September 4, 2024
The College of Veterinary Medicine has announced the recipients of its College Achievement Awards, which were presented at the recent CVM Fall Convocation.
The recipients include:
Merit Employee of the Year: Susan Fulster is the longest-serving employee in the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, having served the lab, college and stakeholders for 36 years. One indication of her dedication was working to ensure the successful start-up of the new media preparation center in Phase 1 of the new VDL which played a critical role in the Bacteriology Section’s seamless transition to the new facility.
Merit Mid-Career Employee of the Year: From Day 1, Nicole Bergman has been eager not only to learn but to master all aspects of her role in supplying ordering for the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. She is responsible for the successful procurement of millions of dollars worth of diagnostic supplies and equipment annually while playing a vital role in the daily operation of the facility.
Merit New Employee of the Year: A veterinary technician in the surgical education area, Emily Price is described by students as “a wonderful educator with a great attitude who is always helpful to anyone in need.” She is always looking for that extra area to help our students learn more effectively including planning for and traveling to the Crow Creek Reservation where she joined students, faculty, staff, alumni and other volunteers to provide needed veterinary care to Tribal members of the Crow Creek Nation.
Resident of the Year: While serving as a graduate student and resident in the Department of Veterinary Pathology, Dr. Lisa Uhl has developed an excellent rapport with clinicians and faculty. Because of her prior clinical experience, she is able to predict and deliver the information that will answer the clinician’s questions.
Graduate Student of the Year: Megan Thomas is a dual DVM/PhD candidate in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Program who is a dynamic and engaged scientist who is driven to understand and help solve clinically important problems. She has had four published manuscripts, three additional published preprints that are submitted and under review at high ranking journals, and four manuscripts in preparation.
Post Doc of the Year: Dr. Brandon Ruddell is a molecular bacteriologist who has repeatedly demonstrated that he is not only capable of developing and carrying out experiments to turn research hypotheses into published manuscripts in high impact journals, but he also uses data to develop new hypotheses to support grant submissions and funding. Ruddell has been awarded close to $500,000 in funding as a PI or Co-I to support his research since graduate school.
Service Team of the Year: In the last decade, the Poultry Team has grown from one faculty member to 10 dedicated members. This growth has been mirrored by the team’s substantial contributions to the field including a significant increase in diagnostic services, funding projects, stakeholder outreach, conference presentations and published research. The team also focused on innovative training programs to cater to the diverse learning needs of CVM students including a concerted effort to create valuable educational opportunities for CVM students.
Service Team of the Year: The Dairy HPAI Investigation Team is a multidisciplinary team with members in the VDL’s molecular, next generation sequencing, histopathology and serology sections, combined their talents to make the first diagnosis of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus in dairy cattle last March. This group of dedicated and talent team of diagnosticians and clinicians put the College of Veterinary Medicine on the leading edge of the investigation and response to introduction of HPAI into the U.S. dairy herd.
International Service Award: Dr. Radford Davis has developed and carried out a collaboration between the College of Veterinary Medicine and multiple public health experts, veterinarians and academicians from Uganda. This collaboration has led to a strong experimental learning experience for Iowa State students and sharing of public health knowledge and expertise between leaders in Uganda and Iowa State.
Outstanding Achievement in Extension or Professional Practice Award: Dr. Drew Magstadt played a leading role in the detection of the first case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in dairy cattle this past year. This is just the most recent example of the impact he daily has in the veterinary diagnostic field. In addition to coordinating pathology cases, he is responsible for coordinating bovine molecular diagnostic cases and BVDV PI ear notch testing.
Outstanding Achievement in Extension or Professional Practice Award: Dr. Beatrice Sponseller has been actively engaged in equine ambulatory professional practice in the area for more than 10 years serving the horse community. Sponseller constantly demonstrates her excellence in both professional practice and outreach by providing veterinary services to equine clients above and beyond the norm, gathering the respect and loyalty of multiple horse/farm owners by her willingness to help whenever possible and adapt to each owner’s situation.
Early Achievement in Extension or Professional Practice Award: Dr. Erin McQuinn’s dedication, expertise and innovative approach in the primary care section of the Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital has significantly advanced both clinical practice and the education of veterinary residents. As co-manager of the feline and canine blood bank, that operation has not only expanded its capacity but also enhanced the quality and safety of blood products available for transfusions.
Outstanding Achievement in Teaching Award. Dr. Carrie Berg's role has expanded significantly in recent years to include both lecture and lab instruction in a variety of physiological disciplines across both the professional and graduate curricula. Berg is determined to create a learning environment that is supportive, filled with empathy, understanding and respect, which allows students to be their authentic selves.
Early Achievement in Teaching Award: While Dr. Melissa Kubai has quickly embraced the academic roles of clinician, research and educator with good balance in all areas, her didactic and clinical teaching have been areas where she has notably excelled with efforts far exceeding. She is incredibly passionate about education and her energy is infectious to students and consistently demonstrates exceptional dedication to lecture preparation, wet lab mentoring, clinical rounds, and hands-on learning with cases.
P&S Excellence Award: For more than 17 years, Brian Adams has served as facilities manager for the College of Veterinary Medicine, managing the physical operations for multiple buildings over the college’s 100-acre site. His responsibilities are extensive and are not limited to biosecurity, accreditation, research compliance, safety, facilities strategic planning, recycling initiatives, troubleshooting equipment failure, space utilization and on-site construction project review.
P&S Mid-Career Award: Brian Rowe-Barth implemented a third-shirt reception coverage at the hospital’s front desks, allowing technical staff to focus on their patients rather than performing reception duties after hours. More recently, he has taken the lead in managing the budget and spending aspects of VCS, always exploring ways to increase revenue or identify areas of cost-savings.
P&S New Professional Award: As the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine’s business administrator Sarah Karner is meticulous with the accounts she managers and spends a great deal of effort ensuring that she fully understands and correctly maintains VMPM financial wellness. In addition to her financial roles, Karner is heavily involved with the day-to-day operations of the department including recruitments for open faculty positions.
Frederick Douglass Patterson Diversity & Inclusion Award: Dr. Rachel Derscheid is passionate and dedicated to raising awareness and effecting change in CVM and beyond. As the CVM Faculty Success Advisor, she diligently works to ensure all members of CVM search committee have proper training on how to perform an unbiased search.
CVM Champion Award: For faculty, staff and students in Patterson Hall, Brian Anderson was a familiar presence. Serving as the primary day custodian in Patterson Hall, Brian was diligent in his work, helpful to one and all and a joy to be around. Anderson is now assigned at the new Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and based on personal experience.
CVM Award for Mid-Career Achievement in Research: As a principal investigator Dr. Amanda Kreuder has worked on major research projects which range from understanding the molecular workings of a zoonotic bacteria to influencing the entire veterinary profession to be stewards of antimicrobial resistance prevention measures. Kreuder has established herself as an emerging leader in bacterial pathogenesis of zoonotic diseases of livestock, improved diagnosis and treatment of livestock diseases, and antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial stewardship.
CVM Award for Early Career Achievement in Research: While at Iowa State, Dr. Gustavo Silva has received approximately 53 grants and contracts for $1.6 million in funding as a PI and has served as CO-I on projects totaling $5 million. These grants fund studies that are of high relevance to the Iowa and U.S. livestock and poultry industries. Silva has documented his scholarship in research through an extensive list of more than 50 presentations and close to 100 abstracts and proceeding papers.
Zoetis Award for Veterinary Research Excellence: Dr. Pat Gorden has documented success in competitive grantsmanship securing almost $3 million in funding as a PI from a mix of industry, biopharmaceutical, state, and federal sources. His most recent research activity has received almost a $400,000 USDA grant for projects which seeks to understand disease dynamics of an acute outbreak of HPAI in dairy cattle.