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November 2016 - Vol. 11, No. 11

Top Stories

Researchers discover novel circovirus in swine

Dr. Benjamin Hause and Rachel Palinski

Researchers at Kansas State University have identified a new swine circovirus.

Its discovery is auspicious, as a related swine circovirus, porcine circovirus type 2, also known as PCV2, has had a devastating history in swine production. Associated diseases caused millions of dollars in losses globally in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Five new students join VTPRK

VTPRK studentsFive new students in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University have been chosen for the largest veterinary loan forgiveness program offered by the state of Kansas: The Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas.

This year’s recipients are Elizabeth Farney, McPherson, Kansas; Shanlyn Hefley, Wellington, Kansas; Anna Hickert, Hays, Kansas; Meredith Schmidt, Overland Park, Kansas; and Ashley Zelenka, Wilson, Kansas.

College presents fall teaching awards

Drs. Szladovits, Dryden and HarkinThree faculty members have been recognized for preclinical teaching excellence in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University. Drs. Zsolt Szladovits, Michael Dryden and Kenneth Harkin were each named as the respective top teachers for the first, second and third years of instruction, as voted on by each respective class of students at the end of the 2015-2016 school year.

Video Feature

Strategy Focus Teams complete next phase in Strategic Planning initiative

Member of the CVM Strategy Focus Teams talk about their participation in the process of Strategic Planning for the college.


Video produced by Kent Nelson, technology coordinator from
Computing and Technical Support (CATS). See more CVM videos at our YouTube site: youtube.com/KSUCVM

NIFA grant supports BCI and CEEZAD collaboration

Drs. A.J. Tarpoff and Robert Larson

Officials at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) have announced the awarding of a $239,656 grant to a Kansas State University-based team headed by Dr. Brad White, professor of production medicine and interim director of the Beef Cattle Institute. Co-project directors are Dr. Juergen Richt, Regents Distinguished Professor and director of the Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases, and Dr. Derek Mosier, professor of veterinary pathology.

Dean Tammy Beckham joins Gen. Richard Myers at Washington DC for panel discussions on the threat of bio/agroterrorism

Gen. Richard Myers and Dean Tammy Beckham

The Bipartisan Policy Center and Kansas State University held panel discussions Oct. 13 on the threat of bio/agroterrorism, highlighting the importance of agriculture in biosecurity, as well as potential strategies, tactics, and policy solutions for the next administration. Dean Tammy Beckham and Gen. Richard Myers (now president of Kansas State University) both spoke at the event.

More Headlines

CVM announces 2016 class of Early Admission Scholars

Daniela Salhuana and Amanda Hoffman

A group of 34 undergraduate students now have a special opportunity to fulfill their passions for animal health. The CVMaccepted these students into its Early Admission Program during an afternoon ceremony Nov. 4 in Frick Auditorium in Mosier Hall.

VHC cattle lameness clinical trials

MPH students present field experiences for One Health Day

Sahaila Jafarian

The idea is simple. Animal health and environmental health intertwine with human health in ways that are not always well understood.

To help raise public awareness on how these disciplines are connected, three students in the Master of Public Health program at Kansas State University gave public presentations on their One Health field experiences as part of One Health Day on Nov. 3.

Hot Topic: Beef Cattle Institute adds resources for Veterinary Feed Directive changes

With a Jan. 1, 2017, deadline looming, veterinarians and producers now have more resources available to help them comply with the Veterinary Feed Directive being issued by the Food and Drug Administration.

AASV chooses two CVM students for poster competition

Dr. Steve Dritz, Jordan Gebhardt, Laura Constance and Dr. Megan Niederwerder

A pair of second-year veterinary students have been selected to participate in the American Association of Swine Veterinarians’ (AASV) seventh annual Veterinary Student Poster Competition, sponsored by Newport Laboratories: Jordan Gebhardt, Cedar Springs, Michigan (middle left) and Laura Constance, Clyde, North Carolina (middle right). The competition will be held Sunday, Feb. 26, during the 2017 Annual Meeting in Denver.

VHC Clinical Trials

Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory seeks Kansas cattle producers for bovine anaplasmosis study

The Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory is looking for Kansas cattle producers to participate in a study to determine the prevalence of bovine anaplasmosis in cow herds within the state and to investigate management risk factors associated with blood test results.

VHC Clinical Trials - CT Westie

Regular features

Alumni Events, Development and Continuing Education

VMAA logo The Veterinary Medical Alumni Association as plans to announce another alumni recognition award at the upcoming annual conference for the American Association of Bovine Practitioners. See who this year's recipient is in this month's VMAA highlights.

Support the All-University Campaign with a Pet Friendly License Plate

Pet Friendly license plate - All-University campaignDid you know that if you have a Pet Friendly license plate, it will count as credit toward the All-University Campaign? If you're a faculty or staff member at K-State who wants an easy way to support the All-University Campaign and immediately have something to show for it, then visit your local Kansas tag office. You make a $50 annual gift that goes to support education regarding spaying and neutering in Kansas and veterinary student externships at animal shelters in Kansas, plus a one-time production fee to the tag office. In your All-University Campaign packet, just indicate that you have a current Pet Friendly plate.

VHC Clinical Trials

News Ticker

More activities and accomplishments in the College of Veterinary Medicine:

Dr. Jianfa Bai was elected co-chair of AAVLD Laboratory Technology Committee at the 59th AAVDL Annual Meeting in October.

Dr. Jessica Meekins attended the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists Annual Meeting in Monterey, California, and presented an abstract (poster) entitled, “Intraocular Cytauxzoon Felis in a Domestic Shorthair Cat”

Dr. Greg Grauer was a speaker at the Metropolitan New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association in Newark, New Jersey, on Oct. 12, presenting, “Importance of proteinuria and hypertension in CKD and ACI-I: The good, bad, and ugly."

Drs. Mary Lynn Higginbotham and Raelene Wouda attended the Veterinary Cancer Society Annual Meeting Oct. 20-21. Dr. Wouda presented an abstract entitled, “Safety evaluation of combination carboplatin and toceranib phosphate in tumor bearing dogs: a phase 1 study.”

Dr. Susan Nelson presented the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine Pet Health rotation at the 2016 Primary Care Veterinary Educations Symposium at the University of Georgia Oct. 20-23.

Dr. Bob Larson presented, “Why we should use scientific literature in clinical practice” at the Merial Technical Services and Research meeting in Athens, Georgia, Oct. 25.

Dr. Mike Apley spoke at the AVMA conference in Madison, Wisconsin, Oct. 14. He presented on Therapy of CNS diseases in cattle, Pain control in cattle, and Upcoming changes in pharmaceutical regulations: The Veterinary Feed Directive; An interactive session with veterinarians and feed dealers. He also presented at the Purina Bovine Veterinary Nutrition Conference in Gray Summit, Missouri, on Oct. 25. Topics presented included veterinary feed directive, identifying sick cattle, and making antibiotic choices.

The Office of International Program recognized Dr. Walter Renberg for his outstanding service contribution to the Collegiate International Advisory Council. Dr. Renberg will receive a plaque in honor of his service on November 17th during the Internal Education Week ceremony.

Third-year student and VBMA member Laurel Thomas attended the AVMA’s Economic Summit Oct. 24 and 25. She shared information from the economic summit in the infographics below. She said the "takeaways" picture was sent to all of the students. The grow picture was sent to VBMA members and any other student who requests more information.

"A large portion of the summit focused on AVMA’s data collection process," Laurel said. "I filtered through the abundance of information and tried to present a message students could use right away. I was humbled by Dr. Peggy Schmidt’s invitation to attend. The summit was a great experience which I am likely to attend again when I own a veterinary hospital. For me, networking was also a very valuable part of the event. Dr. Schmidt introduced me to administrators from other veterinary schools and I was able to reconnect with several people who I met at the National VBMA Meeting and the AVMA Legislative Fly-In."

Economic Summit Grow poster and takeaways

Dr. David Poole at TACSM
Dr. David Poole (spotlighted above) gave the 60th Semi-Annual Lecture at the Texas American College of Sports Medicine, Nov. 9, at the University of Texas, Arlington. His lecture was titled, "Muscle Microvascular Oxygen Transport: Challenges in Heart Failure." He was joined here by (from left) by Associate Dean and Professor Paul Fadel; Dr. Mathew Brothers; Dr. Michael Nelson; Dr. Poole; Professor Emeritus Peter B. Raven; Professor Mark Haykowsky; Associate Dean and Kinesiology Department Head David M. Keller.

Dr. James Carpenter examines a condor in Ecuador
Dr. James W. Carpenter was an invited speaker at an International Conference on Zoo and Wildlife Medicine in Quito (lectures) and Cuenca (wet labs), Ecuador, in September. He presented nine hours of lectures and assisted in teaching two days of wet labs, the latter where he helped demonstrate how to perform a health exam on a condor, as shown above.

Devin Clark - 10 year pin
Devin Clark, Procurement Officer I, (second from left) receives a 10-year pin from VHC Administrator Dr. Shirley Arck for his service to the state of Kansas. Devin worked for the Kansas Army National Guard at Ft. Riley prior to coming to K-State two years ago. Also in the picture are the CVM University Support Staff Senators, Roxann Blasi on the left, and Susan Hazelbaker on the right.

The Exotic Animal Medicine Club (EAMC) held its bi-annual Auction Exotica on Oct. 14, and it was incredibly successful. The auction generated $3,750 for use in EAMC activities. The club thanks Sara Alves’ family for donating a seven-night vacation in a two-bedroom villa at the Marriott Grand Chateau, Las Vegas. Also, they are grateful to Dr. David Poole for “his great job, his energy, and his humor as our auctioneer.” Although many club members assisted in this auction, special thanks was extended to Camille Webb, Michelle Liu, Peter Cannon, and Sara Alves for organizing the fun and successful event.

Auction Exotica

More pictures from American Royal in Kansas City

Fourth-year students at American Royal
From the left, front row, are Mina Kalley, University of Missouri veterinary student - class of 2018; Kaitlin Haukos, Kansas State University class of 2017: Lauren Christensen, K-State class of 2017; Emily Quas, Missouri class of 2018, and Mallory Kilngenberg, Missouri class of 2018. Back row: Dr. Brian Vander Ley, DVM, PhD, MU Food Animal Clinic, and Dr. Bud Hertzog, who has been the veterinarian for the American Royal for the last 50 years.

Kaitlin Haukos and Lauen Christensen
Lauren Christensen and Kaitlin Haukos work with sick sheep. "One we treated and ended up diagnosing with either Mycoplasma or Anaplasmosis," Lauren said.

New Arrivals/Recent Departures

Lifelines is published each month by the Marketing and Communications Office at the College of Veterinary Medicine. The editor is Joe Montgomery, jmontgom@vet.k-state.edu.

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