AAEP announces 2018 convention keynote speakerSeptember 10, 2018Abraham Verghese, MD, educator and best-selling author, will share his keynote lecture, "A Doctor's Touch," at the American Association of Equine Practitioners' (AAEP) 2018 Convention in San Francisco. In his presentation, scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 2, Dr. Verghese will align equine medicine with human medicine and explain his vision of humanistic medicine—care-grounded medicine and the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship. Verghese is the Linda R. Meier and Joan F. Lane Provostial Professor and Vice Chair for the Theory and Practice of Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine as well as a critically acclaimed author whose memoirs and novels have sold millions of copies, topped best-seller lists, and earned movie deals. In 2015, he received the National Humanities Medal from former U.S. president Barack Obama, "for reminding us that the patient is the center of the medical enterprise." To view the educational program and register for the AAEP's 64th Annual Convention, visit convention.aaep.org. The AAEP keynote address is sponsored by Merck Animal Health.
SPONSORED CONTENTAre Your Patients Fully Protected?Fleas, ticks, heartworms, and intestinal parasites—dogs face multiple threats. See how a multi-parasite approach can offer your patients a broad range of protection. + Learn More
One Health Research Foundation announces inaugural board of directorsAugust 31, 2018The One Health Research Foundation (OHRF), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity, has named its inaugural board of trustees along with its mission to "improve human, animal, and environmental health in the Caribbean and other tropical areas of the world through support of integrative, multidisciplinary research and innovation." Established in 2017, the One Health Research Foundation is based in Miramar, Fla., with an office at the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (RUSVM) in St. Kitts. RUSVM contributes to the foundation and provides research space in its new research and pathology building and office space on campus. The foundation was organized for charitable research and training purposes, and its charitable activities will be both in the U.S. and abroad, with a special focus on the Caribbean. "The One Health Research Foundation aims to be recognized as a premier charitable organization that promotes and advances a One Health, transdisciplinary approach to address societal needs," said Robert Bergquist, MD, PhD, OHRF board president. "OHRF provides support to qualified scientists and students, partners, and programs through grants for research, innovation, and training, primarily aimed at security in relation to zoonotic, vector-borne, and other infectious/parasitic diseases, food and feed safety, ecosystem health, and health …
Banfield Pet Hospital welcomes CFO, manager of mental health servicesAugust 27, 2018Ludek Janousek and Lisa Stewart-Brown have joined Banfield Pet Hospital as CFO and program manager mental health services, respectively. Janousek, charged with shaping key business decisions, strengthening the company's long-term financial health, and driving hospital vision and purpose within the broader organization, holds a master's degree in International Business from University of Economics in Prague, Czech Republic. In her newly created role, Stewart-Brown will develop and implement mental health strategies and initiatives that support the emotional and mental health of Banfield associates, reinforcing Banfield's holistic approach to health and well-being. Stewart-Brown, a licensed clinical social worker, holds a master's degree in social work from California State University, Sacramento, and an MBA with health care emphasis from California Miramar University.
NIH awards UF veterinarian five-year grant to study canine diabetesAugust 24, 2018Allison O'Kell, DVM, a small animal internal medicine specialist and clinical assistant professor at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, has received a Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health in support of her studies relating to canine diabetes. The five-year grant, known as a K08, will support Dr. O'Kell's career and research project. "The overall goal of my research is to study the causes of diabetes in the dog," O'Kell said. "We hope that the work will benefit dogs with this disease, but also to help us better understand whether studying the disease in dogs may be a novel way to understand the disease in humans." The disease has been increasing in prevalence over time in both dogs and humans, emphasizing the importance of research to determine the underlying causes of the disease as well as methods for prevention and treatment, she added. O'Kell's primary mentor is Mark Atkinson, PhD, the American Diabetes Association Eminent Scholar for Diabetes Research and Jeffrey Keene Family Professor in the UF College of Medicine. Atkinson also directs the UF Diabetes Institute and has been investigating human Type 1 diabetes for …
Australian vet awarded 2018 WSAVA, Hill's Next Generation honorAugust 15, 2018Dr. Guyan Weerasinghe, an Australian veterinarian working in small animal practice and as a state government veterinary officer, has been honored by the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) and Hill's Pet Nutrition as the winner of the 2018 Next Generation Veterinary Award. The award acknowledges the work of a veterinarian who graduated within the past 10 years and who has contributed significantly to the betterment of companion animals, the veterinary profession, and society at large. He graduated from the University of Queensland in 2011, gaining experience in dairy practice in New Zealand and in shelter medicine in Sydney, Australia. In 2017, he achieved a master's in veterinary public health and became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine. In his current role at Greencross Caloundra, a companion animal practice on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, he maintains a small animal caseload and works alongside local animal rescue groups. Through his work for the Queensland Government's Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, he is involved with animal disease surveillance and response and increasing the awareness of public health risks in veterinary practice, including small animal clinics. He also collaborates on a number of …
Southern Veterinary Partners named 'Top Tiger' by Auburn UniversityAugust 9, 2018Southern Veterinary Partners (SVP), a veterinarian owned and operated a regional network of animal hospitals in the South, has been named an Auburn University's "Top Tiger," which recognizes the fastest-growing companies led by Auburn University alumni. Jay Price, DVM, CEO; Jeff Falone, DVM, chief medical officer; and Chase Whitworth, DVM, regional medical director, all graduates of Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, and Barron Lakeman, chief development officer and graduate of Auburn University, received this honor. Based in Birmingham, Ala., SVP is the largest veterinary management company based in the South. It provides centralized support for its in-network animal hospitals, including marketing, HR, finance, inventory, and purchasing management, and provides enhanced benefits to team members. The hospitals retain their names, culture, and local commitment to their communities as well as veterinarians and staff. SVP's network includes 57 animal hospitals across 10 southern states.
WSAVA awards Sri Lankan vet with first animal welfare honorAugust 9, 2018The World Small Animal Veterinary Association has named Nalinika Obeyesekere, Bsc, BVSc, MSc, a veterinarian from Sri Lanka, as the first recipient of a new award for companion animal welfare. The award, developed by WSAVA's Animal Wellness and Welfare Committee (AWWC), recognizes individual veterinarians who have made a significant contribution to animal welfare and inspired others to play their part in advancing welfare globally. Dr. Obeyesekere graduated with a BSc in wildlife biology and management from the University of California Davis, and returned to Sri Lanka to work in the environmental sector. She also holds a BVSc at the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka and an MVSc from Murdoch University in Australia. She is now the owner-director of Pet Vet Clinic in Sri Lanka. According to WSAVA, her passion for animal welfare is a consistent theme throughout her work: A founding member and director of education of the Society of Companion Animal Practitioners of Sri Lanka. She has been instrumental in developing continuing education in Sri Lanka, championing higher standards of veterinary practice and adopting a one health approach. She has pioneered behavioral therapy with veterinary teams and owners, and is active on a range of …
KSU selects first NBAF Scientist Training Program fellowshipsAugust 9, 2018Five graduate students from the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine have been awarded National Bio and Agro-defense Facility Scientist Training Program fellowships. The awardees will receive tuition, stipends, and funds for supplies and travel from a five-year, $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS). The students were selected for their interest and expertise in emerging animal diseases, diseases that infect both animals and people, or foreign animal diseases that threaten global health and food security. Once they complete the fellowship program, they are committed to working at the Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York and, ultimately, the National Bio and Agro-defense Facility (NBAF), which is under construction adjacent to the university's Manhattan campus. The selected students already have received training in high-containment facilities that work with pathogens that will be studied at NBAF. The fellowship recipients, who will be mentored by professors with whom they have worked with for at least one to three years, are Kaitlynn Bradshaw, a master's student in veterinary biomedical science; Chester McDowell, a concurrent doctor of veterinary medicine …
Meet the 2018 National Veterinary Scholars award recipientsAugust 7, 2018The 29th annual National Veterinary Scholars Symposium drew more than 650 veterinary students from across North America and Europe, animal health researchers, and leaders from more than 36 veterinary schools, to view research accomplishments by veterinary students completing summer research internships. The Boehringer Ingelheim-sponsored program, which allows veterinary schools to introduce first- and second-year veterinary medical students to biomedical research, was held Aug. 4-5 at Texas A&M University. Presentations and panel discussions provided students with perspective on various topics, including global food security and sustainability, emerging and zoonotic infectious diseases, and antimicrobial resistance. "Innovation in both animal and human health is inextricably linked, and to address unmet clinical need in both areas we need motivated and skilled scientists and researchers," said Fabian Kausche, Ph.D., MS, AMP, global head of research and development for BI's Animal Health business. "Over the last few decades, more than 3,000 veterinary students have participated in this annual program and benefited from this tremendous experience and exposure to career pathways. The impact of such experiential learning programs to the students involved, to industry and to human and animal patients is significant." At each of the more than three dozen participating institutions, BI Veterinary Scholars are assigned …
Dan Grooms named Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine deanAugust 2, 2018Dan Grooms, DVM, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at Michigan State University, has been appointed the next Stephen G. Juelsgaard Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University. His tenure begins Oct. 1. An expert in bovine infectious diseases, Dr. Grooms earned a bachelor's degree in animal science from Cornell University and a veterinary medicine degree and a Ph.D. in veterinary preventive medicine from The Ohio State University. He joined Michigan State in 1997 and was promoted to his present position in 2014. He also holds board certification from the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists, with specialty in veterinary virology; is a former president of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners; and has served on the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture's Committee on Animal Health. "Dr. Grooms is an accomplished scientist, teacher and leader who will build on the college's reputation for excellence and the great achievements of our students, faculty and staff," said Wendy Wintersteen, Ph.D., dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University. "I am confident he will also work effectively with veterinarians across the state, livestock and poultry producers and others who …
