Eric R. Burrough, DVM, PhD, DACVP

The annual meeting is just a few weeks away and I would again like to thank all those who contributed a record number of abstracts for presentation (214 total) and all those who have already registered for the meeting. As a reminder, registrants can start to view ALL recordings (on-site and virtual presentations) ahead of, during, and after the meeting until December 1, 2022.

This year the plenary session will focus on technological advances in veterinary diagnostics with 4 subject matter experts from the fields of histopathology, viral sequencing, toxicology, and bacteriology: 

We would again also ask VDL directors to help facilitate and encourage attendance from all of their laboratory sections. There is no better place to meet and interact with colleagues from peer institutions than the AAVLD Annual Meeting.

Looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible in Minneapolis this October!

Eric R. Burrough, DVM, PhD, DACVP

AAVLD President-Elect and 2022 Program Chair

This year the AAVLD Foundation provided approximately $18,000 in travel support and awards to engage the next generation of diagnosticians and advance student training by enabling students to attend the annual meeting.

This work is only made possible through donations from engaged AAVDL members like you. Please consider donating an item or making a monetary donation to support this important cause. 

A simple, virtual silent auction will be held from October 1st, 2022, to October 7th, 2022,

on the Silent Auction Pro platform. Anyone can participate, even if they are not registered to attend the Annual Meeting. Participants will be able to view items, make their bids and get alerts on the status of their items.  A few of our donated items will be reserved for our live, in-person auction held on Friday October 7th2022. All virtual bids will need to be placed by 8:00 PM CST when the live auction will begin. Please plan on attending!

------ Visit https://aavco.memberclicks.net/foundation-auction to make a donation now!

Annual Meeting Agenda

The AAVLD Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) would like to launch initiatives aimed at engaging members in DEI efforts. However, the DEI Committee has run into a stumbling block, and we need your help with it. AAVLD has never collected any demographics on its members, so we have no basis for evaluating how diverse our membership is and which initiatives are appropriate!, AAVLD will provide the opportunity for each member to supply background information in survey format. All data will be anonymized and aggregated, then reported in the newsletter and available on our website. The survey window will be approximately one month.

In the future, the option to supply demographic data will be offered to new members. We recognize that in many ways our membership has been dictated by educational opportunities in our pasts, and we can’t go back and change those.

What we CAN attempt to influence is our members’ perceptions about their interactions with AAVLD as an organization and about members’ experiences with others in AAVLD settings. The DEI Committee will ask questions about these aspects periodically and see how our interactions and experiences change over the years. Again, data will be anonymized and aggregated then used to evaluate how welcoming our organization is to all those who share our common mission with results published in our newsletter and on our website.

To maximize exposure and participation, there will be multiple access points to the survey link: on the AAVLD website (after you have logged in), in this AAVLD newsletter, an email to all members, and on the Membership Renewal page. Please complete the survey only once.

Please, take this opportunity to complete the survey and help us get a better idea of who AAVLD is. Represent!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AAVLD_DEI_Survey 

Sincerely,

Cat Barr

Amar Patil

AAVLD DEI Committee Cochairs

AAVLD Membership, please send your laboratory news to Dave Zeman, Executive Director dzeman@aavld.org

Our September focus is an article in JVDI’s September issue, “Review of diagnostic histologic features of cutaneous round cell neoplasms in dogs” by Daniel R. Rissi, Fabiano N. Oliveira.

J Vet Diagn Invest 2022;34(5). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10406387221100209

Abstract. Cutaneous round cell neoplasms (RCNs) are among the most common skin tumors of dogs. Although a diagnosis can be made in most cases following the examination of H&E-stained routine samples, less-differentiated neoplasms can exhibit overlapping morphologic features that may be challenging to the pathologist, and require immunohistochemistry or molecular testing to reach a final diagnosis. Many patients with cutaneous RCNs are initially seen by a general practitioner and are not referred to a veterinary teaching hospital until a diagnosis has been made. For this reason, anatomic pathology residents at some academic or other training institutions may not be exposed frequently to RCNs during the surgical biopsy service as part of their residency training. In an attempt to fill that gap, here we review the key routine histologic features of canine cutaneous RCNs.

Figures 2–17. Cutaneous and subcutaneous mast cell tumor (MCT). Figure 2. Grade 1 cutaneous MCTs with neoplastic cells restricted to the superficial dermis and interadnexal areas. H&E. Figure 3. Grade 2 cutaneous MCT with neoplastic cells effacing the superficial and deep dermis, as well as portions of the subcutaneous tissue. H&E. Figure 4. Grade 3 cutaneous MCT with neoplastic cells effacing the dermis and the deep subcutaneous tissue, including the skeletal muscle. The epidermis is ulcerated. H&E. Figure 5. A well-demarcated subcutaneous MCT consists of a well-delineated nodule that partially effaces the subcutaneous tissue. H&E. Figure 6. An infiltrative subcutaneous MCT is locally invasive and disrupts adjacent subcutaneous structures such as the skeletal muscle. H&E. Figure 7. Grade 1 cutaneous MCT with scattered neoplastic mast cells among dermal collagen bundles. H&E. Figure 8. Grade 2 cutaneous MCT with neoplastic mast cells effacing the dermis and dissecting dermal collagen bundles. H&E. Figure 9. Grade 3 cutaneous MCT with dense sheets of neoplastic mast cells completely effacing the dermis. H&E. Figure 10. Epitheliotropic cutaneous MCT with clusters of neoplastic mast cells within the epidermis (arrows). H&E. Figure 11. Neoplastic mast cells from a grade 1 cutaneous MCT are round and have abundant cytoplasm with numerous small granules and distinct cell margins. Nuclei are round and have densely aggregated chromatin. H&E. Figure 12. Neoplastic mast cells from a grade 2 cutaneous MCT are similar to those in grade 1 neoplasms but can have indistinct cytoplasm with large granules. Nuclei are round and have finely stippled chromatin with 1 or 2 nucleoli. H&E. Figure 13. Neoplastic mast cells from a grade 3 cutaneous MCT are round-to-oval and have evident pleomorphism with abundant cytoplasm and scant granules. Nuclei are round-to-indented with clear chromatin and 1–3 nucleoli. Binucleate cells are common. H&E. Figure 14. Cytoplasmic mast cell granules are highlighted by special stains (Giemsa or toluidine blue) in a grade 1 cutaneous MCT. Giemsa stain. Figure 15. Giemsa or toluidine blue stains reveal faint cytoplasmic granulation in a grade 3 cutaneous MCT. Giemsa stain. Figure 16. Multinucleation (arrow) and bizarre nuclei (arrowheads) are features of high-grade cutaneous MCTs. H&E. Figure 17. Degranulated eosinophils surround a brightly eosinophilic collagen bundle (flame figure) in a grade 2 cutaneous MCT. H&E.

Colony collapse and its effect on our food supply has brought honeybee health and disease to the forefront in the minds of both consumers and scientists. Many causes have been investigated, and honeybee research has gained new impetus; many of our veterinary diagnostic laboratories are becoming involved in this expanding field.

We are inviting submissions to a JVDI special section on Honeybee health and disease. If you are interested, please submit an abstract of up to 250 words describing your proposed topic. Readers would be interested in background review material and current laboratory investigations, including both successes and failures, or lessons learned.

Please submit your abstract to our guest editor, Dr. Marie-Odile Benoit-Biancamano (marie-odile.benoit-biancamano@umontreal.ca), or to the Editor-in-chief, Dr. Grant Maxie (mailto:gmaxie@uoguelph.ca). Abstract deadline is September 15, 2022.

The Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation (J Vet Diagn Invest; (https://journals.sagepub.com/home/vdi) is an international peer-reviewed journal published in English as the official journal of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD; https://aavld.memberclicks.net/). JVDI is devoted to all aspects of veterinary laboratory medicine. The major disciplines are anatomic pathology, bacteriology/mycology, clinical pathology, epidemiology, immunology, laboratory information management, molecular biology, parasitology, public health, toxicology, and virology.

The mission of the Journal is to educate by informing readers of progress in veterinary laboratory medicine and related fields of endeavor. The key objectives of the JVDI are to promote the science of veterinary laboratory medicine and the betterment of animal and public health. JVDI fully supports diversity, equity, and inclusion in our publishing activities.

We look forward to seeing our many colleagues and friends In Minneapolis in October! On the topic of colleagues…

I'm not the smartest fellow in the world, but I can sure pick smart colleagues.

~Franklin D. Roosevelt

You can't change the world alone - you will need some help - and to truly get from your starting point to your destination takes friends, colleagues, the good will of strangers and a strong coxswain to guide them.

~William H. McRaven

A good life depends on the strength of our relationships with family, friends, neighbors, colleagues and strangers.

~David Lammy

Source: BrainyQuote