Cardiology Faculty Veterinarians
Kelly Wiggen, DVM, DACVIM-Cardiology
Chief of Cardiology
Assistant Teaching Professor of Veterinary Cardiology
Board-Certified Specialist in Veterinary Cardiology
Kelly Wiggen is a board-certified cardiologist and an assistant teaching professor of cardiology. She is a native of the Chicago suburbs and graduated from the University of Illinois with her DVM in 2015, followed by a rotating internship at VCA Aurora Animal Hospital, a cardiology internship at VCA Animal Specialty and Emergency Center in Los Angeles, and a cardiology residency here at the University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center. After finishing her residency in July 2020, Dr. Wiggen stayed on as faculty for the Cardiology Service here at Mizzou. Her primary interests include congenital cardiac disease and pulmonary hypertension. Dr. Wiggen lives in Columbia with her husband, daughter, two dogs, and cat. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, reading, video games, and spending time with her family.
Anna McManamey, DVM, DACVIM-Cardiology
Assistant Teaching Professor of Veterinary Cardiology
Board-Certified Specialist in Veterinary Cardiology
Anna McManamey (“Dr. Mac”) became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine as a cardiologist in 2021. Her specific interests within cardiology include interventional procedures, pericardial disease, congenital heart disease, and emergency management of cardiac disease. Part of her mission is to make cardiology accessible to all levels of the veterinary profession through teaching, consultation, conference lectures, and engagement.
Dr. McManamey was born and raised in the West County of St. Louis, Missouri. She is a 2016 graduate from the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Mac completed a small animal rotating internship at the Ohio State University and an emergency critical care internship followed by a residency in cardiology at North Carolina State University. She served as an assistant clinical faculty at Purdue University after residency, but could not pass up the opportunity to return to her family and alma mater at Mizzou. She joined the MU VHC Cardiology Team in August 2024.
When not at work, Dr. Mac enjoys spending time with her family and dogs, especially at Lake of the Ozarks. She also likes to watch a myriad of television shows and movies.
Residents
Elizabeth Martin, DVM
Elizabeth Martin originally grew up near Dallas, Texas. She completed her undergraduate degree in biomedical sciences and veterinary degree at Texas A&M University. She then moved to Blacksburg, Virginia, and completed a rotating internship followed by a cardiology specialty internship at Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine (Virginia Tech). She joined the University of Missouri for a cardiology specialty internship in July 2022 and stayed in July 2023 to pursue a cardiology residency. She enjoys indoor and outdoor cycling and taking her blue heeler mix, Allie, on outdoor adventures.
Alix Saavedra, DVM
Alix Saavedra was born in Colombia and was raised in Orlando, Florida. She moved to Saint Kitts to pursue her veterinary degree at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine with her clinical year spent at Colorado State University. She then completed a small animal rotating internship at BluePearl Pet Hospital in Tampa, Florida. She undertook a cardiology internship at Southwest Florida Veterinary Specialists in Bonita Springs, Florida, and joined the University of Missouri in July of 2022 to pursue a cardiology residency. She loves to spend her free time hiking, drawing, and hanging out with her cats and bearded dragon.
Jackie Sankisov, DVM
Jackie Sankisov is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. She completed her undergraduate degree in 2010 from Sonoma State University. She then spent 10 collective years working as a veterinary technician in specialty and emergency small animal hospitals prior to becoming a veterinarian; her love for cardiology grew tremendously through these years. Within that time, she completed an additional post-baccalaureate certificate in health sciences at California State University East Bay in 2016. Jackie completed her DVM degree at Oregon State University in 2022. She then completed a small animal rotating internship at Cornell University in 2023 followed by a clinically research-focused cardiology specialty internship at Colorado State University, where she authored and published a paper establishing echocardiographic references for right heart ratios in healthy dogs. Jackie joined the University of Missouri in July of 2024 to pursue a cardiology residency. Her interests include advanced cardiac imaging and therapies involved with mitral valve disease.
When she is not at work, she enjoys traveling and exploring new places with her partner Carlos, cuddling with her handsome Ragdoll cat Frankie, visiting family when possible, spending time by any body of water (ocean lover!), always looking for delicious and authentic restaurants to enjoy, makeup as an art form, and getting out into nature whenever possible.
Technician
Kelsey Brown, RVT
Kelsey Brown is from the St. Louis area. She graduated from an AVMA-accredited veterinary technology program, the Vet Tech Institute, in 2010 with her associate degree. She started out her veterinary technician career in research and remained there for three years. She started working at the University of Missouri in 2013 and recently worked for nine months in a small general practice. She has spent time in anesthesia, shelter medicine, oncology, and cardiology. She loves crafts, reading and spending time with her family, dog and cat.
