April 15, 2020

Event

62nd annual meeting, Oct. 23-28, Providence, Rhode Island

Awards

E.P. Pope Award
Dr. David Steffen (Iowa State ’87), Lincoln, Nebraska, for noteworthy contributions to the AAVLD and to the field of veterinary diagnostic medicine. A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists, Dr. Steffen is a professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. He also serves as a diagnostician at the veterinary school’s Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Center. Dr. Steffen consults on bovine congenital diseases and is active in the efforts to advance animal health and service to the food animal production industry.

Distinguished Service Award
Dr. Francisco Uzal, San Bernardino, California, for volunteering time, energy, and professionalism to substantially enrich and advance the AAVLD and the field of veterinary diagnostic medicine. A 1982 veterinary graduate of the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, Dr. Uzal is a professor and branch chief of the University of California-Davis’ California Animal Health and Food Safety Lab in San Bernardino. He is a diplomate of the ACVP and has served as images editor and guest editor for the Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation.

Outstanding Performance Award for Diagnostic Services
Stacy Pollock, Willmar, Minnesota, was the inaugural recipient of this award, given to members of an AAVLD laboratory who have performed laboratory duties on behalf of their clients in an outstanding fashion. Pollock is a veterinary technician and manager of the Minnesota Poultry Testing Laboratory in Willmar. She played a key role in providing diagnostic services to Minnesota’s poultry industry during the national outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in 2015.

BioMic Award for Excellence in Diagnostic Microbiology
Dr. John Dustin Loy (Iowa State ’09), Lincoln, Nebraska, for research accomplishments in the field that have resulted in new scientific findings that have application for the betterment of veterinary medicine. A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists, Dr. Loy serves as a veterinary diagnostic microbiologist and case coordinator at the Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Center. He is also section leader and faculty supervisor for the center’s bacteriology and molecular diagnostic laboratories. Dr. Loy’s research interests include development and validation of novel molecular and proteomic diagnostic methods, pathogenesis and ecology of opportunistic bovine respiratory and ocular pathogens, and enteric diseases of swine.

J. Lindsay Oaks Best Student Molecular Biology Presentation Award
Sai Narayanan, Oklahoma State University, for “A novel online metagenome-based pathogen detection tool”

Richard Walker Best Student Bacteriology Presentation Award
Sreenidhi Srinivasan, Pennsylvania State University, for “Diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis using a defined skin test in buffaloes in India”

Brenda Love Best Student Bacteriology Poster Presentation Award
Dr. Molly Carpenter, Colorado State University, for “Antiviral activity of synthesized IFN-λ3 and PEGylated IFN-λ3 against bovine viral diarrhea virus in vitro”

Best Oral Presentation Award
Dr. Giovani Trevisan, Iowa State University, for “Aggregating results and summarizing findings from multiple veterinary diagnostic laboratories in the US on a near real-time basis”

Best Poster Presentation Award
Dr. Grazieli Maboni, University of Georgia, for “Unique antimicrobial susceptibility patterns in animal-associated Acinetobacter spp. reveal high rate of multidrug resistance”

Best Diagnostic Pathology Slide Seminar Presentation Award
Dr. Bianca R. Pfisterer, University of Tennessee, for “Pituitary tumor in a budgerigar”

AAVLD/ACVP Diagnostic Pathology Travel Award
Dr. Vanessa J. Oakes, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, for “Theileria orientalis Ikeda genotype is identified in cattle in Southwestern Virginia”

Best JVDI Full Manuscript
Dr. Rodney A. Moxley, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, for “Investigation of congestive heart failure in beef cattle in a feedyard at a moderate altitude in western Nebraska”

Best JVDI Brief Communication
Dr. Jennifer L. Jones, Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine, for “Whole genome sequencing confirms source of pathogens associated with bacterial foodborne illness in pets fed raw pet food”

Life Membership
Drs. Grant Maxie, Guelph, Ontario, and Daniel Shaw, Columbia, Missouri

Officials

Drs. Deepanker Tewari, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, president; Shuping Zhang, Columbia, Missouri, president-elect; Jerry Saliki, Athens, Georgia, vice president; Kristy Pabilonia, Fort Collins, Colorado, secretary-treasurer; Keith Bailey, Stillwater, Oklahoma, immediate past president; and David H. Zeman, Brookings, South Dakota, executive director