CRWAD 2009 NEWSLETTER
Photo Left to Right: Dr. Dick Isaacson, 2008 CRWAD President; Dr. Margaret Ewing; Dr. Sidney A. Ewing, 2008 CRWAD Dedicatee; Susanne Squires, CRWAD Administrative Assistant; Dr. Robert P. Ellis, CRWAD Executive Director
Newport Laboratories made a pamphlet to promote sponsorship opportunities for CRWAD.
CRWAD Sponsor Opportunities Brochure is available upon request. Contact Dr. Robert Ellis or Dr. Vicki Rapp-Gabrielson or Dr. Randy Simonson.
2009 COUNCIL MEMBERS
President - Dr. Bill Stich, University of Missouri,
Columbia, MO
Vice-President - Dr. Eileen Thacker, USDA - ARS - NP Leader Animal Health, Beltsville, MD
Executive Director - Dr. Robert P. Ellis, Colorado State
University
Council Member - Dr. Laura Hungerford, University of
Maryland, Baltimore, MD
Council Member - Dr. Donald L. Reynolds, Iowa State University,
Ames, IA
Council Member - Dr. Rodney A. Moxley, University of Nebraska,
Lincoln, NE
Council Member - Dr. David A. Benfield, Ohio State University, Wooster, OH
THE 2009 CRWAD PRESIDENT - Dr. Roger William (Bill) Stich
I am grateful for the honor to serve as president for the 90th Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases (CRWAD). It has also been my honor to serve with distinguished colleagues on the CRWAD Council over the past several years. During this time these colleagues led profound advances in CRWAD operations, which included acquisition of external support from the USDA, movement to our current venue at the downtown Marriott in Chicago, ‘metamorphosis’ of the Parasitology and Immunoparasitology section to “Vector-borne and Parasitic Diseases,” outreach to expand our membership to students and colleagues in industry, and an industry-based steering committee that lead to a record year for commercial support of CRWAD in 2008. Many of these advances reduced expenses associated with our conference. Interestingly, some of the greatest challenges that lie ahead are also associated with our progress over the past several years. Not surprisingly, while continued growth of our stronger sections results in scheduling issues, other sections will require still more growth in the years ahead.
I still recall the excitement of traveling to CRWAD in Chicago for my first presentation as a graduate student. Both my major adviser and her major adviser were present. This experience was followed by conferences where I had the opportunity to meet and befriend fellow students and their mentors who, little did I know at the time, would become valued colleagues. The value of CRWAD was recently affirmed as I watched Katherine Kocan, my adviser, introduce her major adviser, Sidney Ewing, as our 2008 CRWAD dedicatee. These experiences underscore why CRWAD continues to be a special meeting, and I think most of us would agree that the historical emphasis of this meeting on student presentations underlies why so many of us continue to value and participate in CRWAD.
Student participation in CRWAD is an important issue that I wish to address in 2009. Although most of us enjoy our current venue, I think many of us would agree that the expense and time of year associated with the CRWAD is not as student-oriented as it once was. Therefore, I propose to address the following items to encourage student participation, so that we can share the CRWAD experience with additional young colleagues and future collaborators. First, to generate enthusiasm, we will circulate flyers by email to CRWAD members, student members and guests in advance of the abstract deadline. These flyers will be designed so that they can be forwarded or printed and posted, allowing students and other colleagues to learn more about CRWAD. Second, we will begin efforts to establish future travel awards to defray costs of student attendance to CRWAD. I expect this objective to be particularly challenging because it will require sponsors and a fair system to judge and award these grants within a short time frame from abstract submission to acceptance. Third, we are working toward providing more activities designed to interest students and postdoctoral scientists, such as a career-oriented presentation by the Dedicatee (an excellent opportunity to meet the Dedicatee and learn some of the important milestones in the Dedicatee’s career) and an opportunity to network with similarly positioned colleagues and potential employers who are actively recruiting to fill open positions. These objectives are well worth the time and effort it will take to enhance the student experience at CRWAD.
In conclusion, we all must contribute to make CRWAD the best meeting it can be. It is my sincere hope that measures undertaken in 2009 will facilitate future efforts to increase student participation in this very special gathering of colleagues. The Council and I welcome suggestions about how we can further improve this meeting. In the mean time, please continue to serve as strong advocates for CRWAD and help us disseminate information regarding this great meeting.
I look forward to seeing you, your students, and your mentors at the 90th CRWAD on December 6 – 8, 2009.
Bill Stich
NEWS FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - Dr. Robert P. Ellis
Dear CRWAD Colleagues,
The most pressing question for many organizations at this time, in this financial climate, is “How is our organization doing financially?” I am glad to report that CRWAD is currently financially healthy. We have not needed to dip into our reserves for several years. We currently have a total of nearly $19,000 in 2 CDs. The last CD was purchased in 2002, and we have not had enough surplus funds in any year since then to allow us to purchase more CDs. Our goal continues to be to have a reserve of one year’s operating expenses. This is a sound business management goal for organizations such as CRWAD. We will likely have an increase in dues and registration proposed to the membership at the 2009 meeting.
Our annual meeting remains healthy also, although we were many attendees lower in 2008 than in 2007. The total attendees were 11% less than 2007 (478 vs. 539). We are working to have attendance back up again in 2009. Members can assist in maintaining the vitality of our organization and our annual meeting by encouraging colleagues to attend the meeting and apply for membership, and by bringing their students to the meeting. We do have new challenges since the number of Veterinary Biologics companies has been significantly reduced in the past few years by mergers. This will likely affect the corporate contributions that CRWAD receives, as well as the number of attendees from the corporate ranks. Again, continue to encourage your colleagues to remain supportive of CRWAD. Our corporate sponsorship committee, Vicki Rapp-Gabrielson and Randy Simonson have been very productive in garnering sponsorships. Last year, just before our annual meeting, they produced a very attractive brochure for CRWAD. The brochure will be used in efforts to gain new members and new sponsors. Anyone who would like to assist Vicki and Randy is encouraged to contact them.
In conclusion, I sincerely thank you all for your continued efforts to keep CRWAD in its place as the international leader of animal disease research organizations.
Sincerely, Bob Ellis, Executive Director
CALVIN W. SCHWABE AWARD to Dr. David W. Hird
Biography – David W. Hird, DVM, MPVM, PhD
Dr. David Hird is Professor Emeritus at the University of California at Davis having served on that faculty for 28 years (1980-2008). Throughout his distinguished career he has been widely regarded as a preeminent educator and leader in the fields of veterinary epidemiology and preventive medicine.
Dr. Hird earned his baccalaureate degree from Stanford University and his DVM from the University of California, Davis. His interest in international work and global veterinary medicine began early in his career. He spent the first 4 years as a veterinarian working overseas at the University of Chile as a large animal ambulatory clinician, with the United Nations (FAO) in Venezuela working with beef cattle, and in Australia working as a companion animal and dairy veterinarian. Dr. Hird returned to the UC Davis, where he completed the Master of Preventive Veterinary Medicine (MPVM) degree. He then expanded his career experiences working as the County Veterinarian in Imperial County, California, where much of the work involved public health issues of the California-Mexico border, such as rabies and tuberculosis. He also directed the animal control program and instituted a feedlot health monitoring program. Dr. Hird continued his training at the University Minnesota where he completed his PhD in veterinary microbiology and epidemiology in 1980 under the guidance of Dr. Ashley Robinson. He joined the faculty of the School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis in 1980 where he worked until his retirement in 2008. His areas of emphasis while working at Davis included quantitative epidemiology, livestock health and productivity, animal health surveillance, and education in epidemiology and international veterinary medicine. 
Dr. Hird is an author on more than 150 manuscripts in peer-reviewed publications and conference proceedings. He is a Diplomate in the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and a Fellow in the American College of Epidemiology. He has been a Fulbright Scholar, and has served as a consultant to the USDA and in several South American countries on disease surveillance and control programs for livestock. Dr. Hird is the recipient of several teaching awards from both students and faculty at UC Davis, and was also a principal organizer for the Tenth Symposium of the International Society for Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics (ISVEE) in Viña del Mar, Chile.
Dr. Hird may be best known as a consummate teacher and leader in education related to veterinary epidemiology, public health, and one medicine. He is internationally known for his leadership in of several programs at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. These include his work as the founding Director of the Office of International Programs, Director of the MPVM Program, and Chair of the UC Davis Graduate Group in Epidemiology.DISTINGUISHED VETERINARY IMMUNOLOGIST
Dr. Lorraine M. Sordillo , University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA,
was named the Distinguished Veterinary Immunologist for 2008. Dr. Christopher
Davies, President of The American Association of Veterinary Immunologists,
presented Dr. Sordillo with this award.
Biography - Dr. Lorraine M. Sordillo
Lorraine M. Sordillo initiated her early training at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, receiving a BS in Animal Science and a MS in Lactation Physiology. In 1987, she earned her PhD in Immunology from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. Dr. Sordillo then began her post-doctoral work at the University of Tennessee and in 1988 joined the Immunology group at the Veterinary Infectious Disease Organization, University of Saskatchewan. In 1992, Dr. Sordillo joined the faculty ranks of the Veterinary Science Department at Pennsylvania State University, and became director of the Center for Mastitis Research. In a short period of time Lorraine rose to associate and then full professor prior to relocating to Michigan State University. In 2004 Dr. Sordillo was the first to be offered the prestigious Meadow Brook Chair position in Farm Animal Health and Well Being in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at Michigan State where she continues her research today.
Dr. Sordillo’s primary research has focused on developing solutions to control mastitis in dairy cattle by understanding basic mammary gland physiology and immunology. She has built an extensive research program that studies both the molecular mechanisms of disease and the whole animal response during infection. To help support her program, she has garnered more than $7.5 million in funds from industry and various state programs including the USDA-NRI and the National Institute of Health. To date, Dr. Sordillo has trained more than 20 graduate students. She has translated her drive and passion for solving problems to her students developing their ability to design and conduct high quality research and become future leaders in the field. Three former students are faculty members at 4 year-research institutions and 11 are in university or industry-based positions. She has served as a mentor for undergraduate honor’s students, visiting scholars, and post-doctoral associates. Her research has generated 5 U.S. patents aimed at mastitis therapy and more than 80 peer-reviewed journal articles in high impact journals. In recognition of her research leadership, Dr. Sordillo has received multiple awards which include the Young Scientist and West Agro Awards from the American Dairy Science Association. Her work is highly respected in various fields as is evidenced by the many invitations to present her work at national and international meetings, universities, and in book chapters.
Dr. Sordillo is a strong proponent of returning her expertise to the scientific community. She has dedicated time to serve on grant review panels, editorial boards and only recently completed her term as Editor for the Physiology and Management Section of the Journal of Dairy Science. She also provided leadership and guidance to the American Association of Veterinary Immunologists, not only by continuously participating in multiple committees but also by serving as the association’s president.
Dr. Lorraine Sordillo’s drive, passion, and excitement for science and solving problems have been a cornerstone for many. Through her research, training of future immunologists, and service Lorraine has significantly impacted the veterinary immunology community and continues to inspire fellow scientists across the world.
Dr. Sordillo is married to Jeff Gandy who works at her side conducting research in her laboratory. They have one daughter, Candice Gandy, currently enrolled in nursing school and three dogs, better known as the three amigos.DISTINGUISHED VETERINARY MICROBIOLOGIST
The Distinguished Veterinary Microbiologist for 2008 was Dr. Carlton Gyles, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Biography - Dr. Carlton Gyles, DVM, PhD
Carlton Gyles is a native of Jamaica and a 1964 graduate of the Ontario Veterinary College, who received his Ph.D. in veterinary bacteriology from the University of Guelph in 1968. He was mentored by Dr. Don Barnum, a brilliant scientist and remarkable individual. Later that year he received a Medical Research Council Fellowship that allowed him to do postdoctoral studies in England and Denmark. In England he worked with Dr. H. Williams Smith, the foremost researcher on Escherichia coli in his day. In Denmark he worked in the laboratory of Ida and Frits Orskov at the International Escherichia Centre in Copenhagen. Later he had the privilege of working in the laboratories of Dr. Werner Maas at New York University Medical School and of Dr. Stanley Falkow at the University of Washington in Seattle.
He joined the faculty of the University of Guelph in 1968 and is presently a Professor emeritus in the Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph. Over the period 1964 to 2007 he conducted research on disease-producing E. coli and made notable original contributions to the field. These include discovery of the E. coli heat-labile enterotoxin while working with Don Barnum, the discovery of E. coli plasmids with both enterotoxin and drug resistance genes, genetic characterization of the genes for verotoxin 2e (VT2e), purification and characterization of the edema disease verotoxin (VT2e), development and testing of a toxoid vaccine that is effective against edema disease of pigs, and the detection and characterization of a novel pathogenicity island that encodes a unique cytotoxin in avian pathogenic E. coli. His recent areas of research are evaluation of the role of plasmid-encoded MsbB in E. coli O157:H7, characterization of virulence attributes of enterotoxigenic O149 E. coli from pigs, and investigation of the resistance of veal calves to colonization by E. coli O157:H7.
He edited a book on E. coli in animals and humans, and along with colleagues Charles Thoen, John Prescott, and Glenn Songer he has edited 3 editions of Pathogenesis of Bacterial Infections in Animals. He has served in several administrative capacities at the University of Guelph, including Chair of the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Immunology, Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, Interim Dean of the Ontario Veterinary College, and member of the University Board of Governors. At the provincial level, he has been a member of the Ontario Council on University Affairs and of the Council of Ontario Universities. He is an Honorary Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists (ACVM) and is presently a member of the Board of the ACVM. He received the Canadian Society of Microbiologists Roche Award for career achievement in Microbiology in 2005; he became a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2005, and was selected as the Ontario Veterinary College Distinguished Alumnus in 2006
In retirement he keeps busy as Editor-in-Chief of Animal Health Research Reviews (the CRWAD journal) and The Canadian Veterinary Journal.
NEW MEMBERS 2009
The Following New 2009 Regular Member Applicants, approved by the Council, were announced and presented with Member Certificates:
19 New Regular Members
1) Dalen W. Agnew - Michigan State University, Lansing, MI
2) Sergey Artiushin - University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
3) Yaowei Huang - Virginia Tech., Blacksburg, VA
4) Timothy J. Johnson - University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
5) Kwonil Jung - The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH
6) Won-il Kim - Iowa State University, Ames, IA
7) Gabriele Landolt - Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
8) Laurie J. Larson - University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
9) Changhee Lee - Kyungpook National University, Buk-gu, Daegu, KOREA
10) Hyun Lillehoj - USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD
11) James F. (Jim) Lowe - Carthage Veterinary Service, Ltd., Albers, IL
12) Martha A. Mellencamp - Ralco Nutrition,Inc., St. Joseph, MO
13) Gireesh Rajashekara - Ohio State University, Wooster, OH
14) Manuela Rinaldi - USDA - ARS, Beltsville, MD
15) Kamesh Reddy Sirigireddy - Newport Laboratories, Worthington, MN
16) Jiuzhou Song - University of Maryland, College Park, MD
17) Matthew J. Sylte - University of Georgia, Athens, GA
18) Adel M. Talaat - University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
19) Michelle Walz - Ceva Biomune, Lenexa, KS
2 New Life Members
1) Louis Archbald - University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
2) James A. Harp - USDA-ARS-NADC, Ames, IA
2009 ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DEADLINE
Electronic Abstract submission will be required for the 2009 meeting. The Abstract deadline for the 2009 CRWAD Annual Meeting is August 25. Abstract submission instructions and information are available at AUTHOR INSTRUCTIONS.
Chicago Marriott (Downtown) Room Reservations 2009
A custom Web site has been created by the Chicago Marriott Hotel for CRWAD attendees to reserve their 2009 hotel sleeping rooms. Guests can access the site to learn more about the event and to book, modify, or cancel a sleeping room reservation.
Meeting Attendees please note:
The custom link will direct you to the Marriott property's home page and
will have the CRWAD group code already entered in the appropriate field.
Just make your sleeping room reservation by entering your arrival date
to begin the reservation process.
Please place your hotel sleeping room reservations
at the following custom site:
Chicago
Marriott (Downtown) Hotel custom
CRWAD Room Reservations Web site
If you call the hotel (Toll-Free: 1-800-228-9290) to make your sleeping room reservation make sure you indicate your affiliation with the CRWAD in order to receive the special CRWAD group rate. Place your reservation by November 11, to secure a sleeping room under the CRWAD group rate.
THANK YOU PAST PRESIDENT Dr. Dick Isaacson
LEFT PHOTO: Dr. Dick Isaacson, 2008 President, and Dr. Bob Ellis, Executive Director, review details for the Business Meeting
RIGHT PHOTO: Dr. Dick Isaacson accepts the Past President's Plaque from
in-coming 2009 President Dr. Bill Stich.
AHRR (Animal Health Research Reviews)
Dr. Carlton Gyles , Editor-in-Chief, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, presented a report on the status of Animal Health Research Reviews. AHRR is marketed by Cambridge Publishing.
"Animal Health Research Reviews provides an international forum for the publication of reviews and commentaries on all aspects of animal health. Papers include in-depth analyses and broader overviews of all facets of health and science in both domestic and wild animals."
Animal Health Research Reviews may be ordered
from Cambridge Journals:
AHRR
Subscription Order Form
CRWAD Proceedings may be ordered by contacting Dr. Robert P. Ellis