VBS News

 Lawsonia intracellularis tests-Connie Gebhart, 3/11/13

"Lawsonia intracellularis Tests: How Do They Measure Up?" a story in The Horse, discussed Dr. Connie Gebhart's research and presentation at the 2012 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention.

Research on declining moose population
 

"GPS Will Help Biologists Address Decline of Moose," an article in the January 5 issue of the Star Tribune, included a photo of Dr. Tiffany Wolf, a PhD student in the comparative and molecular biosciences graduate program, and quoted CVM alumna Dr. Erika Butler, class of 2006.

Pam Skinner and collaborator awarded $3.7 million for HIV/AIDS research

Pam Skinner, PhD, associate professor in the Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences Department, and longtime collaborator Liz Connick, MD, professor in the University of Colorado School of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases, have been awarded a five-year research grant totaling more than $3.7 million from the National Institutes of Health. Ultimately, the research could contribute to the development of a protective vaccine or cure for HIV-1, the most common and pathogenic strain of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), the virus that causes AIDS. The project, titled “Mechanisms Underlying Persistent Lentivirus Replication in Follicular T Cells,” started December 1 and will continue for five years. Learn more

Turkey genome project

"Turkey Genome Leftovers," a story posted on BioTechniques.com on November 24, included an interview with Dr. Kent Reed, professor, who is part of an international consortium of turkey genome researchers. Kent was also interviewed for "Pass the Turkey Genome," a story about how researchers are using genomics to breed a better Thanksgiving bird, on the MIT Technology Review site.

Morris Animal Foundation thank-you video includes Jonathan Clayton

DVM/PhD student Jonathan Clayton, who was a Morris Animal Foundation Veterinary Student Scholar in 2010, is part of the foundation's thank-you video for donors. Please click link for details. 

American Association of Veterinary Immunologists Distinguished Veterinary Immunologist 2012 Award goes to Michael P. Murtaugh, PhD

CVM Recipient with the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences 

VBS student Jonathan Clayton: Efforts to repopulate endangered Asian primate populations could be improved through a better dietary understanding

Article published in Health Talk, the University of Minnesota's Academic Health Center online Newsletter. Read article here for details.

Debate over antibiotic use in animal agriculture, 10/8/12

An article in the September issue of Food Nutrition & Science examined the controversy over the unregulated use of antibiotics in America's food supply and featured a debate between Dr. Randall Singer, associate professor at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, and Dr. Meghan F. Davis, postdoctoral fellow with the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Read the article online here.

Randy Singer is among authors of CAST Commentary, 9/24/12

Dr. Randy Singer, associate professor in the Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences Department, was one of a team of authors from several universities of the CAST (Council for Agricultural Science and Technology) Commentary "The Direct Relationship between Animal Health and Food Safety Outcomes." Based partially upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture, the paper addresses many topics, including antibiotic use in animals, animal housing, organic production, and One Health. Download the commentary

Randy Singer responds to reports of superbug, 7/30/12

Dr. Randy Singer, associate professor in the Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences Department, was interviewed by several news organizations and media outlets, including ABC News, The Atlantic, the National Chicken Council, and the International Food Information Council, about the lack of a relationship between antibiotic use in chickens and multidrug resistant E. coli urinary tract infections in women. Read more: 

• ABC News: "Report: Superbug Dangers in Chicken Linked to 8 Million At-Risk Women" 
• The Atlantic: "How Your Chicken Dinner Is Creating a Drug-Resistant Superbug"
• National Chicken Council: "Scientists Question ABC News Report Linking Antibiotic Resistant Bladder Infections to Chicken; Say Chicken is Safe"
• Food Insight: "Tarred and Feathered: The Facts about Antibiotics, Poultry, and Drug Resistance"

Pat Goodman Published in PNAS

Uckun, F., P. Goodman, H. Ma, I. Dibirdik, S. Qazi, CD22 exon deletion as a pathogenic mechanism of human B-precursor leukemia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 2010. 107(39): p.16852-7.

Kent Reed interviewed on WCCO TV

Kent Reed, Ph.D., associate professor in the Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences Department, was interviewed for a WCCO TV story about a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to finish sequencing the turkey genome. The story is online at http://wcco.com/pets/u.of.m.2.1334772.html

Tom Fletcher, professor in the Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences Department, reports that the Veterinary Anatomy site received 3,970 visits from 48 states and 95 countries in the month of October, 2009

Dr. Kent Reed and colleagues publish paper in Journal of Immunology

"Defining the Turkey MHC: Sequence and Genes of the B Locus," by former graduate student Lee D. Chaves, Stacy B. Krueth, and Kent M. Reed, associate professor, Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, was published in the Nov. 15 issue of The Journal of Immunology. www.jimmunol.org/cgi/content/full/183/10/6530.  It was also featured "In This Issue," which highlights articles that are among the top 10 percent of articles published in the journal. A corresponding ImmunoCast of In This Issue can be found on The Journal of Immunology Web site at www.jimmunol.org/rss/jipodcast.dtl.

U of M, Virgina Tech awarded grant to complete sequencing of turkey genome

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded a two-year, $908,280 grant to the University of Minnesota Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences and Virginia Tech to finish sequencing the genome of the domesticated turkey, Meleagris gallopavo. The funding will be used by the Turkey Genome Sequencing Consortium to complete the genome sequencing using next-generation sequencing platforms, assemble the genome sequence, and identify genes and functions in the final genome sequence by use of a sophisticated annotation pipeline. The award will also help establish a bioinformatics and comparative genome resource for both chicken and turkey.   The consortium, which includes Dr. Kent Reed, associate professor in the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, has generated about 90 percent of the sequence necessary for the project. The data will be released to GenBank in the near future.

U Of M Researchers Get Grant To Study Turkey DNA

Minnesota is the largest producer of turkeys nationwide.  WCCO highlighted the research of Dr. Kent Reed, "{We} essentially make turkeys healthier so we can have less antibiotics in the system, just breeding better birds. One of the things we work on is muscle development, and structure and that has to do with meat quality, taste for example. The more you know about the genome, the more you can do."
WCCO – TV   To view: http://wcco.com/pets/u.of.m.2.1334772.html

Dr. Jim Mickelson and Dr. Stephanie Valberg In the News

Two U of M researchers found similarities in the DNA of horses and humans and a possible genetic cause of muscle disorders in both. More than a decade ago, two University of Minnesota professors thought the idea of decoding a horse's DNA was a "pipe

dream." Please click on Star Tribune link for details.

A canine DNM1 mutation is highly associated with the syndrome of exercise-induced collapse

pp1235-1239
Edward E Patterson, Katie M Minor, Anna V Tchernatynskaia, Susan M Taylor, G Diane Shelton, Kari J Ekenstedt & James R Mickelson.

Edward Patterson and colleagues report that a missense mutation in the gene encoding dynamin 1 (DNM1) is associated with exercised-induced collapse in Labrador retriever dogs. This is the first documented mutation in DNM1 in mammals and suggests a critical role for dynamin 1 in maintaining proper neurotransmission under conditions of high synaptic activity.

Officials seek limits on livestock antibiotics

Proposals to ban the use of antibiotics as a livestock growth promotant could drive up farmers costs without improving public health, skeptical lawmakers said on Wednesday…Although Danish Veterinary and Food Administrator Per Henriksen said the Danish experience yielded good results, Randall Singer, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, pointed out that livestock health suffered in Denmark after the ban.
Asia
One Healthhttp://health.asiaone.com/Health/News/Story/A1Story20100716-227251.html