April 15, 2021

Event

63rd annual meeting, held virtually, Oct. 5-21, 2020

Awards

E.P. Pope Award
William H. Fales, PhD, Ames, Iowa, for noteworthy contributions to the AAVLD and to the field of veterinary diagnostic medicine. Dr. Fales earned his doctorate in bacteriology in 1974 from the University of Idaho. He is a professor emeritus in the Department of Veterinary Pathology at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Fales’ research focused on diagnostic veterinary microbiology, mycology, antimicrobial susceptibility testing and resistance, paratuberculosis, and rapid identification methods for veterinary pathogenic organisms. He is an honorary diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists and an emeritus fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.

Distinguished Service Award
Dr. Timothy Baszler (Iowa State ’82), Pullman, Washington, for volunteering time, energy, and professionalism to substantially enrich and advance the AAVLD and the field of veterinary diagnostic medicine. A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists, Dr. Baszler is a professor at Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He also serves as executive director of the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and is associate director of disease surveillance in the Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health. Dr. Baszler was recently elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences.

Outstanding Performance Award for Diagnostic Services
Mindy Plunkett, Vacaville, California, won this award, given to members of an AAVLD laboratory who have performed duties on behalf of clients in an outstanding fashion. Plunkett is the supervisor of the specimen-receiving team at the California Animal Health & Food Safety Laboratory System in Davis. During the 2018-20 outbreak of virulent Newcastle disease, she led her team in receiving all submissions from a task force and commercial submissions.

Pioneer in Virology Award
Dr. Yehia Mohamed Saif, Wooster, Ohio. Dr. Saif received his veterinary degree in 1958 from Cairo University in Egypt. He is a professor emeritus in the Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. During his tenure, Dr. Saif headed the Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and served as assistant dean of the veterinary college. A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists and a charter diplomate of the American College of Poultry Veterinarians, he serves as editor of the journal Avian Diseases and is co-editor of the book “Diagnosis of Major Poultry Diseases.”

Bio-Mic Award for Excellence in Diagnostic Microbiology
Dr. Kristin A. Clothier (California-Davis ’91), Davis, California, for research accomplishments in diagnostic microbiology that have resulted in new scientific findings that have application for the betterment of veterinary medicine. Dr. Clothier is an associate professor in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology at the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, also serving as lead of the Bacteriology Section at the California Animal Health & Food Safety Laboratory System. Her research interests include enhancements in diagnostic microbiology and pathogen detection, particularly of bacterial respiratory pathogens; Tritrichomonas foetus; Salmonella in environmental and clinical matrices; and surveillance for antimicrobial resistance in veterinary pathogens. Dr. Clothier is a diplomate of the ACVM.

Richard L. Walker Bacteriology Award, sponsored by Anaerobe Systems
Miranda Hengy, a student at The Ohio State University, for the presentation “MALDI Sepsityper technology provides a more rapid but less sensitive method for diagnosis of bacteremia in veterinary patients”

J. Lindsay Oaks Best Student Molecular Biology Award, sponsored by BioMérieux
Dr. Gaurav Rawal, Iowa State University, for the presentation “Development and validation of a reverse transcription real-time PCR assay to specifically detect PRRSGard-like vaccine virus”

Brenda Love Best Student Bacteriology Poster Presentation Award, sponsored by VMRD 
Dr. Allen Kalantari, University of Georgia, for “A retrospective analysis (2015–2019) of microbial etiologies associated with bovine respiratory disease (BRD) suspect cases from diagnostic laboratory submissions in Georgia, USA”

AAVLD/ACVP Diagnostic Pathology Resident/Graduate Student Award
Dr. Omar Gonzales Viera, University of California-Davis, for “Infectious bronchitis virus prevalence, characterization and strain identification in California backyard chickens”

ACVP/AAVLD Diagnostic Pathology Resident/Graduate Student Travel Award
Dr. Tzushan Yang, North Carolina State University, for “Characterization of neuropathologic lesions associated with avian reovirus infection in commercial broiler chickens”

Diagnostic Pathology Slide Seminar Resident/Graduate Student Award
First place ($300): Dr. Kathryn McCullough, University of Georgia for “Gastrocnemius rupture in broilers with avian reovirus infection;” second place ($200): Dr. Marta Mainenti, Utah State University, for “Spirocerca lupi esophagitis in a German Shepherd Dog;” and third place ($100): Dr. Omar Gonzales Viera, University of California-Davis, for “Fatal Sarcocystis cruzi–induced eosinophilic myocarditis in a Hereford heifer"

Best Poster Presentation Award
Dr. Molly Carpenter, Colorado State University, for ”Characterizing the effect of temperature on bluetongue virus reassortment in Culicoides sonorensis”

Best Oral Presentation Award
Dr. Matthew Hille, University of Nebraska, for “Rapid differentiation of Moraxella bovoculi genotypes 1 and 2 using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry profiles”

Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation Best Manuscript Award
Dr. Paola Cazzini, University of Edinburgh, for “Proposed grading scheme for inflammatory bowel disease in the ferret and correlation with clinical signs”

Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation Best Brief Communication Award
Dr. Anna Fagre, Colorado State University, for “Comparison of detection methods for Salmonella enterica shedding among reptilian patients at a veterinary teaching hospital”

Life Membership

Dr. Willie M. Reed, West Lafayette, Indiana

Officials

Drs. Shuping Zhang, Columbia, Missouri, president; Jerry Saliki, Stillwater, Oklahoma, president-elect and program chair; Eric Burrough, Ames, Iowa, vice president; Kristy Pabilonia, Fort Collins, Colorado, secretary-treasurer; Deepanker Tewari, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, immediate past president; and David H. Zeman, Brookings, South Dakota, executive director