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 …
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Former Louisiana Vet Elected to CongressDecember 12, 2014The veterinary duo now serving in Congress will become a trio in January when Louisiana Republican Ralph Abraham, DVM, is sworn in. The 1980 graduate of the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine won the runoff election for the state’s 5th District on Dec. 6. Dr. Abraham’s career as a practitioner lasted 10 years, until 1990, when he entered the LSU School of Medicine and later earned a human medicine degree and re-entered the work force as a general family practitioner. “We are thrilled to see another elected official with a DVM on his resume serving in the next Congress,” the American Veterinary Medical Association reported. Abraham won election over Democrat Jamie Mayo by collecting 64 percent of the vote. “Grateful for this win!” he told supporters in a post on his campaign Facebook page Dec. 7. “My family and I will be at church in the morning, but we will begin aggressively going to work for the voters of [District 5] bright & early on Monday.” Abraham is a self-described conservative, opposing abortion, gun control, new taxes and career politicians, according to his campaign website. He wants to fix the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, explaining that …
Meet The Dean: U.C. Davis School of Veterinary MedicineOctober 1, 2014Dr. Michael D Lairmore’s first veterinary job after graduation was working as a mixed animal veterinarian in Pennsylvania. Although he enjoyed the work, he left the practice to enroll in a Ph.D. program to fulfill his desire of learning a specialty. This path led him to academia where he is now dean of the U.C. Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Lairmore oversees all School of Veterinary Medicine activities, personnel, facilities and funding resources. He also presides over the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System, the Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center in Tulare, Veterinary Medicine Extension and other centers of excellence. Q. Why did you enter veterinary medicine? A. Having spent a large portion of my childhood outside, I was curious about the natural world. I enjoyed the complex world of biology. How biological systems worked was fascinating to me. Q. What was your first veterinary job after graduation? A. A dairy predominant practice in Oxford, Pa., working as a mixed animal veterinarian in a four-person practice. I enjoyed practicing in the rolling hills of Southeastern Pennsylvania with small- to medium-sized herds mixed with small animal practice in the afternoons, evenings …
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 …
Wendy Valla, VMD: Finding A Fit In PharmaceuticalsNovember 28, 2012 Wendy Vaala’s first vaccine research and development meeting made her realize that she was well prepared to work in pharmaceuticals. “I [thought], whoa, I have an opinion on this,” recalls Vaala, VMD, Dipl. ACVIM, a senior equine technical services veterinarian for Merck Animal Health of Summit, N.J. “They would say, ‘What do you think?’ or ‘How important is this disease?’ I felt like I was raising my hand every 15 minutes with ‘Let me tell you.’” A Pennsylvania native now residing in Alma, Wis., Dr. Vaala says her nearly 25 years working in private practice and academia has made her the equine neonatology and perinatology specialist she is today. She has been with Merck since 2004. “Coming from the northeast, I think we had more infectious diseases so we probably vaccinated more than anywhere else in the country,” Vaala says, adding that diseases she saw ranged from rabies to botulism. “Maybe I was unknowingly super-prepared.” Companies are always looking to bring new things to market, Vaala says. But in order to sell the product, it must be successful. To be successful, the product needs to be developed with the right profile in mind and it …
Debra Horwitz, DVM: Sharing The Passion Of Behavior MedicineAugust 15, 2012 Debra Horwitz, DVM, Dipl. ACVB, not only has a passion for helping clients with their pets’ behavioral issues, she has a drive for educating other veterinarians to do the same. Dr. Horwitz has had a referral practice for behavioral problems in companion animals since 1982 and moved her practice, Veterinary Behavior Consultations, to St. Louis in 1986. Throughout the years, she has actively worked toward educating both pet owners and veterinarians on behavior topics. On the vet side, for instance, Horwitz speaks at national and international veterinary meetings, serves on several advisory boards for corporations and publications related to animal behavior and is a behavioral consultant on the Veterinary Information Network. Her work in educating pet owners has also spanned various avenues, including Nestlé Purina’s “Ask the Vet” as a Kitten Chow Mentor, local lectures through the Humane Society of Missouri and writing articles for consumer publications. Horwitz says she has always liked animals and knew early on that veterinary medicine would be a good fit. “I’m that cliché,” she says. “I wanted to be a vet from the time I was pretty young.” Horwitz received her DVM from Michigan State University College of …
Veterinarian David Schwarz: Dedicated To AnimalsMay 31, 2012 The word “veterinarian” often elicits a sense of dedicated service, as in dedicated to the care of animals and to the veterinary profession itself. Many veterinarians attest that their love for animals began at a young age. They work hard to get into—and pay for—vet school and then spend a lifetime of long hours and dedicated care helping the very animals they once fell in love with. David Schwarz, DVM, is one such example. He’s been in practice for 36 years, and although Dr. Schwarz knew he wanted to be a veterinarian at 8 years old, he didn’t foresee becoming a practice owner. “Circumstances just worked out that way,” says Schwarz, who has owned and operated the Ashland Animal Hospital in Ashland, Mass., since 1977. Some of the challenges of being a veterinary practice owner are continually trying to provide the best care to patients, educating clients and maintaining a state-of-the-art animal hospital employing highly qualified staff, according to Schwarz. “It is an endless work in progress,” he says. Yet, he doesn’t stop there. Schwarz has kept busy over the years by getting involved with various industry groups and organizations. For instance, …
Serving A Country’s Military DogsMarch 22, 2012 Sara Rose Knox, DVM, says she has the best of both worlds being a captain in the Army Veterinary Corps. She has always enjoyed working with animals and she knew early on she wanted to combine that with the military. “There is no Ground Hog Day being a veterinarian in the Army, especially in a deployed environment,” she says. “Every day is different. You never know what’s going to walk through the door.” SaraRose Knox, DVM, is a captain in the Army Veterinary Corps. Dr. Knox is deployed in Afghanistan, where she cares for military working dogs. Tours are generally about a year and there is typically one veterinarian at each base, she says. Knox’s responsibilities include preventive, medical and emergency care as well as processing dogs entering or leaving the country. She also works with health care providers and emergency medical personnel in teaching emergency canine trauma care classes. This includes teaching military handlers basic canine first aid, such as bandaging and stabilizing fractures. In addition, Knox deals with public health issues, such as rabies prevention, and helps with food inspection. Knox, along with a team, helps make …
Having The Heart For Veterinary CardiologyNovember 30, 2011 Michele—pronounce that Ma-KAY-lee—Borgarelli, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ECVIM (cardiology), has been studying cardiovascular disease in dogs for more than 15 years. Most of his studies and research have been in Italy, his home country, but he now resides in the U.S. and is an associate professor of cardiology at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “People should know that cardiovascular disease in small animals is very common but they are not terminal diseases,” Dr. Borgarelli said. “With the available treatment today we are able to manage patients and we can provide them a good quality of life for a long time.” Borgarelli has a string of research studies under his belt. For instance, during a period of five years, Borgarelli and his research team conducted two population studies involving more than 300 dogs. One, published in 2008, involved dogs that had mitral valve disease at different stages. Another study involved dogs with the mild form of the disease. Borgarelli expects this study to be published shortly. “Dr. Borgarelli has contributed substantially in the field of veterinary cardiology in many ways,” said Jens Haggstrom, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ECVIM (cardiology), professor of internal medicine at the Department of …
