Vet Gazette

Treven Tryon helps a visiting family learn to do canine CPR.

The College of Veterinary Medicine joined the rest of campus in providing hands-on activities to families visiting for Juntos ( “together” in Spanish) Family Day last weekend.

The fun-filled day is part of a larger program at OSU that works to empower families through knowledge, skills, and resources, with a goal of encouraging their kids to attend college.

Moms, Dads, big and little kids, had opportunities to try CPR on a dog dummy, stitch up a split banana with surgery tools, and take a tour of the anatomy lab where they tried to identify skeletons. Student and faculty volunteers were on hand to help.

The large animal hospital is evaluating the efficacy of vitamin E and selenium supplementation (or lack thereof) on blood concentrations of these substances in horses in the Pacific Northwest, while concurrently accumulating information about supplementation practices from owners and veterinarians by means of a survey tool. Both horse owners and veterinarians are encouraged to participate. Costs of testing will be covered in the trial with results provided to participants.

Contact: Dr. Erica McKenzie at 541 737 4809 or erica.mckenzie@oregonstate.edu

Dr. Jean Hall, professor of physiology, has been awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM). “It is a huge surprise, and a humbling experience,” says Dr. Hall.

Dr. Hall has been at OSU for 27 years. In 1997, she volunteered for the ACVIM Forum Program committee, and ended up chairing that committee for many years. She later served a 5-year term on the executive board of ACVIM, starting as Vice-President, and ascending to Chairman of the Board of Regents. “During this time transformational leadership was needed to elevate our central organization to a new plateau of management,” she says. “We relocated our servers from Canada to the US, settled some lawsuits, and replaced the entire management team in the central office at the recommendation of an outside consulting agency.”

Dr. Hall has also been involved in veterinary leadership at the state level, serving on the OVMA Board of Directors for eight years, before being elected President in 2015. She is currently serving as Immediate Past President of the OVMA, with goals of diversifying the revenue stream, forming a mentoring group of volunteers for veterinarians and students, and starting college-funded, summer externships for students to connect with practices in the more rural regions of Oregon.

Dr. Brian Dolan, assistant professor of immunology, recently received a five-year. $1.8 million grant from the NIH to explore the cellular biology of antigen presentation.

“It is the process by which the cells of the body alert the adaptive immune system to the presence of viral infections or oncogenic transformations,” says Dolan.  “By discovering the fundamental details governing antigen presentation, we hope to enhance immunotherapies that rely on T-cells to eliminate infected or transformed cells.”

As part of the College of Veterinary Medicine’s wellness program, counselor Alex Rowell has been providing students, staff and faculty with weekly email tips, and periodic presentations on staying physically and mentally well. He compiled the following apps; they are great resources for managing stress:

• Breathe2Relax: A portable stress management tool which provides detailed information on the effects of stress on the body, and instructions and practice exercises to help users learn the stress management skill called diaphragmatic breathing.
• Fluid Monkey – Relax as you enjoy interacting with incredibly smooth and responsive pools of liquid. Use all ten fingers to smear paint, jiggle gelatin, or fling brightly-colored balls through puddles of mud.
• iQuarium – Chill out while watching your Parrot Cichlid fish swimming in its tank; feed it, play with it, interact with it.
• Panic Attack Aid – Contains tools for breathing, explanation of physical symptoms, and distraction exercises.
• Relax Melodies – White noise ambience for sleep, meditation & yoga.
• Simply Being Guided Meditation – Voice guided step-by-step instructions for meditation and relaxation.
• Daily Body Scan – A stand-alone, iPod-ready, audio track featuring expert contributor Stephen Cope from Wild Divine, the makers of Relaxing Rhythms.
• Equanimity – Provides mindfulness practice sessions.
• Simply Yoga – Contains 20, 40, or 60 minute yoga routines that step you through each pose. Each pose is demonstrated by a certified personal trainer, simply choose your workout length and follow along in the comfort of your own home