Dr. Julie Bennington, DVM, PhD has been with the VCA family since 2007 as a previous medical director and small animal general practitioner in the Mid-Atlantic Region for 10 years until she moved to North Carolina and transitioned to relief/part-time associate while pursuing her PhD at Wake Forest University. She graduated in 2021 with her PhD in Molecular Medicine and Translational Sciences with a concentration in Regenerative Medicine through a T32 Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Comparative Medicine at the Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) in the Dr. Koudy Williams Lab and also shadowed in urology clinics under the mentorship of Dr. Gopal Badlani, MD. Her research focused on chemokine therapy for chronic renal fibrosis. Dr. Bennington is also a proud military veteran with almost 10 years of active duty service as an officer in both the Air Force and the Army as a military veterinarian.

On her days off, Dr. Bennington serves as faculty lecturer at UH Manoa in the Animal Sciences Program teaching an elective course, Companion Animals and Society. She is also a hula dancer in Halau Ka Liko Pua O Kalaniakea under the direction of Kumu Hula Kapua Dalire here in Kaneohe. Dr. Bennington is also co-manager and dancer in Rueda 808, a Cuban salsa performance dance group based in Honolulu. A PADI-certified Rescue and Advanced Open Water scuba diver and current Divemaster candidate, Dr. Bennington enjoys her strong connection with the islands practicing malama i ka 'aina.