Joanna Karaś-Tęcza

She is a graduate of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Warsaw. In 1996, she completed a three-year postgraduate programme in veterinary dermatology as part of the Luxembourg School for Eastern European countries, and in 2003 she completed postgraduate studies in Vienna organized by the European School of Advanced Veterinary Studies. She obtained her specialist qualification in canine and feline diseases in 1999.

Committed to continuously improving her qualifications, since 2000 she has participated in numerous European and international dermatology congresses, as well as all workshops organized by the European Society of Veterinary Dermatology. In 2010, she founded Dermawet — the only specialist veterinary practice in Poland dedicated to dermatology, otology and cytology.

Joanna Karaś-Tęcza is the author or co-author of several dozen scientific articles published in Poland and abroad, covering both clinical dermatology and cytology of dogs and cats. Together with Dr. J. Czogała-Dawidowicz, she is the author of the world's first veterinary dermatology detective novel, “The Four-Handed Investigation and the Microscope”.

In 2015, at the Congress of the European Society of Veterinary Dermatology, her study on the effectiveness of treating canine demodicosis with fluralaner was recognized as the most valuable clinical scientific presentation — “The Best Clinical Abstract of the ESVD Congress in Cracow”.

She lectures in veterinary dermatology as part of the Specialist Training Programme in Canine and Feline Diseases at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW). In 2002, she received the “Homo didacticus” title for the best lecturer. She is one of the most active lecturers in veterinary dermatology and cytology in Poland. She has also been invited to give lectures abroad, including in Budapest, Chicago, Kyiv, Lviv, Vienna and Oslo.

She is an advocate of the use of cytological diagnostics in veterinary medicine for dogs and cats and a pioneer of this method in Poland.

In 2021, during the difficult period of the COVID-19 pandemic, she created the unique philanthropic and educational WET Challenge project, through which veterinarians could support colleagues facing difficult health and financial circumstances with their own contributions. In return, supporters were entitled to participate in practical lectures covering various fields of veterinary medicine. Through WET Challenge and her other charity auctions, nearly PLN 1,000,000 was donated to veterinarians and their families in need.

Privately, she is a mother of four children, currently sharing her life with four cats and two adopted dogs. She enjoys spending time at home on a hill, appreciating nature and wondering what she could do in her free time — if she ever managed to find any.