American Association of Zoo Veterinarians

Event: Annual conference, Oct. 24-28, 2011, Kansas City, Mo.
Program: The conference drew 405 attendees representing 22 countries.
Awards: Emil P. Dolensek Award: Dr. Elliott Jacobson, Gainesville, Fla., for exceptional contributions to the conservation, care, and understanding of zoo and free-ranging wildlife. A 1975 graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Jacobson started his career as an assistant professor at the University of Maryland Department of Veterinary Science and served as Maryland’s state wildlife veterinarian. He joined the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine as an assistant professor in 1979 and became a professor in 1990. He earned certification from the American College of Zoological Medicine in 1985. AAZV/Morris Animal Foundation Postgraduate Student Manuscript Competition: First place—Dr. Olivia Petritz, University of California-Davis, for “Effects of deslorelin acetate on egg production and plasma sex hormones in Japanese quail (Cotrnix coturnix japonica)”; and second place—Dr. Christoph Mans, University of Wisconsin-Madison, for “Efficacy of intrathecal lidocaine, bupivicaine, and morphine for spinal anesthesia and analgesia in red-eared slider turtles (Trachemys scripta elegans).” AAZV/Wildlife Pharmaceuticals Inc. Undergraduate Student Manuscript Competition: First place—Dr. Claire Simeone, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, for “Visceral gout and death of a California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) under dual chelation treatment for lead toxicity “; and second place—Dr. Jennifer Gilbert, Tufts University, for “Significant morbidity and mortality findings in gibbons (Hylobates and Nomascus spp) housed at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park.” Safe Capture International Inc. Poster Competition: First place—Dr. Carolyn Cray, for “Application of acute phase protein assays in wildlife medicine”; and second place—Dr. Meredith Clancy, for “Hydrocoelom and lymphedema in dendrobatid frogs at the National Aquarium, Baltimore.”
Business: The AAZV established the Zoological Medicine and Wildlife Health Research Grant to provide grants of $5,000 to $10,000 to zoological medicine professionals to improve the care and conservation of captive and free-ranging wildlife. The association has begun offering a limited membership, with access to online resources, to veterinarians from developing nations for nominal annual dues of $15.
Officials: Drs. Kirk Suedmeyer, Kansas City, Mo., president; Paul Calle, New York City, president-elect; Doug Armstrong, Omaha, Neb., vice president; Meg Sutherland-Smith, San Diego, secretary; Chris Hanley, Toledo, Ohio, treasurer; Kay Backues, Tulsa, Okla., immediate past president; and Robert Hilsenroth, Yulee, Fla., executive director