Vet Gazette

The Oregon Veterinary Medical Association gives the President’s Award to an individual who has made an exceptional contribution to veterinary medicine. This year’s recipient was Dean Tornquist.

By: Dr. Amelia Simpson, OVMA President

One of truest pleasures I have had during my time on the Board of the OVMA has been the interaction with the Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine here at OSU. I was a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania before I moved to Oregon 12 years ago and I hadn’t realize how much I missed interacting with the students…their energy is palpable and its exciting to be around them. During these last 3 years, I have been afforded the opportunity to be a part of the White Coat Ceremonies for the first year students and even to participate in a couple of ethics lectures for SAVMA. I’ve been so inspired spending time with the veterinary students and I feel the profession is in good hands. But when I reflect on the Why of that feeling—what comes up for me is that the credit goes to Dr. Sue Tornquist, Dean of the Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine.

Dean Tornquist reports to the OVMA Board as an ex-officio and in that capacity she gives an update on the College at every Board meeting. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that she is one busy lady!! The College is growing leaps and bounds under her amazing leadership—literally and figuratively.  She is currently in the midst of a multi-million dollar facilities expansion, the caseload at the teaching hospital has grown nearly 10% a year for the last five years, and class enrollment has expanded.

Dean Tornquist is a seriously accomplished scholar, scientist, professor, and administrator. From the quarterly updates, I see how much effort she is putting in to make certain her students thrive. From doing all she can to fundraise for scholarships to help offset the rising costs of becoming a veterinarian to bringing a wellness counselor for the school, and the list goes on….

What I’ve seen and why I would like to honor her today with the OVMA President’s Award this year is her uncanny ability to lead and inspire this group of high achievers. When I asked one of the 3^rd year students what she thought of Dean Tornquist her reply was an enthusiastic “I adore her!”  And that sums it up in a nutshell. She has a connection with the students, a relationship that, at the risk of being totally corny, is a beautiful thing to see.

I am pleased to present the President’s Award to Dr. Sue Tornquist. I wish you continued success and happiness throughout your life and your career and I look forward to our paths crossing in the future.

In December, Brianna Beechler (Class of 2008), Assistant Professor of Biomedical Research, led a team of OSU undergraduates on a trip to Kruger National Park in South Africa. Their objective was to learn about wildlife conservation and community relations through a sustainable development program Beechler runs with Dr. Maarten Schrama from Leiden University. “They learned about the link between conservation, human health, and animal health through field work, lab work, and lectures.” says. “They also did a mini research project.”

Heaven Rodriques is an Animal Science major interested in wildlife conservation. She signed up for the trip because it gave her hands-on experience, in addition to learning about topics like poaching and elephant management. “I saw this program as a stepping stone on the path to a future career,” she says.

Camryn Flint, an Animal Science major with a pre-vet option, was especially interested in learning about the veterinarian’s role in conservation and disease management. “The link between biodiversity and disease transmission is really interesting. I learned how disease transfers between wildlife and livestock,” she says.

Upon arriving in Kruger Park, the students first class was a history of conservation in the area. They also had opportunities to experience local village life. This was part of the broad-perspective approach of the program. “We delved into the human side of animal-centric issues, such as the sociological effect conservation has on communities,” says Flint.

Student Kristiana Gutierrez has wanted to visit Africa since she was a little girl watching safari programs on television, and calls this trip “the most amazing experience I have had in my whole life.” Like the other students, she made memories that will last forever. “I got to go bushwalking by the Sabie River, pet a white rhino, see herds of wild elephants and giraffes, and be so close to lions I could have reached out and touched them.” Although surprised and concerned by the magnitude of poaching in the area, Gutierrez also appreciated the challenges faced by the local population. “It was interesting to learn about it from the community point of view,” she says. “They have a different relationship with animals and it shined a whole new light on these serious issues.”

The trip was sponsored by OSU-Go, a faculty-led, study abroad program. The students received three credit-hours for the trip.

Courtney and Matt Wilson with Maverick, Boomer, and Bailey.

Courtney Wilson is CCVM’s new Development Director at the OSU Foundation.  She grew up in Manchester, Maryland with four brothers, a pack of German Shepherds, and a cat named Raven.

Courtney majored in journalism at James Madison University. “That’s where I got interested in fund raising,” she says. “I worked on the student phone-a-thon, starting in my sophomore year. It was a lot of fun; I had lots of interesting conversations, and I got used to people saying ‘No’. I never really stopped fundraising after that.”

Prior to coming to OSU, Courtney was Associate Director of Development at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine where she helped create and implement their grateful client program. “That was my first job fundraising for veterinary medicine and it really opened my eyes,” she says. “I had no idea how advanced veterinary medicine was, and how similar to human medicine. I have so much respect for veterinarians now; it really inspires me.”

Courtney enjoys meeting people and hearing their stories. “I’m not about pushing something on someone; I’m about building relationships.” Her favorite part of her job is finding meaningful choices that donors feel great about. “These are people who want to make a difference, make an impact, and I can help make that happen.”

Courtney and her husband, Matt, have three dogs that keep them busy. They also like to cook and do weightlifting together.

In November, Dr. Erica McKenzie, Professor of Large Animal Internal Medicine, was unanimously elected to chair the International Conference on Equine Exercise Physiology (ICEEP). She is the first woman to hold this position.

The  ICEEP comprises an international group of veterinarians and scientists whose primary mission is to advance understanding of the physiology, function and health of athletic horses through promotion of scientific research.

This year’s conference in Lorne, Victoria, Australia attracted over 250 attendees per day. More than 150 abstracts were presented, including topics such as New Technology; Training; Genomics, Metabolomics, and Proteomics; Nutrition; Cardiovascular & Respiratory Function; Biomechanics & Locomotion; Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation & Equitation Science; Biochemistry, Haematology, Endocrinology and Thermoregulation; and Muscle.

Dr. McKenzie has been a member of the eight person international committee for eight years, and has served as the scientific editorial chair for the last two ICEEP meetings. She will be responsible for organizing a mid-term meeting in Pisa, Italy, in 2020 in conjunction with the International Veterinary Endurance Conference, and subsequently the next ICEEP meeting, to be held in Uppsala, Sweden, in 2022.

More information about ICEEP can be found at ICEEP.org.

Dr. Kirk Miller instructs fourth-year veterinary students at the Oregon Humane Society in Portland.

Faculty from the Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University have evaluated a new method of neutering young male dogs and found it to be safe and significantly faster than traditional methods.

Dr. Kirk Miller led a team that performed sutureless scrotal castration (SLSC) on 400 young dogs at the Oregon Humane Society (OHS) shelter in Portland. The dogs were carefully monitored post-surgery and found to have no major complications, and a low incidence (less than 3%) of minor issues like swelling and bruising. They also found that the new procedure was, on average, 2.5 minutes faster.

In traditional castration surgery, the four blood vessels and cords that lead to the testicles are closed off by tying sutures around each one. In the new method, the vessels and cords are knotted.

The results of the study were published in JAVMA, Dec. 15, 2018, Vol. 253, N0. 12, Evaluation of sutureless scrotal castration for pediatric and juvenile dogs. Participants in the study include: Kirk P. Miller, DVM, Wendi L. Rekers, DVM, Lena G. DeTar DVM, Jacqueline M. Blanchette DVM, and Milan Milovancev DVM.

William O’Neill on the left.

Anatomic pathology resident William O’Neill won the best poster award in the Post Doc category at the Center for Genome Research and Biocomputing conference last week.

His poster illustrates a process for Creating 3-Dimensional Models from Serial Histologic Sections Using Open-Source Software. Although labor intensive, this method allows the creation of 3D models on a home computer without special software, and may have applications in both teaching and research.