|
|
|
||||
|
May 2008 - Vol. 3 No. 4 |
|||||
|
Top Stories Kind Hearts,
Caring Hands, White Coats and Senior Dr. Chengappa elected president CVM is big hit at K-State’s Open House Higgins wins Goldwater Scholarship |
Regular Features Check
it Out at the
Library Under
the Microscope: |
||||
 Extra
stories and photos*Letter from Afghanistan: Dr. Rance Erwin, DVM 2002 Dr. KuKanich kisses the pig, but gets his goat CVM faculty take part in the AVC meeting Rock band sings classic veterinary songs Get information about the 70th Annual Conference for Veterinarians (link will leave this page). Commencement is scheduled May 16 at 3:30 p.m. |
|||||
|
Kind Hearts, Caring Hands, White Coats and Senior Honors
|
|||||
|
April 11 was a busy day in the CVM, starting with a Bagel Bonanza, followed by the Quiz Bowl, Convocation Lecture and White Coat Ceremony. The day finished with the Senior Honors Banquet. More pictures and a full list of scholarship recipients
is listed here:
|
 This year's recipients of the Wayne and Druecillia Burch Memorial Award at the Senior Honors Banquet.
|
||||
|
|
|||||
|
Dr. Chengappa elected
president Dr. M.M. Chengappa, department head of diagnostic
medicine and pathology, was elected to serve as the new president of the
American College of Veterinary Microbiologists (ACVM). The ACVM is the
nation’s certifying authority of veterinary microbiologists. Members are
accepted by passing an examination, and a president is elected every two
years, with the possibility of being elected for one additional term.
Dr. Chengappa was certified as a Diplomate of the ACVM in 1981. His
presidential term will begin in July when he is officially recognized at
the AVMA convention. “I am truly honored and humbled to have been
elected to serve as president of the ACVM,” Dr. Chengappa said. “It is a
privilege to work with such a fine group of microbiologists.” |
 Dr. M.M. Chengappa |
||||
|
|
|||||
|
Dr. Stockham co-authors
book Dr. Steven Stockham, professor of diagnostic
medicine and pathobiology has co-authored a second edition of
“Fundamentals of Veterinary Clinical Pathology” with Michael A. Scott,
an assistant professor at Michigan State University. The book offers
information about common clinical laboratory tests that veterinarians
use to evaluate domestic mammals such as dogs, cats, horses and cattle. |
|
||||
|
|
|||||
|
CVM is big hit at
From balloon animals to real animals, the CVM helped show off a wide range of activities to the prospective students and parents at this year’s Open House.
|
|
||||
|
|
|||||
|
Dr. Hans Coetzee, assistant professor of clinical sciences, and Dr. Mike
Apley, associate professor of production medicine, hosted a PharmCATS
booth at the Experimental Biology 2008 meeting in San Diego. Their
purpose was to make potential business contacts for PharmCATS. Drs.
Coetzee and Apley also referred business prospects to researchers on
main campus as well as the diagnostic laboratory. They especially
enjoyed the many alumni and current
|
 Dr. Hans Coetzee and Dr. Mike Apley host a PharmCATS booth at the Experimental Biology 2008 meeting in San Diego in April. |
||||
|
|
|||||
|
CVM raises $40,952,720 More than $40 million was raised to benefit the CVM
during the KSU Foundation’s Changing Lives Campaign. Since 2001, the
campaign raised $529 million for
|
 Country artist Sara Evans (center) meets Kathleen and Dr. James Roush, professor and section head for Small Animal Surgery, after performing a special concert on April 12 for the Changing Lives Campaign Celebration.
|
||||
|
|
|||||
|
Higgins wins Goldwater Scholarship An undergraduate student working in Dr. Lisa Freeman’s
lab was one of three “Michelle is continuing work on prostate cancer that was
started as summer research at KU in my laboratory,” said Dr. Freeman, associate dean of research and associate vice
president of innovation for the “It has been wonderful working with Dr. Freeman, Suhasini Ganta and Joel Sanneman,” Michelle said. "They made it easy for me to transfer my research here and get set up using their lab space and the COBRE confocal microscopy core facility. Dr. Freeman also helped me win an Undergraduate Cancer Research Award through the Terry C. Johnson Center for Basic Cancer Research. I am very happy and excited to be working here. “The Goldwater scholarship will fund my last year of college tuition, books, fees, and room and board, thereby freeing me to focus on my schoolwork and research without worrying about my living expenses. Finally, winning this scholarship distinguishes me from other students in my field. Thus, I am a more competitive applicant for future opportunities, as a student seeking entrance to graduate school pharmacology programs and as a scientist.” |
 Michelle Higgins, a 2008 Goldwater Scholar, cuts prostate tissue sections at a cryostat machine for immunostaining later. She works in Dr. Lisa Freeman’s lab. |
||||
|
|
|||||
|
Letter from Afghanistan Dear KSU CVM students and staff,
Hello, my name is Rance P. Erwin, DVM.
I am a 2002 It is hard to believe Laura and I have been out of veterinary school for six years already. It is already time for another graduating class to go out and start their professional careers. I just wanted to write you all today and say good luck! Keep your mind open to different job possibilities! There are a lot of different jobs/opportunities for veterinarians, both traditional and nontraditional (private practice, academia, military, USDA, State, pharmaceutical industry, pet nutrition industry, research and veterinary relief work). Do not be afraid to take a different or an unusual career path. For you underclassmen, your time is approaching. It is never too early to start looking to see which career path may be best for you. Study all the different species with your full attention; you may be surprised with the different species you encounter when you graduate! In the Army Reserve Veterinary Corps in Afghanistan, we have mainly four missions. We take care of all of the Military Working Dogs (MWDs), Civilian Contract Working Dogs (CWDs) and all of the Coalition Forces Working Dogs. All of these working dogs detect bombs and other explosives and most are patrol certified. A few are even certified to detect drugs and other illegal substances. I currently take care of over 100 working dogs here on and around Kandahar Air Field (KAF), Afghanistan. Our second mission is food inspection and security. We ensure that our soldiers are consuming safe food when they eat at the various dining facilities (DFACs). The third mission we have is to provide preventive medicine support to all supported elements. We help develop and implement programs/procedures to decrease or eliminate the threat of diseases like rabies, leishmaniasis, tick-borne diseases, roundworm transmission, brucellosis, malaria and sarcoptic mange that are common in Afghanistan and other deployment areas of the world. The fourth mission we have is to stimulate the local agricultural community with any veterinary assistance we can provide. Thanks for your time and good luck with the career path you choose! Rance P. Erwin, CPT |
 Capt. Rance P. Erwin, DVM 2002, in Afghanistan shows one of the Military Working Dogs (MWDs) he helps care for.
|
||||
|
SCAVMA Update: Wrapping up another busy
semester!
To recap the past year, we had many great speakers and events: In August, SCAVMA was involved with freshman orientation. September was busy with World Rabies Day and a meeting with Graduate Leverage, as well as hosting a resident/intern panel to answer student questions. In October, Jim Humphreys from the Veterinary News Network shared tips on client communication. November brought our first-ever SCAVMA Movie Night and Dr. Mike Groves gave us a glimpse of the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. In December, Jana Davidson from the AVMA-GHLIT shared stories about insurance needs. In January, the 2nd Annual SCAVMA Talent Show was held in Forum Hall. In February, Dr. Sara Mills spoke about family issues in veterinary medicine and Dr. Peddie shared some stories from his Hollywood Veterinary career. In March, Dr. Lila Miller spoke about animal welfare and shelter medicine from her experience with the NYC ASPCA. In April, our very own Dr. Dan Thomson shared stories about career risk management, plus we hosted the Quiz Bowl at Kind Hearts, Caring Hands Day, Cow Pie Lotto at Open House and End-of-the-Year BBQ with the Kiss the Pig contest to raise money for the Josh Project. The SCAVMA Board has worked very hard to bring you these events and deserves your appreciation! I hope you enjoyed the meetings and fun events throughout the year. Thanks for your participation (and for eating the free food). Good luck with your summer plans for the first & second years; third years, have fun in the clinics; and fourth years, enjoy life after veterinary school! Thanks! Nikki Nicolette Dudley, Class of 2009 |
|||||
|
*bonus
story & photos Dr. KuKanich gets his goat The annual SCAVMA barbecue and pig kissing ‘contest’ was held in April. This year, Dr. Butch KuKanich, assistant professor in pharmacology, won the right to kiss the pig, but an unusual pair of substitute specimens was offered to test his puckering ability.
|
 Sources claim this animal is an authentic pig. Documentation was presented, so Dr. Butch KuKanich quickly pressed into action.
|
||||
|
*bonus
photos Genesis to Necrosis Tour 2008 hits Manhattan
|
|||||
 |
 |
||||
|
Under the Microscope: Gary Morgan
Place of birth: Manhattan
Pets: Two kitties Favorite smell: Fresh baked bread Three words that describe you: Quiet, responsible, Opa! If you could spend a day with any famous person, who would you choose? Bill Gates ... he must have a lot of cool toys Where in the world would you most like to visit? Germany Favorite breakfast food: If I could eat it ... bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. Best purchase you’ve ever made: My home in the country If you could run any company, which would you choose? Harley Davidson |
|||||
|
Check it Out at the Library: Emergency pet plans by Carol Elmore
An emergency plan for elderly relatives was discussed previously in this column, but another family member who needs special attention in disaster planning is the family pet. Tornados, a frequent threat in Kansas, necessitate that special considerations be made for family pets in disaster plans. Keeping emergency supplies on hand is important. Things to include for pets are a supply of food, a manual can opener, if food is canned, and water. Extra leashes, litter boxes, litter, toys and bedding should also be included with emergency supplies. A photograph and animal description placed with supplies could aid in identification if a pet became separated from the family. Copies of veterinary records, especially vaccinations or special health requirements, and an extra supply of medicines the pet needs can be stored with family records and would also be useful in case of an emergency. It is good to make sure pets have identification tags or electronically implanted chips, as these may aid in their return after a disaster. Since the behavior of animals sometimes changes dramatically after a tornado, special attention should be made for keeping animals in secure enclosures such as carriers. Many Red Cross shelters don’t permit animals, so contingency plans should be considered for where the family animals might be taken after a disaster. Having a list of hotels that are willing to house pets or would be willing to waive their no pet policy in case of a disaster could be helpful. Also, if the family leaves their house thinking they will be gone only a short time during a tornado warning, it may be best to take the pets along in case the threat turns into a full-fledged disaster, as going home to retrieve animals might not be possible. Updated information on planning for animals and disasters is available at the National Library of Medicine’s Web site: http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/tornados.html. |
|||||
|
Dr. Jim Lillich presented in San Diego at the Experimental Biology Conference on April 6. Dr. Doug Powell has been quoted by several media sources lately, including the Des Moines Register, Ottawa Citizen, Globe and Mail, KH1 News Service and icWales. Hot topics include restaurant inspection standards in Kansas, tips and trends for American Express restaurant merchants and buying produce. Get the latest scoop on food safety at the Barfblog: barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu. CVM has strong presence at AVC meeting K-State and the CVM were represented well this year at the Academy of Veterinary Consultants’ (AVC) spring meeting, held April 5-6 in Omaha, Neb. The Doug Armstrong memorial scholarship, awarded
annually to a graduate student for excellence in beef cattle clinical
research, was awarded to Dr. Jason Nickell. This is the second year in a
row for the scholarship to be awarded to a Three graduate students presented research findings to the AVC membership: Mr. Abram Babcock, Dr. Gregg Hanzlicek and Dr. Jason Nickell. K-State faculty were also very involved in the meeting. Drs. Dan Thomson, Mike Sanderson and Brad White each gave presentations to the larger group. K-State was also well-represented in the leadership of
the AVC, as the outgoing president Dr. Tom Edwards Dr. Bob Larson said, “The informal feedback and hallway
discussions made it clear that the quality and quantity of work from
|
|||||
|
Calling all veterinary
artists!
Visit the www.vetart.org for entry forms. Entries are due Aug. 1, 2008. The show can be viewed Nov. 4, 2008-Jan. 30, 2009 in Tucson, Ariz. Interested veterinary artists are asked to contact Maggie Pearson by phone: 520-271-8720. The Art Show was formed as a vehicle to raise funds and public awareness for Valley Fever and to facilitate nonclinical interactions between veterinarians and the public. Valley Fever is a debilitating fungal disease that affects both humans and animals, primarily in the arid Southwest and California. Companion animals are most often affected by this disease. The Valley Fever companion animal fund is used for supporting clinical research in treatment and diagnosis of this devastating disease. |
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
New Arrivals |
|||||
|
Hyoung Mi Kim - A&P |
|||||
|
Recent Departures |
|||||
|
Jennifer Sands - DM/P-VDL |
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
Lifelines is published each month by the Development and Alumni Office at the College of Veterinary Medicine Editors are Joe Montgomery and Amy Jo Wright, jmontgom@vet.k-state.edu, ajwright@vet.k-state.edu
Note: Files are in
Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format
|
|||||
I’m
sure everyone is looking forward to wrapping up classes for the year. I
would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you as
your SCAVMA President. Chris Potanas is your new SCAVMA president, and
has many exciting things in store for next year.
The
Artistry and Veterinary Medicine Show, a nonprofit organization
affiliated with the Southern Arizona Veterinary Medical Association,
is inviting veterinarians worldwide to submit artwork for a juried
show to benefit the Valley Fever Companion Animal fund.
