Attendees watch a saddle-fitting demonstration during the 2024 Equine Wellness Forum
Equine enthusiasts demonstrated the value of continuing education about equine wellness by turning out in force for the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s 2024 Equine Wellness Forum at Lynn Hall. The all-day program Saturday, February 10, attracted 155 attendees from across Indiana and five other states.
Another popular demonstration topic was trailer safety.
The forum is designed to inform horse owners and equine industry professionals about horse health issues ranging from basic preventative healthcare to the latest medical advancements. In addition to talks on a variety of topics, the program also featured three live demonstrations that included the college’s high-speed equine treadmill and sessions on saddle fitting and trailer safety.
The program attracted attendees of all ages, including about a dozen high school students. Presentations were given by equine specialists on the college’s faculty as well as several outside speakers. The forum began with a welcome and introductory remarks by the head of the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Dr. Catherine Scott-Moncrieff. The program was moderated by Dr. Tim Lescun, professor of large animal surgery.
Equine enthusiasts were fascinated by the demonstration of the high speed equine treadmill at the Donald J. McCrosky Equine Sports Medicine Center.
Other speakers and their topics included:
Dr. Kelsey Dawson, a sports psychologist for Purdue Counseling & Sports Psychology Services, who spoke about the basics of sports performance skills, such as breathing techniques and meditation. Attendees also had the opportunity to engage in activities allowing them to practice the learned skill.
Dr. Janice Kritchevsky, professor of large animal internal medicine, gave a presentation on the topic, “What’s new with old horses,” which provided guidance on how to best care for a senior horse. Diseases that are common in aged horses such as equine asthma, pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction, and chronic lameness also were discussed.
Dr. Erin Wilson, (PU DVM 2008), a nutrition consultant for Cargill Animal Nutrition and a Purdue alumna, spoke on the topic of the nutritional management of senior horses, beginning with senior horse identification and demographics. Special nutritional and management considerations of senior horses were discussed, including dental issues, impaired nutrient absorption, environmental and herd stress, and common concurrent diseases.
Dr. Michelle Tucker, assistant professor of large animal surgery, discussed the most common communicable diseases of show horses, and how to prevent them. Her presentation included background about the pathogens, how they are transmitted, and general disease-specific strategies to prevent bringing any infectious diseases home from shows or events where horses are mixing.
Dr. Sara Waxman, a clinical assistant professor who works with the Purdue University Veterinary Hospital’s Equine Field Service, explained Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue, describing when it is used and basic techniques for moving and lifting horses.
Dr. Catharine Scott-Moncrieff, head of the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, welcomed attendees at the start of the Equine Wellness Forum Saturday, February 10.
Five Purdue veterinary students in the college’s Equine Club assisted with the demonstrations and gave tours of the David and Bonnie Brunner Equine Hospital at the end the day. The forum attracted horse enthusiasts with a variety of interests and backgrounds, including racing, jumping, showmanship, dressage, Western, English, and trail riding. Also represented among the attendees were mounted police.
Today we are highlighting Sheila Stingle, account assistant in the Department of Veterinary Administration. Her nominator shared this message: “Thank you, Sheila, for taking such good care of the plants in the atrium at one of the Harrison Street entrances for Lynn Hall. They are very pretty in our entryway and brighten up my day as I come in for work.”
Fostering a healthy work environment involves expressing appreciation and gratitude. Is there someone at PVM you would like to acknowledge today? It’s easy to make a Paws Up submission – just follow this link. Submissions are published anonymously and may be edited for length. Any PVM staff, faculty, student, or team may be nominated by anyone in our college. For more information, visit the PVM Wellness Committee website.
Karlene Belyea, Vice President of Wellness (Photo Courtesy of Mission Veterinary Partners)
Each semester the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine invites a wellness expert to give a presentation to the students and community on a topic related to wellbeing in the veterinary profession as part of the Dr. Jeffrey A. Sutarik Memorial Wellness Lecture series. This spring the speaker will be Karlene Belyea, who will give a talk on the topic, “Brain Training: Well-Being Starts in Your Mind,” on Tuesday, March 5, from 8:00 to 9:20 a.m. in LYNN 1136. The college is grateful to Ed and Pat Sutarik for continuing to fund this lecture series for the health of the college and the veterinary profession.
Belyea’s presentation will help attendees develop strategies that can be used every day to create rituals to make us happier, healthier, and more productive. She will share information about how people can take advantage of their brain’s plasticity and keep it in great shape by utilizing mindfulness to tame the procrastination monster, control imposter syndrome, reduce stress hormones, and to decide whether multitasking is a good thing. In short, Belyea will give insights into how attendees can work to rewire their brains toward improved cognition and productivity in all areas of life. In addition to the lecture, Belyea also will be speaking with the staff and faculty who work in the Purdue University Veterinary Hospital, in order to educate the college’s whole community on issues related to wellbeing.
Belyea’s passion is speaking to groups about how to improve communications, culture, and well-being in the workplace. She is a certified Everything DiSC® Trainer and presents sessions on behavioral styles, generational differences, body language, leadership and influence, creating positive and productive work cultures, wellness, work/life integration and brain training. She focuses on how to work together more effectively through understanding and appreciating the differences in people, while working to improve communications, team building, customer service and conflict resolution. Belyea currently is the Vice President of Wellness for Mission Veterinary Partners. Prior to assuming that role, she served as CEO of the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association for 15 years. Overall, she has more than 30 years of experience in management and team building. She earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Telecommunications from Michigan State. The in-person lecture will be given as part of the Current Issues in Veterinary Medicine class, but the presentation also will be streamed for people outside of the college through Kaltura.
Today we are highlighting Clinical Pathology Laboratory Submission Clerks Jennifer Hewitt and Nichelle Crawford. Their nominator said, “Jen and Nichelle can always find a way to brighten your day! They are super helpful and always kind whenever anyone has a clin path question. No matter the day I’m having, they are able to put a smile on my face and make my day 100% better!”
Fostering a healthy work environment involves expressing appreciation and gratitude. Is there someone at PVM you would like to acknowledge today? It’s easy to make a Paws Up submission – just follow this link. Submissions are published anonymously and may be edited for length. Any PVM staff, faculty, student, or team may be nominated by anyone in our college. For more information, visit the PVM Wellness Committee website.
Purdue Veterinary Medicine Dean Willie Reed, recipient of the College of Agriculture Distinguished Service Award, with Ag Alumni Association Executive Director Danica Kirkpatrick and College of Agriculture Dean Bernie Engel at the Ag Alumni Fish Fry where the award was presented.
The annual Purdue Ag Alumni Fish Fry provided the setting recently for the presentation of a special award to Purdue Veterinary Medicine Dean Willie Reed. Held at the Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds Saturday, February 3, the event was hosted by the Purdue Ag Alumni Association and featured special speakers, exhibits, networking opportunities, and announcement of the 2024 recipients of the Ag Alumni Association’s Certificates of Distinction. In addition, the program this year included the awarding of a special honor only given in special instances.
Attended by Boilermaker alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends, the Ag Alumni Fish Fry program was kicked-off by Purdue President Mung Chiang, who described recent university successes and expressed his gratitude for the many advancements made by the College of Agriculture. Then Dr. Bernie Engel, the Glenn W. Sample Dean of the College of Agriculture, thanked attendees, special guests, and sponsors for their support, and provided a college update before pausing to make a special presentation that was a surprise to Dean Reed.
After inviting Dean Reed to come forward along with Ag Alumni Association Executive Director Danica Kirkpatrick, Dean Engel explained that as the dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Reed has been a terrific partner of the College of Agriculture for 17 years. “Ag and Vet Med often go hand-in-hand in many ways,” Dean Engel said. He noted that many students in the Department of Animal Sciences go on to enroll in the veterinary college and tremendous collaborative research is conducted across college of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine programs. Dean Engel also emphasized that cooperative extension touches both colleges, and noted that Dr. Reed also serves on the Ag Alumni Association Board of Directors.
“We greatly appreciate the leadership and support that he has provided over the years,” Dr. Engel said as he presented the College of Agriculture Distinguished Service Award to Dean Reed, who was recognized with a rousing round of applause.
The program then continued with well-known retired agriculture broadcaster Max Armstrong serving as host as selected College of Agriculture faculty members shared comments and answered questions regarding advancements and the future potential in digital agriculture. The 2024 Ag Alumni Association Certificate of Distinction recipients also were announced. They are Ben Carter, Bud G. Harmon, Don Lehe, Freddie Bernard, Steve Nichols, and Tom Bechman. The Certificates of Distinction recognize individuals who have significantly contributed to agriculture, forestry, or natural resources through career accomplishments, involvement in professional organizations, community service, and other impactful activities in their fields.
Dr. Michael Lent, a Purdue graduate in the DVM Class of 1991, has been elected as a new member of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Board of Directors. He will become the third Purdue Veterinary Medicine alumnus to serve on the current board, joining Dr. Jim Weisman (PU DVM ’97) who was elected last year as the District VI director, representing Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, and Dr. Richard Sullivan (PU DVM ’72), who serves as the District X director, representing California, Hawaii and Nevada.
Dr. Michael Lent (Photo courtesy of the AVMA)
Dr. Lent is a small animal practitioner at Pantano Animal Clinic in Tucson, Arizona. He will serve as the District IX director, representing Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Utah.
Dr. Lent grew up in northern New Jersey and graduated from Bowdoin College, a private liberal arts college in Maine, as a biochemistry major. After earning his DVM degree at Purdue, Dr. Lent practiced small animal medicine for five years in Indianapolis for Dr. Mike Thomas before buying the Pantano Animal Clinic with his business partner, Dr. Jack Quick, from its original owner. Drs. Lent and Quick owned the practice for 20 years before selling it in 2016 to a private company, Lakefield Veterinary Group. Dr. Lent continues to work for the clinic as the medical director.
No stranger to organized veterinary medicine, Dr. Lent’s involvement with veterinary medical associations dates back to his days as a Purdue veterinary student when he initially got involved in what was then called the Student Chapter of the AVMA (now named Purdue SAVMA), serving as the chapter president. Since then, he has served as president of the Arizona and Southern Arizona VMAs and as a member of the Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board. In 2019, he became a member of the AVMA House of Delegates, serving as Arizona’s alternate delegate and then delegate.
Dr. Lent also is a charter member of the Animal Cruelty Task Force of Southern Arizona, which was established in 1998, assisting law enforcement with investigations and educating the public about the link between animal abuse and human violence, especially domestic violence and child abuse. In addition, Dr. Lent’s record of service includes charity veterinary work in Nicaragua with World Vets, and serving on the Advisory Board of the National Association for Black Veterinarians. He also has engaged with his alma mater’s efforts to advance diversity in the veterinary medical profession. He completed the Diversity and Inclusion in Veterinary Medicine Certificate program and joined the college’s League of VetaHumanz, which is an alliance of veterinary “superheroes” in academia, practice, research, government, and industry who are committed to engaging with under-resourced communities to provide access and support for youth who aspire to careers in the veterinary profession. Click here to view Dr. Lent’s VetaHumanz page.
“I’ve found involvement in organized veterinary medicine has helped me grow as a person and veterinarian by serving and representing others,” Dr. Lent said. “I’ve been very fortunate to make some lifelong friends and mentors, and always felt like I got back more than I gave from the experiences. I’ve been challenged to see issues from many different perspectives and learned a great deal about aspects of the profession I love, which I otherwise would have not been exposed to. I also feel the most kinship and connection with my colleagues in the profession when I’m involved in something bigger than us as individuals.”
Dr. Lent and his wife, Dr. Stacey Lent, live on five acres adjacent to Saguaro National Park East, and have three dogs along with chickens and Pygmy goats.
Dr. Lent is one of two newly-elected AVMA Board members. The other is Dr. Carol Ryan, a mixed animal practitioner and partner owner of the Tory and Wentzville Veterinary Clinics in Missouri. As the new District VII director, Dr. Ryan will represent AVMA members in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Drs. Lent and Ryan were declared elected earlier this month after running unopposed for the two open seats on the board. They will begin their six-year board terms in June during the 2024 AVMA Convention in Austin, Texas, and will serve until 2030. Click here to learn more about AVMA’s newest members of its Board of Directors.
Dr. Kenitra Hendrix helped teach a session on Antimicrobial Resistance at the Back to Class program held as part of the Purdue for Life Annual Weekend program in Naples, Florida.
Purdue Pete joined (left-right): Dr. Kenitra Hendrix, Dr. Sanjeev Narayanan, and Dean Willie Reed, who borrowed Pete’s hammer, at the Purdue vs. IU game watch event.
Each year, Purdue for Life hosts an annual warm-weather gathering for Boilermakers in Naples, Florida, where Purdue alumni and friends celebrate their Purdue ties and find out the latest developments through special presentations and updates from university and college leaders. Held February 7-11, the program included President’s Council “Back to Class” sessions that enabled participants to attend talks by Purdue faculty covering a range of topics. This year, one of the sessions was led jointly by Dr. Kenitra Hendrix, director of the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and clinical associate professor of veterinary diagnostic microbiology, and Dr. Sanjeev Narayanan, head of the Department of Comparative Pathobiology and professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology, who both addressed the topic, “Antimicrobial Resistance: The Greatest One-Health Challenge.” Additionally, alumni of the Colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture were able to hear updates from Deans Willie Reed and Bernie Engel, respectively. And since the annual weekend coincided with the Purdue vs. IU Men’s Basketball game in Mackey Arena, another key event on the agenda was a game-watch gathering where fans were able to witness the Boilermakers’ resounding 79-59 defeat of the Hoosiers on the hardwood.
For the first time, a Purdue research team, which includes PVM faculty, proves that measuring mechanical motions in living cancer tissues is a viable and promising approach for predicting chemoresistance
Researchers at Purdue University have developed a technique to better predict chemotherapy resistance in canines and humans. Dr. Michael Childress (right), professor of comparative oncology at the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, is pictured with a patient named Kody, and his owner, Carolyn McGuire. Kody was in the drug trial which accurately predicted his tumor would be sensitive to chemotherapy, and Dr. Childress’ team was able to significantly extend Kody’s life with chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy can save lives, but often a cancer patient may be resistant to their prescribed chemotherapy, which costs the patient valuable time. Chemoresistance is a topic that researchers need to understand better so that they can match the right type of chemo to the right patient, which is called personalized medicine.
An unusual pairing of veterinary scientists and physicists believe their method of detecting chemoresistance could be the new standard for personalized medicine. Their method is unexpected: Doppler ultrasound. Many people may have heard the term Doppler, either from the weather reports to detect storm activity or expectant parents who see their unborn child for the first time.
Now, a team of physicists and veterinary scientists at Purdue University is using ultrasound to detect how cancer cells respond to chemotherapy. They currently have their method of personalized chemotherapy detection in Phase-2 clinical trials in humans at the IU School of Medicine and have also been using the method in canine trials. The concept was born in 2015 by three researchers at Purdue: Dr. David Nolte, principal investigator and Edward M. Purcell Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Dr, John Turek, professor of basic medical sciences, and Dr. Michael Childress, professor of comparative oncology. Dr. Nolte is from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the Purdue University College of Science and Drs. Turek and Childress are from the College of Veterinary Medicine. All three are members of the Purdue University Institute for Cancer Research and have published their findings in Scientific Reports. Also listed as authors on this paper are three students of Dr. Nolte – Zhen Hua and Zhe Li, both former PhD students, and Dawith Lim, a current PhD student – as well as the IU School of Medicine team of Shadia Jalal, M.D., Ali Ajrouch, and Ahmed Karkash.
“The technique developed at Purdue measures motions inside cancer cells and how these motions change when the cells are exposed to anticancer drugs,” explains Dr. Nolte. “Because motion is the result of cellular ‘machinery,’ patients who will respond positively to their chemotherapy show different mechanical responses to the drugs than patients who will not respond. This has the potential to identify patients for whom chemotherapy will not be successful so they can be directed to more effective treatment.”
The technique, called biodynamic imaging (BDI), has been under development for cancer treatments for over eight years. The team has published its findings previously, noting that the technique showed potential for identifying chemoresistance, but only under fairly restricted disease conditions. This raised the question of whether BDI might be useful only for special cases.
“The current research shows that BDI is, in fact, a general and robust technique,” says Dr. Nolte. “It shows similar results across two species (human and canine) and two diseases (lymphoma and esophageal cancer). This provides, for the first time, strong evidence that measuring mechanical motions in living cancer tissues is a viable and promising approach for predicting patient chemoresistance.”
The concept of using Doppler in cancer research seems an unlikely scenario. According to Dr. Nolte, the concept and process for this technique was born out of basic scientific experimentation. He said the concept was fine-tuned with the benefit of serendipity combined with slow and steady progress.
“We began the work on cancer tissue cultures grown in the lab, so it was natural to eventually move to fresh tumors from patients,” he explains. “The Doppler measurements were something that we were led to during our experiments as we noticed interesting dynamical effects that we had not initially anticipated.”
This team formed well over two decades ago. Back in 1999, the Office of the Purdue Executive Vice President for Research hosted a meeting of Purdue faculty interested in various aspects of imaging.
“Dr. Nolte and I met at that meeting, and we started working on using the technology with 3D tumor spheroids (small tumors grown in culture) that I grew in my lab,” says Dr. Turek. “We worked with tumor spheroids for a number of years as the technology developed. When it was time to move to patient derived tumors, we approached Dr. Childress and used samples from canine lymphoma patients to track their response to drugs. Working with the canine samples was necessary to determine the feasibility of translating the technology to human samples. From canine samples we moved on to human samples. Our collaboration with Dr. Shadia Jalal of the IU School of Medicine has been an invaluable and critical component to the research.”
“The major advantage to using canine tumors as opposed to tumors from laboratory mice is that the former better represent the heterogeneity of human cancers,” says Dr. Childress. “Although all the dogs we studied had the same cancer type – lymphoma – each individual dog’s cancer was unique, with some more sensitive and others more resistant to chemotherapy. This provided an ideal animal model in which to study a predictive technology like BDI before advancing it to human trials.”
Cells in all living creatures have working machinery that is very finely tuned. When outside influences disturb the cellular machinery, the mechanical motions change. If scientists can see a difference in those changes between patients whose cancers are sensitive to treatment versus those who are not, they can learn those signatures and use them to predict chemoresistance in future patients.
“A deeper question is what the signatures mean,” explains Dr. Nolte. “Can signatures of chemoresistance be interpreted in terms of changes in the signaling pathways in cells and tissues and possibly even genetic expression? This is much harder to answer, but we are currently working on this question by comparing our measurements to gene expression profiles. We also use reference compounds that have known behavior in cells and we can cross-reference our measurements with the known changes that occur under those drugs. This part of the research is long-term.”
Dr. Nolte says that Purdue has strong support for cross-disciplinary research, which significantly aids in how this type of research develops. Coupling that with the benefit of the Purdue University Small Animal Hospital at the College of Veterinary Medicine enables the team to arrange for clinical trials with canine patients. Now that they have received these promising results, the team expects their next giant leap in cancer research to include “prospective” Phase 2 trials.
“The current Phase 2 was retrospective, where the patient clinical response was cross-validated against the predicted response using BDI. The next step is a Phase 2 trial that is ‘prospective,’ meaning that we will predict patient response prior to the beginning of chemotherapy,” says Dr. Nolte.
This research is funded in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) CBET (Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems), the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation, and the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research.
Writer(s):
Cheryl Pierce, communications specialist, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
| pvmnews@purdue.edu
Today we are highlighting Carlene Linn, executive assistant to the associate dean for academic affairs. The nominator said, “I appreciate Carlene Linn for frequently asking me how I’m doing, and really caring to hear my response. It never feels like she is just asking because it’s the polite thing to do. My role in the college is primarily to provide support for others, so it feels really nice when someone looks out for me, too. Thank you for your kindness, Carlene!”
Fostering a healthy work environment involves expressing appreciation and gratitude. Is there someone at PVM you would like to acknowledge today? It’s easy to make a Paws Up submission – just follow this link. Submissions are published anonymously and may be edited for length. Any PVM staff, faculty, student, or team may be nominated by anyone in our college. For more information, visit the PVM Wellness Committee website.
As he concluded his term as IVMA President, Purdue veterinary alumnus Greg Kurtz presented the IVMA Lifetime Achievement Award to Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Willie Reed at the annual IVMA Crossroads Veterinary Conference.
Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Willie Reed is the recipient of the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association (IVMA) Lifetime Achievement Award for 2024. The honor was bestowed Thursday, February 1 during the IVMA membership meeting that was held as part of the association’s annual Crossroads Veterinary Conference in Noblesville. Dean Reed also was honored at a reception hosted by the college the next evening. The award recognizes an IVMA member for cumulative service and accomplishments benefiting the profession, organized veterinary medicine, and the community. As one of his last acts as the outgoing IVMA president, Dr. Greg Kurtz (PU DVM ’82) presented the award, and praised the dean for his commitment to and support of the IVMA, as well as his leadership of the college and especially his unique ability as dean to hold such a position of power and prestige while also being a true friend to many.
Dr. Gervas Shafer, of the College of Veterinary Medicine’s first class – the Class of 1963, and his family came to the reception for Dean Reed and took advantage of the “World’s Largest Drum” photo backdrop.
Purdue graduate and the new IVMA president, Dr. Lindsey Hedges (PU DVM 2011), took advantage of the opportunity to get selfie with Dean Reed in front of the large photo frame featuring photos of Dr. Reed from his childhood and Purdue career.
Dean Reed earned his DVM degree in 1978 at the Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine and then came to Purdue where he earned his PhD in pathology four years later and joined the faculty. He served in several capacities including as assistant professor of veterinary pathology, chief of the Avian Diseases Diagnostic Service, assistant director of the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, and associate professor of avian pathology. He left Purdue in 1990 when he was offered the position of professor of veterinary pathology and director of the Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health at the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He later also was appointed as chairperson of the Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation. In 2007, he returned to Purdue to become dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Dorothy and Dean Reed joined Drs. Greg and Robyn Kurtz to make a fun video in the 360 degree photo booth.
Dean Reed has received multiple awards and honors, including the Iverson Bell Diversity & Inclusion Award from the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges for his work in advancing diversity in the veterinary profession. In 2015, Purdue University honored him as the recipient of the Dreamer Award, which is given annually to an individual or organization within the Purdue community whose contributions embody Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of service to others, and furthers the university’s commitment to diversity. Just last year, Dean Reed received the American Veterinary Medical Association’s inaugural Frederick Douglass Patterson Lifetime Achievement Award that is given to a member veterinarian who has made significant contributions to the veterinary profession through innovative and transformative leadership in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Following the Thursday night award presentation at the IVMA Crossroads Veterinary Conference, Dean Reed was honored at a Purdue alumni reception held Friday night, February 2, at the conference site in Noblesville. Decorated with iconic Purdue symbols as well as memorabilia dedicated to Dean Reed and his Purdue career, the reception room was the perfect setting for Purdue veterinary graduates and their families and classmates to gather and celebrate the IVMA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Especially popular was a 360 degree photo booth, a giant Purdue Pete statue, a replica of the World’s Largest Drum that served as a photo backdrop, and a larger-than-life photo frame featuring a collection of pictures of Dean Reed, from his childhood to today.
