Summer 2004 - University of Minnesota College of Veterinary ...

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SCHOLARSHIPS ■ SCHOLARSHIPS ■ SCHOLARSHIPS ■ SCHOLARSHIPSAlumni Support StudentsThrough ScholarshipsAscholarship or fellowship canhelp a veterinary student fulfill adream – or at least provide themwith some much-needed financial helpin completing theirveterinary education.Faced with rising educationalcosts anddeclining governmentsupport, the Collegehas worked hard tokeep tuition increasesto a minimum. Still,students’ expenses canbe staggering. The average indebtednessof students at the College continuesto rise, mostly because of increasedtuition costs – which are the result ofmany factors, including a reduction inMinnesota state funding. The averageindebtedness of students in the class of2003 is $75,012.“We all owe the Collegea great deal for ourprofessional trainingand the opportunitiesthat it provided us.”These factors emphasize the need toincrease the endowments that producerenewable scholarships and fellowshipsin order to continue attracting andretaining topveterinary medicalstudents. Throughscholarships, alumniand friends havea special opportunityto keep the traditionalive.“We all owe theCollege a great deal for our professionaltraining and the opportunities that itprovided us,” says Wendell Niemann,D.V.M., class of 1957. “May the newyoung professionals gain as much benefitfrom their education as I have.”Annual scholarships are providedthrough the establishment of anendowed scholarship fund. An endowedscholarship fund may be named inrecognition of the donor or in honor ofpersons of the donor’s choice for a minimumgift of $25,000. Endowmentfunds are held in perpetuity by theUniversity of Minnesota FoundationInvestment Advisors, a non-profitinvestment management subsidiary.If you are interested in more informationabout how to establish anendowed scholarship, please contactthe Development Office at 612-624-6744. If you would like to make a giftor pledge to the College of VeterinaryMedicine’s general scholarship fund,please contact Stephanie Pommier,development officer, at 612-624-6146.Gregg Phillips, Recipient of the SteveRamsdell Memorial ScholarshipAt the annual college awards banquet in 2002, veterinary studentGregg Phillips, class of 2004, happened to sit next to theparents of a past veterinary student, Steve Ramsdell.TheRamsdells got to talking about their son, who worked with aroofing company during the summer after his sophomore yearin veterinary school – and, tragically, died from an adverse reactionto a chemical used in roofing. In memory of Steve, theRamsdells established the Steve Ramsdell Memorial Scholarshipat the College of Veterinary Medicine.A year later, Greg Phillips was the recipient of the scholarship.“The award is given to a junior veterinary student chosen by hisclass as someone who loves life,has a positive attitude, has significantinterests outside ofschool, has a good sense ofhumor, and is an all around goodGregg Phillips, D.V.M.guy,” Phillips says.“After hearingabout Steve from his parents, Ihardly seemed worthy of such an award, but was grateful to bethought of in the same way by my peers.The award went a longway toward purchasing the books, white coats, scrubs, stethoscope,pen light, and ophthalmology lenses I needed.”8
O & AFood SafetyWill Hueston, director, and Shaun Kennedy, associate directorof the Center for Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS)answer our questions about food-borne illness and the work ofthe Center. The Center was created with funding from thestate legislature to promote farm-to-table food safety.O:A:We hear about people getting sick from their foodall the time, but how common is it really?The Centers for Disease Control and Preventionestimate that there are more than 76 million cases offood-borne illness a year, so your overall chances of contractinga food-borne illness could be as high as one out offour. The actual reported rates of food-borne illness aremuch lower than 76 million a year, as most people who getsick are not positively diagnosed, either because the persondoesn’t seek treatment or because there are no confirmatorytests conducted.O:A:How sick can people get from food-borne illness?The estimated 76 million cases result in 325,000 hospitalizationsand 5,000 deaths - so you can get verysick from food-borne illness. The more severe outcomesare among the young, the elderly, and the immuno-compromised,but even perfectly healthy people can contract afood-borne illness and end up with a very serious disease.O:A:What exactly is food-borne illness?Simply put, food-borne illness occurs when a personingests a contaminant with their food that subsequentlymakes them sick. Typically, the illness results inmild to severe gastrointestinal problems such as cramping,diarrhea, and fluid loss. In some cases, it can includebloody diarrhea, fever, and more severe internal damage.The contaminants that cause the illness can be bacterial,viral, toxic, or chemical.O:A:How does the food get contaminated?The majority of food-borne pathogens can occur naturallyin the intestinal tract of animals and humans. Itis usually the fecal contamination of the food product orequipment that leads to the problem. This can happen onany food and at any point and can result from field workersnot washing their hands before picking produce,manure contaminating beef during processing, or a consumernot washing the cutting board between choppingchicken and carrots.O:A:What can we do to decrease the chances of gettinga food-borne illness?The majority of food-borne illnesses can be avoidedby proper cooking and handling. Simple things thatcan help reduce the risk are always washing your hands andequipment after touching raw food products; washingfruits and vegetables or other products that won’t becooked before eating; and thoroughly cooking foods. Arare hamburger may taste good, but “if it’s too red, thebugs aren’t dead!”O:A:What is the Center for Animal Health and FoodSafety doing about food-borne illness?At the Center we work with faculty from the Collegeof Veterinary Medicine, other schools in theUniversity, state and federal agencies, and industry on foodsafety interventions at all stages in the food system, fromfarm to table. This ranges from research on how to preventfood contamination, to scientific input into food safetypolicy, to risk communication programs for industry andconsumers. We can’t reduce the risk of food-borne illnessto zero, but we can make it far less prevalent by advancingscience and behavior.9
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Page 3 and 4: VETERINARY CLINICAL SCIENCES ■ VE
Page 5 and 6: EQUINE ■ EQUINE ■ EQUINE ■ EQ
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Page 13 and 14: RESEARCH ■ RESEARCH ■ RESEARCH
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Page 17 and 18: S NEWS NEWNestlé Purina Memories G
Page 19 and 20: Upcoming EventsOpen to publicFamily

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