College of Veterinary Medicine July 2011
lifelines
Vol. 6 No. 7
www.vet.k-state.edu/depts/development/lifelines/1107.htm
Also inside this issue of lifelines:
An Artist’s Touch
CVM medical illustrator earns national certification
Behind the scenes: KSVDL See page 2
Lechtenberg Center debuts. See page 2
Scholars Research Program. See page 3
Michael Parrett goes Under the Microscope. See page 4
by Dana Avery Sometimes life doesn’t go according to plans. For Mal Hoover, a change of plans led to a 30-year career and recent national certification as a medical illustrator. Mal earned her bachelor’s degree at K-State in pre-veterinary medicine. She had applied for veterinary school the next year with her best friend. Unfortunately, Mal did not get in, but her friend did. Instead, she decided to take a job as a student worker at the CVM with the intentions of re-applying to veterinary school. After a couple of years, the medical illustrator at the time accepted a position at the K-State Student Union. The position was then offered to Mal. “When the medical illustrator Celebrating her accomplishment, the library held position opened up, I had the an open house for Mal Hoover on June 16. Mal’s intention of only doing it for a few work was featured during the event along with years,” Mal said. “It turns out, I displays from other library staff members. loved it! It involves art and science, which I really like both subjects. certified. I thought ‘Why not?’ It took a lot It’s always changing and I have had the of hard work, but I’m glad I did it.” opportunity to work with some fabulous The process to get certified can take many people.” years to complete and is very difficult. There While working at the CVM, Mal are only 250 certified medical illustrators in was given the opportunity to go to the the world, and Mal is the only one in Association of Medical Illustrators annual Kansas. Most participants have a master’s conference. This was the first time she had degree in medical illustration, but Mal did heard about getting certified. not. She had gained enough experience from “Getting certified was partly a bucket list working at the college which gave her the thing,” Mal said. “I was diagnosed with See HOOVER, page 2 cancer in 2003 and while I was at the conference, I had heard about getting
Page 2
lifelines - K-State College of Veterinary Medicine
July 2011
Behind the scenes: Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Lab With education and research being primary goals at the CVM, service is the defining purpose for the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Lab (KSVDL). The lab is located in Mosier Hall, and is a full-service lab that works to provide veterinarians specialized tests suitable for animals of all sizes. “We deal with any and every species that comes into the lab, we do a variety of tests,” said Dr. Gary Anderson, KSVDL Director. “We do tests such as: basic necropsy, bacteriology, virology, serology, immunology, toxicology and clinical
pathology. We have these basic disciplines making up our veterinary diagnostic lab. All of those are tests and tools that help us come up with valid, viable answers for our clients.” The KSVDL creates an environment where employees can work to provide clients the best answers they can and embrace new techniques. They have also recently added a pay online option for clients. Veterinarians interested in learning more about the services KSVDL offers and how it can help What happens behind the scenes at KSVDL? service their testing needs, check out Check out the online report at: www.vet. k-state.edu/depts/development/lifelines/1107.htm their website at: www.ksvdl.org.
Hoover | earning national certification continued from page 1
Mal Hoover explains her techniques to Cheri Ubel. Currently, Mal is the only certified medical illustrator in Kansas.
confidence to take the certification test. The test consists of two components, the first being a four-part test with questions over business practices, ethics, biomedical sciences and drawing skills. After passing, the applicant must submit a portfolio, that is reviewed by other certified medical illustrators for techniques and accuracy. After this process, the board will make the decision about certification. Mal became certified in June 2011. Several faculty members have recently used Mal’s services for their projects. Dr. Amy Rankin, assistant professor in ophthalmology, used Mal’s talents for a schematic drawing of the flow of fluid through the eye that she will use for a book chapter
and class lectures. “Her schematic drawing of the eye is amazing,” said Dr. Rankin. “She drew one for us last year that we use to teach students. It is beautiful and accurate. I am very proud of Mal for achieving her goal. Her professionalism, friendly attitude, artistic talent and knowledge of veterinary medicine is what makes her great!” Dr. Michael Kenney, graduate studies director, shares his gratitude for Mal’s assistance. She is currently working on a diagrammatic representation of an experiment apparatus using computer graphics for him. “Mal has been a huge help with our work,” Dr. Kenney said. “We appreciate her enthusiasm, creativity and talent. She is a highly talented person and the output of her work is always excellent.” To maintain certification, Mal will have to participate in Continuing Education coursework in art/illustration techniques and biomedical science. Currently, Mal is using Lynda.com for its video tutorials. She felt that the site has been extremely useful in teaching new methods and refreshing computer graphic techniques. “Being located in the library has helped out a lot,” Mal said. “It is a wonderful resource. If I need to look something up for a project, the library has the most current texts on every veterinary subject.” Mal hopes to go to the AMI conference next year. She said she is glad she had the opportunity at the CVM because it combines everything she enjoys. Congratulations to Mal on her achievement! Remember, CVM faculty and staff can add original medical illustrations to their presentations at no cost.
July 2011
www.vet.k-state.edu/depts/development/lifelines/1107.htm
Page 3
Lechtenberg Family Learning Center makes its debut The Lechtenberg Family Learning Center, formerly known as Coles 343, was dedicated on June 28. Through their generous donation and support, the learning center was made possible by Dr. Kelly Lechtenberg, DVM 1987, and his wife Marci. Dr. Lechtenberg is the founder and CEO of Central States Research Centre and Logan Valley Feeders, located in Oakland, Neb. In 2005, Dr. Lechtenberg was selected as the CVM Alumni Fellow. The room allows new opportunities for video and audio conferences. Some of the upgrades include Skype technology, polycom and many other features for conferences and small-size classroom lectures.
Dean Ralph Richardson visits with Marci Lechtenberg.
Dr. Kelly Lechtenberg shares this day with his wife Marci and their three daughters Jana, Brooke and Paige.
Dr. Lechtenberg meets with basketball and athletic department legend Ernie Barrett, aka “Mr. K-State.�
Veterinary Scholars Research Program offers research experience This summer, 15 students were selected for the Veterinary Scholars Research Program. The program started in mid-May and will run through mid-August. The program matches students with a faculty member to gain valuable research experience. In addition to their work, students will be expected to attend weekly workshops, participate in a poster session and attend the Merial National Institutes of Health Veterinary Scholars Symposium in Orlando, Fla.
Crystal Drakes, third-year student, observes test results while working for Dr. T.G. Nagaraja. To be in the program, students must have completed at least one year of veterinary school.
Adelaide Delahaye, visiting student from the National School of Veterinary Medicine in Lyon, France, is working with Dr. Annelise Nguyen. Since the program began in 1998, approximately 15 students are selected each year.
Page 4
lifelines - K-State College of Veterinary Medicine
July 2011
CVM News Ticker
Michael Parrett
Senior Administrative Assistant, KSVDL
Hometown: Topeka, Kan. Family Information: My loving family consists of my dear wife Claire and my two daughters; Brynn, 8, and Brooke, 3.
Congratulations to Ashley Talley, fourth-year veterinary student, on obtaining an internship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)! Dr. Nicole Smee won one of the resident abstract presentation awards at the ACVIM Forum for her abstract entitled “Investigations into the effect of cranberry extract on the bacterial adhesion to canine uroepithelial cells.”
Pets: Enyas (Doberman Pinscher), Duke (Cavalier King Charles), Sasha (Chihuahua), Hammer and Toad (two frogs), and Rosie and Bluie (two fish) What do you enjoy most about your job? I enjoy making a difference from day-to-day while continuing to challenge myself throughout work. How would you define patriotism? I believe patriotism can be defined by the understanding of our country’s history, struggles, accomplishments, pride and lives lost to gain our standing in the world today, plus any contributions to those listed. America is a country many generations, ethnicities and cultures can be proud of and rely on. America is brave, beautiful and free. Also, my wife is from Nottingham, England, so July 4th is always an entertaining time at the Parrett household.
Dr. David Anderson completed a 16-day international CE and discovery tour in Peru. During his tour, he visited several cities, gave six hours of CE classes in medicine, surgery, anesthesia and reproduction of llamas and alpacas. While visiting, he went on several hikes, the hikes ranged from 12,000 to 16,000 feet above sea level, such as pictured above at Machu Picchu.
VMTH welcomes its new interns Upcoming Events
Aug. 19 - 5th Annual Conference Care of Llamas and Alpacas* Sept. 24 - SCAAEP Fall Equine Conference: A Focus on Reproduction* *Continuing Education Events, visit: http://www.vet.ksu.edu/CE/Conference.htm
Welcome the new interns. Back row (left to right): Nancy Adams, Lionel Sebbag, Alecia DuCharme, Alexandra Bianco and Dan Fredholm. Front row: Kimberly Loyd, Sara Fritz, Marlene Townsell and Rick Lanuza.
lifelines is published each month by the Development and Alumni Affairs Office at the College of Veterinary Medicine. The editors are Joe Montgomery, jmontgom@vet.k-state.edu, and Dana Avery, dlaavery@ vet.k-state.edu. Read online at www.vet.k-state.edu/ depts/development/lifelines/1107.htm
find us on facebook: www.facebook.com/ksucvm