Residents
| Dan Swanson | 206-685-0373 |
| Julia Tsai | 206-616-7772 |
| Rachel Moore | 206-685-0373 |
| Jianing Xu | 206-616-7772 |
Dan Swanson, 1st year resident
Dr. Swanson is originally from Boston, Massachusetts. He attended Bunker Hill Community College before transferring to UMass Boston, where he received his B.S. in Biology in 2019. He earned his DVM in 2024 from Western University of Health Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Swanson’s professional interests include neurology, pharmacology, and molecular physiology. His current research at the University of Washington focuses on comorbidities in rodent models of epilepsy.
Outside of his residency, Dr. Swanson enjoys snowboarding, watching baseball, and exploring different cultures through travel and reading.
Julia Tsai, 3rd year resident
Dr. Julia Tsai is the current third year laboratory animal resident at UW. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degree from Stanford University in 2016 and 2017, respectively, and her DVM degree from the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 2022. During her time at UC Davis, she pursued her interests in laboratory animal medicine and One Health through her research focused on understanding the association between malaria and subsequent increased susceptibility to disseminated Salmonella infection in humans. After graduating from UC Davis, she joined the laboratory animal medicine residency program at University of Washington. Her current research projects include investigating the use of alfaxalone as a total intravenous anesthetic in rabbits and exploring the role of Hem1 in the development of asthma.
Being a California resident her entire life, Julia has loved her time in the PNW whether it be exploring its many outdoor activities, visiting the local farmers markets, taking her husky kayaking, or trying all the restaurants around Seattle.
Rachel Moore, 2nd year resident
Rachel Moore is originally from Cranston, Rhode Island and received her B.S. in Biomedical Science from the University of New Hampshire in 2018. She then worked for a year at a contract research organization in the Boston area primarily focused on cardiac medical devices. Rachel earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Prince Edward Island in 2023. Her clinical interests include anesthesia and analgesia for laboratory animals, the refinement of surgical procedures and techniques, and the advancement of environmental enrichment and animal welfare across species. Her current research project in the Mathieu laboratory investigates novel tooth enamel regenerative therapies using human induced pluripotent stem cells. In her free time, Rachel enjoys hiking, running, woodworking, exploring Seattle’s food scene, reading, traveling to new places, and spending time with her Siamese cat, Kiwi.
Jianing Xu, 2nd year resident
Jianing Xu is from Hangzhou, a historic and scenic city in eastern China. She earned her Animal Science degree from UC Davis in 2018 and her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree (VMD) from the University of Pennsylvania in 2023. Before vet school, she worked as a bioinformatician at a genetics company, where she developed expertise in computational biology and genomics. Her combined background in veterinary medicine and bioinformatics drives her interest in using genetic and computational tools to study disease mechanisms in both animals and humans. As a future laboratory animal veterinarian, she hopes to integrate her expertise in comparative medicine, genetics, and computational biology to advance translational research.
Beyond her work, Jianing enjoys outdoor adventures such as climbing, mountaineering, paddleboarding, and backpacking. She also has a passion for growing plants and caring for animals. She adopted two Long-Evans rats, Naruto and Sasuke, and a Syrian hamster, Pumpkin, from the University of Washington at beginning of her residency. They now happily share their home with her beloved cats, Shan-shan and Foo-Foo.
