On Sunday, March 21, the OSU Pre-Veterinary Medicine Association (PVMA) and OSU CVM Shelter Medicine Club (SMC) will be collaborating for the first time to put on a Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon clinic at the Benton County Fairgrounds in Corvallis. The Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon is a trap-neuter-return program for feral and stray cats living in Oregon. Local caregivers who feed the feral cats trap them, bring them to the clinic and return the cats to where they are being fed with a commitment to feed the cats on a permanent basis. In addition, each cat receives a distemper and rabies vaccine, is flea combed and sprayed, treated for ear mites and other minor medical conditions, and has his or her ear tipped for future identification.
Recently, a need has surfaced for a group to commit to hosting these clinics throughout the year, and the PVMA and SMC jumped at the opportunity. Both organizations have been working enthusiastically to raise the nearly $700 required to pay for an individual clinic. Money raised goes toward paying for a venue and in assisting in supplying the mobile clinic provided by the FCCO. Each clinic requires numerous man-hours in preparation: organizing caregivers, volunteers, technicians and veterinarians. Clinics run from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and will continue to be held throughout the year. The next clinic will take place on Sunday, May 16th.
Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon clinic to be held this weekend
March 15th, 2010OSU SCAVMA’s 2nd Annual Ride the Heart of the Valley Bike Ride
March 15th, 2010
Event logo drawn by Sarah Tauber, class of 2012.
The second annual Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association’s (SCAVMA) Ride the Heart of the Valley bike ride charity fundraiser will be held April 24. It will start and end at the College of Veterinary Medicine and will again boast 12 mile and 30 mile bike routes. In addition to cycling, this year’s event will also have a “Walk a Hound, Lose a Pound” family fun walk, which is a One Health Challenge of obesity awareness walk. This year’s charity recipients are the Benton County Health Center, which helps provide health care for low income families, and the Olive K. Britt Endowment for Emergency Animal Care, which provides medical care for pets of low income families. Bring your friends, family, dogs and bicycles and ride and walk in support of these charities.
The event, which is open to everyone in the community, is followed by a celebration that includes food and music. Participants in the ride are asked to raise a minimum of $30 to support the charities. There will be prizes for the participant(s) who raises the most money. To participate in the walk, a $15 (plus $5 for each additional family member) donation will get you and your family involved in this great community event, including the ride after-party with delicious local food and music. People who don’t want to walk or riding but are interested in supporting the cause can attend the party after the ride for a small $15 donation.
The goal this year is to increase awareness of the event and gain more participants for the ride. For more information on the event, email SCAVMAEvents@oregonstate.edu. You can get registration forms here and bike routes. If you want to pay with a credit card, you can do so by registering via www.Active.com.
This festive event was very successful last year, and again will be a great way for the community to come together to enjoy good company, good food, and fun music and its all for a good cause in supporting the people and pets within our community.
Count down to Pet Day-May 1, 2010
March 15th, 2010
A Pet Day logo design has been chosen by a vote of the faculty, staff and students! Thank you to everyone who submitted the wonderful designs, it was a difficult choice.
Pet Day organizers invite members of the faculty and staff to volunteer to give presentations or demonstrations during Pet Day. Any topics related to the field of veterinary medicine or the human-animal bond are welcome and should be adapted for presentation to the general public. Contact the Pet Day co-chairs at petdaycochairs@gmail.com if you are available to share your expertise with the community. Booth space needs to be reserved and presentations scheduled so please confirm your participation as soon as possible. The forms for reservations are on the CVM website.
Reservations for booth space closes at the end of the week so student organizations or faculty members wanting a booth should turn their form in to the Dean’s Office by March 19 at the latest.
Research Grants and Awards
March 15th, 2010Dr. Jennifer Warnock has been awarded a grant from Medical Research Foundation of Oregon for $30,000 for her proposal “Growth Factor Treatment of Tensioned Synovial Constructs for Mensical Tissue Engineering.”
Dr. Jean Hall received a grant for $12,5000 from the Agricultural Research Foundation Board of Directors for her proposal, “Inorganic selenium in salt-mineral mixes may be greatly degraded by moisture. Should we reconsider its use as a selenium source for beef cattle and sheep during wet weather months in Oregon?”
Dr. Mahfuzur Sarker has been awarded $12,500 from the Agricultural Research Foundation Board of Directors for his proposal “Inhibitory effects of potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate against Clostridium perfringens growth in meat products.”
Research Profile-Dr. Patrick Chappell
March 15th, 2010
Dr. Patrick Chappell
Dr. Patrick Chappell is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine. From 2006 until 2009, he was a research assistant professor in the Department of Zoology at OSU. He received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. and his Ph.D. in neuroscience from the Northwestern University Institute for Neuroscience in Chicago, Ill. He completed his dissertation work on the role of hypothalamic progesterone receptors in the generation of preovulatory surges in female rodents. Dr. Chappell performed his postdoctoral work in the Department of Reproductive Medicine at the University of California in San Diego, California where he received a National Research Service Award and Mentored Career Fellowship from the National Institutes of Health.
GnRH (green) co-localized with the circadian clock protein BMAL1 (red) in a coronal slice of mouse hypothalamus.
Dr. Chappell’s laboratory predominantly investigates the role of endogenous intracellular circadian clocks in the neuroendocrine regulation of reproduction in mammals. Using a combination of molecular biological and physiological techniques, they are exploring how oscillatory gene expression patterns in hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons modulate secretion of this neuropeptide, which is crucial for gamete production, steroid hormone production, and ovulation in females. GnRH stimulates the anterior pituitary to secrete the gonadotropins, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which are required for gametogenesis and steroidogenesis in the testes and ovaries. GnRH release patterns vary from episodic pulses that occur every 30-60 minutes to dramatic surges that initiate ovulation in females. Interestingly, ovarian estrogen acts as both a negative feedback inhibitor of GnRH release during the early follicular and luteal phases and a positive feedback stimulation of GnRH release just prior to ovulation. They are exploring how this steroid hormone may perform this dual role by interacting with endogenous transcriptional oscillators within GnRH neurons and within other hypothalamic neuronal populations. The lab utilizes several models of molecular circadian clock disruption, and is determining the necessity of cell-specific clocks using multiple transgenic mouse lines. Additionally, they have created several sub-cloned immortalized cultured GnRH-secreting neuronal cell lines in which they can monitor clock oscillations concomitantly with peptide secretion, and in which they can reversibly disrupt clock function. Specific projects available include examining the effects of estrogen feedback on GnRH neuronal gene expression patterns, activity, and secretion, using both in vitro cell culture and in vivo mouse models. These studies will provide insight into broad mechanisms of endocrine neurosecretion, and advance circadian biology by exploring how transcriptional oscillations can control synchronous multi-cellular events to regulate numerous biological processes and even orchestrate complex behaviors. Potential applications of this research include new directions in treating a range of reproductive physiological disorders that result from malfunction of hypothalamic neurosecretion, including polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and primary ideopathic hypogonadism, both of which are associated with atypical hormone release patterns.
The Chappell lab has also opened a new line of investigation into the role of clock gene expression patterns in the initiation and progression of hormone-responsive reproductive cancers, such as prostate and breast cancer. A recent publication from their group demonstrated that healthy murine prostate epithelial cells exhibit robust oscillations of circadian clock genes, and they have recently determined that cancerous cells lack these rhythms. The lab is exploring the possibility that clock dysregulation may represent one etiology of cancer in these cells, particularly in the transition to a hormone-refractory state, and is investigating physical interactions between circadian clock components, the androgen receptor, and modulators of chromatin remodeling. This research could provide insight into novel chronotherapeutic treatments of reproductive cancers, by determining how endogenous clocks interact with cell cycle regulators and steroid hormone receptors, and how these inherent timing mechanisms may be involved in determining whether prostate epithelial cells progress toward either apoptosis or proliferation. His lab utilizes methodologies ranging from real-time quantitative RT-PCR, transient transfection of cultured cells, evaluation of xenografted tumors in mice, and monitoring gene expression and protein abundance changes in cells using fluorescence microscopy and luminometry.
GnRH secretion profile of perifused GT1-7 cells.
Immortalized GnRH-secreting GT1-7 cells.
Oregon Veterinary Conference
March 2nd, 2010
The 9th Annual Oregon Veterinary Conference (OVC) gets underway at the CH2M HILL Alumni Center and LaSells Stewart Center Friday March 5 and runs through the weekend. The OVC is a cooperative effort of the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA) and Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine with the goal of providing meaningful continuing education to veterinarians, practice managers, technicians, assistants, and staff.
Several CVM faculty are speakers at the conference. Drs. Wendy Baltzer, Helio de Morais, and David Sisson cover companion animal topics; Drs. Chris Cebra, John Schlipf, and Katja Zellmer cover equine topics; and Dr. Aurora Villarroel covers food animal topics. Events during the conference include a vendor fair and reception Friday evening; OVMA Awards and Oregon Animal Hall of Fame Luncheon, OSU CVM equine treadmill demonstration at Magruder Hall, and the Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association (SCAVMA) Dinner on Saturday.
The alumni class of 2000 is using the OVC as their 10 year class reunion headquarters. They will have a reception at the CH2M HILL Alumni Center Friday night, followed by a dinner at El Presidente’s. Dr. Jani Remsburg is coordinator of the reunion.
Students and faculty are encouraged to participate as their schedule allows. Registration (fee is waived) is required to facilitate seating and catering. For detailed information on the OVC program and events, go to the OVMA website.
