The new wagons rolling through the OVC Health Sciences Centre now have names thanks to some creative suggestions from the OVC family.

The hospital bought the classic red wagons to help clients navigate ongoing construction while transporting their animals in pet carriers.

After much deliberation by the HSC client experience committee, the winning names are:

Happy Tails Taxi - Jackie Radley
The Furball Express - Judy Metherel

Honourable mentions go to:

Furry Flyer - Betty-Anne McBey
Waggin’ Wagon - Wendy Spicer
Creature Cab - Betty-Anne McBey

Thanks to everyone who sent in suggestions for these little red wagons.  Watch for them in a corridor near you!

Jackie Radley, top, and Judy Metherel with Victoria Wentzel.

Heavy rains that flooded some streets in Guelph and Waterloo on Saturday also caused damage to some OVC facilities.

The Pathobiology building experienced the worst of it as water flooded the hallway as well as adjacent classrooms, laboratories, offices and meeting rooms. The area near the Second Cup store on the main floor was hardest hit — water had backed up from piping and lifted the ceramic flooring. There is also some water damage in the basement.

An area outside the ICU in the OVC Companion Animal Hospital also received some damage when water entered the building through ducting above a storage closet.

“The staff did a fantastic job of heading off any further damage or flooding by containing the water with mop heads and towels while continuing to ensure the best patient care,” said Greg Gilbert, manager of facilities and logistics.

Physical resources staff and U of G campus police are to be commended for their quick response to contain and clear the damaged caused by the flooding, Gilbert said.

An important reminder to the OVC community that exterior doors must remain locked and secured after hours.

The side doorway (the doorway with glass art depicting a rooster) into the main OVC building (Building 39) had the lock taped open with a strip of red tape during the August 9 and 10 weekend. 

Doors may not be taped open. This is an important safety issue that jeopardizes all of our safety.

Please ensure that doors are closed and secure after hours to ensure the safety of everyone.

The Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC) at the University of Prince Edward Island is currently advertising for two tenure track faculty positions.

AVC’s Department of Pathology and Microbiology invites applications for a full-time tenure-track faculty position in Anatomic Pathology, as well as one in Clinical Bacteriology.

Vets without Borders is getting ready to hold its 2^nd annual golf tournament in Guelph and you’re invited!

The event, sponsored by Scotiabank, Chiron Compounding Pharmacy Inc. and Aeroplan, will take place on Sunday, September 14 at Victoria Park East Golf Club, 1096 Victoria Road South.

The registration fee is $135 per player and includes 18 holes of golf, electric cart, light lunch and dinner. You do not have to be an excellent golfer to participate in this fun day and of course the proceeds are going to a very good cause.

There will also be a passport available on the day of the tournament ($20/passport) that will provide more players with more chances to win including hole-in-one prizes, a prize for the winning team, a putting contest, and a ticket on the 50/50 draw. 

Even if you’re not a golfer, you can still help by joining the group for the dinner after the tournament ($45/ticket) or by encouraging your friends, family and colleagues to play.

For more information or to register, contact Hazel Dickie at hazel@montessaurus.ca or 519-829-8408.

To learn about Vets Without Borders, visit their website. 

A recent OVC graduate and entrepreneur will be one of the judges at Guelph’s first-ever “Startup Weekend” Aug. 15-17.

Dr. Adam Little OVC ’13 will be one of the local business leaders offering advice, constructive criticism and feedback to participants who will be pitching their ideas for new ventures at the event that aims to connect Guelph’s makers and doers on an off-campus.  The event runs from Friday at 6:30 p.m. to Sunday at 9 p.m. in the McLaughlin Library.

For more about the event, see the U of G news release or visit the website.

OVC research aimed at identifying on-farm practices that influence the presence of pathogens on chicken farms is featured in the 2013-2014 Agri-Food Yearbook Edition of the University of Guelph’s Research magazine.

Dr. Michael Eregae recently completed his PhD in the Department of Population Medicine, supported by the Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) scholarship from OMAFRA. The scholarship program — which provides some business background to graduate students conducing research related to agriculture and food — enabled Eregae to complete a work semester at the Chicken Farmers of Ontario.

Eregae’s research is focused on improving poultry farm management and biosecurity practices to control problematic viruses.

For more, read the magazine.

The Dean of the Ontario Veterinary College was quoted recently in an article included in a special issue of Education Life published by the New York Times.

Help OVC Pet Trust put a leash on cancer and join colleagues, friends, fellow dog lovers — and their dogs — as Guelph hosts its first Smiling Blue Skies Walk to End Canine Cancer.

The family-friendly fundraising event will take place Sept. 6 at York Road Park, 85 York Road, Guelph.

OVC faculty, staff and students are encouraged to sign up and help make the Guelph event the biggest yet for the Smiling Blue Skies Cancer Fund, which since 2001 has raised over $1.4 million to advance cancer treatment and research at the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC).

So sign up as an individual or organize a team with friends and colleagues. All proceeds go to OVC Pet Trust in support of innovative research and treatment at OVC.

Amanda Raymond organized the Guelph walk in memory of her dog Charger, who died of lymphoma last year.  She and Charger had participated in the Toronto Smiling Blue Skies Walk only a month before, and Amanada is hoping the Guelph walk will inspire others to help in the fight against cancer.

For more about Charger’s story, watch the video.

The event gets underway Sept. 6 with registration at 9 a.m. The 4.6-kilometre walk begins at 10 a.m., with the start and finish at the covered bridge. Refreshments and snacks will be available, and there will be a silent auction, prizes for the top pledge collectors, and more.

To register and download a pledge form, visit the Smiling Blue Skies 2014 – Guelph website.

Participants in the Summer Leadership and Research Program (SLRP) will share results of their research projects with the OVC community this week as they wrap-up this year’s program.

The poster sessions will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on August 12 and 13 in the back of the OVC Learning Commons.

Tuesday’s poster session will include 15 posters from students in the Master of Biomedical Sciences degree. This poster session is part of the requirements of their program. See the poster schedule for more information. 

Dr. Fran Rotondo, DVM, Merial Canada, talks with SLRP students during a networking session.

OVC faculty and graduate students will act as evaluators, reviewing the scientific and educational poster projects for clarity, overall design, and the student’s ability to present the information.

The program will officially wrap up with a luncheon and awards presentations for posters on Friday. All SLRP participants and their advisors are welcome. Please RSVP to Elizabeth Lowenger at lowenger@uoguelph.ca.

The SLRP is designed to nurture undergraduate students’ interest in research, academia and graduate programs. It provides DVM and undergraduate students from across the University of Guelph the opportunity to interact with scientists and veterinarians working in diverse fields. The program includes field trips, attendance at scientific conference and professional development workshops, as well as a Round Table series with invited guests working in a variety of areas.

See the SLRP website for more information.

A ‘graduate’ of OVC’s feline blood donor program is in need of an adoptive family.

Dart has finished her time as a blood donor and is looking for a permanent home.   She is a 2 ^1/2-year-old  female spayed domestic shorthair.   She is current with her vaccines, is affectionate and playful.

Dart prefers not to share her owner with anyone and would benefit for going to a home without other pets.

If you are interested in meeting Dart or getting more information, please contact Alison Downie at 226-924-5792 or adownie@uoguelph.ca.

OVC researchers are encouraged to apply for funding opportunities with the Institute for Infectious Animal Diseases (IIAD).

The IIAD is now considering white papers for funding research and development (R&D) and education projects that can be completed in a 12-month period or less. All white papers and proposals will be evaluated through a highly competitive peer review process.

The deadline for submissions is Sept. 15.

Successful projects will relate to transformative, evolving, and/or maturing R&D technologies that demonstrate significant improvement in the Institute’s mission or the operations of IIAD stakeholders.

For more information about the call for proposals and the IIAD’s current research priorities, visit the IIAD website.

Faculty, students and staff are invited celebrate the final weeks of summer and look ahead to the new school year at the annual OVC Community Ice Cream Event on Tuesday.

The celebration takes place tomorrow from 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the courtyard between the Pathobiology / AHL building and the Lifetime Learning Centre. The rain location will be the OVC cafeteria.

Join members of the OVC dean’s office as they serve up free ice cream and mark another great year.

Congratulations to the following students for their excellent poster presentations to wrap up the Summer Leadership and Research Program (SLRP).

First Place

Daniel Kim:  “A retrospective evaluation of thrombomodulin expression in tissues from dogs with systemic inflammatory disease”

Chanel Schwartzentruber: “Evaluating the accuracy and reliability of the FAMACHA© eye colour chart in sheep using different light sources”

Second Place:

Ceilidh  Barlow-Cash: Evaluating macrophage activity of Canadian dairy cows characterized by an imbalanced adaptive immune response phenotype”

Fernando  Salgado-Bierman: “Raptor mortality in Ontario”

Meagan Walker: “Evaluating the impact of biofilm production of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius on antimicrobial susceptibility in vitro”

Third Place

Andrew Chong: “Effect of platelet lysate on canine mesenchymal stem cells”

Ellen Denstedt: “Investigation of scar-free wound healing in the leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius)

Robert Mould: Combining antigen presenting cell-based vaccination with oncolytic viruses for the treatment of prostate cancer”

Joseph Okudolo: “Differences in monocyte-derived macrophage activity between Canadian Holstein dairy cows classified as high and low immune responders”

Winners of the SLRP poster presentations (clockwise from top): Joseph Okudolo, Andrew Chong, Robert Mould, Daniel Kim, Meagan Walker, Fernando Salgado-Bierman, Ceilidh Barlow-Cash, Ellen Denstedt, Chanel Schwartzentruber.

The OVC and University of Guelph welcome a new member of the development team this week.

Carly O’Brien begins her role as OVC’s senior development manager effective Aug. 18.

O’Brien brings a wealth of experience in organizational development, community/client relations and sales. Most recently, she has been a principal/owner at The Achievement Centre, and was formally an assistant vice principal with the Upper Grand District School Board. An active volunteer in the community, she is the incoming chair of the Guelph Wellington Chamber of Commerce and volunteers with the Foundation of the Guelph General Hospital.

O’Brien holds an honours B.Sc. in biology from the University of Waterloo’s co-op program and a B.Ed from the University of Toronto. She is passionate about the University of Guelph and its role in our community. As a former horse show competitor and current “dog person,” Carly is looking forward to highlighting the work and impact of the OVC.

OVC students are organizing a used textbook sale to take place during Orientation for the phase one (first year) class.

The sale will take place Sept. 15 at lunchtime.

If you are interested in selling current used textbooks, contact Jared Louw at jlouw@mail.uoguelph.ca with a list of materials offered for sale and the price wanted.

Arrangements can be made for pickup this week, and proceeds delivered to the sellers the week after the sale.

The fall academic schedule will include an additional study break day on Oct 14.

A proposal to create the study break day was approved by the University of Guelph Senate in February. Beginning this fall, students will have an additional day off on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving Monday. The University will be open, but no classes will be held.

Class time will be made up with an additional teaching day on Nov. 27, at the end of the fall semester prior to exams.

Instructors should adjust their schedule of classes accordingly.

The Central Students Association proposed the study day to address growing concerns about student stress, anxiety and other mental health issues. They said the extended break would give students more time to get support from family and friends during the Thanksgiving holiday, and provide an extra study day.

The air conditioning system in the OVC main building (building 39) will be shut down this week.

The shutdown is necessary to replace a damaged motor that, while still working, has been barely functional for some time.

The work is expected to take four days to complete. All floors of the building will be affected. However, laboratory fume hoods in the Department of Biomedical Sciences will be operational.

Zoetis is pleased to announce a “call for proposals” for funding from the 2014 Zoetis Investment in Innovation Fund.

Through this fund, Zoetis (formerly Pfizer Animal Health) provides financial assistance to each Canadian veterinary college in support of the veterinary profession and helps foster educational partnerships.

In the interest of enriching impactful and innovative opportunities throughout Canada, the Zoetis Investment Fund in Innovation makes $100,000 available to proposals received from the five Canadian veterinary colleges. Proposals will be evaluated on a competitive basis, with funds awarded based on the following criteria: 

•  The proposal arises from a member of the faculty of a Canadian veterinary college

•  The proposal will positively impact the Canadian veterinary community

•  One or more undergraduate veterinary students are involved

•  The proposal addresses a topic of interest to Zoetis

•  The project is initiated within the 2015 calendar year and project timelines are clearly outlined in the proposal

•  The proposal must outline how the project’s outcome will be disseminated to the veterinary college, the veterinary community, and to Zoetis

• The budget for an individual proposal should be clearly outlined

• Each college may submit up to three proposals for evaluation.

OVC faculty members are invited to submit their proposals by Sept. 22 to Dr. Shayan Sharif, acting associate dean, research and innovation. All submitted proposals will be reviewed and ranked internally by an ad hoc committee before the top three proposals are submitted to Zoetis.

Letters of intent for OMAFRA New Directions program

OVC researchers are encouraged to submit proposals for funding through the New Directions Research Program supported by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA).

The program is intended to stimulate the sustainable growth and competitiveness of Ontario’s agri-food and agri-business sectors, and strengthen rural communities by encouraging development of new and alternative products that have potential to increase the diversification of agriculture.

Research priority areas include climate change, opportunities associated with international trade agreements, and precision agriculture in crop production. Successful projects may receive up to $200,000 over three years.

The internal deadline for letters of intent is Sept. 17. For more information on the program and how to apply, visit the Office of Research website.

Second call for concept notes for IDRC program

The International development Research Centre (IDRC) has issued a second call for concept notes for the Canadian Partnerships program’s Small Grants for Innovative Research and Knowledge Sharing.

The program’s aim is to improve Canadians’ understanding of global development issues that affect Canada and low- and middle-income countries and increase the knowledge and skills to address them.

For more information, visit the Office of Research website.

The planning team for OVC Shared Administrative Services (SAS) has had a busy summer finalizing the transition of graduate program service to the new shared services model for the college.  It’s hard to believe the summer semester is almost over! September 2 is just around the corner and new graduate students will be joining us and the fall semester will be in full swing.

Over the course of the summer, there have been many notable milestones accomplished in developing SAS, including:

• Completing the recruitment process for a new graduate program assistant (welcome Christina Voll) and transitioning Denya Dinesen into the shared services unit from Clinical Studies to the new location for the service in the Population Medicine Building (formerly Clinical Research). 

• Effective Sept. 2, Donna Kangas will be part of the shared team. Her office will remain in Pathobiology until mid-September.  

 • Carol Bystriansky will remain in the graduate program assistant role on a temporary basis until the end of September to ensure Biomedical Sciences has adequate coverage and support during the transition period.  

• By Sept. 30, the integration of all three graduate program shared services team members will be complete.

• A workspace has been designed to house the three graduate program assistants located in the Population Medicine Building.  The space will be fully operational by mid-September. 

The graduate program service team plans to introduce themselves at each department’s orientations/socials for graduate students.  Meetings are also planned with chairs, graduate co-ordinators and administrative assistants from all four departments.

The next phase of SAS will include finalizing a shared database for all four departments at OVC.  In addition, we are developing/refining standard operating procedures, co-ordinating files, collating downloadable forms, developing a calendar, working on a webpage and putting other tools in place to ensure our team members have what they need to be successful.

Thank you to all faculty and staff for their feedback, cooperation and support as we make this first transition to a SAS model at the college.

Questions concerns or feedback on this transition can be directed to Carol Ann Higgins  at chiggins@uoguelph.ca.