12-31-07

In this issue

• College news
• Five candidates for dean to visit College
• Ribbon-cutting/dedication planned for new BSL-3 necropsy space
• AHC seeks nominations for Academies for Excellence awards
• Deadline extended for nominations for Distinguished Research Partner Award
• Two truckloads delivered to Toys for Tots
• Office of Human Resources offers workshop on motivating and developing staff
• Veterinary Student Supply closed until Wednesday
• Respectful Workplace training scheduled for Jan. 9
• Calendar
• Student news
• Wanted: Summer Scholars
• Graduate student news
• In the media
• Equine Center on Discovery.com
• Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in The Farmer
• Dr. Margaret Duxbury in East Central Minnesota Post Review
• CVM alumna Dr. Kathy Gervais in PAWS Print
• Research news
• Clinical studies currently enrolling in the VMC
• Links

College news (top)

Five candidates for dean to visit College
The search committee has completed initial screening interviews for dean of the College and invited five individuals back for two-day on-campus visits in January. The five candidate visits will take place from Jan. 7-30. Faculty, student, administrative, and community groups will have the opportunity to meet with each candidate, hear a lecture, and attend a reception in their honor. The names of the candidates will be released this week, and the schedule of meetings, letctures, and receptions will be in future issues of CVM This Week.

Ribbon-cutting/dedication planned for new BSL-3 necropsy space
A ribbon cutting ceremony and dedication of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory's new biosafety level 3 necropsy space is planned for Jan. 10 at 9:30 a.m. Special guests will include Commissioner of Agriculture Gene Hugoson and Senator Steve Dille. Biosafety level 3 is a level of biosafety considered appropriate for agents that may be transmitted by the respiratory route, which can cause serious infection.

AHC seeks nominations for Academies for Excellence awards
Celebrate faculty members' extraordinary achievements by nominating them for one of the Academic Health Center's Academies for Excellence Awards. Winners will receive $10,000 annually for five years to support their efforts to revolutionize health education and research.

• The Academy for Excellence Award in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning honors faculty members whose work in and out of the classroom has displayed a lifelong commitment to teaching and student learning. The nomination deadline is February 22.
• The Academy for Excellence Award in Health Research honors outstanding faculty members and their commitment to producting internationally recognized research vital to better understanding the health sciences. The nomination deadline is March 14.

For more information about the awards, go to www.ahceducation.umn.edu/academy

Deadline extended for nominations for Distinquished Research Partner Award
The deadline for nominations for the Distinguished Research Partner Award has been extended to to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2. Consider nominating an organization or company for this annual award to be presented during the annual Points of Pride Research Days awards ceremony on March 26. The purpose of the award is to honor an organization or company that has supported the College's research mission over the years. Past recipients have been Pfizer Animal Health (2007), Geneticporc (2006), Boehringer Ingelheim (2005), R&D Systems (2004), Hills Pet Nutrition (2002), and PIC USA (2003).

Nominations should be submitted electronically with no more than a one-page justification for each nomination to Shan Balmer at balme001@umn.edu by 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Nominations will be reviewed by the Research Days advisory committee.

Two truckloads delivered to Toys for Tots
Larry Bjorklund, director of admissions, reports that two truckloads of toys were delivered to Toys for Tots this month, thanks to the generosity of College staff, faculty, and students.

Veterinary Student Supply closed until Wednesday
Veterinary Student Supply (VSS) will be closed today and tomorrow but open Wednesday, Jan. 2, and Thursday, Jan. 3, from noon-1 p.m. and by appointment. Regular hours (Monday through Thursday, from noon-1 p.m. and by appointment) will resume next week.

Office of Human Resources offers workshop on motivating and developing staff
Motivating and Developing Staff, a workshop for supervisors sponsored by the University of Minnesota Office of Human Resources, will be offered on Jan. 8 from 1-4 p.m. in 210 Donhowe. The key to motivating staff isn't money. It's providing a supportive environment that recognizes contributions and provides opportunities to learn and develop. In this interactive session, staff from Employee Career Services will help participants think about ways to create this sort of environment. To register, go to www.umn.edu/ohr/supervisors/workshops/index.html

Respectful Workplace training scheduled for Jan. 9
Have you attended Respectful Workplace training? Do you know it's mandatory for all employees? The next training session is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 9, from 1-3 p.m. in 280 Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Another training session will be held on Tuesday, April 22, from 9-11 a.m. To sign up, please contact Helen Pederson at 612-624-8673 or h-pede1@umn.edu.

Calendar (top)

Monday, December 31

New Employee Orientation
8:30 a.m.-noon
458 Veterinary Medical Center

Tuesday, January 1

Holiday (University offices closed; no classes) Happy New Year!

Wednesday, January 2

Deadline for nominations for the Distinguished Research Partner Award
4:30 p.m.
Nominations should be submitted electronically with no more than a one-page justification for each nomination to Shan Balmer at balme001@umn.edu

Thursday, January 3

Small Animal Grand Rounds
Turning Cancer Genetics on Its Head
Presented by Dr. Jaime Modiano
8 a.m.
125 Animal Science/Veterinary Medicine

Friday, January 4

Deadline for Submissions of Proposals for Summer Scholars Research Projects
Submissions should be sent to Erin Mann at mann0162@umn.edu

Hill's College Feeding Program Orders Due Today
To order food, to to https://www.summationdata.com/hpn.For more information about the Hill's Pet Food Distribution program, contact Jaime Nett at nett0049@umn.edu or Alisha Leonard at leona156@umn.edu.

Sunday, January 6

National Bird Day Event
Join The Raptor Center, Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota, Midwest Avian Adoption and Rescue Services, Chicken Run Rescue, and Audubon Minnesota for an afternoon of birds!
Noon-4 p.m.
The Raptor Center
For more information, visit www.cvm.umn.edu/raptor/news/birdday.html

What's ahead

Motivating and Developing Staff: Jan. 8, 1-4 p.m., 210 Donhowe. The key to motivating staff isn't money. It's providing a supportive environment that recognizes contributions and provides opportunities to learn and develop. In this interactive session, staff from Employee Career Services will help participants think about ways to create this sort of environment. To register, go to www.umn.edu/ohr/supervisors/workshops/index.html

Respectful Workplace Training: Jan. 9, 1-3 p.m., 280 Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. All College of Veterinary Medicine employees must attend one session. To sign up, please contact Helen Pederson at 612-624-8673 or h-pede1@umn.edu.

Ribbon-cutting/dedication of new BSL-3 Necropsy Space: Jan. 10, 9:30 a.m., Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Special guests will include Commissioner of Agriculture Gene Hugoson and Senator Steve Dille.

Ph.D. Thesis Defense Seminar: "Characterization of a Subdivision of Skin Homing T Cells Based on P-selectin Binding," presented by Zhenya Ni: Jan. 11, 9 a.m., 215 Veterinary Science  Advisor:  Dr. Bruce Walcheck. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Master's Thesis Defense Seminar: "Anaplasma phagocytophilum: In Megakaryocytes and Minnesota Dogs," presented by Jennifer Granick: Jan. 11, 1 p.m., 280 Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Advisors:  Dr. Dori Borjesson and Dr. Jane Armstrong. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Hill's College Feeding Program Distribution: Jan. 16, noon-12:50 p.m. and 5:00-5:50 p.m., Gortner Avenue dock, Large Animal Hospital

Hill's College Feeding Program Distribution: Jan. 17, 7:00-7:50 a.m. and 5:00-5:50 p.m., Gortner Avenue dock, Large Animal Hospital

Hill's College Feeding Program Distribution: Jan. 18, 7:00-7:50 a.m. and noon-12:50 p.m., Gortner Avenue dock, Large Animal Hospital

Biomedical Informatics and Computational Biology Symposium: Jan. 18, Rochester, Minn. To register, go to www.dtc.umn.edu/cgi-bin/bicb.php. For more information about the Biomedical Informatics and Computational Biology program, visit www.r.umn.edu/19_BICB.htm

Portrait Photo Session: Jan. 18, 2-5 p.m., 115 Pomeroy Student-Alumni Learning Center. A portrait photographer will be available to take faculty photos for use in the VMC referral book and other College publications and Web pages. Registration is not required.

North American Veterinary Conference (NAVC): Jan. 19-23, Orlando, Florida. For more information, go to www.tnavc.org/mynavc/

NAVC Alumni Reception: Jan. 19, 6-9 p.m.

All About Owls Lecture: Jan. 20, 1:00-2:30 p.m., The Raptor Center. For details, go to www.cvm.umn.edu/raptor/news/newsreleases/AllAboutOwls.html

Martin Luther King Day holiday (University offices closed; no classes): Jan. 21

CVM Seminar on Teaching -- The One-Minute Preceptor, presented by Karyn Baum and JoAnn Wood: Jan. 25, noon, Pomeroy Student-Alumni Learning Center. Sponsored by the Office of Academic and Student Affairs.

Hill's College Feeding Program Orders Due: Feb. 1

Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association Annual Meeting: Feb. 7-9, Minneapolis Hilton

Go to the Academic Health Center's calendar of events.

Go to the University of Minnesota campus events calendar.

Student news (top)

Wanted: Summer Scholars
First- and second-year veterinary students are invited to submit research project proposals for the 2008 Summer Scholars program. The Summer Scholars Program is an opportunity to participate in an organized, meaningful research experience. The goal is to provide insight into the planning and conduct of research experiments, data evaluation, and effectively working in a research setting. Scholars have the opportunity to develop leadership and teamwork skills working on a research project, to participate in seminars that will develop critical thinking skills, and to gain a general appreciation for clinical and basic research.

Summer Scholars are required to work on their assigned research projects for a minimum of 40 hours per week, as well as attend weekly seminar sessions and field trips throughout the summer. If you would like to be part of the 2008 Summer Scholars Program:

• Submit your proposed research project to the Research Office.  You may submit more than one proposed research summary; however, each project should be submitted separately.  Submissions should be sent to Erin Mann at mann0162@umn.edu by Friday, January 4. The available projects will be posted on the Summer Scholars Web site later this month. For a copy of the Research Project template, contact Erin at mann0162@umn.edu.
• Be available to discuss research opportunities with students who are interested in participating in your research project(s).
• Consider participating in a lunchtime information session to be held in January (date and time to be announced). This session will provide an overview of the available research projects to students who might be interested in the program.

Decisions on the student proposals/applications will be made by the Summer Scholars Advisory Committee in March. For more information about the Summer Scholars program, visit the Summer Scholars Web page or talk to one of the 2007 faculty participants or directors of graduate studies.

Graduate student news
Cris Marques has successfully defended her Ph.D. thesis, "Microglia -- The Double-Edged Sword in Defense and Immunopathogenesis of HSV Brain Infection." Dr. James Lokensgard was Cris's advisor. Cris has accepted a post-doc position at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Congratulations, Cris!

Jessica Meehan has successfully defended her master's thesis, "CNS Sites and Pathways Activated by Angiotensin II: Role of the Subfornical Organ Relating to Downstream Sites." Jessica's advisor was Dr. John Collister. Jessica is going to take a brief break and do some traveling before deciding her next position. Congratulations, Jessica!

Tamene Melkamu successfully completed his preliminary examinations on Dec. 18. Tamene is advised by Dr. Scott O'Grady. Congratulations, Tamene!

Erik Olson has successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis, "Naturally Occurring and Surgically Induced Animal Models of Osteoarthritis." Dr. Cathy Carlson was Erik's advisor. Erik has accepted an appointment in the Veterinary Population Medicine Department, working in the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory as an assistant clinical professor. Congratulations, Erik!

In the media (top)

The December issue of The Farmer published an article about the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory's role in diagnosing emerging diseases such as bovine tuberculosis and avian influenza.

East Central Minnesota Post Review quoted veterinary behaviorist Dr. Margaret Duxbury in an article about a proposal by Rep. John Lesch, DFL-St. Paul, to outlaw five dog breeds from the state — pit bulls, Akitas, rottweilers, Chow Chows, and wolf hybrids. Dr. Duxbury explained that the problem of dangerous dogs is too complicated to be solved by outlawing certain breeds; that many factors influence dog behavior and that individuals differ within breeds. The article is online at www.ecmpostreview.com/2007/December/19rlpcb.html

The 20th Anniversary issue of PAWS Print, a newsletter of Pets Are Wonderful Support of San Francisco, featured CVM alumna Dr. Kathy Gervais, who does pro bono veterinary work for the organization.

Research news (top)

Clinical studies currently enrolling in the VMC
For a list of clinical studies currently rolling in the Veterinary Medical Center, visit the Clinical Investigation Center Web site at http://www.cvm.umn.edu/cic/current.

Links (top)

AVMA News Bytes and other news
www.avma.org/news/info_rss.asp

CVM This Week
Back issues of CVM This Week, from June 2004 to today's issue, are at            http://www.cvm.umn.edu/newsandevents/publications/cvmthisweek/home.html.

Hill's College Feeding Program
Order online through the Hill's online ordering system at https://www.summationdata.com/hpn. For more information about the Hill's College Feeding Program, contact Jaime Nett at nett0049@umn.edu or Alisha Leonard at leona156@umn.edu.

Housing
For information about student and off-campus housing, including a housing and roommate search service, go to http://www.housing.umn.edu/.

Job openings
For information about positions available at the College, visit   www.cvm.umn.edu/About/HumanResources/Employment   /. For detailed information about current job openings, how to apply, and application materials, go to the University of Minnesota Office of Human Resources at http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/employment/index.html.

The VMC Pulse
Issues are available online by logging in at   http://www.cvm.umn.edu/vmc/staffresources/Pulse.html.

University of Minnesota Legislative Network News
http://ga4.org/u_of_m_leg_net/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=8620389&r=

Veterinary conferences
Dates, places, and links for national and international veterinary conferences are on the College Web site atnbsp;   http://www.cvm.umn.edu/newsandevents/conferences/home.html.

Veterinary Medical Library
For information about the Veterinary Medical Library, including new acquisitions, visit http://www.vetmed.lib.umn.edu/news.

Veterinary Practice News
Did you know that you can get a free subscription? Subscribe (or renew) online at www.vetpracticenews.com.

CVM This Week is a weekly newsletter for faculty, staff, and students of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. Please submit news and calendar items to Sue Kirchoff, editor, at kirch004@umn.edu before noon Friday.

The University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer.