Department Reports - College of Veterinary Medicine...Collins Eminent Scholar in Canine Sports...

Department Reports UF College of Veterinary Medicine

Alumni Council

Spring 2012

Department Reports to the Alumni Council

April 14, 2012

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Small Animal Clinical Sciences Department

Rowan J. Milner, B.V.Sc., M.Med.Vet., Associate Professor and Chair

Since my last report to this council in November 2011, I would like to begin my report by letting you know

about awards received by our department’s talented faculty.

Congratulations to Dr. Dan Lewis, a professor in our small animal surgery service and the Jerry and Lola

Collins Eminent Scholar in Canine Sports Medicine and Comparative Orthopedics was named the 2012

recipient of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA)Hill’s Mobility Award.

This prestigious award, which was presented just this past week (April 10, 2012) at the WSAVA Congress in

Birmingham, England, recognizes the outstanding work of a clinical researcher in the field of canine and feline

orthopedic medicine and surgery. Recipients of this award are deemed to have contributed significantly to the

well-being of pets’ lives and to the human-animal bond worldwide.

Lewis, a board certified veterinary surgeon, has been a member of our faculty since 1993 and completed his

residency in Small Animal Surgery here at the CVM in 1987. His special interests include traumatology,

fracture management and reconstructive surgery with a focus on the utilization of circular and hybrid external

skeletal fixation for fracture stabilization, deformity correction and limb salvage procedures.

Congratulations to Dr. Elliott Jacobson, Emeritus Professor, who was presented the 2011 Emil Dolensek

Award on February 29 during the retirement reception our department hosted in his behalf in the beautiful

Banfield Seminar Room on the third floor of our Small Animal Hospital. Recipients must be a past or present

member of the AAZV (American Association of Zoo Veterinarians) and the award is made in appreciation for

exceptional contributions to the conservation, care and understanding of zoo and free-ranging wildlife.

Jacobson joined our faculty in 1979.

http://veterinarypage.vetmed.ufl.edu/files/2011/11/LewisDan01.jpg


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Congratulations to Dr. Antonio Pozzi, assistant professor of small animal surgery, for receiving the C.E.

Cornelius Young Investigator Award. Pozzi joined our faculty in 2006 and has since built an international

reputation for his work in small animal orthopedics with special interests in minimally invasive orthopedic

surgery and biomechanics and treatment of the cranial cruciate ligament deficient stifle. Not only has he won

several awards for his work from the Veterinary Orthopedics Society, a number of our residents that he

mentored also have won awards for their research presentations at national meetings.

As you may know, I assumed the role of chair of this department from Dr. Colin Burrows, last July,

2011. During the past few months, I have been conducting faculty annual evaluations. Although some may

view this annual UF requirement as a dreaded annual administrative duty, I have found it to be a wonderful

opportunity to meet one-to-one with each of our department’s nearly fifty faculty members to discuss their

work, desires and hopes for the future. During this process, I review and evaluate each of faculty member’s

teaching, clinical and service duties and am genuinely amazed at each of their unique talents and their abilities

to juggle heavy teaching and patient care loads, conduct clinical research, and to still find time to contribute to

both internal and external service projects, including multiple committee assignments and world-wide travel.

I am here to tell you that we have multi-talented and extremely hard-working faculty in our department of

small animal clinical sciences!

Our department is currently recruiting and conducting interviews for several positions, both new and

established. New positions are in our Emergency Medicine and Critical Care service, our Diagnostic

Imaging/Radiology service and our Integrative (Acupuncture, Rehabilitation & Nutrition) Medicine service

with interviews set for this month and next for these three positions. We are renewing the search for two

established positions in Oncology. We are recruiting to replace our Surgical Oncologist, previously held by

Dr. James Farese, who moved to California, terminating February 1, 2012. We have renewed a search to replace

the position held by me in our Oncology service and are hoping to interview candidates this month and in

May. We would like our alumni council to wish us the very best of luck in finding just the right candidates to

fit into our positions and in filling them timely!

Since our last meeting, we have hired a new faculty member, Dr. Ellen Wiedner as a Clinical Lecturer

in our Zoological Medicine service. Dr. Wiedner joined us April 1. She has been hired to work for one year,

while Dr. Ramiro Isaza pursues his research projects. Dr. Joy Barbet left our dermatology service on April 1

but will continue to advise and assist in her appointment as a courtesy assistant professor. As mentioned


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earlier, Dr. Elliott Jacobson, professor and service chief of our Wildlife and Zoo Medicine service retired

February 29.

Three new service chiefs have been designated since this council last met. Dr. Darryl Heard, Associate

Professor is now the service chief of Wildlife and Zoo Medicine, Dr. Ursula Oberkirchner, Clinical Assistant

Professor, is now the service chief in Dermatology and Dr. Caryn Plummer, Clinical Associate Professor, is

now the service chief in Ophthalmology.

I have been reporting to you on the “people” of our department and now I would like to report to you

an exciting new “space” in our department. On February 10, 2012 our new Shelter Medicine Suite was

dedicated. We are the only veterinary college with a shelter medicine practice integrated within the

institution. The Grevior Shelter Medicine Suite was dedicated with a ribbon-cutting held to honor Barbara

and Arnold Grevior, whose support was instrumental in funding the new space.

The Shelter Animal Medicine Clerkship is an elective clinical rotation for junior and senior veterinary

students at the UF CVM. The clerkship seeks to assist veterinary students in developing their basic surgical

skills through hands-on learning and community outreach. Among other objectives, the course emphasizes

the importance of disease control in shelter situations, reviews vaccination strategies for shelters as well as

preventive medicine programs. Through the HAARTS (Helping Alachua’s Animals Requiring Treatment and

Surgery) program, funds are provided to ensure that animals that need medical and surgical treatment beyond

routine spay and neuter procedures — animals that would otherwise be euthanized — receive the care they

need at UF.

As I mentioned to you in my November 2011 report, I am meeting weekly and am continuing to work

closely with the hospital’s chief of staff, Dr. Dana Zimmel. I sincerely believe these weekly meetings help

foster an atmosphere that promotes the continuation of high quality clinical service to the nearly 20,000 small

animal patients that are treated annually at UF and their referring veterinarians.

As always, our department looks forward to providing our referring veterinarians, clients, and patients

with the highest standard of service as represented by the pin wheel below.


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Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences and Large Animal Hospital

David E. Freeman, Interim Chair

Dana Zimmel, Chief of Staff, Veterinary Hospitals

Service and Faculty Updates

Aquatic Animal Health

Jennifer McGee, a doctoral candidate in the Aquatic Animal Health program, traveled to Cuba to assist in

manatee health assessment captures, the first ever performed in that country. To date, there has been little

research done on manatees in Cuba; however a manatee was sighted in both Crystal River, FL and then many

years later near Havana which suggests some population exchange between the two countries. Although

manatee hunting is illegal in Cuba, it is a significant threat to the species, so manatee sightings were low on

this trip. These findings only yield more motivation to catch and tag Cuban manatees to learn more about their

population for the researchers.

Anesthesia

The Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences is pleased to welcome Dr. Tiffany

Granone, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Anesthesia service, effective March 15, 2012.

Dr. Granone earned her DVM at Ross University. She received her Master’s degree in

Veterinary Medicine from the University of Minnesota and completed her Residency in

Comparative Anesthesiology at the University of Minnesota.

We are currently searching for an Assistant/Associate Professor for the Anesthesia service.

Extension

The Practice Based Equine Clerkship continues to grow and enjoy great success.

FARMS

Abel Ekiri successfully defended his doctoral dissertation and earned his PhD. He presented the seminar:

Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Infection Control Aspects of Salmonella Infections in Hospitalized Horses.

Medicine

Dr. Martha Mallicote passed the ACVIM – LA specialty.


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Dr. Chris Sanchez presented at the FAEP meeting in September 2011. She discussed pain models and pain

management.

Reproduction

Dr. Margo Macpherson presented at the FAEP meeting in September 2011. She spoke about assisted

reproductive options for the performance mare, treating mares that have placentitis, and common problems in

the postpartum mare.

Surgery

Dr. David Freeman received the FVMA Clinical Investigator Award on March 5, 2012. He was honored at Phi

Zeta Day for his achievements in developing an internationally renowned research program on equine colic.

Astrid Grosche, PhD. recently received the Charles F. Simpson Memorial Scholarship Award. She was

recognized for her research regarding neutrophils and inflammation in ischemia-reperfusion injury of the

equine colon as well as authoring multiple manuscripts and working with the Shands Renal Transplant Team.

Allison Hreha successfully defended her Master’s thesis: The Pharmacokinetics of Albuterol Sulfate in

Thoroughbred and Standardbred Horses.

Dr. Jeremiah Easley passed the ACVS exam.

Dr. Freeman gave two presentations at the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress. The first was a

tremendous honor, as he was an invited tribute to the contribution of Barrie Edwards to the treatment of colic

in the horse. He also presented about the latest concepts in the management of equine colic.

Dr. Patrick Colahan is working with Dr. Steven Ghivizzani in a research collaboration investigating gene

therapy as a means of treating osteoarthritis in animals and humans. Their research team received a highly

competitive one-year grant from the National Institute of Health to conduct this research using an adeno-

associated virus (AAV) to deliver genetic material directly to the joints of horses. UF is in a unique position to

conduct this innovative research because of the leading equine medicine and research programs, as well as the

fact that UF is home to AAV technology. If successful, the research could help humans and many species of

animals suffering from osteoarthritis.

Dr. Ali Morton helped save the life of a rescued two-year-old Quarter Horse named Baby Girl. After initial

treatment following Baby Girl’s rescue, she continued to have problems with facial trauma. She was then

referred to UF, so that a CT scan could be performed. Dr. Morton explained that the only viable treatment

option would be to surgically remove the bone fragment; however that was risky because of its proximity to

the skull bone. In addition to the fragment, the CT scan revealed extensive infection in the bone, so hyperbaric

oxygen therapy was added to the treatment regimen. With Dr. Morton’s help, as well as Kesmarc Farm, Baby


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Girl is healing well. During cases like this and many more, it is clear how fortunate UF is to have such

advanced equipment to evaluate and treat their patients.

Department Updates

Megan West, LACS Office Assistant, received the Superior Accomplishment Award in the Clerical/Office

Support category!

Dr. Woody Asbury passed away at age 80 on November 17, 2011 after a long illness. His career

included private equine practice as well as academia. He served as a teacher, clinician, and

administrative leader while at the College of Veterinary Medicine. He was chairman of the original

department of reproduction; chief of staff of what was the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital;

chairman of LACS; and interim dean of the college. Asbury is survived by his wife Clare Asbury

and two sons: Douglas and Russell Asbury. He was preceded in death by his son, Willard Asbury.

Upcoming Events

The 5th Annual Healthy Horses Conference will be held on Saturday, April 28, 2012. Save the date for this

educational day with a focus on successful equine health care. We will have lectures, lunch and live equine

demonstrations. This year’s topics will include: Equine Herpes Virus (EHV), rehabilitating lameness injuries,

new deworming recommendations, preventative healthcare, and many more!

Referring Veterinarian Appreciation Day will be June 23, 2012 at the Hilton University of Florida Conference

Center. Attendees will receive a certificate of CE for 6 contact hours and an additional 2 hours of CE credit for

attending the Pharmacology session. A limited number of rooms are reserved at the Hilton University of

Florida Conference Center for program registrants. Please contact the hotel directly for reservations.


April 14, 2012

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Department of Physiological Sciences Report to the Alumni Council

Spring, 2012

Department faculty and staff news and awards.....

Susan Smith has joined the department as an Office Assistant. Faye Anderson has recently also joined our

departmental office in an OPS/clerical position, and Charles Buchan has been promoted to Senior Fiscal

Assistant after joining the departmental staff initially as an OPS employee.

Roxanne Werner of CEHT was recognized as the department's 2012 Superior Accomplishment Award winner

in March.

Marc Rumpler, a graduate student in the laboratory of Dr. Tom Vickroy, received the Excellence in Doctoral

Studies Award at the annual Phi Zeta Research Emphasis Day Awards Ceremony in early March.

Additionally, Dr. Linda Hayward received the Pfizer Animal Health Award for Research Excellence at this Phi

Zeta symposium.

The department is presently searching for a Toxicologist to fill the position vacated by Dr. David Barber and

also searching for a new Physiologist position. We hope to have both faculty members in place by the start of

the new academic year in August.

Research news .....

Dr. Heather Kridel, a resident in Clinical Pathology, and Dr. Heather Wamsley were successful in obtaining

funding for an internal grant application through the Olive's Way Resident Grant Competition.

Drs. Paul Davenport and his collaborator Dr. Don Bolser recently received a fundable score for a new NIH R01

grant related to research into the swallowing reflex that will start in late spring, 2012.

Dr. David Baekey received a fundable score on a collaborative NIH grant with

with David Fuller from the Department of Physical Therapy, and this grant should be funded by early

summer.

Dr. Nancy Denslow had an internal grant funded in the CVM Fall Consolidated Research Development

Award competition late last fall, and Dr. Rick Alleman also had a collaborative grant with Dr. Tony Barbet

from IDP funded by this program.


April 14, 2012

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Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology

Spring 2012

Awards and honors…….

Dr. Ayalew Mergia, Professor in Infectious Diseases & Pathology, has been named a recipient of the 2012

University of Florida Research Foundation (UFRF) Professorship Award. These awards were created by the

UFRF to recognize faculty who have established a distinguished record of research and scholarship, expected

to lead to continuing distinction in their field.

Dr. Jeff Abbott, Assistant Professor of anatomic pathology in the Department of Infectious Diseases &

Pathology, has been named the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine’s 2012 College Council

Teacher of the Year. The council annually selects an outstanding teacher to receive this designation, based on

criteria which include knowledge of subject matter, clarity of presentation, concern for students’ mastery of

subject, fairness, enthusiasm for teaching and overall interest in student welfare.

Congratulations to Dr. Lisa Farina, Clinical Assistant Professor, who was selected as Mentor of the Year by the

Student Chapters of the ACVP at the annual meeting of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists in

Nashville TN, December 5, 2011.

The 2010 article in Veterinary Pathology on “Canine H3N8 Influenza Virus Infection in Dogs and Mice” was

selected for the 2011 C.L. Davis Foundation Journal Award. It was judged as the best original article published

in the journal Veterinary Pathology in 2010 by the Foundation’s National Advisory Board. The team of

authors, Dr. Bill Castleman (Professor, ID&P), Dr. Josh Powe (former ID&P PhD student and CVM Anatomic

Pathology resident), Dr. Daren Hanshaw (former CVM Anatomic Pathology resident), Dr. Ed Dubovi, Dr.

Paul Gibbs (Professor, ID&P and current Associate Dean for Students & Instruction) and Dr. Cynda Crawford

(Clinical Assistant Professor, SACS) were honored at the 2011 American College of Veterinary Pathologists

Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee on December 5, 2011.

Department faculty and staff news …..

The Department welcomed two new grant assistants late last Fall. Ms. Frances Edwards and Ms. Sally Blalock

are assisting faculty in the department with proposal processing and grant submissions.

Dr. Mansour Mohamadzadeh has recruited several new members to his research team, including Dr. Bikash

Sahay, Research Assistant Professor; Dr. Mahesh Kathania, Postdoctoral Associate; and Robert Roman,

Biological Scientist.

Dr. Paul Gibbs, Professor of Infectious Diseases & Pathology and Associate Dean for Students & Instruction,

retired from the CVM on March 30, after 33 years at UF. Following in his administrative footsteps is Dr. Pam

Ginn, an Associate Professor and anatomic pathologist in ID&P, who has been named the new Associate Dean

for Students & Instruction.


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From our graduate program…..

Dr. Melissa Bourgeois, a graduate of our combined DVM-PhD program, successfully her dissertation research

with Dr. Maureen Long, on brain microarrays in the PLoS One journal this past Fall. The publication, titled

“Gene Expression Analysis in the Thalamus and Cerebrum of Horses Experimentally Infected with West Nile

Virus”, highlights a new technology developed at the UF CVM which illuminates brain response in horses

once they become ill with West Nile virus, and may lead to better diagnostics and treatment for both equines

and humans affected by the disease. Melissa also passed the ACVM general and virology specialty board

exams in December, and is now an ACVM board certified veterinary virologist!

Three of the department’s international graduate students were recognized for academic excellence during the

annual campus-wide International Student Awards Ceremony at the end of the Fall Semester. Honored were

Junjie (Jet) Liu (China), Nanny Wenzlow (Belgium) and Claudio Verdugo (Chile), all studying under the

supervision of Dr. Maureen Long. The international awards are designed to recognize students who not only

meet exemplary academic achievement, but also a wide range of accomplishments and contributions.

At the annual CVM Phi Zeta Day, in March, two ID&P graduate students received awards: In the PhD

Category, Missa Patrick Sanou, working in the laboratory of Dr. Janet Yamamoto, was honored for his topic,

“HIV-1 and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) Cross-reactivity Reveals Conserved Regions Potentially

Important in an HIV-1 Vaccine.” In the MS category, Dhani Prakoso, a student of Dr. Maureen Long, received

recognition for his topic, “Efficiencies of Two PCR Methods for Detection of Animal Influenza.”

Research news …..

Dr. Mansour Mohamadzadeh, Professor of Immunology in Infectious Diseases and Pathology, and a member

of both the Emerging Pathogens Institute and the UF Shands Cancer Center, was recently featured in an article

in the Health Science Center publication, The Post, for the work being done in laboratory on finding solutions

to overactive inflammation and immune system responses in the human digestive system. Focusing on

Lactobacillis acidophilus, the Mohamadzadeh lab group found that a modified version of the bacterium

administered to mice resulted in a lower susceptibility to colitis and, for those already affected by colitis,

milder symptoms after treatment. The researchers at UF have found that the same method may be effective for

treating colon cancer, and that L. acidophilus may also be used to treat or prevent other illnesses such as

Sjogren’s syndrome.


April 14, 2012

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UF Veterinary Hospitals Alumni Report

Chief of Staff- Dr. Dana Zimmel

April 14, 2014

1. Small Animal Hospital

a. Case load continues to grow (10,601 patients/6 months)

b. Shelter medicine renovation is complete.

c. Opening Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Service- July 2012

d. Ongoing searches:

i. Medical oncology- to replace Dr. Milner (moved to Chair)

ii. Surgical oncology- to replace Dr. Farese (moved to California)

iii. Radiation oncology

iv. Integrative Medicine- Focus on Nutrition & Rehabilitation

v. Emergency Critical Care- to replace Dr. Schaer (retires April 30, 2012)

2. Large Animal Hospital

a. Case load shows slight increase (1150 patients/6 months).

b. Lameness and Imaging added Dr. Natasha Werpy to team of experts

3. Opening new Ocala Emergency Clinic

a. Affiliated with 21 Ocala practitioners

b. Opening July 1, 2012

c. Operating hours 5pm-8am nights and all day weekends and holidays

d. Location: 3200 SW 27th Ave, Ocala FL 34474 (near Paddock Mall)

4. Hospital Outreach

a. RDVM day: June 23, 2012 at the Hilton. CPR labs at UF opposite pharmacy credits (Dr. Vickroy

to present)

b. SA and LA Referral Guides – August 2012

c. BI lecture series on Saturday afternoon

d. Clinical Trials Newsletter Updates- Quarterly emails

e. Animal Airwaves- one minute module and 1 hour call in radio show

5. Laboratories

a. Courier Service available with information on the web


April 14, 2012

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Office of Students and Instruction

Dr. Pamela Ginn

Leadership

Following a national search, Dr. Pamela E. Ginn was appointed Dean for Students & Instruction, effective

upon Dr. Gibbs' retirement March 31. Dr Ginn is an anatomic pathologist and past tenured faculty member of

the College.

Admissions

A select group of early interviews for the class of 2016 was conducted this fall to allow top ranked applicants

to visit during the week and meet the admissions committee members. Seats in the class were offered to the

best candidates. The incoming class is expected to have 88 Florida residents and 24 non sponsored students.

Specific Efforts to Enhance Teaching Efforts:

We have added live video conferencing, and recording capabilities to Lecture Halls A & B, and Equine

Auditorium. These new tools are being utilized to create instructional materials in support of our

distance learning initiatives; and to create supplemental instructional media for traditional courses.

Recorded lectures can be stored for on demand review by students.

All of our large teaching spaces have been upgraded to support wide-screen presentations, and high

resolution displays.

Our computer lab has been renovated to support group-based and problem-based learning. Instructors

now use software to share material with students and share student-produced work with classmates.

A growing number of faculty are using audience response systems (aka “clickers”) to facilitate more

interactive lectures in our lecture halls. A few faculty members have been making lecture recordings

available as a supplemental resource to students.

Room sharing between lecture halls and auditoriums allows 1 instructor to be seen and heard in all

other lectures spaces simultaneously allowing the capability of large instructional events if needed.

The Dean’s Circle of Excellence Lecture Hall has expanded to 120 seats. The lecture hall will be updated

this summer to include additional monitors for easier viewing of presentations and webinars.

Construction on the new Education Center is completed and an open house was held March 30.

The updated College website is live, intended to enhance student services and improve access to

information.

The College has initiated development and implementation of a Veterinary Business Management certificate

program with the goal of having the certificate program in place in the next year.


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Development and Alumni Affairs


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Established in 2012, will be used to support

sophomores at the University of Florida,

College of Veterinary Medicine.


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Department Reports - College of Veterinary Medicine...Collins Eminent Scholar in Canine Sports...

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