AAVN March E-Newsletter

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AAVN Newsletter March 2021

A Message from the President

Dear Colleagues,

Happy (almost) Spring! Here on the East Coast we had a few warm days last week and it was wonderful to be outside!

I am very much looking forward to getting back to in-person meetings soon but, in the interim, I am proud of the way that the AAVN has adapted our programs over this past year.

We recently hosted our first CE webinars, one for members and and one for students. I hope you were able to attend and if so, that you enjoyed these sessions! Thank you to Drs. Sarah Stoneham and Sarah Abood for speaking at these initial offerings. If you have ideas for future topics, please send along! You can email us at aavnexecutive@gmail.com

We will be opening registration for the AAVN Clinical Nutrition and Research Symposium, sponsored by Royal Canin, next month and hope you will sign up to hear lectures by Drs. Greg Aldrich, Dave Dzanis, Liara Gonzalez and Michael Power, plus oral and poster abstracts from ACVN residents. This year we will once again be offering a special session for students (sponsored by Nestle Purina) - on Thursday, June 3rd- that includes an opportunity to have all of your questions about presentations answered by AAVN members. I’m also very excited about our Cocktails + Trivia event, scheduled for Wednesday, June 2nd at 7 pm EST. Join myself and Mike Robbins, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, for a chance to network and a chance to test your trivia knowledge! Look out for more information on all of these programs soon!

Many thanks, as always, for your ongoing support.

Martha G. Cline, DVM, DACVN

AAVN Executive Board - President (2017-2021)

Pet Nutrition Alliance (PNA) Update

Submitted by Dr. Julie Churchill

The PNA Board held its annual meeting remotely in Jan 2021 (we usually meet in-person at VMX in Orlando, Florida). Like other organizations, we found the virtual platform to work well and this was a significant meeting because we had an official ‘changing of the guard’. I (Churchill) completed my term as President and moved to the position of Past President, while Kara Burns was welcomed as incoming PNA President. Always a strong advocate for veterinary techs/nurses, Kara will continue to assure that PNA tools are designed with the entire health care team in mind.

Other Board members for 2021 include Heather Pendergast remaining as treasurer, Dr. Jim Berry continuing as PNA’s representative to WSAVA, and Dr. Inid Stiles, newly joining to represent the CVMA. Both Drs. Berry and Stiles are active practitioners as well as practice owners in Canada, and they will bring an excellent reality check for what busy health care teams need. We are excited to welcome each Board member to their respective roles and sincerely thank Drs. Walt Ingwersen (WSAVA) and Jim Berry (CVMA) for their prior service to the PNA.

At the annual PNA meeting in 2020, we developed a new strategic plan but, thanks to the pandemic, there was some need for re-prioritization to take place. We are now revisiting that strategic plan to decide which projects to move forward with in 2021.

We have revised our bylaws and terms of service to make the time commitment on the Executive Board more manageable -- 1 year for the President-Elect; 2-year term for the President; and 1 year for the Past President (so, 4 years total). What is more noteworthy is that we are expanding our Board to add up to 3 directors-at-large, which will allow for additional expertise on key projects. If there are any AAVN members interested in learning more about PNA Board positions, please contact Kara Burns or Julie Churchill.

The PNA has decided to hire Catherine Haskins of Haskins Consulting Inc. to help curate existing PNA content, heighten awareness of our alliance member organizations, and to utilize social media to make tools more accessible to veterinary health care teams. After two updates to the ‘Dare to Ask’ project, we took a hiatus during the COVID19 pandemic, and we hope to continue revising our ‘Dare to Ask’ tool in light of expected revisions to the WSAVA questions.

For those AAVN members who have yet to investigate the PNA website, we strongly encourage everyone to spend a little time there and at least check out the calculator tool. We are proud that our content is available in English, Spanish and French, too!

AAVN 2021 Clinical Nutrition and Research Symposium

Wednesday, June 2nd and Thursday, June 3rd, 2021

Speakers & Topics

Liara M. Gonzalez, DVM, PhD, DACVS

North Carolina State University

Leaky Gut: The Implications of Altered Intestinal Permeability on Health and Disease

Dave A. Dzanis, DVM, PhD, DACVN

Regulatory Discretion, Inc.

Regulatory Milestones over the Past 30 Years

Michael L. Power, PhD

Smithsonian National Zoological Park and Conservation Biology Institute

The Evolutionary Biology of Milk: A Brief Review of the Past 300 Million Years

Greg Aldrich

Kansas State University

Alternative Protein Sources

Registration will open soon!

Thank You to Our Symposium Sponsor

AAVN Launches Student Webinar Series

The AAVN's first student webinar took place on Tuesday, March 8th. We were thrilled to welcome 20+ students to speaker, Dr. Sarah Abood's talk, Critical Consumption of Nutrition Articles (Enhance Your Clinical Skills without Getting a PhD). If you missed the live version, you can check out Sarah's slide deck here

Don't Miss the Next Student Webinar!

APRIL 6th 8:00 PM ET

Deciphering Pet Food Labels:

How to tell Regulatory Fact from Marketing Fiction

Jenna Manacki, DVM

Small Animal Clinical Nutrition Resident, University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine

This webinar will focus on the various components of a pet food label and how to interpret them. Pet food labeling definitions and regulations as well as AAFCO statements will be discussed and explanations on how an ingredient list is organized, and what are the most common misconceptions regarding common pet food ingredients will be provided. Finally, this session will include a discussion on the guaranteed analysis panel, and how it may be misinterpreted by the average consumer.

*While these events are designed for students, all are welcome to attend.

There is no CE credit offered for this program.*

To Register Click Here

Extended Deadline!

Student Blog Writing Contest Submissions

Due March 31st

The AAVN's annual Pet Nutrition and Equine Nutrition blog writing competitions are open to:

Students currently enrolled in DVM/ VMD programs, registered veterinary technician (RVT) programs or animal science programs.
Veterinary interns currently practicing at an academic institution or in private practice.
Graduate students (Masters and PhD) pursuing an advanced degree in veterinary or animal nutrition.

Please note that the competition is not open to nutrition residents training to become board certified by either the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN) or the European College of Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition (ECVCN).

1st Place: The 1st place winner receives a $500 USD travel award to the AAVN Clinical Nutrition & Research Symposium, to be used in the two years following the award. In addition, the winning blog will be featured in the AAVN e-newsletter.

2nd & 3rd Place: The runners up receive award certificates and their blogs will be featured in the AAVN e-newsletter.

For additional details and submission format click here

The AAVN Pet Nutrition Blog Writing Competition is sponsored by Hill’s Pet Nutrition. The AAVN Equine Nutrition Blog Writing Competition is sponsored by Buckeye Nutrition.

AAVN 2021 Webinar Series

Save these Dates!

August 18, 2021, 8 pm EST

Utilizing Veterinary Technicians for Nutritional Management

Ashley Self, BS, LVMT, VTS (Nutrition)

November (date & speaker TBD)

Nutritional Management of Working Dogs

If you are a student member, please enter the code AAVNSTUDENT when you register.

Webinars are free for AAVN members but registration is required.

THANK YOU WEBINAR SERIES SPONSORS

Platinum Sponsor

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsor

EFL Associates is assisting PBI-Gordon Corporation and their PetAg subsidiary in recruiting a Senior Director of Product Innovation & Stewardship (R&D).

This individual will accelerate and optimize PetAg’s 3rd generation milk replacement products, drive quality and compliance, and identify extensions to the existing portfolio.

Must Have’s:

· 10+ years of hands-on experience leading product development from concept to commercialization.

· Manufacturing experience, including process development and scale-up. Quality, regulatory, and food safety experience.

· Solid business acumen and experience in how product formulations and processing economics impact competitive commercial viability.

· Solid working knowledge of AAFCO, FDA, USDA-APHIS and FSMA regulations.

· Advanced degree in nutrition, animal health, or related sciences.

· Experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365 will be valued.

Location – PetAg is located in Hampshire, Illinois, a rural countryside community located 52 miles from the Chicago metro. If chosen for the role, the successful candidate will be expected to relocate to the Greater Chicago area.

Michael Marden

Executive Search Consultant

CBIZ Inc. / EFL Associates

816-945-5547

mmarden@cbiz.com

AAVN Announcements

Are you planning on publishing an article or making a nutrition presentation some time in 2021? We'd love to announce it for you! Please send to the Executive Directors at aavnexecutive@gmail.com or the E-newsletter editor aboodsarah@gmail.com