AASV News (May 2014)
AASV officers (left to right) Dr Michelle Sprague, Dr Ron Broderson, Dr George Charbonneau, Dr Matt Anderson
Dr Michelle Sprague was installed as president of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians at the association’s 45th annual meeting in Dallas, Texas. She succeeds Dr Matt Anderson, who is now Immediate Past President. Dr Ron Brodersen has ascended to President-elect. The newly elected Vice President is Dr George Charbonneau.
AASV President Dr Michelle Sprague (ISU ’05) grew up on a small farrow-to-finish and row-crop farm in Glenwood, Iowa. Following graduation from the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2005, she joined the Audubon-Manning Veterinary Clinic (AMVC) in Audubon, Iowa. She is currently a partner and director of sow health at AMVC. Her responsibilities include overseeing animal health, biosecurity, food safety, and animal welfare on all the clinic’s managed sow farms.
Dr Sprague has been an active member of the AASV, currently serving as the chair of the Pig Welfare Committee and as a member of the PADRAP Advisory Committee. She was awarded the AASV Young Swine Veterinarian of the Year Award in 2010 and is a frequent speaker at various professional and industry meetings, including AASV. She also represents AASV on AVMA’s Animal Welfare Committee and is a member of the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association.
When asked to comment on her thoughts about the future of AASV and her tenure as president, Dr Sprague said, “I am honored and humbled to serve as president of the AASV this year. As is often the case, the swine industry is currently facing many challenges, including emerging disease threats, shifting public perception, and changing antimicrobial regulations. With the introduction of PEDV to our country last year, we continue to have new opportunities to provide guidance not only to our clients but also to each other. I am so proud to be part of an organization whose members have pulled together and openly shared all they can to help one another through these most recent challenges. When we collaborate with our colleagues and abide by the pillars of our oath, “the pig always wins.” I look forward to representing the AASV, its members, and our patients in the coming year.”
AASV President-elect Dr Ron Brodersen (ISU ’79) grew up on a livestock farm near Coleridge, Nebraska. He attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and received a DVM degree from Iowa State University. He also attended the University of Illinois Executive Veterinary Program. Dr Brodersen is the owner of Whole Hog Health Center at Hartington, Nebraska, where he has been providing swine veterinary services since 1990. He was active on the Nebraska Pseudorabies Eradication Task Force in the 1990’s. Dr Brodersen has been active in the AASV, serving on the board of directors, as well as the Pharmaceutical Issues and Boar Stud Biosecurity committees. He has also served as chairman of the AASV Foundation. The AASV recognized him as the Swine Practitioner of the Year in 2003.
AASV Vice President Dr George Charbonneau (OVC ’81) grew up in Arnprior, Ontario. He obtained his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the Ontario Veterinary College and established a veterinary practice serving southwestern Ontario. George is currently a partner in South West Ontario Veterinary Services and is based in Stratford, Ontario.
Dr Charbonneau has been very active in the Canadian swine industry. He has served as the president of the Canadian Association of Swine Veterinarians, Ontario Association of Swine Veterinarians, and the Ontario Pork Congress. He was involved in the formation of the Ontario Pork Industry Council and served as its initial chairman. He has served as a district representative on the AASV Board of Directors and currently serves in the Canadian Association of Swine Veterinarians. Dr Charbonneau has received numerous awards from the Ontario swine industry, as well as the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association Outstanding Veterinarian Award in 2008. He was also the 2012 recipient of the AASV Swine Practitioner of the Year award. “I am truly honored to have been elected and will do my best to serve the AASV,” he noted following his election.
AASV Past President Dr Matt Anderson (ISU ‘99) is a Minnesota native who grew up around hogs, cattle, and crop farming near Stuart, Iowa. After graduating from Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine (1999), Dr Anderson started his veterinary practice career in Morris, Minnesota. He has been a partner-owner in Suidae Health and Production in Algona, Iowa, since 2001. Suidae is a seven-veterinarian, swine-only practice focused on providing full-service swine veterinary care as well as swine health and business consulting. The practice also has business initiatives in production management and research.
Call for abstracts – AASV 2015 Student Seminar Veterinary Student Scholarships
The American Association of Swine Veterinarians announces an opportunity for veterinary students to make a scientific presentation at the AASV Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday, March 1, 2015. Interested students are invited to submit a 1-page abstract of a research paper, clinical case study, or literature review for consideration. The submitting student must be a current (2014-2015) student member of the AASV at the time of submission, and must not have graduated from veterinary school prior to March 1, 2015. Submissions are limited to one (1) abstract per student.
Abstracts and supplementary materials must be received by Dr Alex Ramirez (alex@aasv.org) by 11:59 pm Central Daylight Time on Monday, September 22, 2014 (firm deadline). All material must be submitted electronically. Late abstracts will not be considered. You should receive an e-mail confirming the receipt of your submission. If you do not receive this confirmation e-mail, you must contact Dr Alex Ramirez (alex@aasv.org) by Wednesday September 24, 2014, with supporting evidence that the submission was made in time; otherwise your submission will not be considered for judging. The abstracts will be reviewed by an unbiased professional panel consisting of a private practitioner, an academician, and an industry veterinarian. Fifteen abstracts will be selected for oral presentation in the Student Seminar at the AASV Annual Meeting. Students whose papers are selected will be notified by October 15, 2014, and will be expected to provide the complete paper or abstract, reformatted for publication, by November 17, 2014.
To help defray the costs of attending the AASV meeting, Zoetis provides a $750 honorarium to the student presenter of each paper selected for oral presentation during the Student Seminar.
Each veterinary student whose paper is selected for oral presentation also competes for one of several veterinary student scholarships awarded through the AASV Foundation. The oral presentations will be judged to determine the amount of the scholarship awarded. Zoetis funds a $5000 scholarship for the student whose paper, oral presentation, and supporting information are judged best overall. Elanco Animal Health provides $20,000 in additional funding, enabling the AASV Foundation to award $2500 each for 2nd through 5th place, $1500 each for 6th through 10th place, and $500 each for 11th through 15th place.
Abstracts that are not selected for oral presentation in the Student Seminar will be considered for participation in a poster session at the annual meeting. Zoetis and the AASV fund a stipend of $250 for each student who is selected and participates in the poster presentation. In addition, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc provides financial support for the Veterinary Student Poster Competition. The presenters of the top 15 poster abstracts compete for awards ranging from $200 to $500.
Complete information for preparing and submitting abstracts is available on the AASV Web site at https://www.aasv.org/annmtg/2015/studentseminar.htm. Please note: the rules for submission should be followed carefully. For more information, contact the AASV office (Tel: 515-465-5255; Fax: 515-465-3832; E-mail: aasv@aasv.org).