Forging Healthy Partnerships VETERINARY MEDICINE. Veterinarians work to keep livestock farmers farming PLUS: CENTRIFUGAL FORCES THE WORMS TURN

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1 MAGAZINE MAGAZINE OF OF THE THE CUMMINGS CUMMINGS SCHOOL SCHOOL OF OF VETERINARY VETERINARY MEDICINE MEDICINE VOL. VOL. 9 8 NO. NO. 3 4 SUMMER SPRING magazine VETERINARY MEDICINE Forging Healthy Partnerships Veterinarians work to keep livestock farmers farming PLUS: CENTRIFUGAL FORCES THE WORMS TURN

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3 CONTENTS SPRING 2008 VOLUME 9, NO. 3 Cape die-offs probed 4 COVER STORY 6 Forging Healthy Partnerships by Leslie Limon The work of the modern farm animal veterinarian extends into economics, public health, and land conservation. DEPARTMENTS 2 Letter from the Dean 3 In Brief 19 Research 22 Advancement 25 Who Knew? The secrets of schistosomes On the cover: Dr. Eugene White of the Tufts Ambulatory Service inspects a herd in Colchester, Conn. Above: White consults with dairy farmer Liz Gilman. 21 spring 2008 tufts veterinary medicine 1

4 FROM THE DEAN VETERINARY MEDICINE vol. 9, no. 3 spring 2008 To Our Health when the commonwealth of massachusetts deeded 585 acres of the old state hospital to Tufts University in the seventies to create a veterinary school, there were more than forty working farms in the Grafton area. Now there are fewer than ten, including the one located on our campus. Residential developments have overtaken much of the agricultural land in Grafton and across the state. Despite this change, there is good evidence that residents of Massachusetts and New England value sustainable agriculture and seek out locally grown and raised commodities. In this issue you will learn how our nary Medical Colleges to promote federal school contributes to the health of family legislation to expand the veterinary public farms in New England, including how our health workforce. faculty and staff encourage students to consider food animal medicine as part of their faculty and students address public health We are proud that the efforts of our veterinary careers. Sadly, one of our most through both policy and research. As part passionate faculty spokespersons on this of the Food and Waterborne Diseases Integrated Research Network, scientists in the topic, Dr. Howard Levine, passed away this February. The faculty, staff and students of Division of Infectious Diseases at Cummings School are highlighted in this issue Cummings School revered Dr. Levine for many reasons including his commitment to for their work to detect, understand, prevent, and treat diseases that threaten global advancing food supply veterinary medicine. Please take a moment to read about and celebrate Dr. Levine s life and contributions to I hope this issue of Tufts Veterinary public health. the profession and our school. Medicine expands your vision of the mission of veterinary medicine and of Cum- Veterinarians not only champion the rural, agricultural lifestyle, they also educate mings School. We welcome your comments others on how a strong food safety system and invite you to visit the school to see in protects consumers and promotes food animal welfare. Articles in this issue highlight and students. person the good work of our faculty, staff veterinarians roles in public health both here and abroad. In response to the shortage of veterinary public health and food animal practitioners, Cummings School has joined dr. deborah turner kochevar with the Association of American Veteri- dean executive editor Deborah T. Kochevar, Dean Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine editorial advisor Shelley Rodman, Director Veterinary Development and Alumni Relations editor Gail Bambrick, Director contributing editor and writer Leslie Limon art director Margot Grisar graphic designer Kelly McMurray Heather Clark 2communiqué photographers Andrew Cunningham Jodi Hilton Melody Ko Tufts Veterinary Medicine is funded in part by the Edward Hyde Cox Fund for Publications. It is published three times a year and distributed to key university personnel, veterinary students, veterinarians, alumni, friends, and others. We welcome your letters, story ideas, and suggestions. Send correspondence to: Editor, Tufts Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, 200 Westboro Road, North Grafton, MA or veteditor@tufts.edu. The Cummings School s website is The telephone number is tufts veterinary medicine spring 2008

5 IN BRIEF Dr. Howard Levine In Memoriam The Legacy of Howard Levine, DVM dr. howard levine, a member of the cummings school faculty for 23 years, passed away February 14 after a courageous battle against multiple myeloma. Levine was the head of the Tufts Ambulatory Service and the associate chair of the Department of Environmental and Population Health. He was a man of great passion for life and for veterinary medicine, recalls Dr. George Saperstein, a colleague and friend. Throughout his illness Howard wanted to keep working at all costs. Levine came to the veterinary school in 1985 from private veterinary practice in Vermont. He spent his Tufts career in the Ambulatory Service, serving clients and teaching students every day. A board-certified theriogenologist, he taught courses in the discipline (the study and practice of animal reproduction) as well as Clinical Skills and Animal Behavior. The educational CDs and videos he created for dairy science and veterinary medicine students include an interactive CD on dairy nutrition completed in cooperation with two University of Connecticut faculty members. Levine s nearly encyclopedic knowledge of food and fiber animals, as well as equine ambulatory medicine, surgery, and theriogenology, made him an outstanding teacher and role model. He also cared deeply about clients and the sustainability of their farms. On numerous occasions I saw him make great personal sacrifices in order to help his friends our clients in their time of need, recalls Saperstein, who also praises him as one of those rare individuals who was both book-smart and in possession of great common sense. He saw the big picture at Tufts and beyond in veterinary education. Throughout his career at Cummings, Howard kept dozens of farmers farming, encouraged scores of students to respect and commit to veterinary service, and prevented disease in tens of thousands of animals. Honest, trustworthy, and a humanitarian in its truest sense, he embodied all that is good about the profession of veterinary medicine, writes Saperstein. Dean Deborah T. Kochevar, DVM, PhD, notes that Levine s hallmarks were his intelligence, caring nature and commitment to food supply veterinary medicine. Recalling a talk she heard him give first-year students on life as a farm animal veterinarian, she comments, His description of the joys of working with farmers and their animals and of knowing farm families over generations made it clear that he loved his work and the profession of veterinary medicine. It is his legacy to have passed that love on to generations of veterinary students who will continue the work he so valued. An accomplished musician, Levine belonged to the Rambling Pitchforks Contradance Band, well known throughout the region. Students fondly remember their music at Heifer Hoedown, the school s annual barn celebration. A devoted family man, he leaves behind his wife Jo; daughter Corinna, soon to graduate from medical school; and Zeb, high school class valedictorian and currently in his first year at Williams College. His family has requested that gifts in his memory be made to Tufts University, Cummings Veterinary School, 200 Westboro Road, North Grafton, MA 01536, Attn. Development Office. Donations will support the Tufts Ambulatory Service. PHOTO: ANDY CUNNINGHAM spring 2008 tufts veterinary medicine 3

6 IN BRIEF RABIES INTERNSHIP AWARDED THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF THE Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association (SCAVMA) has named James Desmond, V08, the winner of the World Rabies Day 2007 Field Internship Essay Competition sponsored by the Alliance for Rabies Control (ARC). In his essay, Desmond detailed the increasingly important role of veterinarians in public health and the benefits of raising public awareness of rabies as a zoonotic disease. Citing a volunteer experience at an orangutan rehabilitation center, where he witnessed the impact of habitat loss and illegal trade on orangutans vulnerability to human disease, he writes, The realization that infectious disease could have such catastrophic impact on entire populations of animals had a profound effect on me and played a major part in my decision to attend veterinary school. Desmond s prize: an internship with an ARC research site in and around Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. New Life for Livestock Conservation after six successful years of operation, the embryo conservation project at the SVF Foundation, Newport, RI, (svffoundation.org) has received funding for another three years. SVF Foundation works in collaboration with the Cummings School to help protect the world s food supply by preserving rare and endangered breeds of livestock. Its aim is to collect, freeze, and store embryo germplasm of endangered breeds, focusing on rare breeds of food- and fiberproducing livestock. Cummings faculty involved in this effort include Dr. Kevin Lindell and Dr. David J. Matsas. This is the only privately funded program of its kind in this country with the focused mission of cryopreserving germplasm, states Matsas. The Foundation has been committed to seeing this through from day one, and Tufts is answering the need to help them out. Livestock breeds deemed commercially valuable are selectively bred for optimal production, narrowing the genetic pool. Since rare breeds of little commercial value have had little or no selective breeding, they still carry potentially valuable traits such as disease or parasite resistance, heat tolerance, and mothering qualities. Rare breeds were also developed to thrive in particular environments, almost always on pasture, so most are better suited for life on the range than many modern breeds. Reintroducing these traits would be necessary if a current popular breed were jeopardized due to infectious disease or overdemand. With a goal of storing 200 embryos and 3,000 straws of semen per breed, SVF Foundation hopes to be able to reawaken a breed with its full genetic diversity within one generation. SEANET INVESTIGATES DUCK DEATHS WHEN A MASS MORTALITY OF EIDER DUCKS OCCURRED ON CAPE COD LAST October, seabird ecologist Julie Ellis, PhD, went to investigate. Ellis is the director of Seabird Ecological Assessment Network (SEANET), which is based at the Cummings School. On the shoreline she and SEANET colleagues found hundreds of ducks lying dead. The October occurrence was the fi fth since just 2006, bringing total deaths to about 2,000. Why these northern sea ducks are dying in such numbers remains a mystery that researchers are determined to solve. Those on the case include Ellis and Cummings School students, as well as scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Cape Cod National Seashore, Cape Cod Stranding Network, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the New England Aquarium. Multiple causes such as parasites, viruses, toxic algae, bacteria, and pollution may be at the root of these deaths. In the spring of 2006, Cummings students studied samples and found acanthocephalans, intestinal parasites that are known to cause eider deaths in other areas. But the parasites are always present in victims of other mortalities. We still know no cause of death for this event, says Ellis, and it s driving us crazy! Researchers have explored many hypotheses through countless avenues including enlisting the help of duck hunters yet a defi nitive answer continues to elude them. Ellis recently issued yet another call for volunteers to help SEANET by walking the beaches to provide a more accurate count of dead eiders. 4 tufts veterinary medicine spring 2008 PHOTOS: (TOP) COURTESY DR. DAVID J. MATSAS; (BOTTOM RIGHT) CORBIS

7 Edited by FACULTY NEWS Mark Pokras, V84, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, IS A SPEAKER AND PANELIST AT THE PEREGRINE Fund s international conference in Boise, Idaho, this May. The object of the conference is to explore the effects on wildlife and humans of lead contamination from spent ammunition that has been ingested. (Pokras is currently writing a book on the issue in which he brings an historical perspective geared to educating the general public.) The conference brings wildlife, public health, and environmental professionals together to identify ways to raise public awareness of contamination risks and encourage research on public health concerns. In many areas of environmental health, there s little or no cross-communication among professionals who work on animals and those who work on the environment or on humans, states Pokras. This is the first meeting anywhere to bring us together. Mary Labato, V83, R86, has been promoted to the rank of clinical professor. She has served on the clinical faculty since 1987, and has served as head of the Section of Small Animal Medicine since A productive clinical researcher in the areas of nephrology and hypertension, Labato has helped bring technologies such as hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, urethral pressure profi les, cystoscopy, and laser lithotripsy to the Henry and Lois Foster Hospital for Small Animals. In the exit survey that was taken of the class of 2007, she was most often cited as the faculty member who best characterized students ideal of a truly excellent instructor, and as one who contributed signifi cantly to their intellectual and personal development. Dr. Jay Merriam, clinical instructor of Clinical Sciences at Cummings, has been inducted into the International Equine Veterinarians Hall of Fame. Chosen for his accomplishments, achievements, and contributions in advancing equine foot care, he is noted for his pioneering work in advancing knowledge about the role of the foot in equine lameness. He operates Massachusetts Equine Clinic in Uxbridge, Mass., specializing in sports medicine and equine podiatry. The clinic shares with the Cummings School a post-dvm internship program that is highly sought after by graduates for its combination of academic and private-practice training. His nonprofi t organization, Project Samana, takes him to the Dominican Republic twice a year with a team of veterinarians, technicians, students, and farriers to care for mules, donkeys, and horses, which are vital to many inhabitants livelihoods. The fi rst person to chair the horse welfare committee of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, Merriam is a boardcertifi ed equine surgeon. CUMMINGS STUDENTS VISIT THE CDC LAST JANUARY, ELEVEN CUMMINGS STUDENTS WERE AMONG THOSE WHO TRAVELED TO Atlanta, Ga., to participate in the second annual Veterinary Student Day sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The event attracted more than 300 veterinary students and 60 faculty members interested in public health. Participants interacted with scientists and staff from several organizations and government agencies to learn about opportunities in the field of public health. They also participated in a tabletop exercise that simulated a disease outbreak. The faculty advisor for the trip was Joann Lindenmayer, V85, associate professor in the Department of Environmental and Population Health. Faculty Bookshelf ATLAS OF SMALL ANIMAL ULTRASONOGRAPHY edited by Dominique Penninck, DVM, DVSc, and Marc-André d Anjou, DVM. ISBN: Hardcover, 520 pages. March 2008, Wiley-Blackwell. Veterinary diagnostic ultrasound is rapidly gaining popularity as a clinical modality. The growing number of veterinary practitioners who use ultrasound imaging as a diagnostic tool in the treatment of small animals will find this an invaluable reference tool to guide them through the most common procedures. In addition to serving as co-editor, Penninck wrote the chapters on the gastrointestinal tract and the pancreas. NEUROBIOLOGY OF THE PARENTAL BRAIN by Robert S. Bridges, PhD. ISBN-13: Hardcover, 500 pages. July 2008, Elsevier Science & Technology Books. This book, geared toward basic scientists, clinical researchers, psychiatrists, and practicing physicians, is a compilation of proceedings from the Parental Brain Conference that Bridges hosted in Boston in Neurobiology of the Parental Brain Robert S. Bridges June It presents the cutting-edge findings of internationally recognized researchers on the roles of the brain, physiological state, genes, and environment on parental behavior in disorders such as postpartum depression, anxiety, and inadequate bonding to infants. Bridges heads the Section of Reproductive Biology at Cummings and directs the Masters Program in Comparative Biomedical Sciences. PHOTO: COURTESY MARK POKRAS spring 2008 tufts veterinary medicine 5

8 6 tufts veterinary medicine spring 2008 PHOTOGRAPH: MELODY KO

9 Forging Healthy Partnerships BY LESLIE LIMON The old-fashioned way of looking at veterinarians was as the plumber you call when the pipes break. Now our clients also see us as trusted advisors: partners in their operations. this is how dr. george saperstein, amelia peabody professor and chair of the Department of Environmental and Population Health, characterizes the role of the modern farm animal veterinarian. In this issue in honor of the May 2, 2008, Grand Opening of the new facility for the Tufts Ambulatory Service (TAS) we take a closer look at that role. In particular, the articles in this section focus on the contributions of farm animal veterinarians with respect to education, economics, public health, and land conservation. Since the TAS was established in rented quarters in 1980, the staff has quadrupled to meet rising need in the region. Today its seven veterinarians, with fourth-year students in tow, deal mostly with dairy herds ranging in size from a dozen to several hundred, but also beef cattle, sheep, goats, and swine. In January 2008, a brand-new 6,000-square-foot facility opened to accommodate this growth. Located on a 25-acre parcel of land in Woodstock, Conn., the site uses five acres with the rest preserved as open space. The new facility includes a large conference room named after the late Dr. Howard Levine, TAS director until his death in February of this year (a tribute to Dr. Levine appears on page 3). One of the clinic s most important features is a haul-in area for animal examination and outpatient surgery, which didn t exist in the former space. There aren t a lot of large animal practices around, states Dr. Eugene White, TAS director, so it s hard to say no if somebody calls with a cow that s sick or calving. You constantly get pressure to go further and further. Before you know it, you have a hard time serving clients that are close by, especially for emergencies. That s one reason we built that haul-in. Most clinical work, however, takes place during farm visits, which entail travel of up to an hour and twenty minutes north to the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border, south to the Connecticut coast and Rhode Island, and everywhere in between. The geographical range of the TAS touches on a critical issue that has gained national attention: the shortage of food animal veterinarians. In June 2006 the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) projected an increase in demand of about 12 to 13 percent between now and 2016, coupled with a shortfall of four to five percent per year. Dr. Lyle Vogel of the AVMA called the projected shortage catastrophic for the industry and for society. As a teaching facility, the TAS fulfills a key role in exposing Cummings students to food animal medicine. The adopt-a-veterinary student program sends first-year students most of whom have had little or no agricultural background to local farms for a brief stay to live and work there. The fourth-year ambulatory rotation is a perennial favorite for its unique handson experience and the quality of the veterinarian-farmer relationship that students come to appreciate. Ambulatory Service faculty have always had much to do with generating enthusiasm among Cummings students. White says, I love my job, and if I can communicate that to the students, hopefully that will attract people to the field. While it can be intimidating to a new graduate to contemplate making recommendations that can cost a farmer tens of thousands of dollars with the risk that it won t work there are plenty of opportunities for them to gain their bearings by spending a few years in an established practice tending to one sick farm animal at a time. Jen Hall, V08, who left a five-year career in the Coast Guard to enter veterinary school, didn t enter with the idea of doing large animal medicine. But she learned that her lack of background and the fact that she wasn t a burly six-footer made no difference. With encouragement and continued exposure, she has gained the confidence to enter mixed-practice medicine. I m so glad I didn t have to pick a concentration, she says. If I had, I would have gone into small animal medicine. TVM spring 2008 tufts veterinary medicine 7

10 Sustained Efforts That Pay Off Partnerships with farmers veer into economics back in 2006, because of fuel inflation, everything that comes in the door related to trucking went up, says Tom Murdock, owner of a Pomfret, Conn., dairy farm with a herd of about 80. Murdock, whose Yankee speech matches his hardscrabble, bushy-bearded appearance, took over the farm from his uncle, who started it in Yup. Vehicle taxes, medicine for cows, tractors, tires, everything, chimes in his son Tim. His burly size is barely a match for the irritated 1,200-pound Holstein, her rear leg in a sling so that Dave Hernke, V08, can work on her foot. Rising costs the Murdocks pay $2,400 for a load of grain mix that not long ago cost $1,900 hit hard in an industry of flat prices. These guys are getting roughly what they were getting back in the 80s, says Dr. Eugene White, director of Tufts Ambulatory Services (TAS) in Woodstock, Conn. They need to make a living on the same $14 for 100 pounds of milk that they made in Keeping unit production costs below that requires greater efficiency, and veterinarians are an important ally. Their first job is maintaining herd health through vaccination and nutrition, performing services such as de-horning or hoof trimming, assisting with breeding and pregnancy, and treating illness and injury. As consulting partners to farmers with herds that range from a handful to thousands, they also monitor farm productivity and health. Alan Clarisse, V01, who works mostly with dairy herds in Vermont, deals with the problems that affect dairy cows jobs: eating, breeding, and producing milk. Lots of sore feet means cows are not getting to the feed bunk. Is the problem the ration? Housing? Foot trimming? Once he identifies the factors, he works with the farmer to correct the problem, which is where medicine and economics can intersect. Should the farmer install rubber mats in his free stalls a huge investment or is there a reasonable alternative? Ultrasound is one way to check the fertility of a dairy cow. 8 tufts veterinary medicine spring 2008 PHOTOGRAPHS: MELODY KO

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12 Production medicine is as much about handling data as it is about handling animals. Here, Dr. Eugene White of the TAS and Sarah McCormack, V09 (bottom center), check the herd of dairy farmer Liz Gilman (bottom right). PRODUCTION MEDICINE Dr. David Matsas, TAS clinician and assistant professor in the Division of Environmental and Population Health (DEPH), describes the intersection of health and profitability as production medicine. Veterinarians spend as much time reviewing grain bill drop, but milk production rose seven to eight pounds per cow. Education is an essential element of food animal veterinarians work. Farmers learn to perform basic veterinary tasks themselves because it would put them out of business in a month if we charged them The more we train farmers to be self-sufficient, the more efficient they are. And if that keeps them in business. dr. dave matsas, tufts ambulatory services data or discussing cases as they do touching cows. The Dairy Herd Improvement Association gathers data farm by farm; in monthly visits, a representative checks a milk sample from each cow for fat and protein content and somatic cell count (the lower it is, the higher the milk quality). Each cow s milk production and breeding data is also recorded. TAS clinicians download the data from a central database and review it before farm visits. An overall rise in somatic cell counts (suggesting mastitis, a common bacterial infection of the udder) would lead them to zero in on the segment of the herd experiencing the rise and investigate possible contributing factors: contaminated bedding, a malfunctioning milking system, or inappropriate milking technique. The ration formula is often at the root of problems. Clarisse once spotted a troubling number of lame cows in a herd of 400 despite excellent footing on rubber mats. He suspected a nutrition problem and discussed it with the farm s nutrition consultants who were not convinced but Clarisse s testing showed he was right. The farm hired a new nutritionist, and together they changed the ration. In about six months we saw a significant reduction in lameness, he says. Plus, not only did the to go out to give every shot, Matsas states. Given the geographic spread that veterinarians cover, it makes sense to train farmers to give an injection, de-horn a calf, insert a nasogastric tube, or trim a hoof, instead of traveling an hour or more each way to do it themselves. And when a cow is sick, a farmer often calls with an accurate description of disease signs and even a diagnosis. White appreciates that level of partnership, stating, The more we train farmers to be self-sufficient, the more efficient they are. And if that keeps them in business. SHARING BEST PRACTICES To that end, TAS also encourages farmerto-farmer interaction. When one farmer buys new equipment that works well, veterinarians can help spread the word. White and Assistant DEPH Professor Dr. Kevin Lindell also hold monthly producer meetings for farmers to share best practices with each other and set the agenda of issues to address. The herd project, in which teams of about eight Cummings fourth-year students consult with an assigned farm to address a specific issue or problem, adds another source of ideas to boost farm efficiency and productivity. Students learn, for example, that if a farm s practices differ from the textbook approach but are effec- 10 tufts veterinary medicine spring 2008

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14 White is one of seven TAS veterinarians who together with Cummings School residents and students work with farmers to boost efficiency and production in herds of all sizes. Pictured here: Cato Corner Farm in Colchester, Conn. Its herd of about 30 dairy cows supports dairy farmer Liz Gilman s cheesemaking operation. tive, there s no point in recommending a $100,000 investment to change them. One team recently helped one of Connecticut s largest dairies find out how much it could expand its herd, given current capacity. The team did a cost-benefit analysis, projected growth numbers, and recommended ways to improve efficiency. Team member Kelly Hackett, V08, noted that working with a farm owner and herd manager of differing opinions was good practice in maintain ing objectivity. Using that objectivity, veterinarians can advise farmers on how far to go to boost profits without harm. Increasing rations usually leads to higher milk production, so farmers may be tempted to feed cows more. But too much grain leads to gastrointestinal problems and lameness. We re in a good position to keep an eye on animal welfare, White says. When you see your cows every day, you might start to think that having 10% of your herd lame is normal. We can come in and say, wait a minute, this isn t right. Let s take a look. Where do these efforts lead? For a farm like Murdock s, success likely depends on its ability to fill a niche market such as safe raw milk, grass-fed beef, or designer cheese, states Matsas. Diversifying, he adds, helps small farms succeed by offering premium products that entice consumers into supporting the local economy. Since the success of dairy farming is all about the next generation, TAS s own success can be seen in a healthy local farm that the clinic has worked with since the 1980s. For a while it looked like it would become a golf course. But now the daughter is home from the University of Wisconsin and all fired up, White notes, so it looks like that herd s going to go on. TVM A BOOST FOR AZULUNA Renewed USDA funding and the support of a major retail food chain recently gave a lift to Azuluna, the brainchild enterprise of Dr. George Saperstein (see Spotlight on Azuluna, winter 2006) and the brand name for sustainable agriculture based at the Cummings School. Azuluna veal from naturally milk-fed, free-roaming calves is now available in many stores of Whole Foods Market, the leading worldwide retailer of natural and organic foods. Azuluna s model of farm diversifi cation and sustainability targets small cottage livestock operations in New England that have mostly transitioned out of dairy farming. Many of my producers are from Vermont, with a lot of pasture and all kinds of beef, dairy breeds, and cross-breeds, Saperstein explains. Raising Azuluna veal is an easy task for them, he says, because you just have to breed the cows and let them raise their calves. Overcoming initial resistance to retail distribution, he forged a connection with Whole Foods Market through a series of serendipitous meetings and agreed to a test marketing program. That meant conforming to the supermarket chain s animal welfare standards and arranging distribution. After the veal was on the shelves, Saperstein received an from a Whole Foods Market vice-president who had tried it and loved it, smoothing the way for continued supply. Azuluna eggs, distributed in various stores directly matched to local producers, also have a loyal following. One Rhode Island grocery store regularly sells out in one day the eggs delivered by a local farmer. Food editors, chefs, and consumers seeking locally produced foods give these premium New England farm products high praise for taste and quality 12 tufts veterinary medicine spring 2008

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16 The Front Line of Public Health Monitoring the food supply at the source a high-profile beef recall, like that following the revelation of harmful cattle handling practices at Hallmark Meat Packing in California, brings the issue of food safety to the forefront. Yet, notes Dr. Dave Matsas of the Tufts Ambulatory Service (TAS), the U.S. has arguably the safest food supply in the world. Though the regulatory process typically starts in the slaughterhouse, oversight begins on farms under the watchful eyes of food animal veterinarians. The benefit of involvement at this stage, states Dr. George Saperstein, Amelia Peabody Professor and chair of the Department of Environmental and Population Health, is that veterinarians act impartially. We re not advocates of one party or the other; we see ourselves as public health proponents, and communicate the facts with appropriate risks. Veterinarians in private practice carry no regulatory clout, yet their authority as a trusted advisor to the farmer is significant. Paul Biagiotti, V88, who works on both dairy and beef herds in Idaho, says his first public health responsibility is to protect dairy workers from diseases that are zoonotic (transmissible from animals to humans). The two diseases we commonly deal with are salmonellosis and cryptospiridiosis, he notes. Some dairy workers have minimal understanding of the germ theory of disease, so we train them in personal hygiene to protect themselves. Biagiotti, like nearly all food animal veterinarians in private practice, is accredited by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Accreditation, which involves training in the recognition of zoonotic and other diseases, must be renewed every few years. This includes keeping an eye out for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE, or mad cow disease ), which affects the animal s central nervous system. While this 14 tufts veterinary medicine spring 2008 ILLUSTRATION: MARLENA ZUBER

17 spring 2008 tufts veterinary medicine 15

18 country has yet to see a large-scale outbreak of BSE, surveillance gains in importance as more dairy farms become CAFOs, or concentrated animal feeding operations. Biagiotti works with herds that range in size from 500 to 10,000 cows; other farms hold as many as 20,000 cows. That kind of structure could lead to potentially disastrous disease spreads, since you have more animals in very close contact, he says. His role is to report unusual occurrences up the chain to the state veterinarian or the USDA regional veterinarian. Biagiotti also conducts tuberculosis testing of cattle slated for interstate shipment. TB at one time was eradicated in the US, but keeps popping up. Just recently the disease was diagnosed in a dairy herd in Fresno, California, he comments. Living in Idaho, he must also vaccinate his Idaho herds against brucellosis, a zoonotic disease that causes abortions in cattle and undulant fever in humans. The disease has now been eradicated within US farm herds, but Idaho cattle must be vaccinated since reservoirs of It really is up to local practitioners to let proper authorities know that diseases are being seen. EXTENDING THE REACH dr. patricia scharko, u. of kentucky the disease exist in bison and elk in Yellowstone National Park. STRONG PREVENTION, PRUDENT CARE The veterinarian s main line of defense is preventive medicine through vaccinations and wellness promotion through good health programs. New animals are isolated and vaccinated before being allowed to mingle with the rest of the herd. Procedures are set in place to handle outbreaks, some of which may involve antibiotic use. We stress prudent use of antibiotics to minimize the creation of multi-drug-resistant bacteria, The Cummings School s efforts to protect the public health through livestock monitoring extend beyond U.S. borders. The school s Participatory Disease Surveillance and Response (PDS/R) project in Indonesia with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has established a nationwide community-based network of more than 600 teams that monitor and respond to outbreaks of highly pathogenic Avian Infl uenza (HPAI). This disease, which exists primarily in poultry, is considered endemic in nearly all provinces in Indonesia. The FAO/Tufts team supports the training and operation of surveillance and response teams in 165 districts across the islands of Java, Bali, Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi. A critical element of the project is to train local animal health officials in the basics of participatory epidemiology, poultry health, community mobilization, and disease control. The goal is to reduce infections to poultry, thereby reducing the public health risk. Eric J. Brum, A99, V04, the chief technical advisor of the PDS/R project, is one of seven Tufts graduates recently honored for distinguished service by the Tufts University Alumni Association. Brum, a member of the FAO/Tufts team since 2006, returned from Indonesia to accept the Young Alumni Achievement Award at the association s annual awards dinner on April 12. With the support of the Rockefeller Foundation (see article on page 19), Cummings will take the lessons learned by our faculty engaged in that project and assess the need to enhance veterinary public health education in Indonesia. The ultimate goal is to improve animal and public health. states Biagiotti. We write up standard operating procedures for big dairies, and train and educate the people who work with the cows. Dr. Patricia Scharko, who served as an intern and then an instructor at TAS in the 1980s, educates producers with respect to meat and milk withdrawal times (minimum intervals between drug treatment and product sale) when antibiotics or any other drugs are needed. Scharko, now ruminant extension veterinarian at the University of Kentucky and past President of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, notes that if a farmer buys an over-the-counter generic drug without advice from a veterinarian, he may not notice the prescribed withdrawal time printed on the label, or a withdrawal time may not be stated for the drug. This presents a two-sided problem: if a beef animal goes to market too soon after therapy, before the drug has cleared the system, and gets caught, the farmer is in serious trouble. If it doesn t, the beef enters the food supply. Herds tagged for no antibiotic/ no growth hormone programs present their own challenges, Scharko adds. Since use of any antibiotic will eliminate that cow from the program, a producer may delay treatment, placing the animal s health at risk. Farm practices can occasionally be troubling in terms of animal welfare as well as public health, and farm animal veterinarians are usually the first to spot those. Matsas stresses, We conscientiously encourage dairymen to salvage cows way before they get to the stage of being downer cows. The goal is to promote not only good health but humane treatment of sick cows. Dr. Eugene White, director of the Tufts Ambulatory Service and member of the animal welfare committee for the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, sees a future of third party auditing for animal welfare, a policy he favors. In monitoring for bacterial infections or zoonotic diseases, it really is up to local practitioners to let proper authorities know that diseases are being seen, asserts Scharko. As far as farm practices are concerned, including drug administration protocols, veterinarians are in the best position to be vigilant, to help establish standard operating procedures, and to provide education and training to farmers and farm workers. TVM 16 tufts veterinary medicine spring 2008

19 Stewards of the Environment Productive farms are critical to land conservation corn burning stoves, like pellet stoves and others that burn biomass fuel instead of fossil fuel, are popular today as both costsavers and a step towards a cleaner environment. Which they are except for the ironic consequence this trend creates for farmers like Tom Murdock. The ration of Murdock s small Con necticut dairy herd contains the same corn that ends up in people s stoves. If you start burning food that the cows can eat, the price goes up because there s now more demand, he says. You need it, my cow needs it. This environmental solution creates a pinch that, in an industry where prices are flat, contributes to the growing trend of livestock farmers to sell their land to developers. According to the American Farmland Trust (AFT), a national nonprofit organization that advocates for farm and ranch land conservation, 1.2 million acres of farmland are converted each year to residential and commercial use. That loss of farmland is tragic not only because of the loss of valuable contributors to our local food supply, but also because of its impact on the environment. Farm and ranch lands sustain wildlife populations and support biodiversity. They also help control flooding, protect wetlands and watersheds, and maintain air and water quality. Think about where storm water goes in a residential or commercial area, as opposed to where it goes in a pasture. Instead of filtering naturally through the soil, it falls on roofs and paved roads. There it picks up debris, chemicals, dirt, and pollutants before entering, and remaining untreated, through storm drains into our water system or bodies of water and wetlands. What s more, development of farmland not only fails to increase local revenues, it depresses them. In Cost of Community Services Studies: Making the Case for Conservation, published by AFT in 2002, Julia Freedgood reports that open spaces, including farmland, cost a community 43 cents in services for every tax dollar generated, while residential areas cost more than one dollar. Which is one reason why residents in communities with higher development rates tend to see a greater hike in their tax bills. PHOTOGRAPH: VISIONSOFAMERICA/JOE SOHM/GETTY IMAGES spring 2008 tufts veterinary medicine 17

20 STAVING OFF FARMLAND LOSS To stem the loss of farmland in Connecticut, a coalition of more than 200 organizations called the Working Lands Alliance drove the passage of legislation that makes at least $10 million available for landowners to sell agricultural conservation easements to the state. Its Farmland Preservation Program works at the state level with the federal purchase of development rights (PDR) program to purchase an easement on all or part of a farmer s land to restrict future non-agricultural uses. The farmer continues to hold the deed and pay local property taxes at a reduced rate. The proceeds from the sale of development rights provide the farmer with capital to boost operations, buy land, reduce debt load, and pay bills. In Kentucky, where former Tufts Ambulatory Service intern and instructor Dr. Patricia Scharko works at the state university, the impact of land conversion would be enormous: there are about 40,000 beef producers. To keep farmers on their farms, most of which are small the average herd size is only 28 cows the state offers financial incentives. Producers receive tax benefits if they sign an agreement that the farm will not be converted to non-agricultural uses for a specified term. But most food animal farmers don t really want to sell to developers, or anyone else, for that matter, stresses Scharko. A lot of producers want to maintain their land as much as possible. It may be a livelihood, but when we ask beef producers why they re in the business, they say they do it primarily because of the quality of life. This observation flies in the face of a common misconception: that farmers and environmentalists are adversaries. Farmers are very frustrated that they re not acknowledged as good stewards of the land, which the vast majority are, asserts Paul Biagiotti, V88, who works on dairy and beef herds in Idaho. They don t get enough credit for what they do. They do like their cattle and try to keep them healthy because they understand that a healthy, happy cow is more productive. Food animal veterinarians are key partners in maintaining that productivity, which is as necessary as any incentive or property tax relief program can be to keep farmers farming. At least until they retire. If there is no one to pass the farm on to and it ceases to be a productive farm, then no effort to preserve that farmland through PDR programs and conservation trusts will maintain the health of that landscape. For it is the presence of livestock, whether the animals are allowed to graze or are confined, that brings the nutrients of manure to the soil. The 2008 Farm Bill, which remains stalled in Congress as of this writing, contains provisions to encourage transfer of farms to beginning farmers. The Senate and House versions both provide for low-interest programs for beginning farmers; the House version also includes an incentive for conservators to keep land productive by renting or selling to beginning farmers and ranchers who use sustainable or organic practices. Initiatives encouraging traditional farm practices (see A Boost for Azuluna on page 14) contribute by offering farmers new income streams and creating reasons to put more animals on pasture. Citing the many small landholders in New England who want to produce food for local consumers, Azuluna founder Dr. George Saperstein states, It s heartening to see our nation s leaders recognize the need to support them. TVM 18 tufts veterinary medicine spring 2008 PHOTOGRAPH: STEVE DUNWELL/GETTY IMAGES

21 RESEARCH TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE Waterborne Threats Dr. Saul Tzipori in this installment in our series on translational medicine, we focus on research within the Division of Infectious Diseases that benefits public health. WHAT ARE BIOSAFETY LEVELS? Biosafety levels are laboratory criteria that must be followed to protect workers, the public, and the environment from potentially hazardous microorganisms. The higher the level, the greater the requirements for containment devices, protective equipment and clothing, precautionary procedures, and specialized laboratory design. Biosafety Level 1 (BSL-1) containment is for work involving biological agents that pose low risk to healthy people and the environment. This level of containment is typical in high schools and colleges teaching introductory microbiology classes. It is generally open to all normal traffi c patterns. Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) containment applies to a laboratory working with biological agents of moderate risk to humans and the environment, as in a laboratory for graduate level work in microbiology. This level requires experienced supervision, a higher level of worker protection, an autoclave for decontamination, and restricted access. Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) containment is required for work with high-risk infectious agents. Specialized protective devices, as well as safety features such as double-door entry and directional inward airfl ow, ensure against the spread of infection within or outside the laboratory. Access is prohibited to all but highly trained, experienced scientists. Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) containment is required for work with biological agents of major risk; laboratory location and design, therefore, provide utmost isolation and security. Access is prohibited to all but highly trained, experienced scientists. Tufts University is one of six institutions in the Food and Waterborne Diseases Integrated Research Network (F&WD-IRN), created for detection, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of food and waterborne diseases that threaten public health. The Division of Infectious Diseases is an active member of this network. The history of this division began with the arrival in 1991 of Dr. Saul Tzipori, Agnes Varis University Chair in Science and Society, a specialist in chronic gastrointestinal infections that accompany HIV/AIDS. His research program at Cummings initially concentrated on the parasites cryptosporidium and microsporidium. Over time, the focus and size of the division have grown exponentially with an influx of funding primarily from the National Institutes of Health, but also from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Defense, and the private sector. In 2005, the division received a Gates Foundation Grand Challenge Award to develop vac cines against childhood diseases for developing countries. Today the Division of Infectious Diseases, which Tzipori continues to head, includes more than a dozen faculty researchers and a research program staff of more than 50. Programs have expanded to include work on diseases associated with parasites, viruses, and bacteria. The recently renovated Tickborne Diseases and Tularemia Laboratory of Sam R. Telford, ScD, which focuses on tick-transmitted infections, was recommissioned in early January. This small BSL-3 laboratory leads the way for the New England Regional Biosafety Laboratory (RBL), the Cummings School s comprehensive BSL-3 laboratory, scheduled for completion in January The RBL s functional opening is set for early summer of 2009 after an extensive commissioning process. In this issue we spotlight two ongoing research programs in the Division of Infectious Diseases, both involving waterborne pathogens. These two disparate programs have now intersected to address a critical global public health problem. PHOTOGRAPH: ANDY CUNNINGHAM spring 2008 tufts veterinary medicine 19

22 RESEARCH New Spin on a Novel Solution Centrifuge that concentrates pathogens to be commercialized there is no shortage of sophisticated technologies for detecting organisms in our water supply that cause disease. The stumbling block, the remaining missing link, explains Dr. Saul Tzipori, was developing a more efficient method to concentrate these pathogens from large volumes of water in order to apply those sophisticated technologies. Filtering systems typically used to trap pathogens clog after handling only about ten liters of water. So if Cryptosporidium parasites, for example, are present but not plentiful in the water supply, filters can t process enough water to trap a detectable concentration of them. Tzipori s recognition that Cryptosporidium was similar in size to human red blood cells led to a brainstorm in the mid 1990s. Instead of using a filter system, why not use a centrifuge designed to separate plasma or platelets from red blood cells? With a device donated by Massachusetts-based Haemonetics, a global manufacturer of automated blood processing systems, he was able to process up to 50 liters of water to isolate a high concentration of the pathogen. Tzipori found a chance to try the device in the field in Israel in 1995, where he met with local researchers looking for a way to detect Cryptosporidium in the Jordan River. The group obtained the device and the funding from Haemonetics to apply the technology called continuous flow centrifugation in the waters of the Jordan. The device was operated on the riverbank (powering it with a car battery), demonstrating that the technology was not only fast and effective in recovering high concentrations of the pathogen from large volumes of water, but also portable. Several years later with grants from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) the device has evolved from a refrigeratorsized machine to a lightweight unit the size of a tabletop laser printer. Now EPAcertified, continuous flow centrifugation technology has become so portable and automatic that virtually anyone can be trained to operate it. The device s capabilities have also extended beyond Cryptosporidium, Microsporidium, and Giardia parasites to viruses and bacteria, which need different filtration and concentration components due to their different size and physical characteristics. Because this single device can process large volumes of water to trap multiple pathogens simultaneously, there s no need to use many different technologies. Particularly useful is the device s compatibility with all detection modes. Coupled with a portable compact detection kit, the system is a veritable riverside laboratory that can be used even in remote areas by a trained lay person, a boon in developing countries where public health is often closely linked to the water supply and access to laboratories is, at best, limited. As the laboratory works with Haemonetics to commercialize the device, it is explor ing new opportunities such as pharmaceutical companies, which need to monitor manufacturing processes for bacterial contamination. The technology, which can also Testing the waters at Pratt s Pond in Grafton, Mass. be used for water purification, is not, in fact, limited to water; juice and other beverage industries could also benefit. We re collaborating with Texas A&M University to use it to concentrate spores and microorganisms from milk, notes Tzipori. When their researchers compared the efficiency of our technology against other concentration techniques, they were very happy with it. Even solids like meat can be bro ken down for centrifugation and pathogen detection. We re happy to see this device come this far, going above and beyond what we expected at the outset, says Tzipori. In spite of the significant investments made by the EPA and the DoD, however, getting to the next stages won t be easy. With Phase I of the defense grant complete, he continues to wait for go-ahead on Phase II prototyping and training. As for monitoring the public water supply, Tzipori states, We could put a perfectly functioning device on the table, but if somebody doesn t legislate that water utilities should look for these pathogens, they re not going to use it. 20 tufts veterinary medicine spring 2008 PHOTOGRAPH: GREG RAI

23 Combating Stealthy Parasites Using the power of RNAi to fight disease schistosomiasis afflicts about 200 mil - lion people worldwide, killing hundreds of thousands a year. The disease ranks second in mortality and disability rates among parasitic illnesses, according to the World Health Organization. The culprit: schistosomes, a type of platyhelminth, or flatworm. This waterborne parasite can survive in the bloodstream for decades. And when livestock are afflicted in developing nations, economic hardship is inevitable. Those staggering statistics alone and the urgent need to find a vaccine are enough to warrant a strong research focus in Cummings Molecular Helminthology Laboratory. Presided over by Patrick Skelly, PhD, and Charles Shoemaker, PhD, the laboratory uses molecular biology to dig deeper into the parasites interaction with their hosts. For Skelly, however, another driving force is at work: he is fascinated by what he describes as these extraordinary worms. It is no exaggeration to say that he views the centimeter-long parasites with increasing respect and admiration the more he learns about how they operate. In the host s bloodstream, schistosomes find the sugars and amino acids they need to thrive and lay eggs. They have a mouth but also feed through their tegument, or body surface, which is one reason why their skin is of interest. But the skin fascinates for another reason: it holds a key to the parasite s ability to creep under the radar in their host s body. With all the immune effectors in the bloodstream, you d think it would be a dangerous place, states Skelly, yet they seem to be extraordinarily stealthy. When cutting through a blood vessel of an infected mouse, we can see adult worms inside, but don t see immune cells attacking them. How is it that they go about their lives for years and the body doesn t see them? The eggs, on the other hand, do trigger an immune response, the primary cause of damage to the host. While many eggs are excreted, they can do damage on the way Top and bottom: The female schistosome nestles inside the male out; others lodge inside body tissues, often the liver. The immune response builds up scar tissue that can block and damage blood vessels. An effective anti-schistosome drug exists, but reinfection is common, and drug resistance is a worry. By studying the molecules on the tegument, Skelly hopes to identify how the worms remain undetected. The technology making this possible is RNA interference, or RNAi, a technique for using bits of RNA to fool a cell into shutting down a gene. (RNAi is the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of Craig Mello, PhD, of the University of Massachusetts, and Andrew Fire, PhD, of Stanford University.) By targeting a gene and turning it off to see what happens, researchers can identify its function. Skelly s laboratory is doing just that, molecule by molecule, across the schistosome s skin. They may be able to use RNAi itself to kill the flatworm, or use it to identify an essential molecule and inactivate it with a drug, killing the parasite. The functions of a few surface molecules have already been identified. One such target: the schistosomes apparent ability to suppress the body s immune response to blood vessel damage they may cause. Cell damage releases ATP, a molecule that calls immune cells to the injury and activates them. To regulate ATP s effects, the body also manufactures a set of enzymes that can convert ATP to adenosine, which dampens the immune response. Certain molecules on a schistosome s skin appear likely to do the same thing, making the area safe for the parasite. The laboratory will use RNAi to test the hypothesis that these molecules suppress the body s immune response to parasite damage. The laboratory has also conducted vaccine trials using parasite surface molecules. Some have been promising, although Skelly acknowledges there s still a ways to go. Since schistosome infection is contracted in water, it was only a matter of time before Dr. Saul Tzipori would approach Skelly to spike water samples with the infectious form of the schistosome to see if the continuous flow centrifugation device would pick them up. Sure enough, it does. This is very useful with large volumes of water, states Skelly, because even if there are very few parasites, you can still find them. Skelly has published a review article on schistosomes entitled Fighting Killer Worms, which appears in the May 2008 issue of Scientific American. PHOTOGRAPHS: COURTESY PATRICK SKELLY spring 2008 tufts veterinary medicine 21

24 ADVANCEMENT Community participation is vital in areas lacking trained veterinarians Attacking Avian Flu Rockefeller Foundation grant funds community-based research some villagers call it plok for the sound of a dead chicken falling from its perch. Avian influenza, or bird flu, in Indonesia has led to the deaths of millions of birds, stricken by the virus or killed to prevent it from spreading. This has been a blow to family livelihoods in a nation where 60 percent of households keep chickens, ducks or geese. Ominously, the virus in some cases has spread to people. The 100 th human death from bird flu recently was recorded in Indonesia, which has seen nearly half of the worldwide human fatalities from the virus since it emerged in Southeast Asia in Scientists fear the H5N1 strain of the virus could turn into a form readily transmitted by humans, potentially causing a pandemic threatening millions of lives. Because of the potential threat of a pandemic, an international effort is underway to stop the disease at its source. Tufts researchers have been working with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to train Indonesian villagers to de- tect and respond to outbreaks of avian flu in areas of the country where there is no organized veterinary care. A $206,600 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation will help in studying the relationship between veterinary public health education and effective surveillance and response to infectious disease outbreaks in Indonesia. The long term goal of the work is to improve veterinary public health capacity, including participatory epidemiology, in ways that will enhance animal and human health. Prevention is the key word here, said lead investigator Joann Lindenmayer, MPH, V85, associate professor of Environmental and Population Health at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. To prevent an epidemic of avian flu from becoming a pandemic from person to person, we need early detection and intervention. You can t have good human health without good animal health, Lindenmayer said. We re all dependent on each other. Study colleague George Saperstein, DVM, Amelia Peabody Professor and chair of Environmental and Population Health at the Cummings School, said, The only way to control the epidemic is through education, so that people understand the importance of controlling it at the local level. What s different about this epizootic, or animal epidemic, is that it could kill the people themselves. Indonesia s 220 million people are spread over 3,000 inhabited islands. Very few veterinarians in Indonesia are trained in epidemiology. With little or no veterinary public-health infrastructure on which to rely, teaching local people to recognize and respond to signs of the virus is seen as key. Ten Tufts researchers, nine of them veterinarians, currently are engaged full-time in Indonesia training community surveillance and response teams. Six hundred of these teams are spread throughout the country to spot and respond to avian flu. Is this sort of educational outreach model effective? Saperstein said the Rockefeller Foundation grant enables a 12-month study of their hypothesis that enhanced veterinary education at the local level has a significant impact on disease prevention and control. 22 tufts veterinary medicine spring 2008 PHOTO: ANDY AITCHISON/CORBIS

25 We re going to look at whether education indeed makes a difference, and whether it is possible to modify the educational process in the country to improve animal and human health, Saperstein said. We hope what we learn will be applied to the infrastructure in Indonesia, to help in early response to animal disease that could have a major impact on animal and human health. The goal is to establish a model to guide response elsewhere in Asia whenever an animal epidemic strikes. If it can be done in Indonesia, Lindenmayer stated, probably it can be done anywhere. Deborah T. Kochevar, DVM, PhD, dean and Henry and Lois Foster Professor at the Cummings School, said, The project in Indonesia has taught us many things about how to mobilize communities against an infectious disease outbreak, and these lessons can be applied to controlling zoonotic diseases around the world. Thanks to the support from the Rockefeller Foundation, we hope to expand this important public health project. The Rockefeller Foundation deserves praise for its vision in seeing the role of the veterinarian in human health, Saperstein said. He maintains that, while veterinarians play a large role in public health, their participation is often overlooked. An associate director at the Rockefeller Foundation, Tara Acharya, PhD, MPH, said: We see a divide between the fields of veterinary health and human health leading to poor communication and inefficient use of resources to detect and respond to outbreaks. Animals are the likely source of 75 percent of the world s emerging infections. In the event of a zoonotic disease outbreak, the world s poorest people, who largely depend on animals for their livelihoods, are hit the hardest with threats of disease, malnutrition and economic destitution. We are pleased to support the efforts of Tufts University to improve communitylevel surveillance, responses and management of animal diseases that threaten the health of animal and human populations and the livelihoods of Indonesian families, Acharya said. Mark Sullivan NEW AUDITORIUM LAUNCHED Varis gift allows spring construction to begin THANKS TO A $2.5-MILLION GIFT FROM PHILANTHROPIST AGNES VARIS, H03, A FUND-RAISING drive for a new auditorium at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine is more than halfway home. The Cummings School seeks to raise $4 million for the auditorium that will be a showpiece of the Grafton campus. Construction is expected to begin this spring. The gift launching the auditorium project is the most recent from one of the Cummings School s, and Tufts, most generous supporters. Varis already had given the naming gift for the new Campus Center to which the auditorium will be connected, as she had for a lecture hall and for a hospital ward for cats on the Grafton campus; university-wide, she has been a benefactor of the Granoff Music Center and donor of the Agnes Varis University Chair in Science and Society. A pioneering entrepreneur in the generic drug industry, Varis, of New York City, has given away millions as a patron of causes in politics, education, healthcare, and the arts. At the Cummings School, news of her latest generosity was received with appreciation. Her gift is perhaps the most important we have received to date, said Andrew Hoffman, associate professor and director of the Lung Function Testing Laboratory in the Department of Clinical Sciences. The ability to hold campus-wide meetings, national and international meetings, and community hearings on our campus will broaden our impact on society and academic life, while bringing faculty, students, staff, and the local community closer together. In addition, it offers a major architectural enhancement of our campus that will be appreciated on a day-to-day basis by hundreds of passers-by. Deborah T. Kochevar, DVM, PhD, dean and Henry and Lois Foster Professor at the Cummings School, said, The faculty, students, and staff of the Cummings School drive our programs with creative energy and commitment, but fi nding the resources to move projects forward can be a challenge. Agnes Varis has embraced key projects and has made them happen. She understands the importance of veterinary medicine and shares our passion for animals, people, and the world that we share. The 173-seat auditorium, designed to complement the Campus Center, will be a striking new addition to the Grafton campus, serving as an inviting academic hub for students and the entire community. The space will provide 81 conference-style seats and 92 traditional auditorium seats. With state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting, and audio-visual electronics, the auditorium will be made available for evening forums and other community gatherings. A fund-raising drive to be announced this spring will invite friends of the Cummings School to sponsor seats in the new auditorium, at $2,500 for conference-style, and $1,000 for traditional. Mark Sullivan PHOTO: ANDY CUNNINGHAM spring 2008 tufts veterinary medicine 23

26 ADVANCEMENT A Cummings Advocate in the Big Apple As alumni, we owe a great deal to Tufts. manhattan s hustle and bustle may be miles away from the bucolic beauty of Grafton, but for Janet JJ Kovak, V98, the two worlds collide nearly every day. Thanks to her role as intern director for the Animal Medical Center, New York City s largest facility for animal care and research, Kovak frequently interacts with Cummings School alumni. The students from Tufts are often the best prepared to face the challenges that arise daily in practice, says Kovak, who specializes in soft-tissue surgeries at the Animal Medical Center. They have strong clinical skills and a solid knowledge base about the Janet JJ Kovak, V98 use of cutting-edge technologies. They also are wellpoised to handle the rigor of heavy caseloads that come with internships in a busy hospital. This is not the first time Kovak has been impressed by the degree of preparation of Cummings School graduates. As a volunteer at the Animal Medical Center during college, she encountered several Tufts interns whose practice readiness convinced her, years later, to make Cummings her top choice when applying to veterinary schools. I visited campus for the first time during a snowstorm, but what I remember most from that visit was the enthusiasm of the staff, the dedication of the faculty, and the state-of-the-art hospital facilities, she recalls. The close-knit community that Kovak encountered in Grafton also made a lasting impression. Since graduation, she has gathered annually with 10 to 15 classmates to compare notes on their careers, and more recently she has organized annual receptions for Tufts alumni in New York City to meet with the dean and other school administrators. Kovak is also a frequent participant in alumni panels and talks with students on campus. Her involvement as an alumna is a way not only of staying connected, but also of showing her appreciation for her Cummings education. As alumni, we owe a great deal of our professional success to Tufts, she says. Anne Merrill DAIRY FARM WORKER REALIZES A DREAM Without financial aid, I couldn t do this. CARA KNESER, V10, RECIPIENT OF THE EDWARD P. HAMILTON Endowed Scholarship at the Cummings School, drives her old Mazda pickup to Grafton fi ve times a week from her home in Bozrah, Conn., 78 miles away. At 46, the mother of four (ages 21, 17, 15 and eight) has spent years running or working on dairy farms, and now is pursuing a lifelong dream of becoming a veterinarian. I want to be a large animal vet, working primarily with cattle and farm animals, she says. Fewer than 200 dairy farms remain in Connecticut, she notes. I m a big believer in New England agriculture. We have to save it. If I can do something to help, then I will have left something behind. She credits the support of hometown friends and neighbors and her husband, Dan, a good and patient man, for making it possible for her to go back to school. And she is most grateful for the Hamilton scholarship, created in 2006 by bequest of the late Edward P. Lee of Orange, Conn. Without fi nancial aid, I couldn t do this, she states. I would like people to know, you really can do anything if you have the help. Cara Kneser, V10 24 tufts veterinary medicine spring 2008 PHOTO: (BOTTOM) MELODY KO

27 WHO KNEW? Can you catch schistosomiasis in the U.S.? No, explains Patrick Skelly, PhD, assistant professor of Infectious Diseases. Schistosome larvae, which hatch in water, need a specific type of freshwater snail as an intermediate host before maturing to the next, highly infectious stage. Those snails fortunately are not found in the U.S. However, in some parts of the country, schistosomes that normally infect water birds can infect humans to produce a temporary irritation known as swimmer s itch. HOW TO REACH US Main hospital switchboard and after-hours emergencies Henry and Lois Foster Hospital for Small Animals, appointment desk Hospital for Large Animals, appointment desk Wildlife Clinic Directions to Tufts... (ext ) Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine administration Veterinary Student Admissions Office Veterinary Alumni Relations Cummings Veterinary Fund Tufts Pet Loss Support Hotline Continuing Education Web site: If you are interested in learning more about how you can support the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, please contact: Shelley Rodman, director of veterinary development and alumni relations, at , or shelley.rodman@tufts.edu PHOTOGRAPH: COURTESY PATRICK SKELLY

28 PHOTOGRAPH: MELODY KO SUSTAINED IMPACT By helping to keep farm practices as healthy as the livestock, veterinarians promote the well-being of the entire enterprise. Their impact on the economy, public health, and the environment is immeasurable. 200 Westboro Road North Grafton, ma Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Boston, MA Permit No TUFTS UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF PUBLICATIONS /08