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awards & honors
achievements in professional organizations
Dr. Michael Atchison has been chosen for the University's premier teaching award, the Lindback Award.
UW-Madson stem-cell researcher and scientist James Thomson, V'88, GR'88, was elected into the National Academy of Science. The society is known to be one of the greatest honors for a scientist or engineer.
Drs. David Holt, section chief and professor of small-animal surgery; Ken Drobatz, head of the Ryan Veterinary Hospital’s Emergency Service, and Michael Moyer, V’90, director of the School’s Shelter Animal Medicine Program, were elected to the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Animal Care and Control Association. They join Barry Stupine, who serves on the Board and Executive Board and acts as treasurer.
awards
Drs. Eric Birks, assistant professor of exercise physiology; Fuju Guan, post-doctorate; Cornelius Uboh, adjunct assistant professor of pharmacy and pharmacology; and Lawrence Soma, professor of anesthesia and clinical pharmacology, received the 2006 Award of Appreciation from Harness Horseman’s International for their work on the protein-based drug erythropoetin.
Dr. Urs Giger, Charlotte Newton Sheppard Professor and chief, Section of Medical Genetics, was selected by the British Small Animal Veterinary Association to receive the 2007 Bourgelat Award. The award is the flagship award for international recognition for outstanding contributions to the field of small animal clinical practice. The award ceremony was held in April 2007 at the Annual BSAVA conference, which marked the 50th anniversary of the association.
Dr. Francis John Golder, assistant professor of anesthesiology, received the 2007 Giles F. Filley Award for Excellence in Respiratory Physiology and Medicine from the American Physiological Society.
Dr. Joan C. Hendricks, V'79, the Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of Veterinary Medicine, received the 2007 Lenore Rowe Williams Award by the Penn Professional Women's Network. The annual award is given to a distinguished female scholar or leader whose contributions extend within and beyond the University.
In April 2007, Dr. David Holt, section chief and professor of small-animal surgery, received the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, which was established at the University of Pennsylvania in 1961 with the help of the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation.
Dr. Andras Komaromy, assistant professor of ophthalmology, and Dr. Maria Viveiros, assistant professor of reproductive biology, each won a McCabe Pilot Award. The award was established in 1969 by a generous gift from Thomas B. McCabe to the School of Medicine to support junior faculty who initiate fresh and innovative biomedical and surgical research projects and who have received no or limited external research funding while in their first through third years at Penn’s School of Medicine or School of Veterinary Medicine.
Rosemary Lombardi, CVT, nursing supervisor at the Ryan Hospital's Intensive Care Unit, received the Model Supervisor Award from the University. The award presents outstanding supervisor behaviors to the campus, connects these behaviors to leadership goals, and recognizes one exemplary Penn supervisor each year.
New Bolton Center was awarded the 2006 Green Business Award by Chester County Chamber of Commerce, Chester County Commissioners and the Chester County Solid Waste Authority. NBC was recognized for overcoming unusual obstacles (700 acres and 70 buildings) and establishing a successful and economical waste reduction and recycling program in one year. During this time, NBC recycled 8.9 tons of paper, 17.6 tons of cardboard, 4.5 tons of co-mingled glass bottles and cans, 5.7 tons of wood skids (made into mulch), 277 toner cartridges, 50 cell phones and 300 pounds of batteries. It also reduced available space for trash from 232 yards a week to 77, reducing total dumpsters on campus from 45 to 16.
Dr. Cindy Otto, associate professor of critical care, was given an Ohio State University Alumni Recognition award in September 2006. In addition, she received the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Research Award for research conducted on canine parvoviral enteritis.
Dr. Alexander M. Reiter, assistant professor of dentistry and oral surgery, received the AVDS-Hill’s Research and Education Award (given by the American Veterinary Dental Society and Hill’s Pet Nutrition). In November 2006 Dr. Reiter gave lectures in dentistry and oral surgery at the Third Congresso do Centro-Oeste de Clinicos Veterinarios de Pequenos Animais in Brazil. He gave lectures in periodontal surgery organized by the Associação Nacional de Clínicos Veterinários de Pequenos Animais, held in Brazil in November as well.
grants
The Board of Trustees of the Morris Animal Foundation announced it will give the Barbaro Memorial Health Study title to the ongoing pain study in horses, “Continuous Perineural Block: A New Technique for Pain Relief in the Distal Equine Forelimb.” Collaborators on the first part of this two-year study are Drs. Bernd Driessen; Laura Zarucco, visiting professor of surgery; Massimiliano Scandella; Francesca Cozzi; and James Orsini, associate professor of surgery.
Dr. Nicola Mason, assistant professor of medicine, received a grant to study the use of RNA-loaded CD40-activated B cells as a vaccine for the treatment of canine malignant melanoma.
Dr. Cindy Otto, associate professor of critical care, received a grant from the Kindy French Foundation for funding of an international Web-based small-animal sepsis registry and one from the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation for her work in extended surveillance of the health of the 9/11 rescue dogs.
In February 2007 Dr. Billy Smith, assistant professor of field service, received a grant from the USDA Formula Funds to study “Evaluation of the Risk of Transmitting Mycoplasma spp. strains between Dairy Replacement Heifers through Commingling at a Heifer Rearing Operation.”
presentations
Dr. Ina Dobrinski, Marion Dilly and David George Jones Chair in Animal Reproduction; associate professor of large animal reproduction; and director, Center for Animal Transgenesis and Germ Cell Research, spoke on transplantation of germ cells and testis tissue to study mammalian spermatogenesis at the Tenth International Symposium on Spermatology in Spain; the International Symposium on Animal Biology of Reproduction in Brazil; the Tuskegee University College of Agriculture and Animal Science; and the 16th Lake Shirakaba Conference at St. George’s University in Grenada.
Dr. Bernd Driessen, associate professor of anesthesia; director, Anesthesia Residency Program; and service chief, Large Animal Anesthesia, was invited by the University of Turin to present on “Current Concepts of Effective Pain Assessment and Management” in December 2006. Dr. Driessen also was invited to present at the University of Milan’s School of Veterinary Medicine on “Structural and Organizational Requirements for Successful Operation of a Large Animal Teaching Hospital in the Academic Setting” in March 2007.
Dr. Mark Haskins, V’69, professor of pathology and medical genetics, presented at the 9th International Symposium on Mucopolysaccharide and Related Diseases in Italy on “Animal Models for Lysosomal Storage Diseases.” He also organized for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Translational and Clinical Progress in the Mucopolysaccharidoses held in March 2007 in Washington, D.C.
Drs. Dan Morris, chief, Section of Dermatology/Allergy and associate professor of dermatology; Brian S. Palmeiro, V’05, house officer, Section of Dermatology; Elizabeth A. Mauldin, assistant professor of dermatology and anatomic pathology; Rosario Cerundolo, specialist in veterinary dermatology and associate professor of veterinary dermatology; Jill L. Abraham, V’03, house officer, Section of Dermatology; Gregory C. Griffeth, house officer, Section of Dermatology; and Shelley C. Rankin, assistant professor of microbiology, presented papers at the North American Veterinary Dermatology Forum in Hawaii in April 2007. Drs. Abraham and Palmeiro tied for first place in the resident research competition for basic science projects.
Dr. Adrian Morrison, professor emeritus of behavioral neuroscience, delivered the keynote lecture at a meeting of the Scientists Center for Animal Welfare at Cornell University. The lecture was titled “Thinking about Animals: A Personal Odyssey.”
Dr. Cindy Otto, associate professor of critical care, spoke at the International Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Symposium in Texas in September 2006. In October 2006 she spoke at the Dorothy Russell Havemeyer Foundation–sponsored workshop on ALI and ARDS in veterinary medicine in Italy, and in March 2007 she gave the keynote address at the American Pre-Veterinary Medical Association National Symposium in Pennsylvania.
Dr. Mark A. Oyama, assistant professor of cardiology, gave talks at the Twenty-Fourth Annual Congress of the Madrid Small Animal Veterinary Association Meeting in Spain in February 2007. Drs. Oyama, Meg Sleeper, V’93, section chief and assistant professor of cardiology; and Steven Cole, cardiology resident, were awarded a Cavalier Health Foundation grant for “Three-Dimensional Echocardiographic Reconstruction of Mitral Valve Leaflet and Mitral Annular Geometry in Healthy Dogs and Dogs with Mitral Valve Degeneration.”
Dr. Billy Smith, assistant professor of field service, presented two talks at the AVMA meeting in Hawaii: “Developing Dairy Consultation in Private Practice” and “Marketing Dairy Consultation in Private Practice.”
In October 2006 Dr. Gail K. Smith, V’74, professor of orthopaedic surgery and director of PennHIP®, was guest speaker at the Fourth International Symposium on Rehabilitation Medicine and Physical Therapy in Holland.
Dr. Gary Smith, professor of population biology and epidemiology, was guest speaker at a Med Vet Net/US Food Safety Research Consortium conference in Germany. His talk was “Mathematical Models of the Population Dynamics of Food-Borne and Zoonotic Pathogens.” He also was keynote speaker at the PREISM annual Workshop on Invasive Species Management (Economic Research Service, Washington). His talk was titled “The Successes and Shortcomings of Current Invasive Species and Foreign Animal Disease Programs in the USA.”
Dr. Charles Vite, assistant professor of neurology, spoke at the European Society of Veterinary Neurology in Spain in October 2006. He was the keynote speaker and gave two talks: “Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Evaluation of Brain Pathology in the Dog and Cat” and “Gene Therapy for Inherited Neurological Diseases of the Dog and Cat.” He also gave a talk at the NIH–sponsored meeting “Toward Clinical Progress in the Mucopolysaccharidoses” in Washington, D.C. in March 2007: “MRI of Brain Pathology and Its Therapy.”
promotions
Dr. Gary Althouse to chair of New Bolton Center’s Department of Clinical Studies.
Dr. Sue McDonnell to adjunct professor of reproduction.
Dr. Laurie Sorrell-Raschi to service head of anesthesia.
Dr. Alexander M. Reiter to head of Ryan Hospital’s Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service.
miscellaneous
The Havemeyer Equine Behavior Lab at New Bolton Center is celebrating its twentieth year of continuous support from the Dorothy Russell Havemeyer Foundation for the study of physiology and behavior of horses. The Foundation has supported veterinary and pre-veterinary student summer research, the semi-feral herd pony and associated research, other research projects, facilities projects and equipment, and focused international workshops on stallion physiology and behavior as well as on horse behavior and welfare.
In 2006 Springer published Neural Crest Induction and Differentiation, which was edited by Dr. Jean-Pierre Saint-Jeannet, associate professor of developmental biology. The book is part of the series “Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology” (vol. 589).
Dr. Gail K. Smith, V’74, professor of orthopaedic surgery and director of PennHIP®, and his laboratory are involved in collaborative research with veterinary radiologists in Australia and Belgium. Their research compares different diagnostic hip-scoring criteria used in the U.S., Europe and Australia. In addition, Dr. Smith is initiating research that examines the efficacy of many orthopaedic surgical techniques commonly in practice but not adequately scrutinized scientifically. A few techniques under investigation are the tibial plateau leveling osteotomy and the distal femoral osteotomy.
If you have submissions for Awards & Honors, please e-mail them to Susan Finkelstein, assistant director of public relations, at susanf2@vet.upenn.edu.