Lifelines - November 2012
The official newsletter of the College of Veterinary Medicine
November 2012 - Vol. 7, No. 11
Top Stories
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A Surprised Mentor
Under the Microscope
A Surprised Mentor
Dr. Mark Weiss receives unexpected campus recognition
A lunch invitation turned serendipitous for Dr. Mark Weiss, professor in the Department of Anatomy and Physiology. In mid-October, he was recognized for being a mentor at a K-State Mortar Board banquet by an undergraduate student who works in his research laboratory: Phuoc Bui, senior in microbiology. “Dr. Weiss believes in his students, whether they’re undergrads or graduate students,” Phuoc said. “He devotes his full attention to them and inspires them. He has an open door policy. Anytime I have any kind of question or need help, I can come and ask. Whatever he’s working on, he usually drops it, and gives me his attention.” Phuoc is a member of K-State’s chapter of the Mortar Board National Senior College Honor Society, which was founded on the values of scholarship, leadership and service. This organization models its beliefs based on assisting others. “We have a list of past members who’ve been recognized, and I noticed there weren’t many faculty from veterinary medicine,” Phuoc said. “I couldn’t think of anybody else who exemplifies those three pillars besides Dr. Weiss. I wanted to get his name out there and show everybody what a great person he is, and try to integrate veterinary medicine more with the main campus.” Several faculty members from across campus were distinguished for recognition at the banquet, but Dr. Weiss said his inclusion was a surprise. “When I was invited, I thought it was just a thank-you lunch from the students in the society,” Dr. Weiss said. “Each of the students went through and introduced the professor they brought with them and told the audience what it was about that professor that got them energized. Those other professors – they’re really impressive, highly motivated instructors who are creative – I was honored to be considered one of them. I don’t think of myself like that. I just try to share what I love, which is my research, with my students.” The banquet was also attended by the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Associate Dean of Research, Dr. Frank Blecha. “It was a privilege to represent the college at the Mortar Board Senior Honor Society Faculty Recognition Banquet,” Dr. Blecha said. “Dr. Weiss has mentored many undergraduate students in his laboratory, and it is truly an honor for Mark and the college that Mortar Board selected him for this award. The research relationship that Dr. Weiss and Phuoc have developed is an outstanding example of what is possible for undergraduates working in a research laboratory.” Phuoc originally came to K-State in the Kansas Bridges to the Future program, which is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. It recruits under-represented minority students who are interested in biomedical sciences from community colleges in Kansas, providing them scholarships to attend K-State. Participants are integrated into the Developing Scholars Program and then given the opportunity to work with research mentors in one of the many research labs across campus. “I remember listing stem cell research as one of the fields I was interested in because it’s a new, emerging field,” Phuoc said. “That’s how I came to meet Dr. Weiss, because his lab conducts stem cell research.” Dr. Weiss said that he currently employs four undergraduate students, three graduate students, a post doc and two technicians. “Phuoc is kind of my ‘top dog,’” Dr. Weiss said. “We are one of less than 10 labs in the world that have bred embryonic stem cells [Editor’s note: See the Lifelines video about Dr. Weiss and chimeric rats in the November 2011 issue]. “Phuoc can do virtually any step in the protocol to produce a chimera. I almost consider him like a national resource, because there are not that many people who can understand, do and troubleshoot all the different parts of the protocol to make that happen. “ Dr. Weiss explains that it takes a couple of years to train undergraduate students to reach a level where they can perform research. The process begins with a year of learning how the lab functions and then to a point of performing projects under supervision from one of the graduate students, post docs or technicians. In the third year, undergraduate students know how to formulate plans and how to execute and achieve their research goals. “It’s really exciting to encounter these undergraduates who have reached this third tier because they can be at the same basic level of training as master’s level students,” Dr. Weiss said. “Really, at this point, the word undergraduate is a failure at describing what these people are. They are scientists. They are scholars.” Phuoc is applying to medical schools and hopes to conduct translational research and go into academic medicine. If past experience is an indicator, Dr. Weiss is confident Phuoc will be successful. “I’ve been involved with the Bridges program since it started,” Dr. Weiss said. “I’ve probably worked with about a half dozen students. They are usually pretty motivated and some have been really phenomenal. Part of my job is doing research and part of my job is training the next generation of researchers. I get joy in doing both things.” |
East Meets West
New K-State partnership hosts pre-veterinary students from China
Meet the four students who are part of the new U.S.-China program. They are, left to right: Jing Li, Bo Liu, Yaoqin Shen and Yi Ding. After they complete a year of pre-veterinary courses, they will then apply for admission to veterinary college, either at K-State or at one of several partner colleges in the United States. Learn more about it in this month's video. Joining the students are, left to right,
Dean Ralph Richardson, |
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Video produced by Joseph Chapes and Kent Nelson, technology coordinators from Computing and Technical Support (CATS). |
A proud Dr. Payne graduates another service dog
by Rebecca Martineau Barstow, puppy in training, will no longer be accompanying Dr. Pat Payne through the CVM halls. Training completed, he now has a new duty as a companion to Teresa McVey, an autism consultant in Caney, Kan. Barstow will be assisting Teresa’s work with students, calming them while utilizing positive behavior. The job is an excellent fit for his friendly character. “I’m pretty sure they made up this job specifically for him,” said Dr. Payne, “he instantly falls in love with any child.” Dr. Payne and her KSDS service dogs have been a common sight at CVM for the past few years. Each dog stays with her from 18 months up to two years while she teaches them basic obedience, manners and socialization. KSDS is a Kansas based program that trains guide, service and social dogs for implementation into the lives of people in need. Dr. Payne believes that her involvement with KSDS has resulted in a positive impact on her life, as well as the entire veterinary college. “I learn something every day because of this program, it has brought amazing people into my life,” said Dr. Payne. She explained that people are likely to stop and talk to her, even if they wouldn’t have otherwise, because of the service dogs. Students are often willing to lend a helping hand, and the Veterinary Health Center takes care of the dogs’ medical needs. Barstow and Dr. Payne were brought together by unique circumstances. The nine month old puppy was returned to KSDS when his original trainer became sick, therefore unable to train him properly. Dr. Payne, on the other hand, had just lost her previous trainee, Kelly, to an unexpected death. Taking on an older puppy for training is a bigger risk that may have deterred other potential trainers, but she took on the challenge. Although Barstow will be missed, a new yellow Labrador puppy is in training with Dr. Payne. Champagne, like Barstow and the puppies before him, will be a common sight around campus for the next few months, until he too finds his career path. |
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Second year student receives Marshall Scholarship nod
Second-year student Amy Sents is one of three students nominated by “These nominees were selected competitively from a strong field of campus applicants. Their nominations reflect not only their talents and abilities, but also the countless hours of hard work they have dedicated to achieving excellence and reaching their goals,” said Jim Hohenbary, assistant dean for nationally competitive scholarships. “We are proud to have them represent Kansas State University in the national competitions.” Marshall scholarships are awarded to as many as 40 students each year and provide full funding for one or two years of study in the United Kingdom. Nominees selected as competition finalists for either scholarship will interview in November. Amy is active in the university’s Public Health and Bovine clubs, as well as the Frontier program. She was awarded the Harry S. Truman Scholarship in 2010 and was named the university’s outstanding senior in animal science in 2011. She won first prize in the 2012 American Veterinary Medical Historical Society Smithcors Essay Contest and was an International Farm Youth Exchange Association representative to Germany and Switzerland for six months in 2010. She would like to study science and security at King’s College London or security and terrorism at the University of Nottingham, both in the United Kingdom. A 2007 graduate of McPherson High School, she is the daughter of Deanna and Allan Sents. |
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CVM pets show Halloween spirit
From Batman to football stars, the CVM pets dressed up to participate in the Halloween festivities.
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 Cricket models her homemade mermaid costume with third-year student Kellie Lewis. |
 Tuna appears unexcited about his clown-like hoodie outfit. |
 Second-year student Maura Drake has some "sweet" costumes for her kid, Lucy and Nate. |
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 Maverick is certain to terrify as the headless horseman. |
SCAVMA hosts Dr. Temple Grandin for noon lecture
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Famed animal behaviorist Dr. Temple Grandin spoke at Frick Auditorium on Nov. 7 as a guest of |
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New ‘Pet Friendly’ License Plate
The College of Veterinary Medicine has unveiled a new way to support Kansas Shelter Medicine. The Pet Friendly license plate will be made available to Kansas residents. For information, see www.vet.k-state.edu/depts/development/license.htm, call 1-855-269-7387 or e-mail: petplate@vet.k-state.edu.
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Veterinary Health Center communications update
The Veterinary Health Center is taking new initiatives to provide client education and communication opportunities online. The VHC has established a Facebook page with the goal of increasing interactions between clients, donors, friends and referring veterinarians. The page will highlight daily happenings, as well as provide information from our expert veterinarians on animal health care. We encourage faculty, staff and students to go online and “like” the new page at facebook.com/VeterinaryHealthCenter. In addition to the Facebook page, the Pet Health Center is beginning an e-newsletter “PawPads” for monthly distribution to Pet Health Center clients. This will feature advice from our PHC veterinarians, as well as news, tips and events. Join the list by subscribing at www.vet.ksu.edu/depts/vhc/phc or on the VHC Facebook page. |
New landscaping adorns buildings
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Agricultural Technician Senior Kelly Guilfoyle, with K-State’s Division of Facilities, shows off some of the landscaping he designed and installed next to Trotter Hall. He worked with Dr. Roger Fingland, executive associate dean and director of the Veterinary Health Center, to get approval for redesigning these areas as well as areas next to Mosier Hall. Guilfoyle said a variety of plants will be used depending on the seasons and that flowering plants will be purple and white in conjunction with the university’s upcoming sesquicentennial celebration in 2013.
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Florence Wang, Research Technologist, Anatomy & PhysiologyCheck it Out at the Library
Help with research databases
By Carol Elmore
Have you ever wanted to be better known as a researcher? Have you ever wondered what your publications impact is? Have you wanted to find researchers for collaborative projects? Have you ever wondered what your H-index value is? Do you even know what H-index means? These are questions that can be answered by the database Web of Knowledge (http://apps.webofknowledge.com ), one of the many subscriptions that KSU Libraries provides for faculty, students, and staff. One of the resources available through this database is ResearcherID.com (http://www.researcherid.com ) which is a place where you can manage and store your professional information. It can also help prevent author identity problems and help you determine your citation metrics such as that mysterious H-index that was mentioned above. Author identity, author ambiguity, or author attribution as this problem is called has been a continuing problem in the research community. Common surnames, publishers’ use of only first initials with last names, frequent job changes by authors, or names changes have caused much of the confusion. Thomson Reuters which publishes Web of Knowledge is a founding member of ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID). This organization will be launching a registry of unique identifiers that will enable authors to be linked with various author identification schemes. Through Web of Knowledge you have the ability to receive a unique researcher ID number and or a researcher badge (an icon that will link to your publications). To create your own ID number go to the Web of Knowledge database (http://apps.webofknowledge.com ) and click on the tab at near the middle of the top that says “additional resources,” then move down to the link that says “Researcher ID” and go to the tab on the left top that says “Join now it’s free.” You will have to provide some information. Once this is completed you will be assigned a unique ID number. You can also request a badge to put as an icon on your publications that will be an instant link to all of your publications that you have added to Web of Knowledge through using EndNotes or by uploading a file of your publications. Once you have your ID number and have linked your publications to Web of Knowledge, you can find your mysterious or not so mysterious H-index factor. You can also find your own individual citation distribution per year, your total times cited count, and your average times cited count. Several of our faculty already created their ID’s and their H-index number is calculated. If you’d like to see if a researcher has received an ID, just go to (http://www.researcherid.com) and go down to the third link on the left where it says Search. If you don’t know a name, just search under Kansas State for people who have listed that affiliation. If you are still worried about what H-index means, go to this article (http://www.pnas.org/content/102/46/16569.full.pdf+html) for a complicated explanation or take the Wikipedia definition — “The h-index is an index that attempts to measure both the productivity and impact of the published work of a scientist or scholar.” The index was named after J. E. Hirsch, the author of the article. Please visit the Veterinary Medical Library Web site: www.vet.k-state.edu/depts/library/ for help on this and other subjects. |
News Ticker
Congratulations to the team in the Apple to Capital Relay, a 73 mile race from Manhattan to Topeka. The team, named Run Like an Animal, included Amy Brusk, Mindy Strick, Dr. Bonnie Rush, Sophia Wharton (race organizer), Dr. Amy Rankin, Kristin Clement, Ruth Hester and Lindsay Gehring. |
Ag Secretary Dale Rodman delivers the Upson Lecture
The series, named for Dr. Dan Upson, DVM class of 1952, was initiated by the group to strive towards bridging the gap between food production and consumers. Previous Upson Lecture Series speakers have included renowned animal behaviorist, Dr. Temple Grandin, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran and former Miss America, Teresa Scanlan. The goal of the lectures is to attract a diverse crowd so that people removed from the farm can gain a better insight into the world of agriculture and food production. Secretary Rodman addressed the issues of feeding a growing population and how agriculture will have to increase food production to meet future needs. Rodman said “We must produce more with less land, fewer resources and meet the diverse needs of consumers.” He also broached the topic of Kansas needing to be open to new industries entering the marketplace, his emphasis being on the poultry industry. Rodman stressed the importance of change and advancement by saying that “If we are going to meet the needs of the future of agriculture we need technology.” He attested that continued incoroporation of technology into the production system will help Kansas and the US continue to be a global leader in agriculture. Rodman maintained that Kansas has strength in energy, agriculture and education which will prepare the state’s producers and leaders to meet the challenges of tomorrow. For more information about Food For Thought, get involved or to contact the group, you can visit their blog http://bloggingfoodforthought.blogspot.com, follow them on Twitter @fftgroup or look them up on Facebook. Article courtesy of Food For Thought |
Calendar of events
General College/Alumni Events
Dec. 1: Cat Town - K-State vs. Texas, TBA
Continuing Education events
Nov. 17: Inaugural Kansas Horse Council Equine Clinic: Horse Care 101
Nov. 29-30: International PRRS Symposium and National Swine Improvement Federation Conference Kansas City, Mo.
A&P Seminar Series
Seminars start at 3:30P.M. in the Mara Conference Center, 4th Floor, Trotter Hall, Phone: 532-5666 for more information
Nov. 26: Katrina Fox, Kansas State University
Dec. 3: John Hirt, Kansas State University
Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
Feb. 9: 2nd Annual Conference on Animal Diagnostics and Field Applications: Food Animal Medicine, Frick Auditorium, www.ksvdl.org
New Arrivals/Recent Departures
Welcome to:
Dr. Philip Hardwidge, Associate Professor, DM/P
Dr. Leigh Feuerbacher, Fellow (Post Doc), DM/P
Dr. Thanh Pham, Fellow (Post Doc), DM/P
Ni Wang, Research Assistant, DM/P
Erin Moore, Public Service Administrator, A&P
Thanks and Goodbye to:
Ryan Engel, Medical Technologistt, VHC
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 Rebecca Martineau, beccamm@vet.k-state.edu.