The Ontario
Veterinary College Alumni Association is excited to announce our fourth Alumni
Continuing Education Symposium!
Date: Sunday,
October 2, 2016 Breakfast and
Registration: 8:00 - 9:15 am Sessions: 9:15
am – 4:00 pm Where: Ontario
Veterinary College’s Lifetime Learning Centre
*Please note that registration will be closed
on September 28, 2016 at 4 PM or when the symposium is sold out, whichever
comes first.
Your
registration includes hot breakfast, hot buffet lunch, snacks and coffee
throughout the day as well as lecture notes.
Lectures: Session
1: Echinococcus Multilocularis: An Emerging
Health Issue for Dogs and People in Ontario Dr. Andrew Peregrine sponsored by Bayer Session 2: Socialization Recommendations
for Puppies and Kittens Prof. Lee Niel sponsored by Hills Session 3: Meningoencephalitis
of Unknown Origin in Dogs: More Common than Expected Dr. Luis Gaitero Session
4: Communicating Value to Clients Dr. Colleen Best sponsored by Nestle
Purina Petcare
This full day
CE event will serve as a great opportunity for alumni to return to their alma
mater, learn valuable information on relevant veterinary topics, and re-connect
with their classmates and colleagues.
Sincerely, OVC Alumni
Association Maureen
Anderson, Colleen Best, Lynn Broadhurst, Peter Conlon, Chris Doherty, Tiffany
Durzi, Elizabeth Hartnett, Tamara Hofstede, Joelle Ingrao, Kandice Runyon,
Stefanie Sharp, David Sparks, Matt Speigle, Bob Van Delst
This event is
sponsored in part by: Session Sponsors: Hills, Bayer
and Nestle Purina Petcare Basic
Sponsorship: Merck, ROI Corporation and Radiometer
Check the OVC Research Announcementspage for current information and
submission dates for grant opportunities, Graduate Studies information and
funding opportunities.
Interested members of the University
community are invited to attend the MSc defence for Wesley Rose of the Department
of Biomedical Sciences.
Title: A scoping and systematic review of the evidence for efficacy of
veterinary acupuncture.
Examination Committee: Dr. M.
Vickaryous (Chair); Dr. B. Hanna (Advisory Committee); Dr. J. Sargeant
(Graduate Faculty); Dr. J. Petrik (Graduate Faculty)
Advisory Committee: Dr. B. Hanna
(Advisor); Dr. J. Sargeant (Co-advisor); Dr. D. Kelton
Interested members of the University community are invited to
attend the MSc defence for Noeline
Subramaniam of the Department of Biomedical Sciences.
Title: Growth factor
expression in normal and wounded skin: an investigation of scar-free wound
healing in the leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius).
Examination Committee: Dr. M. Vickaryous (Advisor); Dr. J.
Petrik (Advisory Committee, Biomedical Sciences); Dr. C. Murrant (Graduate
Faculty, Human Health and Nutritional Sciences); Dr. T. Martino (Exam Chair).
Advisory Committee: Dr. M. Vickaryous (Advisor); Dr. N.
MacLusky ; Dr. J. Petrik
Thursday, September 1, 2016 9:00 a.m. Room 1713, Lifetime Learning Centre,
OVC Examination to follow in Room 113,
Population Medicine Building, OVC
Interested members of the Ontario
Veterinary College are invited to attend the Final Oral Examination of the
Collaborative Population Medicine and International Development Studies Degree
of Doctor of Philosophy of Warren Dodd of the Department of Population Medicine
Thesis Title: Labour Mobility, Health,
and Rural Livelihoods in Southern India
Examination Committee: Dr. Olaf Berke; Dr.
Cate Dewey; Dr. Sally Humphries; Dr. Sherilee Harper; Dr. Donald Cole,
University of Toronto
Interested members of the University community are invited to
attend the MSc defence for Jyoti Sharma
of the Department of Biomedical Sciences
Title: Role of Hippo
signaling pathway in bovine preimplantation embryo development.
Examination Committee: Dr. P. Madan (Advisor); Dr. T. Van
Raay (Advisory Committee, Molecular and Cellular Biology); Dr. J. Petrik
(Graduate Faculty); Dr. J. Thomason (Exam Chair)
Advisory Committee: Dr. P. Madan (Advisor); Dr. T. Van Raay
(Molecular and Cellular Biology); Dr. W. A. King
Interested members of the
University community are invited to attend the MSc defence for: Joshua
Antunes of the Department of Biomedical Sciences
Title: miRNAs
in Bovine Ovarian Follicular Development and Angiogenesis
Examination Committee: Dr. B.
Coomber (Chair); Dr. J. Petrik (Advisor); Dr. T. Revay (Advisory Committee);
Dr. G. Bedecarrats (Graduate Faculty, Animal Biosciences)
Advisory Committee: Dr. J. Petrik
(Advisor); Dr. T. Revay; Dr. A. King; Dr. J. LaMarre
Friday, September 2, 2016 10:00 a.m. Room 1800, Pathobiology, OVC Examination to follow in Room 113,
Clinical Research Building, OVC
Interested member of the Ontario
Veterinary College are invited to attend the Final Oral Examination for the
Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Genet Asmelash Medhanie of the Department of
Population Medicine
Thesis Title: “The Role of
European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in the Epidemiology of Zoonotic Pathogens
and Antimicrobial Resistant E. coli in Ohio Dairy Farms”
Examination Committee: Dr. Olaf Berke
(Chair); Dr. David Pearl; Dr. Sherilee Harper; Dr. Jeff LeJeune; Dr. Scott
McEwen
It’s time to
RSVP for September OVC UkuleleClub and what a
perfect way to kickstart the fall season - making music!
Running over lunchtime on the first Wednesday of each month, it’s the perfect
way to de-stress. September's session
is Wednesday, September 7th. Be sure to RSVP to
ckinnune@uoguelph.ca if you plan to attend.
For only $5,
you can join us for a fun 45-minute session where you’ll learn 2 new
songs to add to your songbook and pull out some we’ve done before. Run by
music educator Cynthia Kinnunen (http://www.cynthiakmusic.com/about/) each one is open to
anyone who wants to participate. You
only need RSVP by Friday, September 2nd so we’ll have materials on hand
for you and you’ll know the secret location of the upcoming session.
How to
sign up Spaces are
limited each month so e-mail Cynthia at ckinnune@uoguelph.ca before Friday,
September 2nd to reserve your spot for the September 7th session and get
all the details!
What you
will need All you need
to bring with you is a ukulele, $5 and a willingness to have your
mood boosted for the rest of the day.
Still not
100% convinced ukulele is
for you? Need more inspiration? Check
out Cynthia’s five minute pitch on why the ukulele is for everyone!
An inaugural
Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope will take place in Guelph on Sunday,
September 11, 2016.
OVC Biomedical
Sciences professor Jim Petrik is one of the event co-chairs along with Guelph
resident Frances Vanover.
Guelph Mayor Cam
Guthrie is scheduled to cut the ribbon to start the event before walkers take
to the 2 km trail through the Arboretum at 10:30 a.m. Registration opens at 9
a.m.
The Guelph Walk
will feature live musical entertainment, a short Zumba-style warm up, face
painting for the youngsters, as well as vendor booths and craft sales in
support of Ovarian Cancer Canada.
A $25
Registration fee includes a walk T-shirt. More information is available on the walk
website.
To make this event a success, organizers welcome your help. Sign up here to
volunteer and help make Guelph’s first Walk of Hope a success!
12:30 p.m.
(Rm 1812) Class of 2020 - Phase 1 International Students lunch talk This is an opportunity for the Phase 1 International
Students to ask any questions they may have that have come up after their first
week at school.
12:30 p.m.
(Room 1714) Surgery Club – Executive Meeting
A recent
funding announcement will enhance facilities for infectious disease research at
the Ontario Veterinary College and the University of Guelph.
The UofG
will receive more than $30 million from the federal and provincial governments
to enhance research and innovation facilities. Among the initiatives across
campus is a biosafety level 2 production animal research isolation unit located
on the OVC campus.
The UofG
currently has the only facility in Ontario for housing production animals for
infectious disease research.
Researchers
at the UofG have made significant advances in the understanding, treatment and
prevention of infectious disease in animals, including cattle, rabbits, sheep,
swine and poultry. The ability to accommodate level 2 pathogens is essential
for this research.
This
has included research into bovine respiratory disease, bacterial pneumonia in beef calves, Johne’s
Disease in dairy cattle, as well as parasitic, bacterial and viral diseases in
poultry.
The new
facility will improve researchers’ ability to identify and prevent threatening
infectious diseases and will allow additional research and training for
scientists and veterinarians involving emerging infectious diseases,
disease outbreak preparedness, food safety, public health, zoonotic diseases,
and the changing needs in health management of livestock.
For more
information, read the news release on the UofG website.
Welcome back to the beginning of a new academic year. Summer
is supposed to be a quiet time, but this summer has been anything but quiet at
OVC! I will highlight just a few of the notable
announcements from the past few months.
We have two new excellent faculty hires who have started in
the past weeks: Drs. Saleh and Tucker.
Dr. Anita Tucker recently joined OVC’s Department of
Population Medicine specializing in animal behaviour and welfare. She brings a
strong background in animal welfare and animal production areas, particularly
swine research, as well as aboriginal community engagement strengths. In
addition to production animals, her research and teaching will encompass
indigenist and veterinary outreach areas.
Dr. Tarek Saleh joined OVC September 1 as chair of the
Department of Biomedical Sciences. A respected investigator in neuroscience and
cardiovascular research with extensive teaching experience, he previously was a
professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Science at Atlantic
Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island.
Please take every opportunity to welcome Drs. Tucker and
Saleh and help them feel at home in their new departments.
You may have seen the construction crews who are on site now
to begin the renovations of the HSC surgical and anaesthesia suites. As well,
some preliminary site work will be beginning in preparation for construction of
the new Enhanced Learning Centre. While patience will be required from all of
us as we begin this work, I know you agree these state-of-the art facilities
are integral to stay at the leading edge of learning, care and discovery.
We have had a number of very positive funding announcements
in recent weeks. Just last week, federal
funding was announced for the renewal of the important but aging production
research animal isolation unit. Here at
the UofG, we currently have the only facility in Ontario for housing production
animals for infectious disease research. The new facility will improve
researchers’ ability to identify and prevent infectious diseases that impact
our agri-food sector and provide enhanced training opportunities for
veterinarians and scientists. We hope the new facility will be near completion
by mid-2018.
Earlier in the summer, we celebrated a $1.5-Million gift for
OVC Companion Animal Care from Kim and Stu Lang’s Angel Gabriel Foundation which
will go to support OVC Pet Trust’s Friends Together for Longer fundraising
campaign, launched late last year. Specifically, it will help create a
sophisticated anesthesia and pain management unit within OVC’s Health Sciences
Centre.
As well, we applaud Dr. Ole Nielsen, OVC 1956, and former
dean of the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College, who in early
July was named a Member of the Order of Canada in recognition of his
contributions to veterinary medicine in Canada as an academic and
administrator.
There have been a number of other developments over the
summer months, which I will discuss in coming weeks.
Looking of forward to the fall semester, we are about to
embark on our College strategic planning process, which will provide us with a
roadmap for the College from 2017 to 2022. With the help of Drs. Menzies,
Nykamp, and Carol Ann Higgins, we have retained a highly recommended and
experienced facilitator, Daniel Stone. He has worked with a number of
veterinary colleges and professional organizations and he will be visiting OVC
soon for his introductory discussions with Dean’s Council and the Dean’s
Advisory Council. He will be discussing the planning process, and in
particular how we feel we can best ensure that our internal and external
stakeholder communities have the fullest opportunities to contribute.
So, welcome back, I hope all of you bring renewed energy to
your work and studies, and I look forward to re-engaging with you as our
strategic planning progresses.
The National Student Paper Competition (the
Competition) asks pioneering students: “How would you
improve the public service to better serve Canadians?” Students have a
unique perspective on the public service and how it runs; after all, federal
programs and services affect almost every aspect of their daily life. It is
your chance to make a difference and have your ideas heard by the most senior
leaders in public service! Master’s and Ph.D. students in fields such as
business, humanities, social sciences, and applied sciences are invited to
submit papers on a wide range of subjects. Five chosen finalists will have the
opportunity to present to a deputy minister panel and engage in a discussion
with senior officials in the federal public service. In addition to presenting
on a national platform, the 2017 Grand Prize includes an exciting new
incentive: a four-month paid placement in the federal
government! For more information on the Competition, including key dates and
guidelines, visit the Institute of Public
Administration of Canada’s website for details and competition guidelines.)
The
Public Servant-in-Residence (PSIR) Program places high-performing public servants in
Canadian universities to research and/or teach in areas of mutual interests.
Participants will also be able to engage in other important activities, such as
working on collaborative projects and mentoring students. To encourage a
continuous flow of knowledge between the public service and universities, this
exciting opportunity now supports both micro-assignments of one to five months,
and longer residencies of six months to two years. Moreover, to add even more
flexibility, it has changed its sole focus on just public administration
programs to include all university faculties. The most important requirement of
the PSIR Program, however, is that the assignment benefits everyone involved!
Financial Services - Roll
out of new process - September 12, 2016 We’ve previously shared a
new approach to providing financial services to all units (outside of the HSC)
at some faculty meetings, through the Bulletin and by email. We have
also shared the new system on our SAS website at this link.
Our pilot was successful,
allowing us to make necessary adjustments and we are all excited to roll
out the new process to obtain service from financial services on September 12,
2016. Additional information will be shared and we will have some drop-in
sessions to provide any clarification people need. We were able to verify with our pilot that the system is very
straightforward and will require minimal training, if any. As with the
pilot project, we continue to be committed to taking constructive feedback
about the process and making changes as appropriate.
New webpage for
administrative forms: Please see our newly
revamped webpage containing all of the current forms in use at OVC. Many
“in-house” forms have been updated recently to utilize a common theme as well
as improving usability and efficiency. The Distribution of Effort
Amendment and Study/Research Leave Application forms are examples of this.
If there are forms missing please email ovcsas@uoguelph.ca with
the relevant information and we will post or link to the most current version.
Information on the site includes department criteria documents, the
schedule of department and college meetings and membership on T&P
committees.
Administrative People
on the Move Please note some personnel
relocations have occurred over the past few months:
Lily Arpa, SAS Finance
Clerk has relocated to Room 2646 thereby allowing Bryan
Potter close proximity to the Chair of Biomedical Sciences and all of the
financial services clerks who are within 20 metres of each other.
Catherine Harrington joined
HR Services in early May 2016 on a temporary basis and is located with
Cathy Bernardi in Room 2638 (OVC Main).
Judy Tack, OVC Chief
Financial Officer has relocated to Room 106B in Building 46 (former VMI).
Karen Mantel, OVC Marketing
and Communications Officer, has relocated to Room 2640 (OVC Main) to
accommodate HSC renovations.
Patricia Van Asten,
Graduate Program Assistant for the Department of Biomedical Sciences will
be leaving us. Congratulations to Patricia who has
just accepted a permanent position with the School of Environmental
Design & Rural Development as their Graduate Program Assistant. A
well deserved appointment! Patricia has been covering the maternity leave
of Christina Voll who will be returning to work on October 3, 2016. As
most of you know, the Graduate Program Assistants are located in the Population
Medicine building (formerly called Clinical Research Building).
Dr. Tarek Saleh was officially welcomed to OVC on September 1 as
the chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences.
Saleh previously was a professor and chair of the Department of
Biomedical Science at Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward
Island. He earned a doctorate from the University of Western Ontario and was a
post-doctoral researcher in neurophysiology at the University of Calgary.
“I am incredibly honoured and proud to join the department of
biomedical sciences at OVC, and humbled by the caliber of scientist and
educators in the department as well as the College and University. I am
extremely excited to be here and to be a part of the talented leadership team
at OVC,” says Saleh.
Saleh is a well-respected investigator in neuroscience and
cardiovascular research with extensive teaching experience, says OVC dean
Jeffrey Wichtel. “I look forward to working with Tarek in his role as chair to
continue to build successful interdisciplinary research teams and enhance our
teaching and learning opportunities in both the DVM, undergraduate and graduate
programs at OVC.“
Check the OVC
Research Announcementspage for current information and
submission dates for grant opportunities, Graduate Studies information and
funding opportunities.
An inaugural Ovarian Cancer
Canada Walk of Hope will take place in Guelph on Sunday, September 11, 2016.
OVC Biomedical Sciences professor
Jim
Petrik and his lab members in the Department of Biomedical Sciences have
partnered with local cancer survivor Frances Vanover to organize this inaugural walk.
To make this event a success,
organizers welcome your help. Sign up here to volunteer and help make
Guelph’s first Walk of Hope a success!
Researchers at the OVC Companion Animal
Behaviour and Welfare lab are currently recruiting dog owners to complete a
30-40 minute survey looking at what factors may influence how dogs respond to
different situations. Upon completion you will be entered into a draw for a
chance to win $100!
While summer is coming to an end, construction is just beginning
within the University of Guelph’s OVC Health Sciences Centre (HSC). The Ontario Veterinary College (OVC)
celebrated this new beginning with a community celebration for all staff/ Annual
Ice Cream Social hosted by the OVC HSC.
The project is supported by donations made to OVC Pet Trust’s
$9 million Friends
Together for Longer fundraising campaign and includes re-envisioning
the surgery and anesthesia spaces within the OVC Companion Animal Hospital.
OVC Dean, Dr. Jeff Wichtel emphasized that the renovated facilities
will have far-reaching impacts on both pets and pet owners when the campaign
was announced
late last year.
Wichtel says “They will help ensure OVC’s continued ability
to improve the health and well-being of pets, whether we are providing advanced
diagnosis or life-saving procedures, raising the standard of care, or making
meaningful contributions to clinical research and innovation.”
OVC has a long history of remaining at the forefront of
veterinary medicine. The OVC Companion Animal Hospital is located within the James
Archibald Building at UofG, a building which is aptly named after OVC’49
Alumnus, Dr. James Archibald. Archibald
is regarded as a pioneer in the development of veterinary surgery and his work has
influenced both animal and human surgical techniques. He was published extensively in veterinary
journals, edited two editions of the textbook Canine Surgery, one of the
founders of the American College of Veterinary Surgery, and one of the first
editors of the Canadian Veterinary Journal.
By creating this state-of-the-art facility - Pet Trust aims
to ensure OVC continues to lead the way in veterinary medicine, care and education.
Over $6.5 million dollars has been raised to support this effort to date.
To learn more about Pet Trust or contribute to the campaign
please visit www.pettrust.ca.
Join the Ontario Veterinary College and the Wellington
County Museum on Saturday, November 5 for a Remembrance Day ceremony, light
lunch, a talk on Canada’s War Horses and free entrance to the museum to see the
War Horse exhibit. No registration is required.
“Canada’s War Horses” is an exhibit that reflects a
growing partnership between the C.A.V. Barker Museum of Canadian Veterinary History
(Barker Veterinary Museum), Ontario Veterinary College, and the Wellington
County Museum and Archives. This exhibit will open on November 5 and run until
April 2017. The exhibit showcases the role of horses during World War I and the
veterinarians of the Canadian Army Veterinary Corps (the majority of whom were
trained at the OVC). This exhibit will highlight the kinds of injuries
sustained by animals, the shape of veterinary care during the War, highlight
individual veterinarians (particularly those from Wellington County), and
reflect the important relationship between man and animal during this horrific
conflict.
The Wellington County Museum and Archives
hosts a “Remembrance Week” every year at their facility in Elora and the OVC exhibit
will be part of their opening day of events for this important week. Members of
the university and alumni communities as well as any others are welcome to come
and participate in part or all of this day.
10:30
AM: Remembrance Ceremony– Taking place on the front lawn of
the museum, with an honour guard from the Royal Canadian Legion, singing, roll
call of soldiers of Wellington County from conflicts to the present who made
the ultimate sacrifice.
12:00 PM: Lunch - A light lunch is
served and a local choir entertains, guests are welcome to tour the museum and
the new exhibit.
1:00 PM: Opening Remarks& Dr. Lisa Cox’s Talk– Dean Jeff
Wichtel from the Ontario Veterinary College will be introducing Dr. Lisa Cox.
Dr. Cox will present a short talk on the history of Canada’s War Horses and
officially open the exhibit.
The museum itself is a National Historic Site and is
the last remaining House of Industry in Canada. It was built in 1877 as“poor house” or “house of refuge” for the poor, homeless,
and destitute residents of Wellington County. The museum has quite a large
gallery chronicling the history of workhouses and this one in particular. These
places were common in the Victorian Period and were essentially the first form
of state-sponsored social welfare. They were not pleasant places, however, and
were often the last resort for the poor. The Wellington facility ran until 1947
when it became a retirement home before it was converted to a museum in 1974.
Wellington
County Museum and Archives is located at 0536 Wellington Road 18, Fergus.
After a successful
pilot project we are moving forward with the launch of a new operation and interaction
model for OVC Financial Services.
The new eRequest Form is
now live and contains all relevant information for initiating service requests
from the team of Financial Clerks (this includes pertinent documentation,
instructions, regulations and forms). This link can be bookmarked and can
always be found on the main CONTACT page of the OVC SAS website.
We fully understand
this is a major shift in process and will of course be accommodating to those
who continue to submit claims via traditional methods during this transition
phase. We do expect to be fully transitioned by September
26, 2016 and will be looking for all members of the OVC community to be using
the system by this date.
Scott Moccia (smoccia@uoguelph.ca : ext. 54056) will be available to
provide training and instruction to any and all members of the community that
request it. It is our hope that the eRequest form contains all of the
information you will need. Scheduled faculty or department meetings will
also be an opportunity for us to share information if desired.
As of today we are
also rolling out a simple Client Satisfaction Survey. Constructive feedback,
both positive and negative, is helpful to the continuous improvement of
administrative service at OVC. This will always be found at the top of
the OVC SAS
homepage.
We truly appreciate
your cooperation going forward and a sincere thank you to our pilot team
members for their assistance through throughout August and into the busy month
of September.
Sincerely, OVC SAS Administrative
Management Team Carol Ann, Judy,
Sally, Bryan & Scott
Congratulations
to organizers of the inaugural Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope in Guelph who
raised $15 for this important cause.
Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie (centre) cuts the ribbon to launch the event with Prof. Jim Petrik to his right and Frances Vanover to his left.
OVC Biomedical Sciences professor Jim Petrik and his lab members
in OVC’s Department of Biomedical Sciences partnered with local cancer survivor
Frances Vanover to organize the successful event.
Current treatments
for late-stage ovarian cancer have limited effectiveness, says Petrik. His lab
is searching for ways to change this with novel therapies to treat advanced
stage ovarian cancer.
He has researched ovarian cancer at the
University of Guelph for more than 15 years studying ways to improve treatment of advanced-stage ovarian
cancer by remodelling dysfunctional blood vessels in tumours to improve drug delivery
and make therapies more effective.
Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie cut the ribbon to start the event before
walkers took to trails through the UofG’s Arboretum.
