The AVMA will acknowledge 11 remarkable individuals for contributions to animal welfare, public health, research, global health, and teaching during the President's Installation Luncheon today.
Dr. James O. Cook, 2008-2009 AVMA president, also will install his successor, Dr. Larry R. Corry of Buford, Ga., during the luncheon. Hill's Pet Nutrition is sponsoring the event at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel.
First on the program, Dr. Cook will bestow awards. Following are biographical sketches of the recipients. The Sept. 1 issue of JAVMA News will feature more career highlights of these individuals and of the four veterinarians who received awards during the AVMA Opening Session.
Dr. Kathryn A.L. Bayne Dr. Kathryn A.L. Bayne (WSU '87) is receiving the AVMA Animal Welfare Award.
Dr. Bayne is global director for the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International. She directs AAALAC International's global accreditation program and travels extensively in the Pacific Rim to advance the welfare of laboratory animals. Previously, she worked at the National Institutes of Health leading research on the psychological well-being of nonhuman primates and environmental enrichment for primates, dogs, cats, and swine.
Among many leadership roles, Dr. Bayne was president of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine and the Association of Primate Veterinarians. She has served on the board of the American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners and as chair of the AVMA Animal Welfare Committee. She is vice chair of the International Association of Colleges of Laboratory Animal Medicine and the U.S. representative to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) ad hoc committee on laboratory animal welfare.
Dr. John Gilbert Miller Dr. John Gilbert Miller (OSU '71) is the recipient of the Charles River Prize for contributions to the field of laboratory animal medicine and science. He is an expert and leader in the humane care and use of animals in research, testing, and education. He also was instrumental in founding the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs to help protect human research participants.
Dr. Miller was the first director of the NIH Office for Protection from Research Risks—now the NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare—where he led the efforts of the U.S. Public Health Service to ensure consistency between USPHS policy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's regulations on animal welfare.
After 26 years with the Army and USPHS, Dr. Miller retired from government service to lead AAALAC International for 12 years, expanding AAALAC's accreditation program to more than 30 countries. He currently works as a consultant.
Cynthia L. Bathurst, PhD Cynthia L. Bathurst, PhD, is receiving the AVMA Humane Award for humane efforts on behalf of animals and exceptional compassion for animal welfare.
Dr. Bathurst is the co-founder and principal director of Safe Humane Chicago, which seeks to reduce violence by promoting compassion for both animals and people. The group educates the public about humane animal treatment, safety around animals, and responsible pet ownership. In 2008, Dr. Bathurst joined the Best Friends Animal Society as director of a national project to take the Safe Humane model to other cities.
Dr. Bathurst also established the Dog Advisory Work Group as a committee of a neighborhood association and later co-founded it as an independent nonprofit agency to help improve co-existence between dogs and humans. Within DAWG, she started a county-wide program that advocates for animals in court cases involving animal abuse. Safe Humane Chicago also evolved out of DAWG.
Dr. Charles O. Thoen Dr. Charles O. Thoen (MIN '61) is the recipient of the Karl F. Meyer-James H. Steele Gold Head Cane Award for advancing human health through veterinary epidemiology and public health.
Dr. Thoen headed the Mycobacteria and Brucella Section of the USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratories, which provided laboratory support for national tuberculosis and brucellosis eradication programs. He has served for more than 30 years as a professor of veterinary microbiology and preventive medicine at Iowa State University.
An expert on tuberculosis in animals, Dr. Thoen has chaired relevant committees for the International Union Against Tuberculosis and the World Health Organization. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications on mycobacteria and mycobacterial diseases, numerous chapters for textbooks on infectious disease, and two textbooks in use throughout the world to teach public health and medical microbiology. He is an associate editor of the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease.
Dr. Anthony Simon Turner Dr. Anthony Simon Turner (MEL '72) is receiving the Lifetime Excellence in Research Award for achievement in veterinary research.
Dr. Turner established a laboratory for comparative orthopedic research at Colorado State University, where he has served on the faculty of the veterinary college since 1977. His research began with characterization of the aged, ovariectomized ewe as an animal model for postmenopausal conditions (such as osteoporosis, heart disease, and arthritis) in women. He has studied new therapies for osteoporosis, including selective estrogen-receptor modulators. His research with sheep also has included studies of bone implants and other implants.
A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, Dr. Turner spent much of his career performing surgery on horses and has co-authored three textbooks in that field. He serves on the review board of Veterinary Comparative Orthopedics and Traumatology and is a consultant editor for Veterinary Clinics of North America: Equine Practice.
Dr. William D. Liska Dr. William D. Liska (ISU '73) is the recipient of the AVMA Practitioner Research Award for accomplishments in veterinary research by a practicing veterinarian.
Dr. Liska is an expert in joint replacement surgery—specifically canine total hip replacement, hip replacement in small dogs and cats, and canine total knee replacement. He has published numerous findings relevant to hip replacement and maintains the largest ongoing database of veterinary patients that have received hip replacements.
Dr. Liska was instrumental in development of the BioMedtrix Canine Total Knee Replacement System. He supervised development of the first commercial multiple-size knee implant as well as associated surgical instrumentation, surgical technique, and surgeon training workshops. He also performed and reported on the first custom canine total knee replacement.
Dr. Liska has been in practice in Houston for more than three decades and is one of the founders of Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists.
Dr. Robert L. Rausch Dr. Robert L. Rausch (OSU '45) is receiving the AVMA Public Service Award for outstanding contributions to public health and regulatory veterinary medicine.
Dr. Rausch has devoted his career to the investigation of zoonoses, especially in Alaska and elsewhere in the arctic and subarctic. While veterinary director of the U.S. Public Health Service in Alaska, he headed a zoonoses program for many years. Dr. Rausch taught veterinary microbiology at the University of Saskatchewan for a time before joining the faculty of the University of Washington, where he has been a professor in the School of Public Health Department of Pathobiology and the School of Medicine Department of Comparative Medicine. He received an emeritus appointment in 1992.
Dr. Rausch has worked with the people in Alaska to learn about the natural environment and concepts of disease transmission in northern areas. He also has undertaken field investigations in Siberia, Japan, China, and South America.
Dr. Scott A. Brown Dr. Scott A. Brown (UP '82) is the recipient of the Royal Canin Award for a veterinarian whose work in either clinical research or basic sciences, within the preceding five years, has contributed to the advancement of small animal medicine or surgery.
Dr. Brown is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and earned his PhD in renal pathophysiology from the University of Georgia. He is an expert in nephrology and systemic hypertension, having authored more than 150 research articles and book chapters on relevant topics.
At the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Brown currently is the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Professor and head of the Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery. He has been on the college faculty for 20 years and has served as an associate dean.
Dr. Karen Marie Becker Dr. Karen Marie Becker (IL '87) is receiving the XII International Veterinary Congress Prize for contributions to international understanding of veterinary medicine.
In 1998, Dr. Becker joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Epidemic Intelligence Service, serving in North Carolina. She went to Washington, D.C., through a CDC Preventive Medicine Fellowship to focus on international policy, and she assisted in the control of foot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom.
Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Dr. Becker became the senior health advisor to the new assistant secretary of public health emergency preparedness. She worked on preparedness for and response to anthrax and other bioterrorism threats, severe acute respiratory syndrome, monkeypox, influenza, and FMD. She also served on various international working groups.
For the past three years Dr. Becker has been the senior animal health advisor for the Africa Bureau of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Dr. Cynthia R. Ward Dr. Cynthia R. Ward (UP '87) is the recipient of the 2009 Student AVMA Teaching Excellence Award—Basic Sciences for excellence, innovation, and enthusiasm in the field of basic veterinary science and education.
A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Dr. Ward was a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine for several years and is currently an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. Ward has an active research interest in small animal endocrinology, concentrating on hyperthyroid disease in cats. She is now working on a project, with funds from the NIH, to develop new methods for teaching biology to high school students.
Dr. Colby G. Burns Dr. Colby G. Burns (FL '06) is receiving the Student AVMA Teaching Excellence Award—Clinical Sciences. Dr. Burns is currently a second-year resident in small animal surgery in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. Burns' clinical interests include surgical oncology, wound management, and minimally invasive surgery. After completing her surgical residency, she intends to pursue a fellowship in surgical oncology.
