Petplan Selects 15 Veterinary Award FinalistsOctober 16, 2015Pet hospitals in Arizona, Pennsylvania and Canada are vying to be named Practice of the Year at Petplan health insurance company’s annual Veterinary Awards. The top veterinarian, veterinary technician, practice manager and receptionist also will be honored at a dinner taking place Jan. 16 during the North American Veterinary Community conference in Orlando, Fla. A panel of judges took public online voting into account when selecting the 15 finalists from among 33 semifinalists. In all, 4,800 people or veterinary hospitals were nominated for the 2016 awards. The finalists excelled in their impact on veterinary medicine and their commitment to providing exceptional care, Petplan reported. “This year’s group is a truly remarkable representation of the clinics and individuals providing for the health of our pets in North America,” said Natasha Ashton, Petplan’s co-founder and co-CEO. “No matter what their role in the practice, these individuals and practices far exceeded even the highest standards of care.” Petplan, based in Newtown Square, Pa., will transport all 12 individuals and representatives of the three hospitals to Orlando, Fla., for the ceremony. The category winners will receive $1,000 and a $1,000 donation to a pet charity of their choice. The finalists are: Practice of …
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Help Choose America’s Favorite VetApril 14, 2015Pet owners and industry professionals have until May 17 to nominate someone as America’s Favorite Veterinarian, an annual award sponsored by the American Veterinary Medical Foundation. The winning veterinarian will receive $500 and a trip to the 2016 American Veterinary Medical Association convention in San Antonio. The national contest is in its third year. The first two winners were Carlos Campos, DVM, of San Francis Veterinary Hospital in Spring Hill, Fla., and Tim Hunt, DVM, of Bayshore Veterinary Hospital in Marquette, Mich. Though Drs. Campos and Hunt are companion animal practitioners, nominees may come from any line of veterinary work, including private practice, research, public health, academia or agriculture. Nominations, which require an essay of 250 words or less on why the veterinarian is deserving of the award, are being accepted at www.AVMF.org/AFV. Twenty finalists will be put to an online public vote to determine the winner. The voting will run from July 11 to Sept. 1. The American Veterinary Medical Foundation is AVMA’s charitable arm.
College Vet Bess Pierce Receives Bustad AwardJanuary 14, 2015A Virginia-Maryland veterinary professor who directs the college’s Center for Animal-Human Relationships was named the 2015 Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year. The honor was presented Jan. 9 to Bess Pierce, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ACVSMR, during the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Veterinary Leadership Conference in Chicago. The award is named after revered human-animal bond researcher Leo K. Bustad, DVM, Ph.D., who died in 1998. Dr. Pierce paid tribute to Dr. Bustad, calling him “a visionary” and “an extraordinary man who left an even more extraordinary legacy.” The Center for Animal-Human Relationships at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine hosts research into the human-animal bond and examines how both groups benefit. “We tend to look at the human-animal bond through the lens of our relationships with our pets, but it is so much more than that,” Pierce said. “This intricate connection between animals and people is the very foundation of veterinary medicine; we have the gift of not only helping animals but of also serving people through animals.” Pierce, an associate professor and Auburn University graduate, served on active duty in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps for 15 years. Now a colonel in the …
MSU’s Patterson Captures National Teaching AwardJanuary 12, 2015A Michigan State University professor described as having a passion for teaching and whose methods are shared with other educators has won the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges’ 2014 Distinguished Teacher Award. Jon Patterson, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVP, will officially receive what AAVMC calls the most prestigious national teaching award in veterinary medicine during the organization’s annual conference March 14 in Washington, D.C. Dr. Patterson, a professor in MSU’s department of pathobiology and diagnostic investigation, was a clear-cut winner, said AAVMC President Trevor Ames, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, the dean of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. “His attention to teaching, devotion to the development of a high-quality curriculum, and ability to share his enthusiasm for research and mentor students are all qualities that we look for in an honoree,” Dr. Ames said. Patterson teaches general pathology, neuropathology and diagnostic pathology to veterinary students and trains residents in veterinary anatomic pathology, AAVMC reported. His nominator was department chairwoman L.J. McCutcheon, who said Patterson “brings [pathology] to life for students.” His students echoed McCutcheon, stating in their nomination submission: “Dr. Patterson’s teaching methods are unanimously loved by all of his students; so much so that his …
4 Vet School Faculty Joining National Academy of InventorsDecember 17, 2014Four veterinary school professors on Tuesday were named fellows in the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), a status awarded to academic researchers who, according to the organization, “have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society.” Some 414 professionals representing research universities, government agencies and nonprofit institutions and working in fields as diverse as computer engineering and transplantation science are fellows of the Tampa, Fla.-based NAI. The newly chosen veterinary members are: X.J. Meng, MS, Ph.D., MD, a university distinguished professor of molecular virology at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. Yasuko Rikihisa, MS, Ph.D., a university distinguished professor of veterinary biosciences in Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. George E. Seidel Jr., MS, Ph.D., a university distinguished professor in the Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology Laboratory at Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Janet K. Yamamoto, Ph.D., an immunology professor in the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. The new class of 170 fellows will be inducted March 20, 2015, during a ceremony at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif. Dr. Meng studies emerging and re-emerging viral diseases that impact veterinary and …
Voting Opens for ‘America’s Favorite Veterinarian’July 29, 2014 Public voting will run through Sept. 1 in the American Veterinary Medical Foundation’s “America’s Favorite Veterinarian” contest. Twenty veterinarians are finalists for the award, which carries a $500 prize and a trip to the 2015 American Veterinary Medical Association convention in Boston. The voting is a new component of the contest. The inaugural winner, Carlos Campos, DVM, of San Francis Veterinary Hospital in Spring Hill, Fla., was selected outright last year from among more than 1,000 nominees. The new format enlisted a committee of judges to choose 20 finalists out of more than 700 nominations. Individuals nominated veterinarians online and included a brief essay explaining why the person was deserving of the honor. The judges read the essays and took into account the nominee’s community involvement, ethical behavior, passion for veterinary medicine and connections to animals and their owners. “Each of these 20 finalists are examples of the pivotal roles veterinarians lead as medical professionals in research labs, in public health and agriculture, and in government services and academia,” said Michael Cathey, the foundation’s executive director. The 2013 contest was rewarding in many ways for Dr. Campos. “The hospital grew from …
AVMA Looks to Make History With Future LeadersJuly 27, 2014 An American Veterinary Medical Association program designed to identify and encourage veterinarians interested in serving and leading the profession introduced its fourth class today in Denver at the organization’s annual convention. The 2014-15 group of Future Leaders includes a U.S. Army Veterinary Corps colonel and two laboratory animal specialists. The program, which receives financial support from drug maker Zoetis Animal Health of Florham Park, N.J., is open to veterinarians who earned their degree as recently as 1999 and have some leadership background. “By selecting candidates with strong leadership attributes, who are already influential among their peers, and developing them into stronger leaders earlier, the Future Leaders program meets some of the key requirements for the future of veterinary medicine,” said Christine Jenkins, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, the chief veterinary medical officer with Zoetis’ U.S. group. The Future Leaders will meet periodically and start work on a still-unidentified year-long project. The previous class focused on assisting veterinarians who want to change their career path. The results included an online toolkit at AVMA.org/careerchange as well as an informational symposium and a luncheon held during the convention. “The goal of the symposium was to …
‘Dr. Flea’ Named Veterinarian Of YearMarch 31, 2011 Michael Dryden, DVM, Ph.D., also known as “Dr. Flea,” was named the 2010 Veterinarian of the Year at the Purina Pro Plan 56th annual Show Dogs of the Year Awards dinner. The black-tie event, presented by Dogs in Review magazine, a sister publication of Veterinary Practice News, was held in mid-February in New York City. The event honors the top show dogs of 2010. More than 300 people attended, including dog owners, breeders, handlers, judges and representatives of the American Kennel Club. Dryden is a professor of veterinary parasitology in the Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology at Kansas State University. His research is in flea and tick biology and control, investigating urban wildlife as vectors of parasitic diseases and diagnosis and control of gastrointestinal parasites. He is active in the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists and the American Veterinary Medical Association and was a founding member of the Companion Animal Parasite Council. Other industry winners included: Groomer of the Year (sponsored by Laube): Penny Dugan of Boffell, Wash. Dugan has groomed for professional handler Timothy Brazier for many years. The duo has racked up numerous accomplishments in the show ring. Trainer …
George Kukor, DVM, And Lonnie King, DVM, Receive Service Above Self AwardsNovember 30, 2010 George Kukor, DVM, and Lonnie King, DVM, each received Service Above Self Awards during the 16th annual Lake Erie Walleye Fishing & Golf Seminar in Port Clinton, Ohio. This year is the first time two award winners were named. Dr. Kukor, a retired veterinarian, was honored for his 40 years of service to the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association. Dr. King, dean of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, received the award for his “unfaltering dedication, leadership and selfless initiative within the community.”
Pathobiologist RecognizedApril 17, 2009The American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology recently presented John Harvey, DVM, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, a lifetime achievement award. Dr. Harvey, a former president of the clinical pathology society, discovered and named the Ehrlichia platys organism that infects platelets in dogs and, along with co-workers, first recognized and reported four inherited erythrocyte enzyme deficiencies. <HOME>
