Thursday, September 10, 2026
6:15pm – 8:30pm

“NOVEL JOINT REPLACEMENT SURGERY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF POST-SURGICAL REHABILITATION FOR BEST OUTCOME“

Sponsored by:

Omega Veterinary Group

Speakers:

Dr. Stephen Jones & Dr. Ilana Strubel

DR. STEPHEN JONES MVB, MS, DIPL. ACVS-SA, DECVS, EBVS

Dr. Jones is an Irish national, hailing from Co. Monaghan in the east of Ireland. He attended veterinary school at University College Dublin, where he graduated with honors in 2009. Following graduation, he moved to Hollywood in South Florida to complete a rotating and a specialty surgery internship, at the Hollywood Animal Hospital. From there, Dr. Jones moved to Gainesville, Florida where he completed a combined residency in small animal surgery and a Master’s of Science program at the University of Florida. After completion of his residency in 2015, Dr. Jones spent time as a member of the faculty as an Assistant Professor of Small Animal Orthopedics at The Ohio State University. He later served as the medical director at Bark City Veterinary Specialists in Park City, Utah before moving to the Omega Veterinary Group in San Mateo, CA. Dr. Jones is a Diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) and the European College of Veterinary Surgeons (ECVS).

To date, Dr. Jones has written and published 34 scientific papers, over 40 scientific abstracts and has also authored numerous book chapters. Dr. Jones continues to question standard veterinary practices and conventions, and has a number of ongoing and planned clinical research projects that he intends to publish and present at international conferences into the future. As part of his commitment to improve the quality of orthopedic care for his patients, Dr. Jones is an active member of the Veterinary Orthopedic Society and the AO (German for “Association for the Study of Internal Fixation”). He continues to help his patients through the design and development of new surgical implants & instrumentation, and through the development (and publication) of new and innovative surgical techniques.

Dr. Jones has a passion for teaching and is frequently asked to lecture locally, nationally, and internationally. He has given over 350 continuing education lectures and has taught over 100 Laboratories.

Dr. Jones’ special clinical interests include the performance of joint replacement, management of cranial cruciate ligament rupture, arthroscopy, minimally invasive fracture repair, medical and surgical treatment of joint disease, and surgical management of angular limb deformities. Outside of work, Dr. Jones loves spending time with his wife Ashley and their dog Liam. He also loves to golf, when time permits!

DR. ILANA STRUBEL MA, DVM, CCRT, CVAT, CVSMT

Dr. Ilana Strubel graduated from the University of Illinois in 1990 with a B.Sc. in Ecology, Ethology, and Evolution and went on to earn her Master’s in Marine Biology from Boston University’s Marine Program, with a focus on marine mammal strandings along the eastern seaboard and harbor seal behavior in relation to human disturbance. She went on to earn her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Illinois and entered small-animal clinical practice in 1995. Since beginning her career, she has focused on blending her passion for community practice with integrative medicine, an approach combining conventional veterinary medicine with adjunctive therapies to address behavioral problems, chronic pain, and mobility challenges, in an effort to improve the quality of life for her patients and their caregivers, regardless of their resources. To formalize her knowledge in animal behavior, she completed the Donald G. Low-CVMA Practitioner Fellowship within the Behavior Service at the UC Davis Veterinary Teaching Hospital in 2005 and joined the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB), providing care for animals both in private practice and through volunteering to provide care to underserved communities in the Bay Area.

Building upon this integrative approach, Dr. Strubel founded A Well Adjusted Pet in Pacifica, CA, in 2014, where she serves as the Director of Veterinary Rehabilitation. Her practice provides comprehensive therapeutic care, specializing in physical rehabilitation, conditioning and fitness, and pain management to improve and extend her patients’ overall quality of life.

Over the course of her career, Dr. Strubel has completed multiple specialized certifications in physical rehabilitation and complementary therapies to support her practice. In 2011, she studied Veterinary Spinal Manipulation Therapy (VSMT) at the Healing Oasis Wellness Center, focusing on functional neurology, and became a certified member of the College of Animal Chiropractors. She completed an animal acupressure certification through the Tallgrass Animal Acupressure Institute in 2012. By 2014, she earned her Certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist (CCRT) credential from the Canine Rehabilitation Institute (CRI), completing advanced coursework in pain management, sports medicine, geriatric rehabilitation, nutrition, and veterinary orthotics and prosthetics. She expanded these modalities in 2018 by completing CRI’s medical acupuncture program, becoming a Certified Veterinary Acupuncture Therapist (CVAT) and a member of the American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncture.

Her clinical work includes a specific focus on assistive mobility devices. As a member of the Association of Animal Rehabilitation Veterinarians (AARV), she has provided custom orthotics and prosthetics to more than 500 animals, including several dogs, a few cats, two goats, and one sheep. This casework includes an international collaboration with the Cheetah Conservation Fund, assisting in the design of a custom prosthetic for a cheetah in Somaliland. Aside from her clinical practice, she is an educator and intern mentor for CRI, instructing physical therapy and veterinary interns during their required 40-hour hands-on clinical modules.

In the public sector, Dr. Strubel has established and supported several community veterinary initiatives. She is the co-founder of Veterinary Street Outreach Services (VET SOS), where she served as Project Coordinator for 12 years and continues to volunteer at free clinics for the pets of unhoused individuals in San Francisco. She is a founding and current board member of The Paw Fund, which provides free veterinary outreach to low-income and homeless pet owners in the East San Francisco Bay Area. Her previous community leadership includes serving on the boards of Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS-SF), San Francisco Aid for Animals (SFAFA), and Rocket Dog Rescue. Additionally, she supports local animal welfare organizations, rescue groups, and farm sanctuaries in rehabilitating animals and addressing mobility problems of the animals in their care.

Outside of her professional obligations, she enjoys walking her menagerie of disabled dogs alongside her wife, Michelle. She actively supports both local and international wildlife conservation, journeying with friends and family to visit and assist field conservationists in Africa and Mexico. She is an avid SCUBA Diver and recently participated in efforts to track coral reef health through citizen science, conducting a fish survey while diving with the Misool Foundation (www.misoolfoundation.org) and Reef Environmental Education Foundation (Reef.org)
in the protected coral reef reserve of Raja Ampat, Indonesia—a true bucket-list experience for all SCUBA divers! She dedicates her personal time whenever possible to aiding individuals who protect wildlife across both terrestrial and marine environments.