CRWAD dedicated to Winter

Five hundred people attended the 84th annual meeting of the Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases, Nov. 9-11, 2003, in Chicago. This latest meeting was dedicated to Dr. Alexander J. Winter.

During his more than 35 years in academia, Dr. Winter has made many contributions to veterinary medicine in the areas of research, teaching, and service. Dr. Winter received his DVM degree from the University of Illinois in 1955. He later earned a PhD degree at the University of Wisconsin, where his studies involved defense mechanisms in the uterus. This set the tone for his research on immunity to infections of the bovine reproductive tract, for the rest of his career.

Dr. Winter began his academic career in 1959 as an assistant professor of veterinary science at Pennsylvania State University. After his promotion to associate professor, he moved to the Cornell University New York State College of Veterinary Medicine in 1963 as associate professor of microbiology. Dr. Winter was named a full professor in 1966. Colleagues and administrators at Cornell appointed him James Law Professor of Microbiology in 1992.

Initially, Dr. Winter's research focused on innate defenses of the uterus, including the roles of leukocytes and hormonal changes. Over the next 20 years, his laboratory did leading research on mechanisms of immunity and virulence factors important for this reproductive tract pathogen, now known as Campylobacter fetus.

In the early 1980s, their research shifted to host-pathogen interactions in bovine genital mycoplasmosis and brucellosis, later focusing in on brucellosis exclusively. Dr. Winter then became recognized as an international authority on mechanisms of protective immunity in brucellosis.

In addition to his notable achievements, Dr. Winter is known for his mentoring of graduate students. When he retired in 1995, his trainees honored him with a weekend symposium where they presented their ongoing research as a tribute. Later that year, Dr. Winter's trainees and their trainees presented papers at the CRWAD in a session dedicated to him. He was also a founding diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists.

Life membership was awarded to Drs. Gerald M. Buening, Columbia, Mo.; Harley W. Moon, Nevada, Iowa; Joachim F.L. Pohlenz, Hannover, Germany; William J. Tietz Jr., Bozeman, Mont.; and William C. Wagner, Ashtabula, Ohio.

The American Association of Veterinary Immunologists presented its Distinguished Veterinary Immunologist Award to Dr. Chris J. Howard, Compton, United Kingdom.

In 1971, Dr. Howard joined the Institute for Animal Health, the largest research institute in the U.K. dedicated to the study of infectious diseases in farm animals. His early research focussed on the pathogenesis and immunology of respiratory tract disease and bovine viral diarrhea virus in calves. This work yielded insight into the cause and pathogenesis of these diseases, and contributed to the development of two vaccines.

In the early 1980s, Dr. Howard was instrumental in establishing a new research program on bovine immunology, aimed at exploiting the then recently developed monoclonal antibody technology to define the cells of the immune system. This approach, coupled with subsequent adoption of molecular cloning technologies, resulted in a research program that has played a key role in underpinning other research projects within the Institute for Animal Health, on the immunology of cattle diseases.

Recently, Dr. Howard has been awarded two large grants from the British government for studies of the pathogenesis and immunology of bovine tuberculosis, which has reemerged as an important problem in the U.K. during the past 10 years.

Winners of the 2003 CRWAD Graduate Student Abstract Presentation Awards were also honored during the meeting.

Recipients of the AAVI student awards are as follows: Oral, first place: A. Paige Adams, Cornell University, for "Interspecies matings: Lack of T cell modulation at the fetal-maternal interface?" Oral, second place: S.A. Madsen, Michigan State University, for "Glucocorticoids in parturient serum activate steroid receptors to modulate apoptosis in bovine blood neutrophils." Poster, first place: Yanjing Xiao, Oklahoma State University, for "Identification and characterization of a beta-defensin gene cluster in the chicken." Poster, second place: S.A. Valdelièvre, Pennsylvania State University, for "Oxidant stress induces MAPK and VEGF in BMEC."

Recipients of the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists' student awards were as follows: First place: Jose Garcia-Garcia, Oklahoma State University, for "The role of glycosylation of major surface protein 1a in adhesion of Anaplasma marginale to tick cells." Second place: Norma Ramirez, The Ohio State University, for "Derivation of cryptosporidium hominis clones in the gnotobiotic pig model." Third place: Consuela Almazàn, Oklahoma State University, for "Expression and localization of antigens protective against Ixodes scapularis infestations."

Recipients of the NC-1007 Gastroenteric Diseases' student awards were as follows: Oral: M.K. Keel, University of Arizona, for "Ribotyping of Clostridium difficile from pigs and calves." Poster: R.P. Dassanayake, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, for "Identification of penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) in membrane extracts of Brachyspira pilosicoli."

Recipients of the Association for Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine's student awards were as follows: Epidemiology and animal health economics—C. Meadows, The Ohio State University, for "Economic value of opportunities for improvements in the reproductive performance of Ohio dairy herds." G.E. Moore, Purdue University, for "Proximity of wetlands as a risk factor for West Nile virus (WNV) encephalomyelitis in Indiana horses." Food and environmental safety—T. Luangtongkum, The Ohio State University, for "Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Campylobacter spp. in conventional and organic poultry operations." C. P. Fossler, University of Minnesota, for "Evaluation of sampling strategies for detection of Salmonella on dairy farms in the Midwest and Northeast U.S." Poster: Kelli M. Almes, Kansas State University, for "Diversity of Escherichia coli O157 within bovine fecal samples."

Recipients of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists' student awards were as follows: G. Vanier, University of Montreal, for "Invasion of porcine brain microvascular endothelial cells by Streptococcus suis serotype 2." E.L. Strait, Iowa State University, for "Analysis of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae field isolates." Padma Billam, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, for "Systematic pathogenesis and replication of a strain of the hepatitis E virus (HEV) in its natural host: avian HEV infections in specific-pathogen-free adult chickens." Poster: Ashutosh Verma, University of Kentucky, for "Intraocular expression of proteins of Leptospira interrogans in uveitic horses."

The ACVM presented the Don Kahn Award to Robert J. Tibbetts, Purdue University, for "Insertional mutation of marA vitiates inducible multiple antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella choleraesuis."

Recipients of the Biosafety and Biosecurity Awards, sponsored by the Animal Health Institute, were as follows: Poster: Tammi Hildreth, Kansas State University, for "Integration of biomedical sensors via telemetry for cattle health monitoring." Oral, first place: Satashi Otake, University of Minnesota, for "Evaluation of mosquitoes (Aedes vexans) as biological vectors of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus." Oral, second place: N.E. McKeown, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, for "Molecular characterization of an orphan virus, porcine TT virus, from pigs in 6 different countries."

Officers of CRWAD for 2004 are Dr. Janet MacInnes, Ontario, Canada, president; Dr. Ian Gardner, Davis, Calif., vice president; and Robert P. Ellis, PhD, Fort Collins, Colo., executive director.

Information on membership and the 2004 annual meeting, Nov. 14-16 in Chicago, are available by contacting CRWAD Executive Director Robert P. Ellis, PhD, Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1682; phone, (970) 491-5740; robert [dot] elliscolostate [dot] edu.