Recognizing excellence
The AVMA acknowledged a number of individuals in July during the AVMA Annual Convention in St. Louis for their efforts to advance veterinary medicine, animal welfare, and public health.
Dr. John W. Albers received the AVMA Award, the Association's highest honor, and Dr. Nancy D. Kay received the Leo K. Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year Award (see JAVMA, Sept. 1, 2011, article and article). Fifteen other veterinarians and one nonveterinarian also received awards during the convention. Below are some career highlights of these recipients. In addition, Dr. Mary Beth Leininger received the Russell Anthony Award for commitment to the AVMA Political Action Committee (see article).
The AVMA is accepting nominations for many of next year's awards. Information and nomination forms are available at www.avma.org/awards.
AVMA Animal Welfare Award
This award recognizes an AVMA member for achievements in advancing the welfare of animals.
Dr. Shearer (OSU ’75) was a professor and dairy extension veterinarian at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine for 27 years before joining the veterinary faculty at Iowa State University in 2009. Early in his career, he spent time as an assistant professor at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine and as associate veterinarian at Orrville Veterinary Clinic in Ohio.
Dr. Shearer's primary research and extension interests are lameness and welfare issues of cattle. He is chair of the Food Animal Working Group of the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia and a past chair of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners' Animal Welfare Committee. He serves on the board of directors of the Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization and on the organizing committee of the proposed American College of Animal Welfare.
Charles River Prize
The Charles River Commitment to Humane Animal Research Through Excellence and Responsibility program sponsors this award for an AVMA member who has contributed to laboratory animal science.
Dr. Leary (ISU ’71) has more than 30 years of experience in laboratory animal medicine and management of laboratory animal facilities. He is assistant vice chancellor for veterinary affairs and director of the Division of Comparative Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis.
Throughout his career, Dr. Leary has promoted the welfare of laboratory animals through organizations such as the National Association for Biomedical Research and Mid-Continent Association for Agriculture, Biomedical Research and Education.
Dr. Leary serves as chair of the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia. He is an emeritus member of the council of the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International, a past president of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine, and a past chair of the AVMA Animal Welfare Committee.
AVMA Humane Award
This award recognizes a nonveterinarian for achievements in advancing the welfare of animals.
Lindsay has been an advocate for animals for more than two decades. Her work has focused on connecting people and ideas in the animal welfare and veterinary communities. She founded the Massachusetts Animal Coalition as a vehicle for learning and networking by animal welfare professionals and volunteers.
Lindsay consults with humane organizations on team building, board development, coalition building, and compassion fatigue. She is a clinical instructor at Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine on the subjects of pet loss and euthanasia. She also serves as a board member of the State of Massachusetts Animal Response Team and a member of the Tufts steering committee for shelter medicine. She is a past president of the New England Federation of Humane Societies.
AVMA Lifetime Excellence in Research Award
This award recognizes a veterinarian for lifetime achievement in basic, applied, or clinical research.
Dr. Patterson (OKL ’54) served early in his career as chief of laboratory services for the Aero-Medical Field Laboratory at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. He trained chimpanzees for research, and one of his charges was the first chimpanzee to complete a suborbital space flight.
A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Dr. Patterson became an instructor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and studied genetic defects in canine cardiac development. He was the first chief of the Section of Clinical Cardiology, then founded a medical genetics clinic at the veterinary school. From 1985-2000, he was principal investigator for the Referral Center for Animal Models of Human Genetic Disease. In 1995, he founded the Center for Research in Comparative Medical Genetics. He retired in 2000.
AVMA Practitioner Research Award
This award recognizes an AVMA member who has contributed to research while working in private practice.
Dr. Marino (AUB ’89) has pioneered micro–hip replacement surgery in pets, the diagnosis and treatment of elbow joint dysplasia, corrective surgery for syringomyelia/Chiarilike malformation in dogs, and the use of thermography as a diagnostic screening modality. He is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and the American College of Clinical Thermology and has earned certification in canine rehabilitation. He lectures and publishes extensively on surgical topics.
Dr. Marino directs the Canine Chiari Institute at Long Island Veterinary Specialists, and he has published a free handbook on Chiari-like malformation at www.caninechiariinstitute.org. He is on the board of the New York Veterinary Foundation and the Police Surgeons Benevolent Association, and he serves as a surgical consultant for numerous nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies.
AVMA Public Service Award
This award recognizes an AVMA member for contributions to public health and regulatory veterinary medicine.
Dr. Huntley (COR ’80), a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, previously was director of New York state’s Division of Animal Industry. His responsibilities included programs to control infectious diseases in livestock populations and captive wildlife.
From March 2003 to March 2004, Dr. Huntley served with the U.S. Army in Baghdad. He commanded a unit that engaged in civil infrastructure projects such as rebuilding medical clinics, schools, and the University of Baghdad's veterinary college.
Dr. Huntley is the Department of Agriculture's Veterinary Services area veterinarian in charge for Washington state, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. He has served on the AVMA Council on Public Health and Regulatory Veterinary Medicine, AVMA Food Safety Advisory Committee, and the executive board of the United States Animal Health Association.
XIIth International Veterinary Congress Prize
This award recognizes an AVMA member who has contributed to international understanding of veterinary medicine.
Dr. Cowen (COL ’85) worked at a rural mixed animal practice in northeastern Colorado for 10 years. She joined Veterinary Services in the Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service as a veterinary educational specialist in 1995. In 2004, she became the director of the professional development staff for APHIS Veterinary Services.
Dr. Cowen has engaged in veterinary capacity building in a number of countries, beginning in the Middle East and Afghanistan, and serves as coordinator of the American Team for International Veterinary Affairs. The team consists mostly of Americans from government, the military, academia, the AVMA, and other nongovernmental organizations who are collaborating across organizational lines to improve animal health infrastructure in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Africa.
Student AVMA Teaching Excellence Award
The Student AVMA gives this award to recognize a professor who educates, inspires, and strongly impacts veterinary students.
Dr. Mizer (ONT ’80) devoted a number of years to morphological studies at The Ohio State University, earning a doctorate in 1987 with a dissertation on “Maturation of the Pulmonary Architecture in the Fetal Dog and Neonatal Pig: A Qualitative and Quantitative Investigation.” She became an assistant professor at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine before she joined the faculty of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1991.
At Cornell's veterinary college, Dr. Mizer is a senior lecturer in the Department of Biomedical Sciences with primary teaching responsibilities in "The Animal Body"—a 12-hour, case-based, multidisciplinary course for first-year veterinary students. She also teaches a 3-hour course on ruminant anatomy and is pursuing an interest in camelid anatomy.
Student AVMA Community Outreach Excellence Award
The Student AVMA gives this award to recognize a professor who goes beyond collegiate responsibilities to focus on education in the community.
Dr. Cornell (PUR ’88) spent two years at a small animal practice in Evansville, Ind., before returning to Purdue University to achieve board certification with the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and earn a doctorate in cancer biology. In 1998, she joined the faculty of the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, where she teaches and practices surgery.
In 2009, Dr. Cornell co-founded Vets for Pets and People to disseminate information about links between animal abuse and domestic violence. The group also cares for pets whose owners seek protection from abusive situations.
Dr. Cornell teaches communication skills as an elective course and as a component of veterinary students' surgery rotations. She instituted a personal and professional development course for interns and residents. She also serves on the ACVS Board of Regents.
AVMF/AKC Career Achievement Award in Canine Research
The American Veterinary Medical Foundation and American Kennel Club created this award for an AVMA member who has contributed to canine research.
Dr. Muir (BRI ’85), a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, spent time on the faculty at the University of California-Davis and the University of London before joining the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine in 1999. He has gained international recognition for his expertise in small animal orthopedics.
During his career, Dr. Muir has had a particular interest in fracture repair in dogs and cats and in tendon and ligament diseases in dogs, particularly cranial cruciate ligament rupture. Last year, he published "The Canine Cranial Cruciate Ligament," first in a series of specialty textbooks that the ACVS Foundation has established. He has served in leadership roles on the ACVS Credentials Committee, ACVS Journal Advisory Board, and AVMA Council on Research.
AVMF/Winn Excellence in Feline Research Award
The American Veterinary Medical Foundation and Winn Feline Foundation created this award for contributions to feline research.
Dr. Gookin (CAL ’93) has gained national recognition for her expertise in gastroenterology with an emphasis on infectious causes of feline diarrheal disease. She helped identify Tritrichomonas foetus as a cause of diarrhea in domestic cats and has dedicated years to studying T foetus infection in cats.
At North Carolina State University, Dr. Gookin earned her doctorate in gastrointestinal physiology and achieved board certification with the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. She currently is an associate professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. Gookin also advocates for mentorship of the next generation of clinician-scientists as co-director of the NCSU Veterinary Scholars Program and as a leader for research training programs in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health.
Karl F. Meyer–James H. Steele Gold Headed Cane Award
The American Veterinary Epidemiology Society gives this award for advancement of human health through veterinary epidemiology and public health. The sponsor is Hartz Mountain Corp.
Dr. Carter (TEX ‘81), a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, spent 24 years at Texas A&M University, most recently as head of diagnostic epidemiology and informatics at the veterinary diagnostic laboratory. He joined the University of Kentucky as an epidemiology professor and later became director of the veterinary diagnostic laboratory.
Dr. Carter's research has focused on the epidemiology of leptospirosis, Rhodococcus pneumonia in foals, near-real-time systems for detecting disease, and continuous electronic monitoring of livestock health. A retired colonel in the Army Reserve and a consultant for federal government agencies, he has traveled extensively on military deployments and to participate in agricultural capacity building. He is president of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians and executive director of the World Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians.
Karl F. Meyer–James H. Steele Gold Headed Cane Award
The American Veterinary Epidemiology Society gives this award for advancement of human health through veterinary epidemiology and public health. The sponsor is Hartz Mountain Corp.
Dr. Thiermann (CHI ’71) is an employee of the Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service detailed to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), where he is president of the standard-setting Terrestrial Animal Health Code Commission and senior adviser to the director-general.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Thiermann was national program leader for animal health research within the USDA Agricultural Research Service. He joined APHIS in 1989 as the deputy administrator for international services, promoting the agency's role in trade facilitation and leading overseas eradication and control programs to promote animal and plant health.
Dr. Thiermann later became APHIS senior trade coordinator and regional director with responsibility for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He served twice as chairman of the World Trade Organization's Sanitary and Phytosanitary Committee.
AVMA President's Award
The AVMA president gives this award to individuals or groups who have made a positive impact on health, veterinary organizations, and the profession.
Dr. Kornegay (TEX ’74) has co-owned Antoine-Little York Animal Clinic in Houston since 1977 with her husband, Dr. Larry M. Kornegay, AVMA immediate past president.
Active in organized veterinary medicine, Dr. Kornegay was a director or officer of the Harris County VMA from 1982-1986, serving as president in 1985. She was on the Texas VMA board of directors from 1986-1991 and executive board from 1992-1999, serving as president in 1998.
Dr. Kornegay was on the executive board of the Texas Academy of Veterinary Practice from 1989-1992, serving as president in 1991. She was on the CE committee of the Southwest Veterinary Symposium from 2001-2004. She was Texas delegate to the AVMA from 2003-2009. She also served as president of an emergency referral group for several years.
AVMA President's Award
The AVMA president gives this award to individuals or groups who have made a positive impact on health, veterinary organizations, and the profession.
Dr. Marsh (PUR ’84) completed a six-year term as AVMA treasurer in July. Previously, he served in the AVMA House of Delegates for nearly a decade. In that time, he was a member of the House Advisory Committee and the Constitution and Bylaws Committee.
As Indiana state veterinarian, Dr. Marsh is responsible for state animal health programs and inspection services for meat, poultry, and dairy products. He advises the Indiana State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners.
Dr. Marsh served a special detail to the Department of Agriculture on matters of homeland security, representing the views of state veterinarians on the nation's ability to preserve and protect agricultural assets. He is a past president of the Indiana VMA, the United States Animal Health Association, and the Purdue Veterinary Alumni Association.
AVMA President's Award
The AVMA president gives this award to individuals or groups who have made a positive impact on health, veterinary organizations, and the profession.
Dr. Morse (TUS ’68), a champion of diversity for the profession, has spent 50 years advocating for equality and inclusion. An activist at 16, he participated in the civil rights movement and has led the charge toward development of culturally competent veterinarians.
Dr. Morse has been chair and a presenter for diversity symposia at the AVMA Annual Convention and was a force behind the AVMA Task Force on Diversity. He chaired the Ohio VMA Diversity Committee and Iverson Bell Veterinary Diversity Symposium.
Founder and president of Warrensville Animal Hospital near Cleveland, Dr. Morse also co-founded a consortium of veterinarians to serve needy pet owners in Cleveland. He has served as a veterinary consultant for Sea World, police, the media, and other institutions. He is a past president of the Cleveland Academy of Veterinary Medicine.