Lifelines
The official newsletter of the College of Veterinary Medicine
March 2011 - Vol. 6, No. 3
Alumni Fellow is a good Guy
Under the Microscope
Dr. Guy Palmer returns to CVM as 2011 Alumni Fellow
Dr. Guy H. Palmer, Pullman, Wash., was named the 2011 Alumni Fellow for the As part of Dr. Palmer's visit, he gave us an interview about what he's been doing since he graduated with his bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in 1977 and his DVM in 1980 both from K-State. He received his doctorate in pathology from Washington State University in 1984. He is board-certified in anatomic pathology. |
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Lifelines News Video. Click the play button below to see our story for this month.
Video produced by Joseph Chapes and Kent Nelson, technology coordinators from |
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Plum Island scientist highlights Phi Zeta Research Day
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The annual Phi Zeta Research Day was held March 1. The day featured various posters and presentations. There were different categories for the contest including: basic science research presentation, production animal, case report and clinical sciences research presentation. Scholarships and awards were also presented during Phi Zeta day. The keynote speaker of the Kenneth D. Olson Lectureship was Dr. Luis Rodriguez, research leader at the USDA/ARS Plum Island Animal Disease Center. See a full list of awards online here.
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Author emphasizes power of the Human-Animal Bond
Dr. Kipp Van Camp to sign new book: 'Always Allie' at Mara Conference Center
Dr. Kipp and his wife Tracy adopted their four legged daughter Chelsea Alexis, or better known as Allie, in 1991. The book shares the story of the loveable Allie and how she was treated as a member of the Van Camp family. They felt as if Allie provided the perfect parent training course to help them raise their two sons. “For a type A person, I couldn't believe how this feisty little Bichon could shape my thinking,” said Dr. Kipp. “When I was observant enough to study her behavior, I realized I could learn some valuable life lessons, like: take time to stop and smell the roses, or don't take yourself so seriously, or routines, consistency and structure are the keys to raising well adjusted children (and dogs) in a safe and healthy environment.” After enjoying Allie’s unique personality for 17½ years, Dr. Kipp had to make the difficult decision of putting Allie down. Dr. Kipp realized Allie was suffering and he considered the most important gift he could give her, was to let her go.
Dr. Kipp will be at K-State for the Human-Animal Bond Fair on April 16 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Mara Conference Center in Trotter Hall on the 4th floor. He will be one of five speakers. The Human-Animal Bond Fair is being held in conjunction with the annual campuswide Open House. |
Dr. Kipp Van Camp, son of Dr. Robert Van Camp, DVM 1957, will be making a special trip to campus on April 16 to discuss the power of the human-animal bond and for a book signing. Dr. Kipp considered following in his father’s footsteps of pursuing animal medicine but decided to go into people medicine instead. Even though Dr. Kipp went into people medicine, it does not mean that he underestimates the power of the Human-Animal bond. This bond inspired him to write the story about his dog Allie in his book “Always Allie.”
The day they put Allie down was the day Dr. Kipp started writing the story about his canine companion.
New collaboration will enhance economic development
The leaders who helped forge a new partnership between Kansas State University and animal health company Abaxis Inc. often describe the joint effort as a four-legged stool. Each of the legs of the stool has collaborated and will continue to do so as the partnership develops in coming months, driving community and university economic development. The four legs include Abaxis, K-State, the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Lab and the National Institute for Strategic Technology Acquisition and Commercialization, or NISTAC, which is the university's business development and commercialization arm. "All the legs of the stool are supporting each other and working together to provide opportunity for not only creating a new business but for growing companion animal diagnostics," said Dr. Gary Anderson, professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology and director of the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. The company has chosen Olathe for its Abaxis Veterinary Reference Laboratory, which will be a full-service commercial laboratory for veterinarians across the United States. Abaxis is renovating a laboratory facility to meet its needs. Moving to Olathe puts Abaxis near K-State's new International Animal Health and Food Safety Institute, the first building at K-State Olathe. At the institute scientists will perform research that protects and secures the global food supply while educating and informing students and citizens about food safety. "It's not just a coincidence that Abaxis chose to come to Olathe," said Dr. Dan Richardson, chief executive officer of the Olathe campus. "Initial discussions began with the new K-State Olathe campus, which then made the connection to K-State's diagnostic lab and Dr. Anderson. The result was a great team effort to develop the business partnership." Through the partnership, K-State will provide selected laboratory testing and pathology analysis. Clinical animal samples -- such as blood or urine -- will go to Olathe, while other samples -- such as biopsies and swabs -- will be sent to the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab on K-State's Manhattan campus for testing. This will increase the number of samples the lab receives and may give researchers more material for prospective and retrospective studies. The partnership can also assist in student and faculty recruitment efforts. "As Abaxis grows, we grow," Dr. Anderson said. "The more samples we see, the more opportunities we have to grow business as well as teach and train our students, house officers and residents. Our business is based on the number of animal samples we receive and how we are able to analyze them." Anderson envisions more resources coming to K-State to expand the university's animal health training program. Abaxis, too, will need well-trained staff, technicians and diagnosticians, which K-State can help provide. Eventually, students may be able to move between the Olathe and the Manhattan campuses to obtain valuable training and education at both locations. "It's exciting that a university will enter into this kind of relationship with the private sector," said Dr. Ralph Richardson, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. "This relationship assures that the college has access to real-life diagnostic data and continues to attract the best and brightest researchers to work in the field of veterinary diagnostics. Through new opportunities for veterinary contacts, we carry on our strong tradition of preparing students to enter their profession with the skills needed to master the challenges that will arise in the animal health field." But the influence of Abaxis will also stretch beyond K-State to the surrounding region, as the laboratory is projected to bring between 50 and 100 jobs to Kansas in a 10-year period. "I see the situation as a win-win for everyone involved: the university benefits from it, and both the Manhattan and Kansas City areas will gain employment," said Lyle Butler, president and CEO of the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce, "With the arrival of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, I think that the near future will bring companies that will move to or expand in the Kansas City area and along the entire Animal Health Corridor, and many will also want to build their presence in Manhattan, close to the K-State campus." The Animal Health Corridor region, which stretches from Manhattan to Columbia, Mo., contains one-third of the world's marketplace for animal health companies. Butler noted that the animal health region was a strong attraction for Abaxis because of the proximity to K-State's animal health experts, research resources and other existing companies. In turn, Abaxis' arrival as a knowledge-based economic development company enables K-State to support animal health research while training tomorrow's veterinary clinicians, diagnosticians and researchers. "The opportunities for growing our business and establishing a new level of exposure to case material seems to be an interesting path to take in these times when it is a bit tough economically," Dr. Anderson said. "Our first mission is service and serving our clients the very best we can, but right along with that, we are a teaching and training institution doing research as well. We have to look for ways of growing our revenue to enhance our teaching and research mission. We look at this opportunity as being one small part that we can contribute to growing and achieving our overall mission." |
Former professor returns to lead disease-research unit
Several unpacked boxes sit in the corners of Dr. McVey, a former K-State faculty member, came back to Manhattan to join the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Arthropod-Borne Animal Disease Research Unit, or ABADRU, as supervisory veterinary medical officer. His duties include research and overseeing many of the unit's administrative functions, including budgetary matters, meeting USDA objectives and hiring new staff, because the unit is currently operating at half capacity. "It's a pretty exciting time," said The National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, or NBAF, is slated to open in 2018 in Manhattan to replace New York's aging Plum Island Animal Disease Center, which is a major BSL-3 animal disease research facility. |
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On the heels of that announcement, ABADRU was relocated here from Laramie, Wyo., in July 2010. Its scientists work on diseases and animal viruses carried by insects, primarily biting midges and mosquitoes. The viruses are quarantined in the unit's cell culture facility for examination and future reference. ABADRU's ultimate goals are to understand the pathogenesis of the diseases, to develop better diagnostic tools in the field and to create a vaccine for each disease. "Vaccinology -- developing and testing vaccines -- is one area we want to continue strengthening in our unit. And from a vaccine standpoint, the diseases we're working with are particularly challenging," Dr. McVey said. He should know. After serving as a researcher in K-State's department of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology from 1986 to 1996, Dr. McVey spent 10 years working for Merial and Pfizer in the biologicals and vaccine development sector. He did vaccine formulation in addition to production scale-up, methodologies and licensing work. Because many of the diseases ABADRU works with are agents classified as biosafety level 3, or BSL-3, McVey and colleagues conduct their studies in K-State's Biosecurity Research Institute. Current and future projects with these diseases and others include many of the university's faculty members. ABADRU scientists all have adjunct faculty appointments in K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine, leading to collaborations that can involve many faculty members at K-State. One of ABADRU's major efforts is focused on the Rift Valley fever virus, a disease that originated in East Africa and has spread to West Africa, Yemen and Egypt. Although it has yet to spread to the U.S., Rift Valley fever is mosquito-borne and is capable of being carried to North America, McVey said. For this study he and the other ABADRU scientists are working with Biosecurity Research Institute staff and Jürgen A. Richt, a Regents distinguished professor at K-State and a Kansas Bioscience Authority eminent scholar. Another collaboration pairs ABADRU and Plum Island researchers with Dr. Bob Rowland, virologist and professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology. The project, which will eventually transition to NBAF, centers on classical swine fever and African swine fever, the latter spread by ticks. The unit also works heavily with exotic strains of bluetongue virus. "Bluetongue virus is transmitted by midges, which are sort of like gnats. They're biting, blood-sucking insects, and they transmit disease," Dr. McVey said. "Some strains of bluetongue are already in the U.S., and we don't want the exotic strains from Europe and the Mediterranean region to spread here." Many of the diseases ABADRU is studying and has studied have ties to insects. NBAF's centralized location will allow for easier collaboration with expert entomologists and will lead to new research opportunities with ABADRU, "Historically there have been other diseases we've worked on, and with the arrival of NBAF, there's potentially lots more for the future," Dr. McVey said. |
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150 Years of Kansas Beef
Don’t forget to order your '150 Year of Kansas Beef' commemorative book!
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Olathe schools form partnership with K-State-Olathe
Animal health program based at Olathe North High School
Long before they had a permanent building in Olathe to work from, Kansas State University staff members were working with Olathe schools. Now, K-State has been recognized by the Olathe School District for helping educate high school students about careers in animal health and the biosciences. "The Olathe Public Schools have been very pleased to partner with K-State in the development of a variety of opportunities for our students and staff," said Gretchen Sherk, director of secondary programs in the Olathe district. "The impact of this partnership has already been experienced by our students and teachers, K-12, in a variety of applications, from intensive program design at the high school level to project connections at the middle and elementary levels. We recognize the value-added dimension of this partnership in complementing our mission of preparing students for their futures." Teresa Woods, who currently serves as K-State's coordinator with the district, represented the university when the partnership was formally recognized at a Feb. 3 Olathe Board of Education meeting. The collaboration grew from the city of Olathe's land donation to the university in 2007 The land is now the site of K-State's newest campus and the International Animal Health and Food Safety Institute, which will be formally dedicated April 26. Initial talks involving K-State's Dr. Dan Richardson, chief executive officer of the Olathe campus; Dr. Lisa Freeman, then associate vice president for innovation; and Pat All, then superintendent of the Olathe schools, laid the groundwork for the programs currently in place. Woods works on a number of programs with the district, including the Animal Health 21st Century Program, based at Olathe North High School. That program was designed as a national model to help train the future work force in animal health and food safety. Woods works closely with Sherk and James Estes, lead teacher for the animal health program at Olathe North, among others. One of the important messages for students is that there are many career opportunities in animal health beyond becoming a veterinarian, Woods said. K-State's involvement includes developing and teaching summer camps, a freshman science course and an online noncredit course, as well as field trips to relevant departments on K-State's main campus in Manhattan. K-State faculty members have spoken to the high school students about careers in animal health, and they participate in a career fair every October. The Animal Health 21st Century Program responds to a national need to develop a work force that understands the intersection between animal, human and environmental health, Woods said. It began in the 2009-2010 school year with 11 students who are now juniors. Twenty-five sophomores and 25freshmen are also currently enrolled. More information about the 21st Century programs in the Olathe schools can be found at http://21stcentury.olatheschools.com/. "In addition to their high school diploma, students in the school district's 21st Century programs can earn endorsements by putting in extra work beyond their regular participation, including internships and job shadowing. Their senior year includes extra projects and an online credit course through Metropolitan Community College," Woods said. "Our engagement with the Olathe School District has allowed us to pilot programs that we can bring to other districts in Johnson County," she said. "This effort exemplifies a key part of our mission to expose students in Johnson County schools to education and careers in the areas of animal health and food safety," Richardson said. Because collaborators hope the partnership can serve as a model for similar programs between universities and school districts, team members have given presentations at the 2009 Experimental Biology Conference in New Orleans and the 2010 National Science Teachers Association meeting in Kansas City. "I think it's really important for the Olathe community to understand what's going on here … we're on the cusp of something really fantastic. I think of a Silicon Valley and a Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. I think we've got the potential here to have something on a national scale like that," said Harlan Parker, an Olathe school board member, to the K-State and Olathe district staff and administrators involved in the partnership. A work force trained in animal health is particularly important in the Kansas City area, which is the heart of the Animal Health Corridor. The corridor runs from Manhattan to Columbia, Mo. "Partnering with the Olathe School District has been a valuable opportunity for Kansas State University to make higher education a part of K-12 students' experiences," said April Mason, K-State provost. "It has allowed us to connect with Kansas City's next generation of life science professionals." K-State is working with the Olathe School District in other ways. When a Meadow Lane Elementary School student expressed concern about the trees that were cleared to make way for the new K-State building, university officials gave a presentation to the students about the construction process and helped them plant new trees at the site. Students in the e-Communication 21st Century Program at Olathe Northwest High School videotaped the groundbreaking ceremony of the International Animal Health and Food Safety Institute and will videotape the dedication of the building in April. |
Tenure and promotions for CVM faculty
Several CVM faculty members received tenure and promotions on Feb. 25 at a meeting that followed the ice cream social for Graduate Student Research Week. Faculty who were promoted to clinical associate professor are: Dr. Mary Bagladi-Swanson, Dr. Shelie Laflin and Dr. Susan Nelson. They all work in Clinical Sciences and the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. Faculty who were promoted to full professors were: Dr. Richard Hesse and Dr. Douglas Powell. Both work in diagnostic medicine and pathobiology.
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Dr. William Kvasnicka receives alumni award at Western
Dr. William G. Kvasnicka, Shawnee, Kan., is the 2011 recipient of the Alumni Recognition Award at the Western Veterinary Conference held in Las Vegas on Feb. 21. Dr. William Kvasnicka earned his undergraduate degree in animal science in 1952 and his DVM from K-State in 1956. After graduation, he served in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps for two years. In 1958 Dr. Kvasnicka began practice in Hastings, Neb. He served as the attending veterinarian for the USDA’s Agriculture Research Service Meat Animal Research Center (MARC) in Clay Center, Neb., from 1974 to 1985. In 1985 Dr. Kvasnicka accepted the veterinary extension/research position for the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources at the University of Nevada in Reno, Nev. The extension and research programs addressed beef and sheep cattle reproduction along with internal parasite prevalence and control. Research publications included introduction of a vaccine to control bovine Trichomoniasis. He formally retired in 2003, but continues to serve the profession by administration of a beef cattle internal parasite database. “I am honored to receive this award and want to thank the Kansas State veterinary college and Dean Richardson,” Dr. Kvasnicka said. “During my career, I have enjoyed the opportunity to work with many mentors, veterinary colleagues and livestock producers. I have appreciated these productive relationships and the creative exchange of ideas. I especially want to thank my wife and family for their support and encouragement throughout my career.” “We are delighted to recognize Dr. Kvasnicka with this award,” Dean Richardson said. “He has made a difference in his lifetime as a rural veterinarian, as a leader in agricultural practices and as an educator at the highest level.” Dr. Kvasnicka has held several leadership roles and has been recognized with several awards throughout his career. He served as president of the Nevada Veterinary Medical Association Board in 1997 and as a member of the board of directors for the American Association of Extension Veterinarians from 1996 to 1999. He received the Extension Veterinarian of the Year award from the American Association of Extension Veterinarians and the President’s Award from the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association. Dr. Kvasnicka is currently a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Bovine Practitioners, Nevada Veterinary Medical Association and Association of Veterinary Parasitologists. Dr. Kvasnicka is married to Constance (Copeland). They have two daughters: Carol and Jane; and two sons: Kenneth and John. |
Hometown: Leavenworth, Kan.Check it Out at the Library
Available Technology and Devices Pt. II
by Carol Elmore
In last month’s column, I presented some scenarios featuring technology items we currently have available for check out from the Veterinary Medical Library (VML). I mentioned in the column we also had some items on order. We have now received or will soon receive these items. Here again are some ideas to consider for using the new technology.
You’ve been asked to give a lecture at a conference in southwestern Kansas. Possibly the conference organizers don’t have an LCD projector for you to use in presenting your PowerPoint slides. The last time you tried to check one out from the VML, someone else had already checked it out. This time Gina Scott, our instruction coordinator, tells you that a new additional projector is available for check out. She also suggests you try out one of the library’s newest GPS systems, a NUVI by Garmin, to assist you in your travels. You find out it has bluetooth capability which is compatible with your cell phone. Now you can talk hands-free and be guided to the conference location. You also decide to check out the new portable scanner that Gina told you about because you always pick up lots of papers at conferences and frequently lose track of them. Now you’ll be able to scan them into electronic files one evening while you’re watching television and won’t have to worry about losing or forgetting all those papers. The scanner is a plug-and-scan and compatible with your current laptop. Your conference trip has been made much more enjoyable by checking out these new items.
You are an avid nature photographer and love to spend time outdoors observing wildlife and photographing animals that inhabit Kansas prairies. Your old camera is digital, but the close-up shots aren’t quite what you’d like them to be. You come up to the VML to see if a better camera is available. Gina Scot tells you that the library now has a Nikon D3000 digital camera. One of your bird watching buddies has a similar camera, and you know that the Nikon D3000 takes professional quality shots. The telephoto lens is much better than the zoom on your current camera. You also learn the library has a set of Yukon night vision digital binoculars that can be used to view the night birds that cross the prairie lands. Although the Yukon can’t take photographs, it can be used to observe locations where the birds congregate during evening hours. You can then be ready to set up the new Bushnell spotting scope with built-in camera that the library has so that the birds can be photographed at first light when they leave their prairie spots. One of the many tripods including a new table-top one can be checked out from the VML to stabilize the scope to prevent movement.
Observing nature just got a lot easier thanks to the technology available for check out at the VML. Gina Scott (scott@vet.k-state.edu or 532-6307) is available to teach you how to use all the above devices and will check them out to you.
Please visit the Veterinary Medical Library Web site: www.vet.k-state.edu/depts/library/ for help on this and other subjects.
News Ticker
Calendar of events
April 2: Dog N Jog, Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital parking lot, Get more info at: www.vet.ksu.edu/events/dognjog
April 8: Kind Hearts, Caring Hands Day: White Coat Ceremony. The convocation speaker will be Dr. Alan Kelly, dean emeritus of the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary school and an expert in areas such as Veterinary Public Health in a Global Economy and Veterinary Medicine’s Crucial Role in Public Health and Biodefense and the Obligation of Academic Veterinary Medicine to Respond.
Continuing Education events
March 27: 28th Annual Frank W. Jordan Seminar
June 5-8: 73rd Annual Conference for Veterinarians
* More information about Veterinary Medical Continuing Education events can be found at the VMCE Web site.
Department of Anatomy & Physiology Seminar Series
Below is a list of speakers and the departments each speaker represents.
March 14: Dr. Tadashi Inagami – Professor of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
March 28: Dr. Soumen Paul – Dept. of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center
April 4: Dr. John Wood – Dept. of Molecular & Integrative Physiology, University of Kansas Medical Center
April 18: Dr. Kirk Hamilton – Dept. of Physiology, University of Otaga, New Zealand
April 25: Dr. Jingxin Cao – National Microbiology Laboratory – Public Health Agency of Canada
May 2: Chen Peng – Anatomy & Physiology
Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology Seminar Series
March 17: Dr. Dick Hesse
March 24: Dr. Ming Tan, University of California, Irvine
March 31: Dr. Roberto De Guzman, Department of Molecular Biosciences, KU
April 7: No seminar due to Kind Heart/Caring Hands Celebration in Mara Conference Center
April 14: Dr. Susan Egan, Department of Molecular Biosciences, KU
April 21: Dr. Justin Kastner
April 28: Dr. Abbey Nutsch, Department of Animal Sciences and Industry, K-State
May 5: TBA
May 12: Dr. Charlotte Vines, Department of Microbiology, Mol. Genetics & Immunology, KU Medical Center
New Arrivals/Recent Departures
Welcome to:
Andrea Parrish - VMTH
Ashley Garn - VMTH
Barbara Breazeale - KSVDL
Joy Deckness - CaTS
Thanks and Goodbye to:
Dr. Kyathanahalli Janardhan - KSVDL
Dr. Jianfeng Han - A&P
Lifelines is published each month by the Development and Alumni Affairs Office at the College of Veterinary Medicine.
The editors are Joe Montgomery, jmontgom@vet.k-state.edu, and Dana Avery, dlaavery@vet.k-state.edu.