Applications for College-based scholarships will be distributed electronically to all students by January 15. The completion date is March 1. Students are encouraged to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by the end of January to be considered for need-based aid and loans. Scholarships and awards will be announced at the College Award Ceremony on June 9, 2010. A list of College scholarships can be found on the website: http://oregonstate.edu/vetmed/students/current/scholarships.
In Memoriam: Dr. Steven Gross
January 12th, 2010
Alumnus Dr. Steven Gross, class of 1997, has died from injuries sustained in a car accident on Dec. 10, 2009. Dr. Gross had been practicing veterinary medicine in Evanston, Wyo. at the Bear River Veterinary Clinic.
Dr. Steven Gross near his home in Wyoming.
Improved veterinary care in Uganda
January 12th, 2010
Class of 1988 alumna Dr. Val Sheen has been practicing veterinary medicine in Uganda for the past seventeen years. Making a difference in small, poor communities is her forte, and she’s made vast improvements in the lives of many people and animals during her time in Africa.
Dr. Val Sheen in Uganda.
Research Profile- Dr. Erica McKenzie
January 12th, 2010
Dr. Erica McKenzie received her veterinary degree from Murdoch University in Western Australia in 1996. She completed a residency and Ph.D. in Large Animal Internal Medicine at the University of Minnesota in 2003, focusing on nutritional and pharmacological methods of managing muscle disease in Thoroughbred horses. She then completed a 2-year post-doctoral fellowship in the Equine Athletic Performance Laboratory at Oklahoma State University where she was involved in studying the respiratory and musculoskeletal systems of exercising horses and Alaskan sled dogs. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at Oregon State University where she practices Large Animal Medicine, teaches students, and pursues research projects involving horses, alpacas and racing Alaskan sled dogs.
Dr. McKenzie is currently focusing on the problem of anesthetic myopathy in horses, and the potential of the muscle relaxant dantrolene sodium as a preventative agent for this condition. Anesthetic myopathy is a serious complication of general anesthesia in horses and the resultant muscle and/or nerve damage can cause severe lameness. This multifaceted and collaborative project is funded by the ACVIM Foundation and the American Quarter Horse Association. Using clinical cases treated at the colleges of veterinary medicine at Oregon State University, Oklahoma State University, the University of Missouri, and the University of Minnesota, Dr. McKenzie is identifying how often this disease occurs and its predisposing or causative factors, including the potential role of two genetic mutations recently identified in Quarter Horses.
Anesthetic myopathy on right side of this horse's rump
Recent studies have explored the effectiveness of using dantrolene sodium for the prevention of anesthetic myopathy in healthy Quarter Horses, and the impact of feeding and fasting on the absorption of orally administered dantrolene. The latter project involved two summer research scholars in the class of 2011, Ragan Garrett and Jocelyn Riehl. A trial evaluating the effect of dantrolene on cardiac output and anesthetic recovery quality in horses is planned for 2010, involving collaborators Drs. Ron Mandsager, Stefano DiConcetto and Matevz Arko. Dr. Arko is a visiting Fulbright scholar.
In addition to her work on anesthetic myopathy, Dr. McKenzie is evaluating the use of colloids in alpacas, in research funded by the Morris Animal Foundation in conjunction with the Northwest Camelid Foundation.
Research Grants and Awards
January 12th, 2010Dr. Stuart Helfand has received a grant for $69,116 from the Morris Animal Foundation for his proposal “MAF TK in Canine Hemangiosarcoma.”
Dr. Michelle Steinauer has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Oregon State University General Research Fund. It will fund the collection of preliminary data to support the proposal “Pathogen Adaptation to Novel Hosts through Introgressive Hybridization” that was submitted to the NIH.
Research Publications
January 12th, 2010Inhibition of HSV-1 ocular infection with morpholino oligomers targeting ICP0 and ICP27. Megan Moerdyk-Schauwecker, David A. Stein, Kathleen Eide, Robert E. Blouch, Rob Bildfell, Pat Iverson, and Ling Jin. On-line in Antiviral Research Sept 5 2009.
Characterization of Cervidpoxvirus isolates from Oregon, California, and eastern Canada. Megan Moerdyk-Schauwecker, Kathleen Eide, Robert Bildfell, Rocky J. Baker, Wendy Black, Daniel Graham, Kim Thompson, Graham Crawshaw, George F. Rohrmann, Ling Jin. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation 2009; 21:487-492.
Malignant round cell neoplasia in llamas and alpacas. JM Martin, BA Valentine, CK Cebra, RJ Bildfell, CV Lohr, KA Fischer. Veterinary Pathology 2009; 46:288-298.
Molecular evidence that the range of the Vancouver Island outbreak of Cryptococcus gattii has expanded into the Pacific Northwest in the United States. Edmond J. Byrnes III, Robert Bildfell, Sheryl A. Frank, Thomas G. Mitchell, Kieren Marr and Joseph Heitman. Journal of Infectious Disease 2009; 199:1081-1086.
- This multi-institutional study is part of an effort to better define the distribution and genetic features of an unusual fungus in the Pacific Northwest. This pathogen can infect people and a wide variety of animals.
Prevalence of Baylisascaris procyonis in Portland, Oregon raccoons. J Yeitz, RJ Bildfell, CM Gillin, E DeBess. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 2009; 45:14-18.
- This survey quantified the level of roundworm infection in raccoons in the metropolitan Portland area. This nematode parasite has public health significance as a potential cause of ocular and central nervous system disease.
Cryptococcus gattii with bimorphic colony types in a dog in Western Oregon: additional ¬evidence for expansion of the Vancouver Island outbreak. Edmond J. Byrnes III, Robert J. Bildfell, Peggy L. Dearing, Beth A.Valentine, and Joseph Heitman. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation 2009; 21:133-136.
Effects of Chlorophyll and Chlorophyllin on Low-Dose Aflatoxin B1 Pharmacokinetics in Human Volunteers Carole Jubert, John Mata, Graham Bench, Roderick Dashwood, Cliff Pereira, William Tracewell, Kenneth Turteltaub, David Williams, and George Bailey Cancer Prev Res 2009;2 1015-1022 Abstract
Microbiomic Comparison of the Intestine of the Earthworm Eisenia fetida Fed Ergovaline. Rattray RM, S Perumbakkam, F Smith F, AM Craig. (2009) Current Microbiology. Nov 19.
- The anaerobic gut of the earthworm, Eisenia fetida was investigated as a possible source for potential microorganisms that can degrade ergovaline. This study’s results indicate there are few differences in the microbial populations of earthworm gut microbes in ergovaline containing vs. ergovaline free treatments.
