Monthly Newsletter

Congratulations to Dr. David Poole for being selected to present the prestigious 2017 Health and Physical Activity Lecture titled “Heart Failure and Exercise: Novel Insights” at Virginia Commonwealth University and the Alley Memorial Lecture titled “Muscle Vascular O₂ Transport: Myths and Mechanisms” at the University of Iowa. The Alley Memorial Lecture is held each year in honor of Louis E. Alley, a longtime professor of physical education at the University of Iowa who died suddenly in 1991. Alley was head of the department of physical education for men for 18 years, beginning in 1960. During that time he initiated and supervised a major revision of the graduate program in physical education. He introduced to graduate physical education the notion of areas of specialization, and sought faculty members capable of providing in-depth instruction in these specialist areas.

Dr. Raghavendra Amachawadi presented “Antimicrobial resistance in enterococcus faecium isolated from commercial probiotic products used in cattle and swine” at the ASM Conference on Innovative Microbial Ecology for Mitigation of Antibiotic Resistance and Bacterial Disease on March 22-25.

Drs. Elizabeth Santschi and Greg Grauer both attended and presented at the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association in Indianapolis on March 2-4. Dr. Santschi presented on infection, osteochondrosis, SCL, radiography and stifle lameness. Dr. Grauer presented the small animal nephrology track with six sessions: “Early Diagnosis of CKD: New Tests and Re-Evaluation of Old Tests; Staging and Management of CKD: A Tale of Two Cats; Importance of Proteinuria and Hypertension in CKD; Ace-Inhibitors and CKD: The Good, Bad and Ugly; Cats, Calcium and Kidneys; and NSAIDS in Dogs with Liver and Kidney Disease.” Dr. Grauer was also invited to speak at the Idexx Laboratories meetings in Minneapolis, St. Louis and Kansas City on March 13-15. His presentation was, “Early diagnosis and staging of CKD in dogs and cats.”

Dr. Bob Larson attended and presented at the Western Veterinary Conference in Las Vegas, March 7-9. His presentation topics were respiratory disease in pre-weaned calves, BRD risk factors, vaccination control of BRD and treatment of BRD. Dr. Larson also presented, “Role of Momentum in Beef Herd Fertility, What Can Go Wrong?," "BVD and Trich Control," and "BSE of Bulls,” at the Alabama Conference for Food Animal Veterinarians in Columbiana, Alabama, on March 10-1.

Dr. David Eshar traveled to Venice, Italy, March 25-31 to attend and present at the ICARE Conference as well as supervise the ECZM specialty examination. Dr. Eshar presented, “Pharmacokinetics of Meloxicam in Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs (Cynomys Ludovicianus) After Single Subcutaneous Dosing,” and “Evaluation of the Effects of Time and Storage Temperature on Selected Biochemistry Parameters in Red-Ear Sliders (Trachemys Scripta Elegans).”

Dr. Mike Apley attended the Academy of Veterinary Consultants meetings with Ph.D. candidate students Nora Schrag and Katie Hope in Dallas March 31-April 1. Dr. Brad White was inducted as this year's president of the Academy of Veterinary Consultants.

Dr. Marjory Artzer participated in the K-State Olathe Veterinary Lecture Series presenting on veterinary dentistry, March 15. Dr. Mary Lynn Higginbotham presented on pet cancer at the K-State Olathe Veterinary Lecture Series on March 29.

Dr. Brad Crauer spoke about shelter medicine at the 34^th Annual Frank W. Jordan seminar on Sunday, March 26.

Drs. Jessica Meekins and Rose McMurphy received a KSU Mentoring Fellowship from the Office of the Provost for their project, “The effect of body position on intraocular pressure in anesthetized horses.”

Dr. Meena Kumari goes to Humboldt Colloquium on Global Research in the 21^st Century

Last month, Dr. Meena Kumari was invited to attend Global Research in the 21st Century: Perspectives of the U.S. Humboldt Network in Washington, D.C. This meeting was organized by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for former and current Humboldt fellowship holders. Top left: Dr. Kumari meets with Dr. Wolfgang Ketterle from the MIT Department of Physics and Nobel Laureate for Physics in 2001. Top right, with Dr. Katrin Amian, head sponsorship and network department Humboldt Foundation. Bottom left, from left to right: Dr. Helmut Schwarz, president of Humboldt Foundation and professor of chemistry at the University of Berlin; Dr. Kumari, Dr. Andrea Lenschow. professor at University Osnabrueck and Dr. Shannon Mac Donald, professor at Humboldt University Berlin. Bottom middle: Dr. Daniel Mote Jr. President of the National Academy of Engineering speaking at the reception at the National Academy of Sciences, March 2. Bottom right: Dr. Peter Wittig, ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United States.

CVM host students from Sokoine University in Tanzania

Dominica Genda and Raymond Sulle are spending six weeks this March and April as part of the CVM's OIE-supported twinning project with Sokoine University in Tanzania. The students have sat in on lectures and various clinical rotations and have presented their own clinical cases on animal and human anthrax and Newcastle disease outbreaks. Watch for a full story about Domica and Raymond's visit soon.

Anatomy and Physiology's Dr. Dan Marcus retires

Congrats to Dr. Dan Marcus in the Department of Anatomy and Physiology, being congratulated by Department Head Dr. Hans Coetzee and listening to remarks with spouse and colleague Dr. Philine Wangemann.

CVM hosts AAEP podiatry skills workshop

The CVM hosted an AAEP Podiatry Student Essential Skills Workshop March 25 for the veterinary students. Alum Dr. Randy Eggleston DACVS and DVM class of 1995, was invited from the University of Georgia as the veterinarian to help with this event. In addition, Brian Barrett, CJF, TE, AWCF was invited in from Winchester, Kansas as event farrier. About 20 students participated in the event.

Hall Family Foundation Funds One Health Research in KC Region

The Hall Family Foundation is providing the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute (KCALSI) funding to support grants that further its regional vision of One Health, the nexus of human and animal research. The program will offer five grants worth $50,000 each, annually for the next three years targeting advanced, collaborative research to improve health for people and animals.

“The Hall Family Foundation has generously funded many innovative programs that support research and education in the greater Kansas City region,” said Dr. Wayne Carter, president and CEO, KCALSI. “We are grateful that the Foundation is supporting One Health research. Our region has significant strength in human and animal medicine and there are many opportunities to advance research by looking at the nexus or intersection between people and animals.”

One Health recognizes that the health of people is connected inextricably to the health of animals and the environment. Although the concept is not new, it has become more important in recent years according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because many factors have changed the nature of interactions between people, animals, and our environment. One Health research opportunities at the nexus of human and animal disease include bone cancer in dogs and children that exhibits identical gene expression patterns. Infectious and zoonotic diseases, by definition, affect both humans and animals and include Zika, Ebola, and Lyme disease. People and pets suffer from obesity and the secondary affects including type II diabetes. Additionally, pets can serve as health sentinels because they share the same environment as people, helping us understand the impact of environmental toxins. These grants benefiting One Health research will lead to new information related to disease detection, diagnosis, and treatments for the Kansas City region.

The history of the KCALSI grant program has been quite significant. From 2007 – 2015, 69 grants have been funded for a total of $3,300,144. The grants undergo a rigorous NIH review process that increases the likelihood the researchers will be able to successfully compete for follow-on federal funding. Over the nine-year period of 2007 – 2015, $30,130,314 has been returned to the region in federal funding yielding an over 9:1 return on investment.

Founded in 1943, the Hall Family Foundation supports regional programs that are innovative, promote excellence, and have the potential to effect positive change and permanent solutions for the community. The KCALSI Research Development Grant program uses funds, such as those from the Hall Family Foundation, to encourage regional collaboration and enable generation of critical preliminary data necessary for successful submission of major multidisciplinary research proposals to government and private funding agencies.

Annual data report published on AAVCM website

The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges’ (AAVMC) 2016-17 Annual Data Report (ADR) has been published and is available on aavmc.org.

Among many insights, the report shows that the applicant-to-seat ratio has climbed to 1.7:1, total male enrollment has dipped below 20 percent for the first time, and enrollment and graduation rates are increasing at rates of less than two percent per year.

Published annually, the ADR contains a series of charts and graphs that detail important trends in academic veterinary medicine. It serves as an important informational resource for the profession, the media and the public. Comprehensive data is available on enrollment trends and graduation rates, veterinary economics, as well as demographic information about faculty, staff, residents, interns and DVM students.

Containing 10 new charts, this year’s 36-slide report includes expanded tuition data on both U.S. and international member institutions, including more data on international schools, and for the first time, data on the Certified Veterinary Technician workforce.

The Annual Data Report is extracted from comprehensive datasets constructed annually by the AAVMC to produce the Comprehensive Data Report (CDR). This members-only report helps member institutions assess operating characteristics and performance benchmarks in academic veterinary medicine.

Data compiled for the ADR and CDR also provide the foundation for research studies, inquiries and scholarly examinations conducted by institutional research personnel in the AAVMC and cooperating researchers from other organizations.

The AAVMC ‘s 30 U.S., five Canadian, and 14 international members are surveyed annually as part of the massive data gathering and analysis project.

See the report here.

The AAVMC is a nonprofit membership organization working to protect and improve the health and welfare of animals, people and the environment around the world by advancing academic veterinary medicine. Members include 49 accredited veterinary medical colleges in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean Basin, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Mexico.