
Her current research interests are trace mineral and amino acid metabolism, obesity, carnivore nutrition, nutritional idiosyncrasies of the cat, improvement of pet foods and clinical nutrition.
Jennifer A. Larsen, DVM, MS, PhD, Diplomate ACVN
Dr. Larsen holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Animal Science and a DVM from UC Davis. She completed one year in local private practice before accomplishing a clinical nutrition residency at UC Davis. In 2007, Dr. Larsen attained Diplomate status from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition, and completed a PhD in Nutritional Biology in 2008.
In her current role, Dr. Larsen provides clinical nutritional consulting through the Nutrition Support Service at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. She also mentors residents and students, and teaches in the veterinary curriculum as well as for the Graduate Group of Nutritional Biology.
Deborah E. Linder, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVN
Dr. Linder is a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist® at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, where she also earned her DVM.
Her research focuses on safe and effective weight loss strategies for pets as well as the effect of obesity on pet and human well-being and One Health. She is also Co-Director of the Tufts Institute for Human-Animal Interaction.
Dr. Linder has spoken at national and international conferences, and has had appearances in Eating Well, the Boston Globe, AARP, the New York Times, and XM Sirius Radio Doctor Channel.
Her interests include obesity management, effective client education, human-animal interaction and the impact on One Health.
Maryanne Murphy, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACVN
Dr. Murphy received her DVM from Iowa State University in 2008. After veterinary school, she completed a rotating general medicine and surgery internship at Fifth Avenue Veterinary Specialists in New York City and a clinical nutrition residency at the University of Tennessee.
Dr. Murphy completed her residency and then earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative and Experimental Medicine at the University of Tennessee in 2014. The focus of Dr. Murphy’s dissertation research was energy metabolism and satiety in lean and obese dogs. She joined the staff of Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in Tinton Falls, NJ as a clinical nutritionist in 2014 and transitioned back to academia in 2016.
Dr. Murphy is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition and teaches clinical nutrition at the University of Tennessee. Her professional and research interests include obesity prevention and management and veterinary nutrition education.
Angela Witzel Rollins, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACVN
Dr. Angela Rollins performed her DVM, PhD, and residency training at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine. She has been a faculty member of the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine for over 10 years and teaches courses in veterinary nutrition and physiology and participates in the clinical nutrition service.
Dr. Rollins is a Diplomate and former President of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition. She is currently President-elect of the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition. Her research interests include obesity physiology, prevention, and treatment.
Cecilia Villaverde, BVSc, PhD, Diplomate ACVN and ECVCN
Dr. Villaverde received her veterinary degree (BVSc) from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB), Spain in 2000. She later completed a PhD in animal nutrition at the same university. After that, she spent two years as a post-doctoral scholar at the University of California Davis (UCD) studying topics related to feline nutrition.
Dr. Villaverde then completed a residency in small animal clinical nutrition at UCD and became board certified by the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN) and the European College of Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition (ECVCN) in 2010. From then until 2016 she was an adjunct professor at the UAB, and was also the chief of service of the Servei de Dietetica i Nutricio (Nutrition and Dietetics Service) at the UAB veterinary teaching hospital.
After one year as faculty veterinary nutritionist at Davis, Dr. Villaverde co-founded a consulting small animal nutrition service (Expert Pet Nutrition) in Ireland, where she currently works. She is also a clinical nutrition consultant for the Veterinary Information Network (VIN).
Dr. Villaverde was president of ECVCN from 2016 to 2019, is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for FEDIAF (trade industry association of European pet foods) and the Global Nutrition Committee of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association.
