Happy Holidays as We Approach Semester's End | Message from the Dean

Message from the Dean | December 2017

Happy Holidays as We Approach Semester's End

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving and I wish you all a wonderful holiday season and upcoming New Year. As you might imagine, our students are in the throes of the end of their semesters, with finals approaching in a couple of weeks. I wish you all the best of luck with your examinations and hope that you have a great holiday break.

We were all sorry to hear about the recent passing of Mark Brownfield, one of the School of Veterinary Medicine's founding faculty and a loyal friend and colleague. Mark taught Endocrine Physiology to every class of UW SVM students until his retirement in 2016 and his impact on our students continues posthumously: In lieu of flowers, his family has requested that gifts be made to the school's Veterinary Medicine Scholarship Fund -- read more below.

UW-Madison recently highlighted the many steps the campus is taking to prevent and respond to sexual harassment and sexual violence. As I've highlighted in previous dean's messages, all undergraduate students, graduate students, and employees on the UW-Madison campus are required to take sexual harassment/sexual assault prevention training. The campus has also undertaken a wide range of efforts to address this important issue affecting all who work and learn on the UW-Madison campus.

In concert with this effort, the campus has recently released the first ever campus-wide climate survey, which will further guide campus actions to address disparities amongst students. As I've previously mentioned here, the School of Veterinary Medicine completed climate surveys in 2014 and 2016, with the plan to continue surveying all SVM employees and students every other year. With the results of our surveys, we continue to focus on creating a better climate and working and learning environment for all within the school.

One last note: On Thursday, Dec. 14, from 12:30-1:00 p.m., I will hold a conference call for friends and supporters of the school to provide updates and answer questions about our Animals Need Heroes Too building expansion campaign. If you would also like to join the call, please contact Kristi Thorson.

Again, I hope your holiday season is a good one and that you all have a happy New Year in 2018.

UW Veterinary Care Updates from the Director

Several renovations throughout UW Veterinary Care continue to move along. The remodel of the TomoTherapy/Physical Rehabilitation reception area, to create three new examination rooms, is currently ahead of schedule and the transformation of Room 1403 (across from the Clinical Pathology lab) and two adjacent rooms, to form a new workspace for Medical Oncology, should be completed in early 2018. A remodel of the Morrie Waud Large Animal Hospital reception area will also soon begin . We appreciate everyone's patience as we enhance these spaces to provide the best possible care for our patients.

Congratulations to Elizabeth Layne, clinical faculty member with the Dermatology Service, who passed the 2017 American College of Veterinary Dermatology Certifying Examination. And welcome to Echo Yu, who recently joined us as a financial specialist in the purchasing office.

In this season of gratitude and joy, here is just of the many recent pieces of positive feedback that we have received from a client:

"I was not sure what to expect when coming to the UW and frankly was a little hesitant, as I had to travel from Wausau with a crying cat. I was helped when it came to locating the hospital when my GPS led me off track, was greeted in a friendly fashion, and led to a smaller, quieter area away from the dogs so that my already stressed out cat could relax. The student who did the initial exam was polite, sociable, and professional. Dr. [Nora] Sheehan was amazing with both Romeo and myself. She explained thoroughly what was going to happen and what I was being quoted for.

"They were able to finish early, only doing the tests necessary to give a diagnosis, and not performing exams/tests that would be costly and would not add anything more to the diagnosis, which I appreciated. Dr. Sheehan was so great at articulating the very rare condition that my cat has, even using a dry erase board to give me a visual explanation of what's going on. She didn't rush me, as I had dozens of questions, and made me feel more comfortable in moving forward with this scary situation. She ensured that all my questions were answered and that I understood the medications and what to look for at home."

- Stacy, Schofield, Wis.

Ruthanne Chun DVM'91
Director, UW Veterinary Care
Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs

School News

The school's 2017 Annual Report, which details key achievements from the 2016-17 academic year, is now available online to view in a screen reader or as a PDF download. A limited amount of hard copies will also be distributed throughout the Veterinary Medicine Building and Hanson Labs.

The winter 2017-18 issue of On Call, as well, is now on its way to mailboxes and additional copies can be found in the Veterinary Medicine Building and Hanson Labs. You can also read the online edition.

Bella, Max, Lucy, and more -- the 10 most popular names among UW Veterinary Care patients can be found in the latest issue of On Wisconsin magazine, which features myriad lists about UW-Madison. See which names made the top 10.

This holiday season, consider sending the UW SVM's 2017 Holiday Card. Recipients will enjoy beautiful, original artwork and you will be supporting our school, our hospital, and our students in their honor. View this year's selections , featuring the work of Wisconsin artist Robin Raab.

A colorful new guest, Kosmos, is now located at the entrance to the SVM Office of the Dean. Kosmos was one of 50 German Shepherd police dog statues displayed as part of Chicago K9s for Cops, a public art display paying tribute to the important work canine unit dogs perform every day. T he SVM and UW Veterinary Care are proud supporters of canine law enforcement agencies, raising funds to purchase protective vests for K9 officers and partnering with Wisconsin agencies to provide police dogs with discounted veterinary medical care. If you haven't already seen Kosmos, stop by the Dean's Office to view this generous gift from Garry and Debby Eades.

Student Updates

Laurel Meyers DVMx'19 received third place in the national Student American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA) One Health Grand Challenge for her efforts in developing and organizing the Wisconsin One Health Forum and UW-Madison One Health Day Colloquium . One Health is the collaborative effort of multiple health science professions to attain optimal health for people, animals, and environments. The Wisconsin One Health Forum connects UW faculty, staff, students, community members, government organizations, and private enterprises by facilitating dialogue about emerging health issues in all sectors.

Faculty and Staff News

Mark Brownfield, associate professor emeritus in the Department of Comparative Biosciences, passed away in November after a brief illness. Brownfield devoted his career to the department, the SVM, and UW-Madison for 35 years. He was dedicated to providing research opportunities to undergraduate students and was an excellent neuroendocrinologist who taught Endocrine Physiology to every UW SVM class from the school's very first students through his retirement in 2016. He continued to direct a research lab after his retirement. Per his family's request, in lieu of flowers, donations to the UW SVM Veterinary Medicine Scholarship Fund can be made in Mark's honor at supportuw.org/giveto/vetmedscholarship.

Welcome to three new clinical faculty members who recently joined us: Alexane Durand, clinical assistant professor in diagnostic imaging in the Department of Surgical Sciences, and Julien Guevar and Starr Cameron, both clinical assistant professors in neurology in the Department of Medical Sciences.

Two faculty from the Department of Pathobiological Sciences, Yoshihiro Kawaoka and Gabi Neumann, are among the 2017 Highly Cited Researchers list in the microbiology category. Spanning 21 fields of the sciences and social sciences, researchers on the list rank in the top 1 percent by citations for field and publication year in Web of Science.

Professor Albee Messing of the Department of Comparative Biosciences has achieved emeritus status in recognition of his professional accomplishments and his distinctive contributions to the school and the university.

Fernando J. Marqués, clinical associate professor in large animal internal medicine, and Neil Christensen, clinical assistant professor in radiation oncology, were both spotlighted by UW News in November. Fun facts gleaned from the stories: Marqués has trained horses for more than 25 years, primarily in show jumping, and Christensen recently obtained a motorcycle, which he says has opened up Wisconsin in a way he had not previously experienced.

Research News

A vial is labeled and prepared to hold blood from an Ebola patient in Sierra Leone

In a comprehensive and complex molecular study of blood samples from Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, a scientific team led by SVM Professor Yoshihiro Kawaoka has identified signatures of Ebola virus disease that may aid in future treatment efforts. The team, which also included research fellow Alhaji N'jai, found 11 biomarkers that distinguish fatal infections from nonfatal ones and two that, when screened for early symptom onset, accurately predict which patients are likely to die. With these results, clinicians can prioritize the scarce treatment resources available and provide care to the sickest patients.