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December 2008 - Vol. 3 No. 11 |
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Top Stories
NBAF heads to
Manhattan Dr. Carpenter comes full
circle |
Regular Features
Check it Out at the
Library New Arrivals/Recent Departures
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  bonus
stories and photos*
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Disease researchers
merge in Manhattan
K-State and the CVM are taking new steps to establish our campus as a global player in human and animal health research. Dr. Jürgen Richt, the recently appointed Regents Distinguished Professor of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology and Kansas Bioscience Authority Eminent Scholar, organized and hosted an international symposium on campus with several big names in infectious disease research. The two-day conference, “Emerging Infections: A Tribute to the One Medicine, One Health Concept,” was held Nov. 13 and 14. The first night featured an overflow crowd at the International Grains Program Executive Conference Center, where researchers gave compelling presentations on the latest breakthroughs and research on bird and Spanish flu, dengue, Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever, Ebola and SARS. One such researcher, Dr. Robert Webster, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tenn., detailed the emergence and response to H5N1 avian influenza in Asia and explained its potential to insidiously spread throughout other parts of the world and the animal and human health crises that could result. “Our focus is on presenting great science and we are able to do that by organizing a first-class conference with the help of many sponsors,” Dr. Richt said. “Especially important was the help from companies and organizations within the Greater Kansas City Animal Health Corridor, especially the Kansas Bioscience Authority and Heartland BioAgro Consortium.” Attendance for the conference was free and many of the speakers volunteered their time and travel to be at the conference. More than 150 guests turned out from North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and more than 30 topics were presented in five workshops. “Most conferences are lucky to have half a dozen keynote speakers, but we had the equivalence of 30,” Dr. Richt said. A tour of the Biosecurity Research Institute was another highlight of the conference. Other major topics in the symposium included an overview of the One World, One Health theme, best biocontainment practices, systems biology, plant vaccines, production of knock-out cattle, new variants in mad cow disease, Ebola, Marburg, Nipah virus, models of viral myocarditis, vaccines for Rift Valley fever, rabies and West Nile virus, Hantaviruses, Borna disease virus, equine herpes virus, and emerging swine viruses like porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus.
Dr. Richt explained this symposium is similar to others he has helped
organize in the past. In previous years, these conferences have been all
over the world; however, one has been based in Ames, Iowa, where he was
formerly the lead scientist and veterinary medical officer with the
National Animal Disease Center. Dr. Richt says the next international
symposium on emerging zoonoses will be most likely in Mexico, but
anticipates having a chance to hold one at |
 Dr. Jürgen Richt addresses conference attendees from around the world.
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Breaking News: NBAF heads
to Manhattan On Dec. 3, news came out that the Department of
Homeland Security will indicate Manhattan and K-State has more than 150 of its own faculty and staff active in the
food safety and animal health arenas. Since 1999, In addition to the expertise offered by Dr. Jürgen Richt (in the
accompanying story), NBAF will be located adjacent to the |
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Dr. Carpenter comes full circle in Argentina Three was the magic number for Dr. James Carpenter in mid-November. Calling themselves the “Three Amigos,” Dr. Carpenter joined two colleagues in presenting their third conference on zoological medicine in Latin America. This year’s conference was held at the Buenos Aires Zoological Park in Argentina, and attracted 185 veterinarians and veterinary students from nine countries: Mexico, Panama, Chile, Venezuela, Ecuador, Uruguay, Colombia, Brazil and Argentina. The other presenters were Dr. Kay Backus from the Tulsa Zoo, and Dr. Roberto Aguilar, formerly of the Phoenix Zoo. Two years ago, the three amigos presented a conference in Guadalajara, Mexico, and last year in Medellin, Colombia. The first three days in Buenos Aires were spent as a didactic conference with a wet lab offered to a smaller, select group of 24 veterinarians on the fourth day. Dr. Aguilar, who was raised in Mexico, provided simultaneous translations from English to Spanish. During the conference, Dr. Carpenter was invited to visit an Andean condor facility at the Buenos Aires Zoo. “I was told that much of what the biologists are doing at this facility is based on work I did with Andean condors when I worked with the Endangered Species Research Program at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (in Laurel, Md.), so it was a matter of coming full circle,” Dr. Carpenter said. “That was such a coincidence — our conference was held in the same country and same zoo where these folks had been doing work for 10 years on the capture, propagation and release of Andean condors. I was excited to find out research I had done previously was making an impact on an endangered species in South America.” While in Argentina, Dr. Carpenter went on a two-day tour of the Patagonia region and spotted local wildlife including guanacos (camelids), Magellan penguins, rheas, elephant seals and right whales off the coast. In 2010, Dr. Carpenter and his colleagues will hold a similar conference in Chile. |
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*bonus
sidebar story Tinsel returns to KSDS for training Dr. Patricia Payne has a soft spot for service dogs. Dr. Payne raises puppies for KSDS, and Tinsel, her third puppy, recently returned to KSDS for training. Tinsel, a tall, athletic, mature Labrador retriever, first came to Dr. Payne as an eight-week-old, rambunctious, 10-pound pup. Dr. Payne has taken Tinsel everywhere with her, exposing him to as many different situations as possible, including traffic, elevators, crowds and cars in preparation for a life of loyal service. On Nov. 25, Dr. Payne took Tinsel back to KSDS in Washington, Kan., where he met up with his litter mates: Jingle, Kringle, Sleigh, Yule, Elf, Mistletoe and Holly. Over the next few weeks, Tinsel and his litter mates will be evaluated for personality traits and suitability for training. They will come to the VMTH for eye certification and Orthopedic Foundation test for Animals (OFA) radiographs, services the CVM provides to KSDS dogs free of charge. Once the dogs pass the personality and medical evaluations, they will be assigned to either the guide or service program. The dogs will be with certified trainers for six months before being placed with their “forever partner.” Dr. Payne will receive a letter from KSDS about the test results and which program Tinsel is assigned to. If Tinsel does not pass his tests, she will pick him up, and they will start on his new career path. If he does pass, she will receive a letter about his graduation as part of a working team. “I deeply appreciate everyone’s help and support with Tinsel’s training,” Dr Payne said. “Tinsel has been a challenge to train as a pup, but he is ready to go on and see what else he can do. I have faith that he will do well in training and will be able to enhance someone’s life with his joyous spirit and his ability to serve.” |
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KSDS and the CVM The CVM has been a
long-time friend and supporter of KSDS. The annual event, Dog ‘n’ Jog,
raises funds for the continued efforts of KSDS. KSDS staff travels to |
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*bonus
pictures Check it out at the Library: 'Boo...ktacular'
events a success!
Besides the library itself being decorated, many of the library staff
wore decorations. We had a black and orange day, get dressed in the dark
day, couch potato day, Despite all of the time people spent looking at our decorations such as the caged pirate, weirdly costumed figures, and large spider webs, they were also seriously shopping at our sale. Many waited for our 50 percent off reduction during the first week of the sale, the later $1 bag or box of books days and eventually the free days at the end. We had so many shoppers that we realized $1,334 from our sale which included the sales from the fierce competition on our silent auctions items. Who would ever think that “old books” could excite so many folks. Veterinary medical textbooks were popular both at the silent auction and the regular sales. Despite the recent downturn in the U. S. economy, our shoppers were more than happy to buy some of our bargains knowing that their purchases would give them great value for their dollars. The exciting part about the sale proceeds is that we don’t just keep all of that money for ourselves here at the library but use it to buy technology items that can be checked out. Several possible purchases are a talking GPS and a wireless presentation remote control. Remember that we always take donations for next year’s sale at any time the library is open. When cleaning your offices and homes, remember to bring book and cd/dvd/video discards to us for next year’s sale. |
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Specialized alpaca training available online The CVM recently received a $20,000 gift from the Mid-America Alpaca Foundation to create the world’s first Web-based continuing education program focused exclusively on llamas and alpacas. “Growing interest in camelids and the emergence of 6,000 alpaca farms nationwide has prompted the need for veterinarians to broaden their expertise in working with these valuable animals,” said Dr. David Anderson, professor and head of agricultural practices and program co-creator. This “virtual training” program will allow veterinarians from anywhere in the world, at any time of the day or night, to gain access to critical training information at their leisure or in times of crisis. Veterinarians often cannot afford to spend critical time and resources attending in-depth continuing education programs dedicated to one species. Dr. Meredyth Jones, assistant professor and coordinator of the Alpacas on Campus program, said demand is high for this information. “We receive phone calls daily from practicing veterinarians needing the latest information available in camelid medicine and surgery,” Dr. Jones said. “We very much enjoy this interaction with practitioners and see this as another way to serve them.” Drs. Anderson and Jones are collaborating with Dr. Dusty Nagy at the University of Missouri and Dr. Melanie Boileau at Oklahoma State University, internal medicine experts who share an interest in veterinary education and alpaca health issues.
More information about this program is available online by visiting
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Under the Microscope: Donna Springer, Coordinator of Student
Programs
Place of birth: Manhattan. Family information: I have
two sons, Aaron and Davin - both are married and live in
Manhattan. The first little girl in the family is Madison,
my granddaughter who is 8 months old. My mother lives in
Randolph. |
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| Personal Notes | Presenters and speakers | ||||||||
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Dr. Mike Apley presented at the Iowa State Swine Conference Nov. 7 on strengths and limitations of MIC results in clinical practice. Dr. Hans Coetzee spoke in Rockville, Md., at the Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine Staff College Nov. 10 on measuring pain in cattle and the use of plasma substance. Dr. Brad White presented Nov. 13 at
Iowa State to the Veterinary Business Management Association and
American Association of Bovine Practitioners groups on the topic of
hiring and retaining a new associate. |
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New Arrivals |
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Megan Moore - VDL |
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Recent Departures |
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Dr. Cinzia Mastrorilli - VDL
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Lifelines is published each month by the Development and Alumni Office at the College of Veterinary Medicine Editors are Joe Montgomery and Amy Jo Coltrane, jmontgom@vet.k-state.edu, ajwright@vet.k-state.edu
Note: Files are in
Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format
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The
Veterinary Medical Library has been an exciting place lately. Halloween
festivities were combined with the annual book and media sale
coordinated by Cindy Logan, assistant professor and manager of DISC
Services. Many people came to see our decorations and purchase books and
other items at the event called “Boo…ktacular.” We have previously held
our sale around Valentine’s Day but have changed to the late
October/early November date.
His
third-grade daughter Tory (pictured left) won the Kansas Department of Health
and Environment poster competition for her respective grade. She was invited to
an awards ceremony with Gov. Sebelius, and her poster will be used in the 2009
KDHE calendar.
