American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians - April 2022

Event

64th annual meeting, held virtually, Oct. 22-26, 2021

Awards

E.P. Pope Award
Dr. Patrick G. Halbur (Iowa State ’86), Ames, Iowa. Dr. Halbur is a professor, chair of the Department of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine, and executive director of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. During his tenure, he has also served as associate dean for public services and outreach and as interim dean of the veterinary college.

Distinguished Service Award
Dr. Christina Loiacono (Virginia-Maryland ’94), Ames, Iowa. Dr. Loiacono serves as coordinator of the National Veterinary Services Laboratories’ National Animal Health Laboratory Network. In her role, she leads a network of 60 federal, state, and university-associated animal diagnostic laboratories across the United States that provide surveillance and outbreak response testing for 14 diseases of high consequence. Dr. Loiacono previously served as a veterinary pathologist with the NVSL.

Outstanding Performance Award for Diagnostic Services
Margaret Steinman, Lexington, Kentucky. Steinman retired in 2021 from the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. During her more than 30 years with the UKVDL, she served as head of the serology section, was chief liaison with the Kentucky poultry industries, and served as a volunteer safety officer.

Pioneer in Virology Award
Edward J. Dubovi, PhD, Ithaca, New York. Dr. Dubovi earned his doctorate in microbiology in 1975 from the University of Pittsburgh. He served as a professor of virology and directed the virology laboratory of the Animal Health Diagnostic Center in the Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine until 2020. Dr. Dubovi’s research focused on viral diseases of cattle, with particular emphasis on bovine viral diarrhea virus; viral diseases of dogs, with emphasis on canine influenza virus and canine pneumovirus; and viral diseases of domestic animals that impact endangered wildlife.

Richard L. Walker Bacteriology Award, sponsored by Anaerobe Systems
Dr. Treana Mayer, Colorado State University, for the presentation “First report of Veronaea botryosa in a North American amphibian causing fatal phaeohyphomycosis in captive White's tree frogs (Litoria caerulea)”

J. Lindsay Oaks Best Student Molecular Biology Award, sponsored by Veterinary Medical Research & Development
Dr. Sai Narayanan, Oklahoma State University, for the presentation “Development and evaluation of Metagenome2Vec, a machine learning algorithm, for sequencing-based pathogen detection”

Brenda Love Best Student Bacteriology Poster Presentation Award, sponsored by BioMerieux
Dr. Daniela Pena Hernandez, Purdue University, for the presentation “Comparison of a commercial kit and traditional culture method for detection of Salmonella spp. on spiked and environmental samples”

AAVLD/ACVP Diagnostic Pathology Resident/Graduate Student Award
Dr. Rachael Gruenwald, Michigan State University, for the presentation “Selenium toxicosis causing poliomyelomalacia in grower pigs”

ACVP/AAVLD Diagnostic Pathology Resident/Graduate Student Travel Award
Dr. Ryan Yanez, Michigan State University, for the presentation “SARS-CoV-2 infection in two farmed minks”

Diagnostic Pathology Slide Seminar Resident/Graduate Student Award
First place ($300): Dr. Michael J. Clayton, Utah State University, for the presentation “Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 infection in farmed mink in Utah”; second place ($200): Dr. Kristen J. Hill-Thimmesch, Purdue University, for the presentation “Multiple viral agents in racing pigeons”; and third place ($100): Dr. Jeongha Lee, Louisiana State University, for the presentation “Intranuclear coccidiosis in a red-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonarius)”

Best Poster Presentation Award
Dr. Haley Zeliff, University of Pennsylvania, for the presentation “Surveying for SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses in bats in North America”

Best Oral Presentation Award
Dr. Megan Neveau, Iowa State University, for the presentation “Genetic and antigenic characterization of an expanding H3 cluster IV-A influenza A virus clade in US swine visualized by Nextstrain”

Best Recorded Presentation Award
Dr. Nadia Saklou, Virginia Tech, for the presentation “Loop-mediated isothermal amplification and DNA sequencing for the detection and genotyping of equine herpesvirus type 1 in equine nasal secretion”

Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation Best Manuscript Award
Dr. Larry H. Kelly, University of California-Davis, for “Equine dental and skeletal fluorosis induced by well water consumption”

Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation Best Brief Communication Award
Dr. Anthony W. Confer, Oklahoma State University, for “Sequential exposure to bovine viral diarrhea virus and bovine coronavirus results in increased respiratory disease lesions: clinical, immunologic, pathologic, and immunohistochemical findings”

Life Membership
Drs. Helen M. Acland, Unionville, Pennsylvania; Neil Allison, Washington, Utah; P. Suzanne Carman, Guelph, Ontario; Harvey Fisch, Hallandale Beach, Florida; Robert W. Fulton, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; and Richard E. Mock, Raleigh, North Carolina

Officials

Drs. Jerry Saliki, Stillwater, Oklahoma, president; Eric Burrough, Ames, Iowa, president-elect and program chair; Keith Poulsen, Madison, Wisconsin, vice president; Kristy Pabilonia, Fort Collins, Colorado, secretary-treasurer; Shuping Zhang, Columbia, Missouri, immediate past president; and David H. Zeman, Brookings, South Dakota, executive director