Vet Gazette

Most people are familiar with human medical specialists like cardiologists and dermatologists. But very few members of the general public know there are specialists in veterinary medicine as well. Jean Hall, Chairman of the board of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) and an OSU Professor, is working to change that. “Part of our objective at ACVIM is to educate the public,” she says. “Our affiliated foundation is raising money to promote specialists. General veterinarians provide excellent care but there may be tests or equipment or expertise that they don’t have.”

The ACVIM is a national non-profit organization that certifies veterinary specialists in cardiology, oncology, neurology, and internal medicine. Currently in her fourth year of service with the organization, Hall has been instrumental in a large-scale reorganization of the ACVIM to make it more responsive to member’s needs. Most recently, she led a search committee that hired a dynamic new CEO who will implement many new initiatives set by the governing board. “She has lots of experience running organizations,” Hall says, “and is well poised to lead us to the next level.”

Hall is excited about the new initiatives on the table. In addition to ramping up promotion of veterinary specialists, the ACVIM is planning to become a resource center for members. “We want to help them with advertising and marketing,” she says. “It makes sense not to recreate the wheel for each practice, and if we band together, we get strength in numbers.” The ACVIM also plans to provide help with technical, licensing, and legal questions.

Another new initiative underway at the ACVIM is in response to practicing veterinarians who have expressed an interest in being involved in research. The organization is investigating ways to connect veterinarians, who see a vast number of animal cases and have a wealth of real-world knowledge, with university researchers who have the tools and research expertise.

Hall acknowledges that her work with the ACVIM has put a dent in her personal life but she goes into her last year of service with a real sense of accomplishment. “I love to go into organizations and make them better. Where some people are better at tackling day-to-day details, I think I offer an ability to envision the future. I am honored to have been asked to serve.”

In November things were a little hairy at the OSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Twenty-seven faculty, staff, and students, including 12 women, started the month clean shaven and ended it with full-fledged moustaches.

The group joined thousands of people across the country who changed November to Mo-vember by sprouting facial hair to raise money and awareness for men’s cancer issues. Known as Mo Bros, these generous guys and their Mo Sistas become walking, talking billboards for men’s health.

At CVM, some of the participants shaved their facial hair on November 1st just to start growing it again the next day. The female participants were widely acknowledged as having the fastest growing facial hair.

All the participants raised money by signing-up sponsors for their Mo-growing effort. This year’s winner was student Randall Trzaska with a total of $574. In addition to the philanthropy, the Mo-vember contest is a great way for faculty, staff, and students to add a bit of silliness to the serious business of caring for animals.

“This is a yearly thing we do for community building as well as for cancer research,” says official Mo-photographer and veterinary technician Jennifer Gartner. “And it’s fun!”

It took a lot of high-tech research for Lance Armstrong to win the Tour de France seven times in a row. His team used wind tunnels, computer modeling, cutting-edge bike frame materials, and the latest in high-tech clothing to help him succeed.

Technology and research are also a big part of the dairy herd at OSU. They may not look like lean, mean farm machines but Assistant Professor Aurora Villarroel considers these milk-producers high-performance athletes. She and Ben Krahn, Director of the Dairy Research Center, have set up a state-of-the-art dairy operation which uses the latest technology to keep the cows healthy and productive. The center also uses an automated system to collect detailed information about the cow’s daily lives.   The information is stored in a massive database that can be used for research.

Wired magazine recently featured a photo essay on the OSU Dairy Research Center.