Dr. Allison Stewart, associate professor in equine internal medicine, arrived in Valdivia, Chile, in March for a three-week faculty exchange program at the Clinica Veterinario at Austral University. Her host is Bruno Cavalho, a Brazilian veterinian who is Austral’s equine surgeon.

“Bruno spent two months with us in the clinic at Auburn last summer, and our dean needed someone to spend two weeks visiting the vet school in Chile and I, of course, was happy to oblige,” said Dr. Stewart.  Below is an excerpt from her e-mail:

The level of medicine practiced here has been impressive. Bruno is a very thorough clinician and has great skill with tendon and joint ultrasound. He collects his own bone marrow and isolates stem cells for transplanting into injured tendons and ligaments. They also have radiology and CT facilities. I have also been impressed in the way that Bruno tries to save his clients’ money. The clinic sees a large number of wounds and the owners of the urban draft horses have very little money. The interns wash and resterilize the bandage material and the dollars are carefully utilized to provide the best for the horses and their owners. Bruno also obtained a grant to help subsidize the care of these urban draft horses that are so important to the livelihood of their owners…

I have been involved in the medical work-up of several patients and also have been learning a great deal from Bruno about lameness diagnostics. My Spanish is also improving. The Latin foundation of the language makes the anatomic and medical nomenclature very similar to English and I can sometimes get the gist of a regular conversation, but I have a huge way to go! Chilean Spanish also has the reputation as being the most difficult dialect to understand. Several of the interns also speak English, so I am actually doing fine.

When the clinic is quiet I have been giving some lectures and labs to the interns and students. On my last weekend I will be presenting five lectures to be translated into Spanish to local equine practitioners on neonatology and metabolic syndrome…

So far it has been a great experience. There is apparently a trip planned to Dean Tadich’s sheep farm and to go riding in the foothills below the volcanoes. I haven’t actually taken my week vacation as working in the clinic has been so interesting. I am also staying at a gorgeous little two-bedroom cabin on the lake’s edge surrounded by ancient towering conifers. It’s nice to come home and just admire the view, though normally it is after 9:30 p.m. before we get back, but the nights have been clear and in the darkness far from the city I have a wonderful view of the star-filled southern sky. 

Benson T. Akingbemi, D.V.M., Ph.D., an associate professor in the Deparment of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, has been chosen to serve as a member of the Cellular Molecular and Integrative Reproduction (CMIR) Study Section with the Center for Scientific Review. Membership on a study section provides an opportunity for participants to make significant contributions to the national biomedical research effort. 

The Center for Scientific Review is the gateway for National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant applications and their review for scientific merit. Study section members review submitted applications, make recommendations on these applications, and survey the status of research in their fields of science. The CMIR Study Section reviews applications concerned with the molecular, cellular, endocrine, and physiological aspects of reproductive biology in both mammalian and model organism systems. 

More than 80% of NIH's funding, which approximates $30 billion annually, is awarded through almost 50,000 competitive grants to more than 325,000 researchers at over 3,000 universities, medical schools, and other research institutions in every state and around the world. The position helps ensure the quality of the NIH peer review process.

In accepting the invitation to serve, Dr. Akingbemi said, "I am quite humbled and pleased to be asked to be part of the national research enterprise in a role as critical as that of a grant reviewer.  All stakeholders in the scientific community regard the review process to be of great impact to the success of the grant award mechanism. I look forward to making a contribution to the NIH mission using my expertise in the area of environmental toxicology." 

Dr. Akingbemi's term begins July 1, 2011, and ends June 30, 2015.  

Members are selected on the basis of their demonstrated competence and achievement in their scientific disciplines as evidenced by the quality of research accomplishments, publications in scientific journals, and other significant scientific activities, achievements, and honors.

Dr. Akingbemi studies the effects of environmental toxicants on male reproductive tract development and function. His study of the toxicity of soy-based diets is funded by the NIH.  

The Faculty of 1000 recently cited a paper published by a research team led by Dr. Akingbemi as one of the best research articles available. The study, "Developmental exposures of male rats to soy isoflavones impact Leydig cell differentiation," appeared in the journal Biology of Reproduction.  The selection of his work places it at the top two percent of all published articles in the biological and medical sciences.

The Alabama Cattlemen’s Association has honored Robert L. Carson, D.V.M., with induction in the Alabama Livestock Hall of Fame for a lifetime of service to the cattle industry. Carson accepted the award during the association’s annual convention held February 11 in Montgomery.

A 1973 graduate of the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, Carson has been a member of the college’s large animal faculty since 1978. He became a diplomate of the American College of Theriogenologists in 1979.

His research involves bovine theriogenology, both male and female, with an interest in equine theriogenology.  Other interests include production medicine involving cow/calf herds and dairy herds.

Carson has served the cattle industry in Alabama and the Southeast in leadership positions and as a participant in the business of raising and marketing beef cattle. 

He has a cattle farm in Chambers County and he has been actively involved with the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association since 1980.  Carson has served as president of the Lee County Cattlemen’s Association, regional vice president of the Alabama Cattleman’s Association, president and vice president of the Alabama Limousin Breeders Association, and is currently a member of the Southeastern Livestock Expo.

The Alabama Cattlemen’s Association and the Southeastern Livestock Exposition established the Alabama Livestock Hall of Fame in 1981 to recognize and honor living Alabamians who have made significant contributions to Alabama’s cattle and livestock industry. Carson and Perry Debter, a third-generation cattleman from Blount County, are the 2011 inductees.

Dr. Bob Carson (right) is shown with Dr. J. Lee Alley.

In keeping with the new look of the Auburn University home page, the College of Veterinary Medicine has launched a new website design. “This does not affect the content, only the look and feel,” said Leanne Greene, webmaster and IT specialist.

For the first time since 2005, the Auburn University home page has a new look. The launch event in January capped a two-year process for Auburn's Office of Communications and Marketing and Office of Information Technology.

CVM orientation sessions are not just for new hires. The gatherings can be beneficial for those who are employed but find themselves moving to new positions and departments within the college.  Karen Galik, Cindy Hutchinson, and Matthew Young exemplify these employees.  Attending the March 2 orientation session were: Cindy Hutchinson (Pathobiology, Research Assistant), Kyle Owens (Clinical Sciences, LA/SA Tech), Matthew Young (Clinical Sciences, LA/SA Tech), and Karen Galik (Clinical Sciences, Pharmacy Tech).

The Canine Detection Research Institute, as part of the Animal Health and Performance Program, will hold a graduation ceremony for ten new Vapor Wake Detection teams on Friday, April 6, at 1:30 p.m. in Overton Auditorium. The specially trained handlers who are part of the canine detection teams are Transportation Security Administration personnel. The college is invited to attend the graduation service which honors these Auburn-trained canines and handlers as they begin their work to improve public safety and national security.

From Kris Robertson Street, Coordinator of Events and Recruitment

Annual Conference 2011 is rapidly approaching!  This year's conference is April 7-10. 

Requirements for CVM Faculty, Staff, and Students Attending the Conference:

1.  Please make sure you are wearing your AUCVM badge to any event you attend.  This helps us to quickly identify you as a person who has permission to access the conference.

2.  Unless you need continuing education credit, you do not have to register for the conference through the Academic Affairs office.  You only need to come to the Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center with your badge.

3.  If you do need continuing education hours and did not register online before March 31, you will have to complete walk-up registration at the hotel and conference center.  YOU MUST register to receive your CE certificate.  There will be a separate packet for AUCVM practitioners who need CE, as you do not really need a packet complete with a campus map, etc. 

 View a copy of the program. 

For questions and more information, contact Kris Street at 844-2497 or kris.street@auburn.edu.  

For the CVM Graduate Student Association’s lecture series, Bruce Smith, V.M.D., Ph.D., delivered the Ab Initio lecture for March. For the event, faculty members are asked to speak to graduate trainees about their life “ab initio,” or from the beginning, including undergraduate/graduate studies, post-doc training, and other experiences that contributed to a career in science as a researcher, professor, or veterinarian. Speakers are also asked to share opinions about careers available to graduate students who possibly plan to follow in the speaker's academic footsteps.

From Terri Hathcock, CVM Safety Chairperson

Auburn University is in the process of establishing a mandatory, comprehensive chemical tracking database known as the Chemical Inventory Management System (CIMS) for all teaching, research and service laboratories. The system will be web-based and will require that all chemical containers be bar-coded to link container information such as associated hazards, storage location and date of acquisition into the database.  

• A university-wide inventory of existing chemical supplies begins April 1. An outside vendor, with oversight by university personnel, will conduct the inventory. Risk Management and Safety will announce the locations in advance.
• To maintain the inventory system, new chemical acquisitions will need to be bar-coded and relevant data entered into the management site.  Training sessions for faculty and staff who are responsible for entering new materials into the database began March 10. 
• Training sessions on Chematix Software will be offered April 21 at 8:30 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. in 160 Greene Hall.  
• Due to limited space, please notify Terri <hathctl@auburn.edu> if you are interested in attending one of these sessions.  

• Friday, April 8
• 9 to 11 a.m.

Department of Clinical Sciences - Enjoy brunch, celebrate, and share advice for Jeannie's upcoming nuptials.  A sign-up sheet for brunch items is located in the hallway outside the prep room computer lab. Jeannie Goree and Josh Peden are registered at Bed Bath and Beyond, Dillards, and Target.  

Carrie Chavers, the wife of IIT employee Jason Chavers, is a cancer patient. She and Jason were recently informed the method used to control her cancer has not succeeded and will no longer be an option for treatment. Proceeds from the May 21 yard/bake sale are to benefit Carrie and Jason.

If willing, here is how you can help:

• Yard Sale Items
  Gently used items for donation can be taken to Karie Dalton <daltoka@auburn.edu> in ITT or dropped off at the OTS House after May 1 (please notify Sharon Bailey if taking to the OTS House).
• Homemade Baked Goods
• Workers
  If you are willing to donate an hour or two, please notify Sharon Bailey.

Hot dogs and drinks will also be available and the band "Pangea" will provide entertainment. 

• When:  Saturday, May 21
• Time:  6:30 a.m. until
• Place:  OTS House, 1585 Wire Road
• Questions:  Contact Sharon Bailey or Karie Dalton

• Dr. Evan Sones, Dr. Annette Smith, Dr. Stephanie Schleis, and Dr. Calvin Johnson who received a grant award from the Winn Feline Foundation to look at VEGFR, c-kit, and PDGFR in feline oral squamous cell carcinoma.
• Dubraska V. Diaz-Campos, a graduate research assistant in Pathobiology, who received the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists student award in the in vitro category for "Microbiological and molecular characterization of coagulase positive Staphylococcus species isolated from canine clinical specimens." Diaz-Campos received the award in December at the 91st annual meeting of the Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases in Chicago.
• . biomedical sciences graduate trainees Megan Behringer and Chris Moore on successfully defending their theses on March 30. Megan is a student in Dr. Dawn Boothe’s laboratory. Her research focuses on detection of mutations in type II topoisomerases on fluroquinolone resistance in clinical canine urine Escherichia coli. Chris is a student in Dr. Vitaly Vodyanoy’s laboratory and he investigates zinc nanoparticle enhancement of the olfactory neuron response to odorants associated with explosives. Both Megan and Chris will receive their Master of Science degrees in May. In the fall, Megan begins her Ph.D. work in genetics at the University of Georgia and Chris enters Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine in Kentucky.
  Biomedical sciences graduate trainees Megan Behringer and Chris Moore on successfully defending their theses on March 30. Megan is a student in Dr. Dawn Boothe’s laboratory. Her research focuses on detection of mutations in type II topoisomerases on fluroquinolone resistance in clinical canine urine Escherichia coli. Chris is a student in Dr. Vitaly Vodyanoy’s laboratory and he investigates zinc nanoparticle enhancement of the olfactory neuron response to odorants associated with explosives. Both Megan and Chris will receive their Master of Science degrees in May. In the fall, Megan begins her Ph.D. work in genetics at the University of Georgia and Chris enters Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine in Kentucky.