Lifelines
The official newsletter of the College of Veterinary Medicine
September 2010 - Vol. 5, No. 9
Top Stories
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Dr. Scott nets $2 million USDA grant
Under the Microscope
Dr. Scott and colleagues net $2 million USDA grant
Beef and dairy cattle research extends from Texas to Canada
Integration is the key component of a new study, not only in its methods, but in a strategy to collaborate with researchers at other universities and another country: Canada. With a goal to improve food safety in beef and dairy cattle systems, Dr. H. Morgan Scott has put together a comprehensive research project strong enough to merit a $2 million grant from the USDA, which was awarded Sept. 1. Dr. Scott’s collaborators come from the University of Guelph, Angelo State University, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Cornell, Colorado State and the Public Health Agency of Canada. The progress and achievements of the integrated project will be formally evaluated by the award-winning Office of Educational Innovation and Evaluation (OEIE) at Kansas State University. “Our overall goal is to identify, evaluate, and implement practical interventions for managing antibiotic resistance in beef and dairy cattle systems,” said Dr. Scott, professor of epidemiology in the Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology. “We focus on the longstanding problem of resistance emergence, dissemination and persistence among enteric bacteria. If pathogenic bacteria resistant to antibiotics enter the food chain, treatment of humans can be complicated. We will employ a variety of methods to assess and then improve the quality of evidence contained in education and extension materials such as veterinary curricula and commodity specific prudent-use guidelines. “Threats to the continued use of several common agricultural formulations of antimicrobials are looming in the form of FDA guidance documents and draft federal legislation. Having scientifically proven tools available to veterinarians and producers to counter bacterial resistance where and when it arises is essential to maintaining public trust in our abilities to manage threats to public health. The costs to animal agriculture will be tremendous if certain classes or uses of antibiotics are no longer available. The use of antibiotics for treatment and prevention of bacterial infections in beef and dairy cattle is essential for producing safe and wholesome food for consumers, for maximizing the welfare of animals, and for sustaining profitability in animal agriculture.” Dr. Scott notes the importance of collaborating with other schools as well as the importance of working outside the research lab. “We want to employ molecular microbiology to discover the mechanisms underlying several paradoxical responses of resistant strains to antibiotic selection pressures,” Dr. Scott said. “Next it will be critical to field-test practical interventions designed to effectively manage antibiotic resistance levels in production as well as near-slaughter phases of beef and dairy cattle systems. Scientifically proven interventions will be shared with interested parties and decision-makers in the cattle industry who will be encouraged to further evaluate those methods in their production systems. Decision-makers also will be warned of ineffective interventions.” “Dr. Scott is a very valued member of the department and he brings a very unique perspective to our research and graduate studies program,” said Dr. M.M. Chengappa, University Distinguished Professor and department head. “He is one of the most well-respected, internationally recognized epidemiologists in North America. He is also an outstanding leader who can articulate complex topics in very simple terms. We are very fortunate to have a faculty of his caliber and notoriety in the college at Dr. Scott’s work will take him and his lab students on the road visiting feedyards and dairy production facilities, working directly with cattle. “We plan to develop an integrated model to assess the temporal dynamics of antibiotic resistance and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to mitigate its dissemination in cattle systems,” Dr. Scott said. “This model will also be available for education and extension purposes as a very effective demonstration tool. We also hope this will greatly enhance detection of early-resistant E. coli, and we will be able to better estimate animal-level prevalence of resistance carriage through enhanced surveillance. We expect that our new approach will yield earlier detection and characterization of resistance to critically important antibiotics.” Ultimately, Dr. Scott would like to come up with solutions that can be utilized quickly and effectively industry-wide. |
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Capt. Miller sends a letter from Afghanistan
Class of 1992 alumnus provides health care while serving as veterinarian in the Army
| My name is Ryan K. Miller and I am a captain in the US Army Veterinary Corps Reserves. I am a 1992 alumnus of Wellington (Kan.) High School, Fort Hays State University 1996 and Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2000. I am currently deployed to Afghanistan on my second tour. My job here in Afghanistan is to travel to the villages and work directly with the local Afghan veterinarians, para veterinarians and farmers to improve their livestock and agriculture management. Our unit is called Cooperative Medical Assistance (CMA). We provide training seminars at village district centers, working with nongovernment aid agencies, Coalition forces and U.S. military forces (Agriculture Development Teams – ADT, Civil Affairs teams, USDA, USAID, etc.) to provide technical advice and expertise on projects throughout Afghanistan. Our unit also works with the two veterinary colleges and several agriculture colleges located in Nangarhar and Kabul, along with several agriculture schools. The students are very knowledgeable, but they don’t get many chances to have hands-on experiences with the animals. We work with the Afghan students and farmers on examinations, treating animals (de-worming, suturing, diagnosing diseases, etc.) and using better livestock management techniques (forages and feeding, milk production, etc.). Our goal is to make the Afghans more self-reliant so they can go out, do things on their own and share their knowledge with others. The CMAs part of the Civil Military Operations agricultural development mission is critical to the counterinsurgency. About 85 percent of the Afghans are dependent on farming for their livelihoods. Typical Afghan farmers are trying to sustain enormous families with food grown on about a half-acre to an acre of ground, often using beasts of burden to pull wooden plows. In this calorie-deficient diet where people often slowly starve in the winter, the per capita income is about $400 per year. There is a major focus on education, with the ADT specialists training Afghan extension agents to further train Afghan farmers — “training the trainers” in military slang. Much of the development programs are designed toward efforts to “put an Afghan face” on development work, with ADT and Civil Affairs teams endeavoring to partner with Afghan provincial ministries, particularly the Department of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (DAIL) to improve agriculture practices. Working with the Afghan government can be a frustrating job because of all the corruption. Many times intertribal conflicts among the Afghans themselves play out in government offices. There are officials misappropriating equipment and money, ghost employees who only show up for paydays, and officials who lack basic organizational skills. The majority of animals here in Afghanistan are sheep, goats, donkeys, some cattle and an occasional camel. Animals here in Afghanistan are usually much thinner and smaller than what we see in the United States. Forage (animal feed) is a limiting factor due to the lack of rainfall. Forages are mostly grown on irrigated land, and this competes with human food production. The predominant system of irrigation is via canals into open fields — flood irrigation, which is very inefficient. Most of the villages we travel to and work in are receptive to our presence. The people are generally interested in what we have to offer. They are also curious to talk to an American about agriculture in the United States. Overall, the work had been very rewarding and makes a difference at the local level. My team helps the local farmers and veterinarians and they see us as a positive influence. |
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Getting a KIC at the Veterinary Medical Library
New technology is changing the way students look at books … and in a way that is very green. Last spring, the Veterinary Medical Library installed a new piece of equipment: the KIC II scanner that scans printed material directly into a digital format that can be printed, e-mailed or saved on a portable USB storage device. Hale Library had already acquired three similar scanners, generating a positive student response. “We purchased our scanners three years ago when we lost our copy center,” said Roberta Johnson, senior director for administrative and IT services, K-State Libraries. “Students were coming in to photocopy material from books and journals, paying 10 cents per page. Then they would digitally scan those pages to convert the pages into an electronic form. We found a way to solve this problem and provide a service for free.” Johnson said the Student Governing Association bought one of Hale Library’s new scanners and the library purchased two more on its own. The KIC scanners replace traditional photocopying machines and allow for color scans. Students can still print out pages if desired, but they also have the option to e-mail scanned pages to themselves or download copies onto a USB drive. “In each of successive years since we added our scanners at Hale Library, we have placed a new one at the K-State-Salina campus, one in the architecture library, and one at the College of Veterinary Medicine,” Johnson said. Gayle Willard, director of the Veterinary Medical Library, said, “Before we had the KIC scanner, we had to send journal volumes to Hale and they were returned —lots of things going back and forth. This new ‘arrangement’ makes having the scanner a win-win-win. Our patrons get free quality scanning, we scan journals for Hale personnel, and they have fewer things to transport back and forth each day. It’s also helped us supply journal articles via scans to other medical and veterinary libraries in the United States through an NNLM/NIH program DOCLINE, which is much faster and better quality compared to the faxes we use to sent out.“ The student response in the Veterinary Medical Library has been very positive. “I find using the scanner to be very convenient,” said Taylor Green, class of 2012. “I can pull a journal from the shelves, scan the article and put the book back. I don’t have to check the journals out anymore. “ A.J. Tarpoff, class of 2012, said, “I like that I can e-mail the article to myself. That gives me the option to have the article in two formats: one electronically on my computer, and then I can print it out later if I want to.” Gayle Willard encourages veterinary students to use the new KIC scanner. “The students who have used it so far are first surprised, then really pleased to find this high-quality, fast scanner and it’s free,” she said. “And it’s great that it has so many options. “ Willard said there are several staff members who can assist anyone who has questions or needs help. |
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In memory of Calais
KSDS service dog trained by Dr. Pat Payne
Lifelines has very sad news to report – the passing of Calais, a black Labrador retriever that had been trained by Dr. Pat Payne for service in the KSDS program. Calais was diagnosed with dysautonomia, a disease that is primarily found in young adult dogs. Typical symptoms of dysautonomia include dysuria, regurgitation, purulent nasal discharge, photophobia, anorexia, and weight loss. She was being treated at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. Dr. Payne extends her gratitude to the faculty, staff and senior students who treated Calais. “My time with Calais was challenging but fun,” Dr. Payne said. “She was a challenge to train because she was so smart and energetic. She was fun to train because of all of the times she excelled at tasks and even the times when we were not so perfect together but were trying hard. We had help from many students, faculty, staff and the administration during the last 16 months, so I know there will be many of us who are deeply saddened by her passing.” Lifelines had originally run a story in August 2009 to introduce Calais at the beginning of her training with Dr. Payne. She had just recently returned to the KSDS for evaluation by its trainers. Had she not succumbed to her illness, Calais would have been brought back to the VMTH for eye certification and OFA radiographs, which are generously provided by the college to KSDS service dogs. When service dogs pass these physical tests plus personality tests, then an intensive training phase begins as well as a search for partners. |
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Two take top employee honors in DM/P
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Welcome to the Class of 2014
The Class of 2014 was welcomed at the beginning of the fall semester with a few days of orientation sessions. These pictures are from some of those sessions.
Above: a couple of pictures from the Club Fair. Tables were set up to display the many veterinary clubs students can join.
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CVC alumni award goes to Dr. Kenneth Burton
Dr. Kenneth Roy Burton, D.V.M., Manhattan, Kan., is the recipient of the 2010 Alumni Recognition Award for the Central Veterinary Conference, held in Kansas City, Mo., on Aug. 28, 2010. Originally from Wichita, Kan., Dr. Burton earned his bachelor’s degree in 1977 and DVM in 1981, both from K-State. After graduation, he worked at the Ralston Veterinary Clinic in Ralston, Neb., for one year. In 1982, he and his wife Joan, moved to Lyons, Kan., where they purchased the Lyons Veterinary Clinic. In 2010, he sold his practice, where he’d been working for 28 years, to move back to Manhattan as a project manager/analyst at the National Agricultural Biosecurity Center. “It’s quite an honor to be selected for this award,” Dr. Burton said. “This is a wonderful profession and one in which I have had many opportunities. I always try to learn new things and make it a point to celebrate the human-animal bond with my clients. One must never forget how important animals are to their happiness, their family and their livelihood.” “Dr. Burton is very well-respected in the state of Kansas for his active role in animal health issues and emergency response management,” said Dr. Ralph Richardson, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. “He has also been active in working with our students at our birthing center at the State Fair in Hutchinson, and he continues to work closely with our college through the National Agricultural Biosecurity Center. We take great pride in honoring his career.” Dr. Burton has received the Kansas Veterinary Medical Association (KVMA) President’s Award, KVMA Veterinary Mentor of the Year and 2010 KVMA Veterinarian of the Year. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Kansas Livestock Association, Academy of Rural Veterinarians, American Association of Bovine Practitioners and Academy of Veterinary Consultants. He has also participated in other multiple professional activities, such as the Kansas Volunteer Veterinary Corp, National Animal Health Emergency Response Corp, Federal Emergency Management Agency Incident Command System online study and Basic Agricultural Emergency Response Training. Dr. Burton and his wife have three children: Kelly and husband, Anthony Arnold; Kristin and husband, Chris White; and Bryce Burton, all of Kansas City. He became a grandfather with the birth of his first grandchild, Graham, this last December. During the mentoring years of his family, Dr. Burton was active in various parts of the Lyons community, as president of the Optimist Club, Rice County Hospital District No. 1 board of directors, and the Lyons Chamber of Commerce board of directors. Dr. Burton also was active in his church in Lyons, serving as an elder and on the board of deacons. |
CVM students present research at NVSS
The CVM had good representation at the National Veterinary Scholars Symposium held at the University of Georgia, Athens, in early August. K-State had 14 student scholars attending. Here are some of the students who presented their research posters.
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Find us on Facebook
Become a friend of the College of Veterinary Medicine at its official Facebook page: www.facebook.com/KSUCVM. Share news and suggest our page to your friends. |
Under the Microscope
Anthony Wallace, Veterinary Medicine Cafe Lead
Hometown: Salina, Kan., born March 21, 1981. Family Information: Fiancee, Tricia Soeken; mother, Pamela Graf; father, Ed Wallace; younger brother, Michael; and younger sister, Audrey. Pets:A dog, Rascal, and a cat, Iceman. Rascal is a Black Lab/Coon mix, though not sure which type of coon hound. Iceman is a Dilute Red Tabby we adopted from the veterinary college. What’s your favorite part about the beginning of a new school year? Getting to see the familiar customers that have been gone all summer, and seeing how they are doing. Also a new school year generally means the introduction of a couple new concepts. This year we are hoping to introduce “Starbucks” coffee products. What are some of the things that people might not realize are offered in the cafeteria? That our breakfast sandwiches can be made on bagels as well as biscuits. We are also hoping to get Starbucks coffee products over here sometime this semester. Where do you work when you’re not at the veterinary college and what kinds of things do you do? I have a second job working for Panera Bread over off Seth Child Road. I am also an avid role player and enjoy playing Dungeons and Dragons. I play Battle Tech, and paint miniature figures. What’s a favorite way to spend a day off? I have two different ways that I enjoy spending a day off. The first is sitting around a table with friends either playing a board game or role-playing game. The other is spending quality time with the fiancee, going out to dinner and or a movie, or curled up on the couch with her watching a movie or TV. What’s a talent you have that your co-workers might not know about? I can do character voices. I can mimic Smeagol’s voice from the Lord of the Rings, and Stitch from Lilo and Stitch. I also used to be in Air Force ROTC and at one point almost attained my Pilot's licence. What will you remember most from the Summer of 2010? Working lots of hours at both jobs in order to save up money for my upcoming wedding in May. |
Have you ever surprised yourself at overcoming a challenge in life? Back in 2001, I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. At the time I was in Air Force ROTC. When I was diagnosed I was already on medical probation because I was highly anemic (because of the Crohn's). I had taken care of the anemia, and had the Crohn's put back into remission when I sent my medical information to the medical review board to get reinstated back into AFROTC. The review board took one look at the Crohn's disease and immediately disqualified me from being able to enter any branch of military service. Since I had been working so hard for years to become an Air Force Officer, and planned to make a career out of it, the disqualification crushed me. I became an emotionless zombie — someone who would go about their daily life repeating the simple tasks, but unable to put forth the effort to attach myself emotionally to anything that could hurt me again. It cost me a relationship, and made it difficult to care for anyone or anything. It took years for me to be able to finally open up and feel again, and I was afraid to do it because I didn’t want to risk getting hurt like that again. For a while I was unsure if I would be able to care for anyone or anything that would leave me feeling so vulnerable again. It took a lot of time slowly making new friends before I was able to push myself into letting myself get attached to people and things again. Check it Out at the Library
Reading program benefits students
by Carol Elmore
K-State recently adopted a university-wide reading program for the fall 2010 semester. Even though this program has been promoted primarily to undergraduates, there are many issues in this year’s book selection that are relevant to veterinary medical education. All undergraduate freshmen were given a copy of the book, "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins, during their orientation and enrollment and were requested to read it over the summer. The rest of K-State’s students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumni have also been encouraged to take part in the reading program so that they, too, can discuss the book. Several lectures and programs will be presented on campus to stimulate thinking about the book and its many themes. Faculty and staff are encouraged to incorporate the book into their classes.
Many universities have instituted similar programs to foster a community where everyone has the opportunity to share and discuss the same reading material. "The Hunger Games" is a science fiction dystopian novel which portrays a future world that is oppressive and dismal. This is opposite to utopian novels which portray a future that is ideal and perfect. Many thought provoking themes are presented in the novel which takes place in the not-too-distant future where America has collapsed and been replaced by a country called Panem which is composed of a capitol and twelve districts. Each district must yearly select two young representatives by lottery to participate in a gladiator-type survival game where they must fight each other to the death until one is the lone survivor.
Leadership issues such as integrity and questioning of authority are presented in the novel. Social issues such as class distinctions, gender issues and parent/child relationships also appear. Issues involving food production, biological and species engineering, and animal hunting are especially relevant to veterinary medicine. The reliance of the competing representatives on survival skills might be a theme to which first year veterinary medical students could relate.
The Veterinary Medical Library has a copy of "The Hunger Games" ( PZ7.C6837 Hun 2008). Other copies are available from Hale Library and the Manhattan Public Library.
Please visit the Veterinary Medical Library Web site: www.vet.k-state.edu/depts/library/ for help on this and other subjects.
News Ticker
Grant Adams, son of Carol and Dave Adams, participated in the National 4-H Shooting Sports Invitational Match June 28 to July 2, in Kerrville, Texas. Grant placed first in the nation in slow-fire bulls-eye air pistol capturing gold for Kansas. The air pistol team, of which Grant was a member, placed third nationally. Prior to his participation in the National 4-H Shooting Sports Match, Grant participated in the USA National Championships, June 14-19, at Fort Benning, Ga. During this national match Grant shot men’s 10 meter air pistol and men’s 50 meter free pistol. He earned the gold medal in men’s 50 meter pistol High Class A rank. Grant ranked 4th overall in the men’s USA Junior Olympics division for both air pistol and free pistol. Dr. Howard Erickson attended the AVMA Convention in Atlanta in August and gave a presentation on the “Historical Transitions for Women in Veterinary Medicine.” Dr. Dan Thomson gave a series of presentations on “Animal Welfare and Kansas Agriculture” at the farm bureau offices in Allen, Greeley, Harper, Johnson and Ottawa counties. He also presented “Improvements in technology and efficiency in the beef industry” with Dr. Ben Wileman at the AABP annual convention, held in Albuquerque, N.M., Aug. 20. Dr. Wileman won the AABP Graduate Research competition. Ruby Mosher, graduate student in the DM/P, won second place in the same competition. Dr. Daniel C. Marcus, university distinguished professor of anatomy and physiology, will serve a four-year term on the National Committee for the National Association of IDeA Principal Investigators. The 20-member committee assists the National Center for Research Resources, a division of the National Institutes of Health, in strengthening biomedical research in 23 states -- including Kansas -- that are part of the Institutional Development Awards, or IDeA, network. The committee meets in Washington, D.C. Laura Kohake, junior in pre-veterinary medicine and an early-admit scholar, has been awarded a Midwest Dairy Awards Scholarship. Dr. William Fortney presented nine hours of small animal geriatrics at the Central Veterinary Conference in Kansas City in August. |
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| Congratulations to K-State’s winners in the 2010 Smithcors Essay Contest. Elizabeth Williams, class of 2012, won first prize for “The Forgotten Giants Behind Louis Pasteur: Contributions by the Veterinarians Toussaint and Galtier.” Gail Goble, class of 2013, won second prize for “Mad Cows and vCJD: A Tale of Two Epidemics.” Jaime Stevenson, class of 2013, won third prize for “West Nile Virus: A Progression from Unknown to Endemic.” |
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Dr. Mark Spire recognized for his contributions to AABP and the cattle industryDr. Mark Spire, D.V.M., of Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health was awarded the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) Pfizer Animal Health Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Spire of Manhattan, Kan., is a technical services manager for Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, spent 29 years on the faculty at K-State and is a former AABP president. He was recognized at the AABP annual conference in Albuquerque, N.M., Aug. 21. During his time at KSU, he received the Merck Award for Creative Teaching for his excellent, innovative teaching, as well as his development of courses and programs that benefited the university. He developed courses in beef-production medicine, a training program in feedlot production management, a training program for veterinarians involved in the state’s Foreign Animal Disease Emergency Response Plan, the residency in Agri-Practice Commodity Program for production medicine and continuing education programs in Integrated Resource Management and Beef Quality Assurance. |
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Calendar of events
Oct. 16: KVMA Fall Conference, Frick Auditorium
Nov. 18: Swine Industry Day, K-State Alumni Center
New Arrivals/Recent Departures
Welcome to:
Cameron Childers - VMTH
Jordan Fey - KSVDL
Susan Hettenback - DM/P
Ali Mahdi - DM/P
Kate Pennick - DM/P
Bailey Harder - Dean's Office
Jeffrey Gauss - Veterinary Medical Library
Thanks and Goodbye to:
Teresa Ingraham - VMTH
Brandy Gowdy - KSVDL
Lifelines is published each month by the Development and Alumni Affairs Office at the College of Veterinary Medicine.
The editor is Joe Montgomery, jmontgom@vet.k-state.edu.