December 15, 2021

Event

Hybrid in-person and virtual annual meeting, Lexington, Kentucky, June 19-22

Program

The theme of the meeting was “Current Challenges and the Avenues Ahead.” Prerecorded plenary and sponsored presentations were featured during the first three days of the meeting, with presenters answering questions in real time. Winners of the AAVP–Boehringer Ingelheim Distinguished Veterinary Parasitologist Award, AAVP-Merck Animal Health Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award, and AAVP–William C. Campbell One Health Award also made presentations at the meeting. Prerecorded videos of additional oral and poster presentations were made available on a dedicated website, while in-person attendees made their presentations during live sessions at the meeting. Entries for the student competitions were judged in the weeks following the meeting.

Awards

AAVP–Boehringer Ingelheim Distinguished Veterinary Parasitologist Award
Dr. Andrew S. Peregrine (Glasgow ’84), Guelph, Ontario. Dr. Peregrine earned his doctorate in veterinary parasitology in 1987 from the University of Glasgow. He has taught clinical parasitology and conducted research since 1997 at the University of Guelph Ontario Veterinary College. Dr. Peregrine’s research seeks to define the epidemiology and impact of a broad range of parasites of veterinary and zoonotic importance. Earlier, he worked as a postdoctoral/research scientist at the International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases in Nairobi, Kenya.

AAVP–William C. Campbell One Health Award
Michael J. Yabsley, PhD, Athens, Georgia. Dr. Yabsley earned his doctorate in infectious diseases in 2004 from the University of Georgia. He is a professor of wildlife diseases and manages an interdisciplinary research program that addresses applied and theoretical questions on the epidemiology of wildlife diseases. Dr. Yabsley’s research focuses on pathogens that are zoonotic or important to the health of domestic animals and agriculturally important species. His studies are approached from a one-health perspective, aiming to understand the impact of disease on animals, humans, and the environment.

AAVP-Merck Animal Health Outstanding Graduate Student Award
Jeffrey M. Gruntmeir, PhD, Gainesville, Florida. Dr. Gruntmeir earned his doctorate in parasitology in 2021 from the University of Florida. Dr. Gruntmeir’s research interests include tick surveillance and testing for tick-borne diseases. He is currently a postdoctoral associate at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Southeastern Center of Excellence in Vector Borne Diseases in Gainesville.

AAVP–Companion Animal Parasite Council Graduate Student Award in Zoonotic Disease
Dr. Kathryn Duncan (Tennessee ’18), Stillwater, Oklahoma. Dr. Duncan is pursuing her doctorate and completing a residency program in veterinary clinical parasitology at Oklahoma State University. Her research is focused on ticks and tick-borne diseases of veterinary importance, heartworm disease, and the diagnosis and treatment of intestinal parasites of domestic animals, including several parasites of zoonotic importance.

Officials

Drs. Martin Nielsen, Lexington, Kentucky, president; Antoinette Marsh, Columbus, Ohio, president-elect and 2022 program chair; Jennifer Ketzis, Basseterre, St. Kitts, vice president; Adriano Vatta, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, secretary-treasurer; Alan Marchiondo, Santa Fe, New Mexico, executive secretary; Doug Carithers, Duluth, Georgia, immediate past president; and student representatives—Drs. Julie Thompson, New Orleans, and Leonor Sicalo Gianechini, Athens, Georgia