Florida Veterinarian, Fall 2008 (PDF) - University of Florida College ...

continued from page 1West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne viruses cause encephalitis,both in horses and people, adding a human component to Long’sresearch. The virus affects the central nervous system and symptomscan range from fever to paralysis and death.“Infection in horses is important because it’s an indication of whatpeople might face with the virus,” Long said. “Immunity in horsesprovides a proxy for understanding the virus in humans especiallychildren and the elderly.”Lately, Long’s research has continued on a “translational course”with a goal to transform the services the College of VeterinaryMedicine offers while developing cutting edge research for newdetection methods and treatment options for humans and horsesaffected by disease. Long offers both standard serum and moleculardiagnostic testing for several causes of encephalitis in animalsincluding West Nile virus, Eastern equine encephalitis virus andHerpesviruses. The latter test capability was developed directly as aresult of the 2006/2007 outbreak of neurological herpesvirus in horsesin Wellington that virtually shut-down the industry.“The development of new molecular strategies for detection of theequine encephalitides provides the only Florida based rapid test sitefor these diseases. We frequently receive samples from horse venuesthroughout the State that require answers within hours; we have builta program around the latest technology and talent personnel that havethe agility to provide rapid answers. This allows these horse activitiesto continue unhindered; in the past, activities have been halted at perilto the industry, while awaiting results from labs that were out-of-state.”On the research-side, Long and her graduate students are involvedin cutting edge projects utilizing research techniques that span theglobe from geography to molecular biology. For surveillance, oneproject collaborates with geographers to use geographical informationsystems based on satellite images to track emerging disease.On the cellular side, gene chip technologies are being appliedto examine the mechanisms of diseases that specifically affect theequine brain.“Understanding the complex mechanisms at the cellular level willassist us in developing medications that will directly treat viruses andparasites that infect the brain of horses, and of course people andother animals,” Long said. -College NewsCollege alumni council names2008 Distinguished Award winnersSouth Florida equine practitioner, aA professor emeritus of small animalneurology, a small animal surgeon and thedirector of the University of Florida’s mobileequine diagnostic service recently werehonored for their career accomplishments bythe UF College of Veterinary Medicine.Four awards were given through the 2008Distinguished Award program, which issponsored by the college’s alumni council andoffers recognition to deserving alumni, facultyand others who have contributed meaningfullyto UF and/or to the veterinary profession.Robert Boswell, D.V.M., of Wellington,a 1985 graduate of the UF veterinary collegeand owner of Palm Beach Equine Clinic,received the Alumni Achievement Award.Boswell also serves as director of imaging atthe clinic, and is a founding member of theFlorida Association of Equine Practitioners,an organization that provides continuingeducation and gives a voice to equineclinicians from all over the state. He served aspresident of FAEP from 2004-05.The Outstanding Young Alumnus Awardwas given to Michael Porter, D.V.M.,Ph.D., a clinical assistant professor at the UFveterinary college. Porter received his D.V.M.and Ph.D. degrees from the UF veterinarycollege in 1998 and 2001, respectively. He alsocompleted a residency in large animal medicine atUF in 2004.8FLORIDA VETERINARIANDrs. Cheryl Chrisman, Michael Porter, Gary Ellisonand Robert Boswell are shown left to right during2008 commencement activities, where they werehonored as this year’s CVM Alumni Council DistinguishedAward winners.As director of the college’s Mobile EquineDiagnostic Service, Porter takes state-of-theartimaging technology on the road to bemore widely available to horse owners andveterinarians.Cheryl Chrisman, D.V.M., Ed.D., alongtime faculty member and a professorof small animal neurology at UF until herretirement in 2007, has received the college’sDistinguished Service Award. She has receivedmultiple Teacher of the Year awards from UFveterinary students and has a long list of bothclinical and research accomplishments.A board-certified veterinary neurologist,Chrisman served as the small animalneurology service chief for many years and haswritten two textbooks as well as many articlesin prestigious journals in her field. Chrismanhas mentored countless students as well asresidents in small animal neurology duringher academic career at UF and also has beenactive in organized veterinary medicine. Sheserved as president of the American Collegeof Veterinary Neurologists and has chairedthe American College of Veterinary InternalMedicine’s board of regents.The award for special service to theveterinary profession went to Gary Ellison,D.V.M., a professor and chief of small animalsurgery at UF. A UF faculty member since1983, Ellison is a highly respected andinternationally recognized authority in softtissue surgery. Through his leadership, the UFveterinary surgery team has progressed intothe microsurgery and renal transplantationarena.Ellison is also a very popular and successfulcontinuing education speaker, having givenmore than 120 presentations to various groupsseeking to enhance their awareness of smallanimal surgery.The awards were presented May 24 at thePhillips Center for the Performing Arts duringcollege commencement exercises.