AVMA honors DVMs advancing medicine

HONOLULU — The American Veterinary Medical Association's Animal Welfare Award goes to Dr. John Madigan, a California equine practitioner known for coordinating animal rescue efforts, inventing rehabilitation tools and developing an equine neonatal care facility.

Madigan, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, is a registered disaster services worker for the California Office of Emergency Services and pursues federal and state legislation to ensure animal welfare during natural disasters.

"I think it's a great honor. It reflects very favorable on the university of California where I work that allows one to explore innovative and creative solutions to improve the well-being of animals," he says. "Whether it's building a swing, creating a disaster team or creating an airlift for horses, when you do the right thing for animals, a lot of good seems to come of it over the long run."

Madigan was one of nine AVMA award recipients recognized during the association's annual convention July 18 in Honolulu. Among the other recipients, William Steven Stokes, DVM, DACLAM earned the 2006 Charles River Prize recognizing distinguished contributions to the field of laboratory animal medicine and science.

Stokes, internationally recognized as an authority on the humane care of laboratory animals, heads the National Toxicology Program's Interagency Center for Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods where he directs the review of new test methods that support and provide improved human health and animal welfare. Stokes started his career with the U.S. Amy Veterinary Corps at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. In 1986, he joined the National Institutes of Health. The U.S. surgeon general appointed the Apex, N.C., veterinarian to chief veterinary officer for the U.S. Public Health Service in 2003.

Research awards

Janice Margaret Miller, DVM, PhD, ACVP takes the 2006 Lifetime Excellence in Research Award and is known for discovering bovine leukemia virus. Her career as a federal research scientist began with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service at the National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Iowa. There's she's addressed livestock industry diseases associated with retroviruses, herpes viruses, mycobacteria and prions by developing diagnostic tests.

Now retired, Miller has received many awards based on her work and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1999.

Robyn Elmslie, DVM, DACVIM also has been honored for her efforts to advance medical science. The 2006 Practitioner Research Award recognizes the Englewood, Colo., veterinarian's work to found Veterinary Cancer Specialists, the oncology department of the Veterinary Referral Center of Colorado in 1993, with the goal to combine her clinical oncology expertise with her immunology research background to benefit the lives of patients.

Public service

Benefiting public health and regulatory veterinary medicine is James Roth, DVM, PhD, DACVM, who received the 2006 Public Service Award.

Roth is executive director of the Institute for International Cooperation in Animal Biologics (IICAB), a World Organization for Animal Health-collaborating center. Through Roth's leadership, IICAB provides training, facilitates harmonization of regulations and assists countries in obtaining needed veterinary biologics. He has worked to educate veterinary biologics industry employees no the USDA's regulations through the Veterinary Biologics Training Program for more than a decade. Roth also serves as a distinguished professor at Iowa State University's College of Veterinary Medicine and is director of the Center for Food Security and Public Health within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Teaching excellence

The Student AVMA Teaching Excellence Award in Basic Sciences goes to Marion Ehrich, RPh, MS, PhD, DABT, FATS, recognizing excellence, innovation and enthusiasm in the field of basic veterinary science and education. Ehrich is a professor at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg, Va, where her responsibilities include service in the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital and Pharmacy as well as the Toxicology Diagnostic Laboratory. Ehrich also teaches pharmacology and toxicology to veterinary and graduate students.

She currently serves on the Executive Board of the Council for Scientific Society Presidents and the National Research Council's Committee on Toxicology.

Kevin Pelzer, DVM, MPVM, DACVPM, takes the Student AVMA Teaching Excellence Award in Clinical Sciences, recognizing his work as an assistant professor and section chief of Production Management Medicine Field Services Unit at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. A faculty adviser for the Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association since 1991, Pelzer's interests are in public health and food animal medicine.

International prize

David Sherman, DVM, MS, DACVIM receives the 2006 XII International Veterinary Congress Prize for his contributions to international understanding of veterinary medicine.

Sherman has worked and consulted in more than 20 countries for a variety of international agencies on activities that include transboundary animal disease control, community-based animal health service delivery, goat health and production, livestock disease investigation, veterinary education and promoting international understanding of the importance of veterinary medicine in developing countries.

During the past two years, Sherman has served as country director of the Dutch Committee for Afghanistan, responsible for implementing a $11.5- million program funded by the United States Agency for International Development to establish a national network of private veterinary field units in the country.

Gold Head Cane Award

Dr. Marguerite Pappaioanou receives the 2006 Karl F. Meyer-James H. Steele Gold Head Cane Award for her contributions to veterinary medicine and public health

Pappaioanou, an avian influenza expert, is a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Minnesota (MU) School of Public Health with a joint appointment to the College of Veterinary Medicine. She reportedly is developing a program of research and teaching in infectious diseases.

The Gold Head Cane Award, administered by the American Veterinary Epidemiology Society, was established in 1964 to honor individuals whose work and careers demonstrate noteworthy contributions to the field of veterinary epidemiology. Hartz Mountain Corp. sponsors the award.

Prior to joining the MU, Pappaioanou served as acting deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office of Global Health. During her tenure, she conducted applied research in prevention and control of malaria in Africa and implemented disease surveillance programs to track HIV. Pappaioanou also directed a project to strengthen health officials' skills in developing countries, giving them tools to effectively use data for policy decision-making, Hartz officials say.