Professor Emerita Cynthia Leveille-Webster

Whether on the stage asking young students what might be ailing a stuffed puppy, in her laboratory advancing liver research, or treating patients at Henry and Lois Foster Hospital for Small Animals (FHSA), over three decades at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, Professor Emerita Cynthia Leveille-Webster (she/her) has been an inspirational presence throughout campus as she now joins an impressive group of emeriti professors.

A fixture of the Internal Medicine team at FHSA and professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences, Webster was the first in her family to attend college. She grew up in rural western Massachusetts. While earning her B.S. in biology at Simmons College, she was enamored by Boston and all the possibilities in the medical field. Perhaps most impactful were her teachers and mentors, the first of many along her career that encouraged her to realize her full potential and to eventually become a mentor to many students and faculty herself.

Initially embarking on a career in biomedical research, Webster worked at Tufts Medical School as a technician researcher studying the effects of vitamin C on arthritis using guinea pigs as animal models. The value of animal models resonated with Webster, spurring a shift in her career path to veterinary school. She volunteered for a veterinarian in Southie and studied dog models of bronchitis at Harvard Public School of Health before starting her D.V.M. at the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University. As a veterinary student, Webster continued research with animal models, pairing up with a professor studying viral hepatitis in a colony of woodchucks.

“I got hooked on the liver in vet school,” says Webster. “It was a really positive experience and I had fantastic mentorship. From working in the lab and reading about the liver, I began to understand all of the problems in the field that need to be solved. I thought that this could be my niche, that I could be happy here—and I have been. The liver is a wonderful organ.”

Webster gained clinical experience directly after veterinary school, working in private practice for a few years before her eventual return to academia and research. She first landed at Cummings School (then called Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine) for her residency in internal medicine at FHSA and eventually became board-certified in internal medicine at the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM). She then moved on to do a postdoctoral fellowship funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at Tufts Medical School, working with another influential mentor looking at how the liver exports toxic chemotherapy drugs with models of liver cancer in mice.

After wrapping up her fellowship in 1994, Webster was back at Cummings School to stay, splitting her time between research and working on the Internal Medicine service at FHSA. She ran her own NIH-sponsored laboratory at Cummings School for 15 years, researching how liver cells signal to protect themselves from toxins. Her manuscripts were published widely in veterinary and medical journals. All the while, Webster continued clinical practice, treating patients and training students and residents at FHSA.

Webster later moved into the role of Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Clinical Sciences, fostering research initiatives throughout the campus and mentoring junior faculty. She pivoted her research from scientific to clinical endeavors related to liver disease in cats and dogs and dedicated more of her time to clinical practice at FHSA.

“Over the last several years, I’ve been focused on zeroing in on a few important diseases in dogs and cats that I think we can make some headway on in terms of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention,” she says.

In collaboration with colleagues, residents, and students from Cummings School, Webster published several research studies advancing the understanding of liver conditions in cats and dogs. Working with co-investigators in diagnostic imaging, she helped Cummings School become the first institution to research and report on gallbladder mucoceles, now one of the leading liver diseases in dogs. With the help of FHSA Nutrition service, one of her current projects addresses rising copper toxicity in dogs, pushing the FDA to set limits in dog food and running clinical studies on treatments.  

A constant through her career has been teaching and mentoring, whether on the clinic floor or pulling students in for research projects. Webster co-directed the Small Animal Medicine and Surgery and Clinical Pharmacology courses, and delivers lectures on the gastrointestinal tract and liver.

Additionally, Webster is a member of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, American Veterinary Medical Association, and American Association for the Study of Liver Disease.

Over the past decade, Webster has extended her passion for teaching to elementary, middle, and high school students. To nurture an interest in STEM fields, in particular the role that biomedical engineering plays in veterinary medicine, Webster designs and presents animal-based engineering and science challenges to students at Cumming School’s Adventures in Veterinary Medicine programs, annually at the Girl Scouts’ Geek is GLAM Expo, and at a variety of community and school events throughout the state, including with Boys & Girls Club, and YMCAs. The engineering challenges have been a huge hit across the board. At her most recent presentation, fourth-graders lined up at the end to give her a hug.

Webster is proud to have expanded the level of knowledge of dog and cat hepatology over her time at Cummings School.

“I’ll be remembered as the liver guru,” she says with a laugh. “As emeritus, it is very important to me to stay tied to the university and veterinary school and continue to contribute in a meaningful way—I’d like to remain the liver guru, available for liver consults.”