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Message from the Dean | September 2018
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Welcoming the Class of 2022
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Last week, we welcomed the Class of 2022 with their orientation and the first Dean's Get-Together of the school year on August 24. We all look forward to the return of our second and third year veterinary medical students next week.
There have been several positive developments for the school in the last couple of weeks.
The architects and engineers have signed the contract for the Lot 62 parking ramp and design has begun. As a reminder, construction is scheduled to begin in late summer 2019, and the ramp is scheduled to be completed before the fall semester in 2020. We have also begun the process of selecting the architects and engineers for our building expansion. I'm hoping that the design process will begin in late fall to early winter of this year.
On August 22, we had an opportunity to highlight the infectious disease research conducted by Yoshihiro Kawaoka, Lyric Bartholomay PhD'04, and Susan Paskewitz for visiting federal congressional staff. It was a privilege to showcase all that the school does to investigate infectious disease outbreaks and prevention.
On August 23, the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents approved the UW System capital budget, which included the school's expansion project. The Board of Regents requested a total of $128 million for our building with just under $89 million in state supported borrowing, $38 million in gift funds, and an additional $1.5 million from the building trust fund. We will continue to work with the Governor's office and the Legislature to include this project in the 2019-21 state budget.
Following their meeting, a group of UW Regents and staff visited the School of Veterinary Medicine to tour our facility and learn more about our building expansion project. As you may have heard, we have already raised more than $23 million of the $38 million private fundraising goal.
I hope everyone had a fantastic summer despite the substantial rainfall that we've received in Wisconsin recently. I'm looking forward to a fantastic fall semester, football season, and the School Year Kickoff at Marshall Park on Friday, September 21.
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UW Veterinary Care Updates from the Director
I have a few new staff members to introduce. Welcome to Orthopedics coordinator Anna Springstroh, pharmacy technician Alex Lopez, Dentistry and Oral Surgery resident Alex Geddes, and custodial services staff member Alexandra (Alex) Femrite.
And farewell to Maureen Preuss, a member of our medical records and appointment staff who retired in August after 18 years of service at UW Veterinary Care
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Congratulations to three recently retired staff members who were granted emeritus status from UW-Madison in recognition of their many professional achievements and contributions to the school and university: Jean Tullis, veterinary technician (Oncology); Helen Schultz, veterinary technician (Small Animal Internal Medicine); and Steve Mell, large animal facilities manager.
On August 19, members of the UW Veterinary Care team had a great time marching and representing UWVC in the OutReach Pride Parade in Madison to celebrate and support the LGBTQ community.
Andrew Lewin, who recently completed his residency in comparative ophthalmology, was presented with the 2018 Boehringer Ingelheim Veterinary Graduate Award at the National Veterinary Scholars Symposium in August, recognizing his work in infectious ocular disease and glaucoma.
Our 20-plus specialties at UW Veterinary Care draw clients from across the region and even the world to access our specially trained experts. Here's a recent comment from one such client grateful for that specialized care, in this case provided by Dermatology
:
"
I have been very impressed with every aspect of the service we have received in Madison. It is a 2.5 hour drive (one way) that I am VERY willing to make given the attention our dog's condition receives.
"
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James, Long Grove, Iowa
Ruthanne Chun DVM'91
Director,
UW Veterinary Care
Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs
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School News
The summer 2018 issue of On Call mailed to alumni and friends of the school last month, highlighting two School of Veterinary Medicine outreach partnerships that deliver veterinary medical care and other social services to underserved communities; a "miracle mutt" named Sarge who received orthopedic surgery at UW Veterinary Care after he was found shot and abandoned last winter in Michigan's Upper Peninsula; an alumna who leads drug development for the global pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim; and much more. Copies can be found in the Veterinary Medicine Building and Hanson Labs, and you can also read the online edition.
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Student News
Congratulations to two SVM graduate students who recently received awards to support their research. Elsa Cardenas Canales earned a Graduate Student Research Award from the Global Health Institute for a project evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of oral rabies vaccination of vampire bats in Mexico. And Woojong Lee received a competitive pre-doctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association.
Kelly Dulli
DVMx'20, right, earned second place in the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association 2018
Compassionate Care Scholarship competition in recognition of her
academic achievements and dedication to animal welfare, in particular her
passion for helping community cats.
Eighteen UW veterinary medical students who participated in the school's Summer Scholars Program
presented their research findings through poster presentations in August at the 29th annual National Veterinary Scholars Symposium held at Texas A&M University.
On August 20, the SVM hosted a financial skills workshop open to all students -- just one part of the school's larger commitment to address the topic of veterinary medical student debt and the financial health of the profession.
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Faculty and Staff News
Welcome to Latasha Crawford, assistant professor in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences.
Keith Poulsen DVM'04, PhD'12 begins his new role as Director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (WVDL) today. Keith has been with the WVDL for the last four years as the Section Head of Client Services and the Diagnostic Case and Outreach Coordinator. He also holds a second appointment as a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Medial Sciences.
Congratulations to Annette Gendron-Fitzpatrick, who was recently granted emerita status by Chancellor Blank in recognition of her impressive professional achievements and distinctive contributions to UW-Madison.
Peter Muir, Melita Grunow family professor in companion animal health at the SVM, is part of the 2018 cohort of
Fellows of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Thirty-three veterinary surgeons will be welcomed into the Fellowship this fall; Muir is one of eight being recognized for meritorious contributions to knowledge in the field.
Dean Mark Markel was elected to the AO Foundation Board,
the governing body of the AO Foundation -- a medically guided, not-for-profit organization led by an international group of surgeons specialized in the treatment of trauma and disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
Karl Olson retired in August after more than 12 years helping to manage the SVM's growing continuing education program and more than 30 years collectively delivering student and outreach services at UW-Madison.
In recognition of his contributions to the school and university, he was granted emeritus status.
In July, associate professor Peter Halfmann presented a webinar, Tackling Ebola, as part of the Science Talks series hosted by The Wiley Network in partnership with the World Federation of Science Journalists and the Association of Health Care Journalists
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Research News
Thanks to grants from the school's Companion Animal Fund, faculty and residents at the SVM will launch 18 new research projects aimed at improving animal health care. Over $171,000 in grants are being distributed this year.
The UW School of Veterinary Medicine oncology service, in collaboration with researchers from Colorado State University and UC-Davis, is
recruiting dogs for the largest clinical trial conducted to date for canine cancer -- the
Vaccination Against Canine Cancer Study (VACCS).
The goal of the trial is to evaluate a new strategy for the prevention, rather than treatment of dogs with cancer.
In new research published in August in the journal PLOS Genetics, Professor Joan Jorgensen PhD'93, graduate researcher Anqi Fu and others discovered that two genes work together to construct a cellular communication system in the ovaries of mice to maintain healthy eggs. The research provides a piece of the puzzle of female infertility and could bolster future work on premature ovarian failure and other fertility problems.
Ted Golos,
Jorge Osorio MS'88, PhD'96 and
Tom Friedrich are co-investigators on a new NIH program project grant with total direct costs of approximately $7 million to study Zika virus pathophysiology during pregnancy.
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Upcoming Events
SVM Tailgate and Continuing Education Event
September 15
12:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
Veterinary Medicine Building
School Year Kickoff
September 21
4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
Marshall Park
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