Monthly Newsletter

Dr. Jürgen Richt elected member to National Academy of Medicine

CVM receives 2024 Health Professions HEED Award

For the fourth year in a row, the College of Veterinary Medicine has been recognized for its efforts to enhance diversity in its academic environment. The college is one of 70 recipients that will be featured in the November/December 2024 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine

Tenth anniversary brings 'large' change to veterinary nurse intern program

Veterinary students and faculty member receive scholarship and professional awards at AABP conference

By Rylee Coy

Three Kansas State University veterinary medicine students and one faculty member received awards at the recent annual conference of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners. From left: Sierra Shelit, Harrell Phillips III, Dr. Conrad Schelkopf and Dr. Eduarda Bortoluzzi.

US-China Joint DVM program holds homecoming event in China

K-State's U.S.-China Joint DVM Program held its annual China Homecoming event in Hangzhou, China, Aug. 10 and 11. More than 90 attended, including senior leaders and representatives from K-State and its partners who support the program.

Drs. Amachawadi and Mwangi part of inaugural cohort of university outstanding scholars

The University Outstanding Scholar Awards program, a Next-Gen K-State initiative, was launched earlier this year to recognize outstanding mid-career tenured faculty members who are on an accelerated path for academic distinction. Drs. Raghavendra Amachawadi and Waithaka Mwangi were two out of the 10 recognized in this group. They were congratulated by K-State Provost and Executive Vice President Jesse Perez Mendez (left) and President Richard Linton.

Hill's Pet and Nutrition Center talks pet health

By Fox 43 TV Topeka

Drs. Kathryn Oakes and Susan Nelson talk about pet wellness on Fox 43's AM Live show. Dr. Oakes explain three methods she uses to help determine if pets are overweight and what kind of recommendations shes gives to pet owners to help get their pets to a healthy weight.

Dr. Jessica Zito provided a talk on heat stroke stabilization methods for the Emergency Club at its first meeting of the year on Sept. 5.

Dr. Chris Blevins and the Equine Field Service section was busy Sept. 18 providing pre-purchase exams for the Fort Riley mounted color guard and then went to the Hutchinson Penitentiary Mustang facility.

The Shelter Medicine and Community Outreach rotations partnered with the Santee Sioux Nation for their fall visit the weekend of Sept. 20-22, to provide wellness services, spay/neuter, and equine services. The team was comprised of fourth-year students, preclinical students, student workers, CVM veterinarians, volunteer veterinarians and a customer service representative. The team performed 40 surgeries and served 150 patients (93 canine, 41 feline and 16 equine). The fall event included a unique experience where the volunteers were exposed to the Santee Sioux Reservation’s culture and heritage.

Drs. Chieko Azuma and Anri Celliers were both awarded K-State CVM Mentored Clinical, Applied, or Translational Research (MCAT) grants. Dr. Azuma's project is “Analysis of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in canine and feline biospecimens and their geographic relationship between environmental pollutants in Kansas,” and Dr. Celliers' project is “Evaluation of serum amyloid A in cats diagnosed with histoplasmosis.”

Dr. McArthur Hafen, professor and director of Counseling Services, was featured in national podcast recently on the subject, "How does a therapist end up at a veterinary school? The podcast is located at this website (you will be asked to agree to the terms, and then close on ivoox). The “People and Their Work” podcast is hosted by Douglas S. Gardner, professor in the student leadership and success studies department at Utah Valley University. In these podcasts, listeners hear first-person stories of people journeying through their education, work and career decision making.

Recent survey results published by research.com place Kansas State University at No. 6 in the nation for impact papers related to veterinary medicine and animal science and No. 15 in the world. This ranking lists all the best researchers from the animal science and veterinary discipline and affiliated with Kansas State University. There are a total of 19 researchers included with 10 of them also being included in the global ranking. The total sum for the D-index values for the best scientists in Kansas State University is 746 with a mean value for the h-index of 39.26. The total sum of publications for the best scientists in Kansas State University is 7,754 with the mean value for publications per scientist of 408.11. Out of all the U.S. scholars, the CVM's Dr. T.G. Nagaraja is No 1 out of researchers who are from Kansas State University.

'Dublin up' on veterinary immunology

A trio of K-Staters meet up at the European Veterinary Immunology Workshop. From left, Beth Montelone, senior associate vice president for research from the K-State Division of Biology; Dr. Stephen Higgs, associate vice president for research and University Distinguished Professor in DMP; and Dr. Laura Miller, associate professor veterinary virology.

Dr. Laura Miller was the only competitively selected US speaker at the 8th European Veterinary Immunology Workshop in Dublin, Ireland, Sept. 4-6. She presented in the Immune Models and Emerging Technologies session on "Comparative transcriptomic analysis of IAV infection in porcine organoids." She also helped judge the Young Scientist award at the conference. This workshop allowed Dr. Miller to build her collaboration with one of the sponsors, ProImmune, and make further collaborations in veterinary immunology including a request to edit chapters in "Veterinary Microbiology and Microbial Disease."

Dr. Jishu Shi highlights K-State's expertise in vaccine development at FAO conference

The CVM's Center on Biologics Development and Evaluation was well represented at the FAO Global Conference on Animal Health Innovation, Reference Centres, and Vaccines. Dr. Jishu Shi, director of the CBDE spoke (inset photos above) and met with several Dr. Thanawat Tiensen, assistant director-general and chief veterinary officer of FAO and director of the Animal Production and Health Division, and other colleagues from the FAO and WHO. Dr. Rachel Madera (far right) helps give demonstrations at the CBDE booth.

Dr. Jishu Shi, professor of vaccine immunology, was invited as a panel speaker on " Maximizing vaccination impact and enhanced quality" at the first FAO Global Conference on Animal Health Innovation, Reference Centres, and Vaccines, held at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, from Sept. 23-25. The theme of this conference was “Improving Animal Health for Sustainable Livestock Transformation and One Health implementation.”

The Center on Biologics Development and Evaluation, or CBDE, was invited to exhibit and highlight Kansas State University’s strengths in veterinary vaccine research and development, featuring the CBDE, Biomanufacturing Training and Education Initiative, Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Biosecurity Research Institute and College of Veterinary Medicine.

"Minimizing the use of antimicrobials is crucial for achieving sustainable global progress in food animal production,” Dr. Shi said. “Affordable and effective vaccines offer the most viable alternative to antimicrobials in food animal agriculture. Furthermore, independent assessments of vaccine efficacy are vital to ensure the success of 'fit for purpose' vaccination programs, particularly in developing countries.”

The conference brought together senior leaders of animal health authorities from FAO Member States, FAO reference centers, vaccine developers and producers, research institutions, international and regional organizations, development partners, and other key stakeholders. Dr. Laura Miller (Associate Professor, CBDE and DMP) and Dr. Rachel Madera (Senior Research Scientist, CBDE and AP) also participated in the meeting and exhibition.

“It was great to meet with former FAO colleagues again while attending the conference as a panel speaker and exhibitor (Center on Biologics Development and Evaluation),” Dr. Shi said. “We had the opportunity to showcase our vaccine adjuvants to animal vaccine manufacturers around the world!”

Recognizing a pioneer

Dr. Roman Pogranichniy presents the Pioneer in Virology Award to Dr. Dick Hesse at the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Hesse was the KSVDL virology section head for many years and recently retired.