1CVM magazine

Cover Story:

Randall Terry’s Lasting LegacySolving Problems, Saving Lives

Singing the Praises of the TAU

Magazine for the College of Veterinary Medicine | Summer 2015

Where Compassion Meets Science

CVM

CVM MAGAZINE

EDITOR

Dave Green

DESIGNER

Angela Miller

DEAN

Dr. D. Paul Lunn

ASSOCIATE DEANS

Dr. Kate MeursResearch & Graduate Programs

Dr. Steven L. Marks Veterinary Medical Services

Dr. Keven FlammerAcademic Affairs

Dr. Dianne DunningAdvancement (Interim)

DEPARTMENT HEADS

Dr. Lizette HardieClinical Sciences

Dr. Chris McGahanMolecular and Biomedical

Sciences

Dr. Paula CrayPopulation Health and

Pathobiology

DIRECTORS

Allison CrouchNCVMF Executive Director

(Interim)

Dane JohnstonContinuing Education

& Outreach

April NorrisCommunications & Marketing

The CVM Magazine is published

by the Offi ce of Communications

& Marketing at NC State’s College

of Veterinary Medicine.

Find this issue online at

www.issuu.com/NCStateVetMed

(919) 513-6662

NC State University promotes equal opportunity and prohibits discrimination and harassment

based upon one’s age, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, national origin,

race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation and veteran status.

5,000 copies of this public document were printed at a cost of 98¢ per copy.

HONOR A FRIEND, whether two-legged or four.

Memorialize a loved one. Thank a veterinarian or caretaker.Celebrate a birthday, anniversary or other milestone.

BRICKS AND PAVERS are available in the Walk of Honor.Bricks – Gift of $150 or more. (Three lines of text) Pavers – Gift of $500 or more (Eight lines of text)

HORSESHOES are available in the Gallop of Honor.Bronze – Gift of $250 or more Silver - $500 or more Gold - $1,000

For more information, please contact: 919-513-6660 | cvmfoundation@ncsu.edu | www.cvm.ncsu.edu/ncvmf

3CVM magazine

Contents

4 PERSPECTIVE

Dean Paul Lunn on the transforming significance of the gift from the R.B. Terry Charitable Foundation.

5 DISCOVERY

The hunt for genes that trigger bladder cancer in beagles and people/ What we are learning from paraplegic dogs/ Improving the odds on the #1 cause of death in the U.S./ Enhancing pain treatment for ferrets.

8THE LASTING LEGACY OF RANDALL B. TERRY, JR. A $16 million gift from the R.B. Terry Charitable Foundation for scholarship and research will help keep North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine on the cutting edge for years to come.

10SOLVING PROBLEMS, SAVING LIVESThe Veterinary Hospital annually treats more than 27,000 patients that are often seriously ill and require the best veterinary medicine can provide. Henry, Buster, and Alice are three such cases.

16SINGING PRAISES OF THE TEACHING ANIMAL UNIT“I feel the TAU is the CVM’s greatest asset. We practiced medicine as if we were working for a client whose only income source was their dairy cattle, beef cattle, swine, or poultry operation.”

20 ACCOLADES

Dorman elected AAAS Fellow/ Breen named Oscar J. Fletcher Distinguished Professor/ Thakur selected University Faculty Scholar/ Keene named Seaks Professor for Companion Animal Medicine/ Davidson receives Beal Award for distinguished service.

22 FRIENDS

Randolph Reid and Betty Minton share a love of animals—especially dogs. So when a beloved retriever was diagnosed with cancer and given a few months to live, they wanted him to receive the best possible healthcare.

4Summer 2015

WWe recently celebrated a

landmark $16 million pledge

from the R.B. Terry Charitable

Foundation to the College of

Veterinary Medicine. In addition to its

profound effect on everyone associated with the

College and our programs, this magnifi cent support

underscores a vital truth: we couldn’t do what we

do here at the CVM without the incredible vision

and generosity of our friends. I’m delighted to take

this opportunity to share with you more information

about the transformational impact this gift will have

in the years ahead -- not just at the CVM, but also

upon the greater North Carolina State community,

and the fi eld of veterinary medicine.

The R.B. Terry Charitable Foundation’s pledge

comes at a particularly vital time. With young

graduates facing unprecedented fi nancial challenges,

the Terry Charitable Foundation’s support will create a

very signifi cant new student scholarship endowment

– a vital resource for our new DVM trainees. These

funds help ensure that the best and brightest students

will continue to have access to the CVM’s high-quality

veterinary education. The gift also supports our

mission to prepare the world’s future veterinarians

to share their exceptional gifts within our local

communities and across the globe.

The R.B. Terry Charitable Foundation’s pledge will

also create endowments to recruit innovative new

faculty leaders and provide pump-priming funding for

groundbreaking research programs designed to translate

from the lab to the patient. The new discoveries that will

result won’t just impact animal health, but global food

security and human health, as well.

At the CVM, our past accomplishments, and our

ongoing commitment to educational excellence and

innovation has earned us high regard as one of the

leading colleges of veterinary medicine in the nation

and the world. However, we did not get here on our

own. While I never had the honor to meet Mr. Terry,

I’m grateful on a daily basis for his inspirational

commitment to the CVM and the fi eld of veterinary

medicine. His vision inspires everyone who works

at the CVM and everyone who is impacted by our

programs. The R.B. Terry Charitable Foundation

has created a permanent legacy of excellence, and

promises to achieve so much more in the future.

As we look forward to the challenges ahead, we

will continue to rely on our trusted supporters to help

us reach our goals. If you have already made a gift in

support of the College, I thank you. If you have not,

it is my great hope that you will choose to share in

our vision. Together, we can make the world a better

place -- starting right here at the NC State University

College of Veterinary Medicine.

D. Paul Lunn

Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine

Perspective

A Lasting Legacy

A clinical trial involving paraplegic dogs demonstrates that a “one-size fits all” approach is not ideal for treating spinal cord injuries. The study reports that canine paraplegics—even those with the same injury—are diverse, and treatment should be equally so. These findings may lead the way to personalized treatments for spinal cord injuries, and hopefully better outcomes for canine and potentially human patients.

Natasha Olby, professor of neurology, along with a team of postdoctoral students, conducted a clinical trial involving the drug 4-AP and a derivative of the drug called t-butyl, which was developed by co-author Daniel Smith and the Center for Paralysis Research at Purdue University. 4-AP has been tested on humans for spinal cord injury, and is currently in use as a treatment for multiple sclerosis. T-butyl, the derivative, has not been tested clinically on humans. Both drugs work by helping damaged nerves transmit signals.

Dr. Olby and her team recruited 19 paraplegic dogs for the trial. The dogs suffered similar spinal cord injuries and had been injured long enough to rule out hope of unaided recovery. All dogs were treated with a placebo and both drugs, each for a two-week block of time assigned randomly, to first determine whether the drugs were effective, and then see whether or not there was a difference in efficacy between the two medications. The testing was conducted in a blind trial.

The researchers found there was little difference in efficacy between the drugs, as both produced a significant improvement in stepping when compared to placebo. However, the difference in levels of response from the dogs in the trial ranged from no improvement to being able to take unassisted steps on a treadmill.

“The question quickly went from ‘Do the drugs work?’ to ‘Why aren’t they having similar effects across the board?’” Olby says. “And there are many possible factors to consider – some of the dogs may not have any axons left for the drug to act on, or it may depend upon how long they’ve been paralyzed or even whether or not they have a genetic predisposition to respond to this treatment.”

While Olby is pleased with the progress of the dogs who showed improvement during the trial, she is now focused on determining how best to identify patients that will respond best to the treatment. “There is no doubt that either or both of these medications can have an amazing effect on the right patient – but now we have to do the work of finding out what conditions make a patient the right one. If we can do that, we may save both patients and owners a lot of unnecessary frustration.”

Olby’s findings appear online in the journal PLOS One. Other contributors to the work include veterinary postdoctoral students Ji-Hey Lim and Audrey Muguet-Chanoit, as well as Eric Laber, NC State assistant professor of statistics.

Neurology Study May Lead to Better Outcomes for Paraplegic Dogs

Dr. Natasha Olby (left) and veterinary technician Kim Williams work with a dog at the NC State Veterinary Health and Wellness Gait Laboratory. Photo by Marc Hall.

5CVM magazine

Discovery

Beagles aren’t just one of America’s most popular dog breeds. According to new research from North Carolina State University’s Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research (CCMTR) they’re also key to new findings about the chromosomal changes associated with urothelial carcinoma, or bladder cancer. These findings could lead to better diagnostic tests for both canine and human patients.

Urothelial carcinoma is the most common form of bladder cancer in both canines and humans, and certain breeds of dogs—beagles, shelties, and several varieties of terriers—are more prone to the disease than others. More than 40,000 new cases of bladder cancer are estimated to occur in the canine population each year (there are approximately 74,000 new cases per year in humans). Since symptoms often mimic those of routine bladder infections and benign lesions, the disease is difficult to catch early.

Adding to the difficulty of diagnosing the disease is the fact that there is some evidence that performing biopsies on suspicious masses in dogs can lead to spread of the disease and make the cancer harder to treat.

“Bladder cancer is relatively treatable and median survival with standard of care therapy is generally around seven months, though about 20 percent of dogs can live for over a year,” says Matthew Breen, professor of genomics in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Biomedical Sciences and senior author of a CCMTR paper describing the research. “A confirmed diagnosis generally needs a biopsy specimen, but obtaining these

may cause the cancer to disperse across the bladder. What we need is an accurate means of diagnosis with a specimen that is both noninvasive and easy to collect, such as a sample of free-catch urine.”

Dr. Breen and a team of researchers decided to look at the genomes of the canine tumors to identify a signature that would identify these cancers. Susan Shapiro, a DVM/Ph.D. student in comparative biomedical sciences and the paper’s lead author, evaluated a series of canine specimens, isolated DNA samples from dogs with bladder cancer, and looked for genetic similarities.

“We found that in all cases of urothelial carcinoma we evaluated there was an aberrant number of copies of three particular canine chromosomes: 13, 19, and 36,” Shapiro says. “Dogs with bladder cancer would either gain extra copies of chromosomes 13 or 36, or lose one or both copies of chromosome 19.

“These were really exciting findings for us, since all patients showed at least one of these chromosome changes and most commonly a combination of the three,” Shapiro adds. “I’m really optimistic that these findings can help us create a reliable

diagnostic test to help clinicians catch tumors before they become aggressive and serve as a screening test for predisposed breeds.”

Breen decided to take the information one step further and determine the value of the canine data for advancing what is known about human bladder cancer. Collaborating with a group at the University of Utah led by pediatric oncologist Joshua Schiffman, the team mapped the canine genome to that of humans.

“We are able to take the genetic information from the dog and rearrange it so that it maps exactly to the human genome,” Breen says. “We then look at where the canine ‘trouble spots’ are on the human genome, and it helps us narrow down the search for genes that may play a role in cancer.” With input from Schiffman’s lab, Breen and his team found a gene located on human chromosome 8 called PABPC1 that looks very promising for both dogs and humans.

“The fact that we know with almost 100 percent certainty what to look for chromosomally in canine bladder cancer means that we are now are well on the way to developing a highly effective and noninvasive assay for early detection of canine bladder tumors” Breen says. “And the identification of PABPC1 as associated with bladder cancer in both dogs and humans may help us with early detection and better treatment options for those patients as well.”

The results appear in Chromosome

Research (doi:10.1007/s10577-015-9471-y).

Funding was provided by the Skippy Frank

Fund for Life Sciences and Translational

Research/ Rockefeller Philanthropy

Advisors, the National Institutes of Health,

and the NC State University-CVM Cancer

Genomics Fund.

—Tracey Peake

Beagles Help Researchers Study Genes Associated with Bladder Cancer

6Summer 2014

“We then look at where the canine ‘trouble spots’

are on the human genome, and it helps us narrow down the search for

genes that may play a role in cancer.”

Beagle research may aid human patients.

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ke Cheng and researchers in his laboratory in the NC State Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research hope to change that statistic.

Dr. Cheng, an associate professor of regenerative medicine in the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, is investigating what could become new treatment options for people suffering from cardiac disease.

In research published in Nature Communications, Cheng and his colleagues reported that a targeted nanoparticle may help heart attack patients regenerate healthy heart tissue without using donated or processed stem cells. This new nanomedicine could also alleviate some of the difficulties involved with stem cell therapy, including treatment delays and invasive procedures.

The particle, a “magnetic bi-functional cell engager” called MagBICE, consists of an iron platform with two different antibodies attached. These antibodies have different functions – one locates a patient’s own stem cells after a heart attack, and the other grabs injured tissue, allowing MagBICE to act as a matchmaker between injury and repair crew. The iron platform makes MagBICE

magnetically active, allowing physicians to direct the particles to the heart with an external magnetic field. The iron platform also enables magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

The research team tested MagBICE in rats and found that the particle was effective in redirecting stem cells in the blood to the injured heart. Additionally, MagBICE was easier and faster to administer than current stem cell therapy products.

“MagBICE optimizes and amplifies the body’s own repair process, which means we don’t have to worry about patient rejection of donated stem cells, or delay treatment while a patient’s stem cells are being processed, purified and prepared,” Cheng says. “The drug can be offered to patients immediately after blood vessels to the damaged areas are reopened and can be given intravenously, which isn’t possible with stem cell therapy.”

Stem cell therapy remains a promising option for repairing heart tissue damaged by heart attack, according to Cheng. However, the main obstacle to cardiac

stem cell therapy also happens to be pretty difficult to correct or work around—and that’s the fact that the heart is constantly in motion.

“Cell retention is always problematic when you do cell transplantation, but in the heart it is particularly difficult,” says Cheng. “The heart’s pumping can wash cells out of the organ and they’ll either disappear or end up in other organs – where they are essentially wasted.”

Researchers at the College of Veterinary Medicine are advancing the understanding of how best to treat pain in pet ferrets.

Ferrets have been domesticated for more than 2,000 years, long before house cats. A member of the mustelid family, which also includes otters, mink, badgers, and weasels, ferrets are inquisitive, affectionate, and playful—and an increasingly popular pet in American homes.

The popularity of the animal means more ferret owners are bringing their pets to veterinary practices for checkups and, when necessary, diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions.

Some of these treatments will mean prescribing a medication to ease post-procedure pain or discomfort. Until now, the only analgesic drug evaluated and licensed in the U.S. to treat pain in ferrets has been epidural morphine. Meanwhile, the nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) meloxicam has been studied in humans, birds, horses, sheep, rabbits, and rodents and is

commonly used to treat pain in dogs and cats. Further, meloxicam is available in an injectable and oral form.

The researchers studied meloxicam in nine male and female ferrets. Among the discoveries: the correct meloxicam dose may be similar to that needed for cats and dogs while male and female ferrets may have slightly different requirements. The detailed results are in the Journal of

Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics. CVM researchers included: Sathya K. Chinnadurai, post-

doctoral resident in Department of Clinical Sciences; Kristen Messenger, lecturer in anesthesiology in the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences; Mark Papich, professor in the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences; and Craig Harms, associate professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences. Drs. Chinnadurai, Papich, and Harms are also members of the CVM Environmental Medicine Consortium.

Healing Damaged Hearts

Research Study Enhances Pain Treatment for Ferrets

7CVM magazine

Illus

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by A

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Mac

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8Summer 2015

A new $16 million gift from the R.B. Terry Charitable Foundation will keep NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine on the cutting edge for years to come — by providing generous support for its student, faculty and research endowments.

The college is ranked third in the nation (U.S. News & World Report, 2015), a remarkable achievement given it only graduated its first students in 1985. That success is thanks in large part to the extraordinary private support the college receives from alumni and friends like the late Randall B. Terry, Jr.

A co-publisher of the High Point Enterprise, Terry first became involved with the College of Veterinary Medicine in 1998 when one of his nine beloved golden retrievers, Nike, fell ill. The

superb care Nike received at NC State prompted Terry to join and later preside over the North Carolina Veterinary Medicine Foundation (NCVMF). In the final years of his life, he was devoted to the betterment of veterinary medicine.

“I think his association with us was obviously through his love of animals,” said Dr. Oscar Fletcher, professor in poultry health management and member of the foundation’s board. “That just demonstrates the power of the human-animal bond.”

In his lifetime, Terry chaired a campaign that raised $10 million for veterinary student education at NC State. He gave more than $4 million himself in challenge grants and student scholarships. Following his death in 2004, the Terry Foundation pledged an initial $20 million to help build the Randall B. Terry, Jr. Companion Animal Veterinary Medical Center, which opened in 2011.

More than twice the size of NC State’s original veterinary teaching hospital, the Terry

The Lasting Legacy of Randall B. Terry, Jr. Photographs by Marc Hall

9CVM magazine

Center is among the most advanced of its kind in the country. It realizes Terry’s vision of an outstanding environment where talented faculty and students can work at the forefront of veterinary medicine. And it combines with the college’s other extensive referral and emergency services to provide care for all those who need it.

“Like so many places at NC State, we’re providing a service to people,” says Fletcher. “In the Terry Center, we’ve got clients who are bringing their animals because they have a need, and we’ve got students learning how to apply the art and science of veterinary medicine to solving those problems.”

Those students are the chief recipients of the Terry Foundation’s latest gift: Half of the $16 million pledged will go toward supporting and training the next generation of veterinary leaders. This will more than double the college’s student scholarship endowment, ensuring that the top prospects in the nation can learn and thrive at NC State.

“Every student that graduates, that doesn’t have to pay back debt — that’s success,” said Susan Ward, member of NC State’s Board of Trustees and former NCVMF president. “Every new thing they try here, every problem they solve, that’s success. That’s how I measure it.”

The Terry Foundation’s new gift supports the college’s innovation and problem-solving, too. It includes a $3 million investment in research support and $5 million dedicated to attracting and retaining leading faculty in the field.

“Talented people are in demand all over the world, so they can go anywhere,” said Fletcher. “Private support helps us keep them in North Carolina. Endowed chairs, additional grant support — they give us a competitive edge.”

The Terry Foundation has also pledged to match other private donations and state funds raised, potentially doubling the gift’s impact. That, too, is in keeping with the legacy of Randall B. Terry, Jr.

“Randall always said he liked to use money to make money,” said Ward. “He’d say, ‘Let’s use it as a challenge gift, a matching challenge.’ We’d use that to attract other donors who would want to join his efforts.”

Thanks to those efforts, NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine now enjoys national pre-eminence and provides world-class care to more than 27,000 patients each year. With the continued support of the Terry Foundation and other friends, the college’s mission is bolder and more ambitious than ever.

“Private support provides us with the critical funding to do groundbreaking research,” said Chancellor Randy Woodson. “We are educating the next generation of veterinary health professionals and improving lives. It’s the investments that private support provides that allow NC State to think and do.”

The Terry Foundation’s new

gift supports the college’s

innovation and problem-solving,

too. It includes a $3 million

investment in research support

and $5 million dedicated to

attracting and retaining leading

faculty in the field.

Solving Problems, Saving Lives The Veterinary Hospital at NC State University is major referral center for veterinarians from throughout the Southeast. Board certified specialists annually diagnose and treat more than 27,000 patients who are often seriously ill and require the best that veterinary medicine offers. The patient case load also allows for instruction of the next generation of veterinarians and the opportunity for clinical trials that advance animal health and well-being.

By Whitney L.J. Howell

Photo by Lisa Speet

10Summer 2015

11CVM magazine

Henry, a Hanovarian horse, was fast. Galloping was always

one of his favorite things. Charging down a trail at speed, he

never missed an opportunity to let loose with a playful buck.

Until one day, he started to hurt. Initially, Henry tried to ignore

the pain to keep running in the field and competing in Hunter/

Jumper shows with his owner. As time passed, the pain grew. He

stopped running, and almost any exercise in the field or the show

ring caused discomfort. No matter what he did, he couldn’t shake

the problem, and his doctors were stumped.

The puzzle pieces finally started to come together when

Henry’s owners, the Thompsons, brought him to North Carolina

State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Despite his

uncertain future as a show horse, the Thompsons wanted him to

receive the best care possible.

“Henry has a great personality—he just loves people,” says

Julia Thompson. “He’s the sweetest thing, like the son I never

had. Seeing Henry in so much pain was very

distressing for my daughter because no one

could figure out what was wrong with him. She

was very attached to him.”

As a horse with undiagnosed head-shaking,

Henry needed a veterinarian experienced with

difficult-to-solve cases and a clinic with advanced

technologies and varied expertise unavailable

elsewhere.

Initially, his owners and primary care

veterinarian speculated Henry’s head-shaking

appeared because he wasn’t accustomed to the

gnats in his new environment. Bred in arid New

Mexico, he’d never encountered the insects so common in humid

Charleston, South Carolina. But when the behavior continued

to the point where he couldn’t hold a bit, everyone searched for

another reason.

Head-shaking in horses isn’t uncommon, according to Callie

Fogle, clinical associate professor of equine surgery at NC State’s

Veterinary Hospital. It’s thought to be similar to the severe

headaches and uncomfortable tingling sensations experienced

by humans with trigeminal neuralgia. The pain and tingling in

the head of the horse, however, manifests itself through head-

shaking, particularly during physical exertion. It can be extremely

debilitating.

“This can be a really terrible thing in a horse,” says Dr. Fogle.

“Some can’t eat, they can’t function, and most horses can’t

be ridden because of the bobbing and shaking of their head

the whole time. Some cases can be so uncomfortable that it is

difficult for them to live normally.”

Fogle discovered Henry’s problem during a preliminary

conversation with his trainer. When she opened Henry’s mouth,

she saw it—a mass invading his lower right jaw, pushing his

teeth out of alignment.

“His trainer was shocked,” Fogle says. “She’s very thorough

and attentive, and even she hadn’t seen this. That’s how quickly

this tumor had grown, and she was convinced that was the

source of Henry’s head-shaking.”

Fogle wasn’t convinced because head-shaking root causes

can be elusive and a mandibular, or lower jaw, problem causing

head shaking hadn’t been described before. Quick X-rays revealed

an abnormal growth of new bone in Henry’s jaw, radiating from

its center like a sunburst. Tests of a small sample of the growth

revealed that it was aggressive cancer, and the pathologist classified

it as a tumor of dental origin. The tests also revealed another

significant problem—Henry also had a bacterial infection in his jaw.

But the team needed more information. They

did a short-acting nerve block of the jaw and

took Henry out for exercise, to ensure the mass

was the problem spot. With this area of his jaw

desensitized, Henry was able to hold a bit and

had no head-shaking. Tumor-induced pain was

most likely the culprit behind the head-shaking,

which meant to treat Henry’s head-shaking,

she’d have to remove a significant portion of the

rostral, or front portion, of his mandible.

“In a horse, that’s not something to be taken

lightly because they need their teeth for grazing

and grasping things,” says Fogle. “It affects

them. We had to make sure we took enough of the jaw to get the

entire tumor, but no more than absolutely necessary.”

To get a better idea of the tumor’s exact location and size,

they anesthetized Henry and performed a CT scan with 3D

reconstruction images, an advanced imaging procedure not

available in the majority of equine veterinary clinics.

Fogle removed the whole right side of Henry’s rostral

mandible, including his canine and all incisor teeth on that side.

She was able to preserve enough of his jaw bone, though, so

that he didn’t need a prosthetic device or any stabilizing metal

implants. Henry was also given antibiotics to treat the bacterial

infection within his jaw.

Now, more than a year-and-a-half after surgery, Henry’s back

to his old activities and doing well according to the Thompsons.

“He’s like Prince Charming—still a loving, wonderful and kind

spirit, full of personality,” she said. “He’s doing much better and

his demeanor never changed. He just exudes charm.”

Henry: the Pain Puzzled His Doctors

3-D reconstruction of Henry’s Comput-erized Tomography (CT) scan shows tumor site and endotracheal tube.

Initially, Lisa Bass from Greenville, South Carolina, wasn’t keen that her son brought Buster home

from college. Her house was already crowded with a 13-year-old Labrador Retriever and an

18-year-old Schnauzer. She couldn’t see where a 12-week-old Bernese Mountain Dog puppy—

a toddler-sized dog—would fit. But after one summer, Buster won her over.

Buster: Pulmonic StenosisPhoto by Jeff Hammond

12Summer 2015

13CVM magazine

“We fell in love with him,” says Bass.” He makes you smile. He’s such a little cut-up. When he looks at you, it’s not with the eyes of a dog, but a person. He’s constantly playful—he’s the light of our lives.”

That’s why Bass was

so surprised when her

veterinarian heard a heart

murmur during Buster’s

one-year check-up. After an

echocardiogram (a cardiac

ultrasound exam), Buster’s

diagnosis was clear. He

had pulmonic stenosis—a

congenital defect of the

valve between the heart’s

right ventricle and the main

artery that carries blood

to the lungs (pulmonary

artery). This defect thickens

and narrows the valve,

forcing the heart to work

harder to pump blood

across it. Dogs with severe

pulmonic stenosis often live

shorter than normal lives,

and they can develop heart

failure or arrhythmias at a

relatively young age.

Even through Buster

was not showing clinical

signs of his heart defect,

he had a poor prognosis for a normal life. Buster’s pulmonic

stenosis was severe, causing a pressure difference between the

right ventricle and pulmonary artery of over 100mmHg (there is

normally no difference). The best option, Bass’s veterinarian said,

was an interventional procedure called balloon valvuloplasty, and

he referred Buster to the Hannah Heart Center of the Veterinary

Hospital at NC State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine—

the only veterinary heart center in North or South Carolina that

performs the procedure.

Balloon valvuloplasty is a minimally invasive procedure that

is done under general anesthesia in the cardiac catheterization

laboratory. A catheter is introduced through a needle stick in

either the jugular vein in the neck or the femoral vein in the groin.

Under fluoroscopic (x-ray) guidance, a high pressure balloon

is carefully placed across the defective valve. Once positioned,

the balloon is inflated to expand the valve area, relieving the

obstruction to blood flow across the valve. At NC State, the

procedure is permanently effective in returning the valve to near-

normal function more than 90% of the time.

Buster’s outcome, according to Dr. Teresa DeFrancesco,

section chief for cardiology,

dermatology, and oncology at

the Veterinary Hospital, was

outstanding.

Buster’s peak pressure

gradient fell to 44mmHg.

“Buster now has only mild

residual stenosis, and his

lifespan should no longer be

significantly shortened by

his heart defect. He still has a

heart murmur, but we’ve gone

from a severely affected dog to

one mildly affected.”

The Bass family sees no

change in Buster’s behavior—

and that’s just what they

wanted.

“From our perspective,

Buster has stayed the same,”

says Bass. “He never gave

us any indication that he was

sick, and now that he’s back

home and being Buster, you’d

never know he’d been sick. It’s

amazing that his energy level

is the same. He lights up a

room with his expressions. If I

had to do it all over again, there’s no question I’d bring Buster to

N.C. State.”

Buster, who probably would have died as a young adult, now

has the potential for a normal lifespan thanks to his veterinarian

who detected the problem during his annual checkup.

“Sometimes when dogs are older, the affected tissues are

tougher, and more difficult to dilate,” says DeFrancesco. “This

means our ability to help may be reduced. We like to see patients

with this defect as soon as possible. Puppies presenting with

loud murmurs (grade 3/6 and above) should be evaluated by a

veterinary cardiologist as soon as possible.”

Buster’s balloon valvuloplasty procedure involved a wire being threaded from the right jugular vein into the right heart and looped out into the pulmonary artery. The balloon shown here is almost completed inflated. The waist on the balloon is at the level of the stenotic or narrowed pulmonic valve. The balloon will be completely inflated opening up the valve.

14Summer 2015

It’s said there’s often one hen to rule the roost.

In the case of Alec Bergin, a 13-year-old boy from Moore

County, that hen is Alice, a rare breed Phoenix chicken. Ever since

Alice joined the Bergin family with three other Phoenix hens, Alec

has hand-fed her treats and watched her assume a leading-lady

role, hatching and mothering her share of 12 chicks.

“This is Alec’s own flock, and he takes care of them,” says

Jennifer Bergin, Alec’s mother. “He’s responsible for feeding and

watering them. He goes outside and spends 20 minutes every

day just watching them to make sure they’re acting normally. If

anything’s wrong, he can catch it early on.”

And that’s exactly what Alec did one evening. Instead of

running for her treat like normal, Alice stayed on her nest.

She only half-heartedly pecked at the niblet, and after looking

her over, Alec and his mother noticed her distended belly

and discovered her back end was covered in feces. Their first

assumption: she couldn’t lay her eggs.

Taking Alice to the community veterinarian wasn’t an option—

chickens aren’t everyday pets. To get this family hen the proper

care, Bergin brought her to the NC State Veterinary Hospital and

put her in Jeff Applegate’s hands.

“When Alice came in, she was very lethargic and exhibited

the distended belly or coelom so we started with a physical

exam, completed blood work, and proceeded to complete an

emergency ultrasound in concert with the Radiology Service,”

says Dr. Applegate, a clinical veterinarian specializing in

companion exotic animal medicine.

“The ultrasound revealed significant fluid and abnormal tissue in and around the reproductive tract,”

Applegate continues. “There shouldn’t have been any free fluid in her belly. Of the more routine birds that

Alice:Diagnosed with Uterine Cancer

Alec Bergin and Alice. Reproductive disease is common in chickens, and it’s analogous to uterine disease in humans and other mammals. Photo by Jeff Hammond.

we treat as pets, the abdomen or more appropriately referred to as

a coelom can be described as a central column of organs like the

heart, liver, and intestines, with the remaining space occupied by the

surrounding air sacs and lungs. ”

Reproductive disease is common in chickens, and it’s analogous

to uterine disease in humans and other mammals. The ultrasound

showed Alice had free coelomic fluid and abnormal tissue in her

oviduct, the tunnel in which an egg forms and by which it leaves the

hen’s body. The diagnosis was oviductal adenocarcinoma—Alice

had uterine cancer. The treatment: a salpingohysterectomy, the

avian equivalent to spay.

Once the Bergins green-lighted surgery, understanding Alice

would never again lay eggs, Applegate assembled a team from the

Exotic Animal Medicine Service to combine their skills during Alice’s

operation. Pooling talents from multiple specialties is a benefit the

NC State University Veterinary Hospital offers patients according to

Applegate. In cases like this, many collaborating hospital services

may include specialists from emergency and critical care, radiology,

anesthesia, and surgery.

The surgery—an invasive procedure with the surgeons removing

Alice’s diseased oviduct through a small L-shaped incision behind

her left leg—was a success with few complications and a moderate

amount of bleeding.

After two weeks recuperating in the Bergin’s master bathroom,

Alice moved back outside and assumed her leadership position.

“She’s living with friends and doesn’t look any different from the

other hens,” Bergin says. “She’s a valued member of our family as

much as the cats and dogs are.”

Surgeon’s NotesThe decision to pursue an avian

salpingohysterectomy is often considered a

last resort due to risks associated with avian

anesthesia and surgery.

Veterinarians who specialize in avian medicine

tend to be comfortable with these types of

procedures but that by no means eliminates the

risks. Effort taken prior to surgery ensure that the

patient is as stable as possible for anesthesia.

These efforts include conducting a thorough

physical exam, blood work, and imaging such

as radiographs (X-rays) and/or ultrasound to

characterize the current disease process as

thoroughly as possible and to rule out any other

underlying diseases. In Alice’s case, she was also

administered a medication by injection weeks prior

to the surgery to help reduce any reproductive

activity and decrease bleeding during surgery.

Avian patients that undergo surgery at NC State

through the Exotic Animal Medicine Service are

managed with the most advanced techniques

possible. Each patient is intubated with a tube in

their airway to manage breathing, an intravenous

catheter is placed in a vein for fluid support, and

they are monitored with a variety of equipment

including an ECG to monitor heart rate and

rhythm, a pulse oximeter to monitor the oxygen

in the blood, a capnograph to monitor exhaled

carbon dioxide, and equipment for temperature

and blood pressure monitoring.

Specialized surgical instrumentation are employed

such as custom made forceps, radiosurgery

and lenses worn by the surgeon to magnify the

surgical field. Following surgery, avian patients

are hospitalized in one of a variety hospital wards

each specializing in a different level of care, from

general hospital to the intensive care unit.

This ultrasound showed Alice had fluid in her abdomen and soft tissue enlargement of the oviduct (“avian uterus”). The diagnosis was oviductal adenocarcinoma, a type of malignant cancer.

15CVM magazine

16Summer 2015

Singing the Praises of the Teaching Animal Unit Photography by Wendy Savage

A few steps from course lectures in the South Theater

is an 80-acre educational jewel that is meaningful to

veterinary students and appreciative graduates of the

NC State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

The Teaching Animal Unit, or TAU as it is most

commonly called, is a unique attribute among North

American veterinary programs in that NC State has the

only college of veterinary medicine with an on-site,

commercial teaching and working farm.

Representing the most modern of farm management

practices, the TAU houses six major livestock groups—

beef cattle, dairy cattle, horses, swine, poultry (chickens

in spring and turkeys in the fall), and small ruminants

(goats and sheep)—and operates as a small scale

production farm to provide quality training for veterinary

students.

The TAU and its animals provide the foundation for

six core courses taught to all students in each semester

of the first three years of the four-year DVM curriculum.

Alumni—most of whom do not go into farm animal

practice—consistently rate the program’s didactic

teaching opportunities and 155 annual hands-on, live-

animal laboratories as one of the best experiences the

CVM offers.

I FEEL THE TAU IS THE NC STATE CVM’S GREATEST ASSET. We practiced medicine as if we were working for a future

client whose only source of income was their dairy cattle, beef cattle,

swine, or poultry operation. I was lucky to be offered a job to work

nights and weekends at the TAU. This not only gave me invaluable

experience with farm operations, but a new respect for how much

work everyone puts in on a day to day basis. My current practice

consists of 60% large animal and 40% small animal general practice.

—DR. JAMES MCCREA, CLASS OF 2011

17CVM magazine

Singing the Praises of the Teaching Animal Unit Photography by Wendy Savage

The mission of the Teaching Animal Unit:

provide veterinary students with high-quality,

relevant live-animal experiences and

training focusing on modern management,

husbandry, disease prevention, and

treatment strategies for the major North

Carolina agricultural animal groups.

MANY OF THE STUDENTS THAT GO THROUGH THE PROGRAM will go on to work in facets of the veterinary profession

that have nothing to do with production animal medicine, but as

our society continues to become more removed from the farm, it is

crucial that we educate the general public about what is being done

on farms and why. I believe that as animal health professionals we

should be the ones leading the charge to educate consumers on

where their food comes from.

—LUKE MARTIN, CLASS OF 2016

18Summer 2015

THE TAU HAS BEEN A GREAT RESOURCE FOR CVM STUDENTS. We

are very fortunate to walk out the back door and work with all of the major

livestock species. For students who do not have a farm animal background,

the TAU is especially vital to their understanding of proper livestock

production.

——PATRICK BRINSON, CLASS OF 2015

THE TAU IS A SAFE, CONSTRUCTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT where the students are able to practice animal

handling and routine medical procedures. I have learned how to feed and take care of a range of animal species, as well as be

part of some of the management and veterinary decisions for them. The TAU is also a place of employment for me, as I’m one

of the group of students from each DVM class hired to help with farm activity. There is no better view than stepping out of the

milking parlor to a bright sunrise over a dairy pasture on a cool, crisp, and quiet morning.

——JESSICA SMITH, CLASS OF 2016

ONE OF THE GREATEST THINGS ABOUT TAU is that it provides the

opportunity to students, who may

have never stepped foot on a farm, to

get connected to agriculture and food

animals. Being able to work on a farm

through school has kept my goals in

clear site. I believe the TAU does more

than teach us about food animals, it

teaches us how to be bold, patient, and

think practically, which will allow us to

be better veterinarians in the future.

—SARAH DUNNIGAN, CLASS OF 2016

19CVM magazine

THE ORIENTATION OF THE FARM, so close to the educational building,

affords students the ability to work with food animal species almost from day

one. I was able to treat cows, participate in dystocias of multiple species, and

palpate many horses—all within walking distance of class. The TAU provides

students with a complete scope of the husbandry and care of each species. The

managers of each area do an amazing job planning farm operations around both

best industry practices and student schedules to maximize student exposure

to all aspects of the farm. TAU lends support to many courses throughout the

curriculum, which allows the school to have such a well-rounded educational

experience. Every school should strive to have such a facility.

—DR. DOUGLAS RAY, CLASS OF 2009

20Summer 2015

Elected AAAS FellowDavid Dorman, a professor of

toxicology in the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, has been elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), one of the world’s most important scientific societies and publisher of the journal Science.

AAAS elevates members to the rank of Fellow for their efforts toward advancing science applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished. Dr. Dorman is being recognized for distinguished contributions to the field of toxicology, particularly research investigating the nasal and neurotoxicity of environmental chemicals.

Dorman’s research has addressed contemporary issues concerned with environmental and occupational hazards of exposure to a range of agents such as methanol, hydrogen sulfide, and Middle East sand dust. The toxicology professor is an internationally recognized authority in metal neurotoxicity, particularly for his studies on manganese. This work has helped guide federal authorities, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in formulating risk assessment decisions on permissible levels of manganese in the atmosphere. Most recently, he investigated olfaction and cognition in dogs, especially dogs used for the detection of improvised explosive devices.

Dorman has also made substantial contributions to the National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences and has served as a member of the National Toxicology Program Board of Scientific Counselors. He is a recipient of the Society of Toxicology’s

Achievement Award, which is given to an early career individual, who has made

significant contributions to toxicology.

Founded in 1848, the AAAS is the world’s largest scientific society with 261 affiliated societies and academies of science serving 10 million individuals. The AAAS began awarding the distinction of Fellow in 1874.

Fletcher Distinguished Professor Matthew Breen, a professor of

genomics in the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, has been named the Oscar J. Fletcher Distinguished Professor in Comparative Oncology Genetics.

A member of a team that decoded the canine genome in 2005, Dr. Breen is recognized internationally for his research into molecular cytogenetics—the study of the structure and function of cells and chromosomes—and the comparative medicine application to canine and human cancers.

Breen’s accomplishments include publishing in more than 160 peer-reviewed journals and having his research receive more than 4,400 citations. His investigations are supported by

government, corporate, and foundation sources and he is frequently requested to serve on important science panels and boards.

Approved by the North Carolina State Board of Trustees, the $1 million Oscar J. Fletcher Distinguished Professorship is made possible through a financial arrangement by which $666,000 provided by the R.B. Terry Charitable Foundation will be matched by $334,000 from the Distinguished Professor Endowment Trust Fund managed by the University of North Carolina General Administration.

The endowed professorship is named for Terry Foundation board member Oscar Fletcher, the second dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine who remains on the faculty of the Department of Population Health and Pathobiology. Fletcher was a friend of philanthropist Randall B. Terry, Jr. who served as chairman of the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Foundation. Mr. Terry died in 2004.

NC State University Faculty Scholar

Sid Thakur, an associate professor of molecular epidemiology in the Department of Population, Health and Pathobiology, is a recipient of the North Carolina State University’s University Faculty Scholars honor for 2014-15.

NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson announced the award which recognizes top early- and mid-career faculty members and is part of the university’s strategic

Accolades

David Dorman is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Oscar J. Fletcher (left) and Matthew Breen at ceremony announcing the Oscar J. Fletcher Distinguished Professor in Comparative Oncology Genetics.

Faculty Scholar funds will support Sid Thakur’s research into antimicrobial resistance in bacterial pathogens.

21CVM magazine

initiative to invest in and retain top faculty.

As a Faculty Scholar, Dr. Thakur will receive $10,000 in donated funds for each of the next five years. The funds will be used, in part, to support his research into the complex chain of events that lead to the development of antimicrobial resistance in bacterial pathogens that affect the health of both animals and humans.

Faculty members eligible for the award include assistant professors who have been reappointed for a second term, associate professors, and full professors within the first three years of appointment. Nominees are evaluated based on evidence of their significant achievements in scholarship, teaching and/or service appropriate to their rank and discipline.

Thakur also heads the Emerging, Infectious and Zoonotic Diseases research core in the NC State Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research. The core, which integrates basic and clinical research, involves initiatives of more than 45 collaborating scientists from three different NC State colleges and researchers from the University of North Carolina and Duke University. Core focus areas include molecular pathogenesis, antibiotic resistance, microbial diversity, pathogen detection, therapeutics and vaccines, and the effects of the environment on infectious disease.

Seaks Professor for Companion Animal Medicine

Bruce Keene, a professor of cardiology in the Department of Clinical Sciences, has been named the Jane Lewis Seaks Distinguished Professor for Companion Animal Medicine.

Dr. Keene is a pioneer in interventional cardiology, metabolic treatment of cardiac

disease, and clinical trial design. He has served as the principal investigator or co-investigator in numerous studies funded by foundation, industry, and federal awards while maintaining a heavy rotation schedule in the Veterinary Hospital’s Cardiology Service. He also serves as an adjunct professor in the Duke Department of Pediatrics.

The Jane Lewis Seaks distinguished professorship was established in 2008 by Dr. Terry G. Seaks—a Professor Emeritus of Economics and member of the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Foundation Board of Directors—to honor Jane Lewis Seaks, his wife of 38 years, and in recognition of the care their family pets received at the Veterinary Hospital.

The $1 million endowed

professorship is made

possible through a financial

arrangement in which a

donation of appreciated

securities by Terry and

Jane Seaks is matched by

an unrestricted gift from the R.B. Terry

Charitable Foundation and the University

of North Carolina General Administration

through its Distinguished Professor

Endowment Trust Fund.

Keene is the second recipient of this

distinguished professorship following

colleague Clarke Atkins.

Beal Award for Distinguished Volunteer Service

Gigi Davidson, Director of Clinical Pharmacy Services, is the recipient of the U.S. Pharmacopeial (USP) Convention’s highest honor, the Beal Award for Distinguished Volunteer Service.

The award is given once every five years and is presented at the USP Convention Membership Meeting. Davidson was chosen for her contributions in developing compounding standards for

human and veterinary patients during a critical period in public health. She is the fifth person to receive the Beal Award and the first woman and the first veterinary pharmacist to be honored.

Davidson served as chair of the USP Compounding Expert Committee and played a major leadership role in USP’s response to public health crises involving contaminated compounded preparations. During her tenure, Davidson was engaged in multiple expert committees, advisory panels and industry forums and oversaw

the development of an excess of 30 new compounded preparation monographs.

Davidson, who represents the USP on the 14-member U.S. Food and Drug Administration Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee, spearheaded the development of the “USP on Compounding: A Guide for the Compounding Practitioner.”

At a special ceremony during the USP Convention Meeting, Davidson received a crystal sculpture representing USP’s spirit of voluntarism, an honorary lifetime membership to the USP Convention, and a $10,000 cash award which Davidson has directed be donated to the veterinary pharmacy residency program at the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Dean Paul Lunn (far left) Jane Lewis Seaks Distinguished Professor Dr. Bruce Keene, benefactor Terry G. Seaks, and Professor Emeritus Dr. Clarke Atkins, previous Seaks Professor.

Beal Distinguished Award recipient Gigi Davidson.

22Summer 2015

Randolph Reid and Betty Minton

share a love of animals—

especially dogs. So when a

beloved retriever was diagnosed

with cancer and given a few

months to live, the couple wanted

to ensure he would receive the

best possible healthcare.

They found that care, and much more, at the

NC State College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM). Their

experiences there led the retired Clayton couple to

make a generous bequest that will benefi t the college.

“You’ve got to plan,” Randolph said. “That’s what

Chancellor (Randy) Woodson is working on, building

the foundation

for the future. It’s

important to support

the university today,

but you have to think

15, 20, 25 years down

the road, too.”

The couple’s

relationship with

CVM began over

the 1997 New Year’s

Eve holiday, when

their 12-year-old fl at

coat retriever, Buck,

grew ill. Still working

as an executive in the homebuilding industry at the

time, Randolph had recently become friends with

CVM oncologist Dr. Sylvester Price while building him

a house. Buck soon became a CVM cancer patient.

Excellent care helped him beat the odds and enjoy a

good quality of life for nearly three more years.

“That’s really what it’s about—helping animals is

also helping people,” Randolph said. “When Buck

got sick, I was overseeing 120 employees and we

built 400 houses a year. But I worried about him. The

vet school staff was great and really took a load of

anxiety off us.”

“They do so many wonderful things here (at

CVM),” Betty said. “They’ve been so good to our

dogs; they’re so compassionate.” The couple views

the college—which U.S. News & World Report

has ranked third in the nation among colleges of

veterinary medicine—as a jewel in NC State’s crown

and an invaluable regional resource.

A couple of years after Buck’s diagnosis, Randolph

began chatting even more regularly with CVM

volunteers during visits there with another dog, Molly,

who was undergoing hip treatment. That experience

inspired him to become a volunteer greeter himself.

He enjoys aiding clients who have brought their

animals to CVM from across the region or out of

state: “I see what this place means to people. Animals

are part of their families.”

A willingness “to do anything, even cleaning

up the dog walk area,” he joked, helped lead to his

service as chair of the North Carolina Veterinary

Medical Foundation that supports CVM. “I’m an ECU

pirate in every sense of the word—except when it

comes to the NC State vet school,” said Randolph, a

proud 1973 East Carolina graduate.

Through Randolph’s board role, the couple

grew more knowledgeable about, and appreciative

of, CVM’s cutting-edge research and innovative

education. Randolph speaks enthusiastically, for

example, about the college’s linear accelerator—a

sort of ultra-sophisticated X-ray machine that can

revolutionize cancer treatment. The ripple effects of

such technology include an increased ability to attract

top faculty, he said, and private giving is important to

boost that level of effort.

In 2012 the couple used appreciated stock to

establish the Molly and Felix Team Work Research

Fund—an endowment named in memory of Molly

and a third dog who was a CVM patient—to provide

grants for CVM clinicians engaged in collaborative

work across departments and even colleges.

They are excited about studies happening at

CVM in fi elds including translational regenerative

medicine, one of NC State’s interdisciplinary focus

areas. “There’s important research going on here that

can impact human health, as well,” said Betty, who

is an alumna of NC State’s College of Humanities and

Social Sciences (CHASS) and of Meredith College.

“We feel like you work hard all your life. You want

some of your money to make a real difference,”

Randolph said. “It’s hard for me to imagine what

veterinary medicine might be like in 30 years, but we

hope to contribute so that this college can maintain

its position as a world leader.”

Lisa Coston Hall is with the NC State Offi ce of

Development Communications and Donor Relations.

For the Love of Animals By Lisa Coston Hall

Friends

Randolph Reid and Betty Minton and a few friends.

LEAVE A LASTING LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.

A bequest is a unique way to have a lasting impact on the people and organizations that mean the most to you while retaining control of your assets during your lifetime. The North Carolina Veterinary Medical Foundation can be named a beneficiary of your will, trust, retirement plan or financial accounts. Your bequest may be made in several ways: a dollar amount, a percentage of your estate, or a specific asset.

To learn more about the benefits of making a charitable bequest, call the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Foundation today at 919-513-6660 or visit: www.cvm.ncsu.edu/ncvmf

NC State UniversityCollege of Veterinary MedicinePO Box 8401Raleigh, NC 27695

919.513.6660www.cvm.ncsu.edu

NONPROFIT ORG.

US POSTAGE

PAIDRALEIGH, N.C.

PERMIT NO. 2353

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SAVE THE DATE!

20th AnnualNorth Carolina Veterinary ConferenceNovember 6 – 8, 2015 • Raleigh Convention Center

http://ncveterinaryconference.com