Summer 2017
Veterinary Medicine
Summer 2017
360-degree video: Vaccinating dogs to eliminate rabies
In Tanzania and other East African countries, Washington State University and their partners are working to eliminate rabies in humans by 2030 by vaccinating domestic dogs.
People with pets, particularly in rural areas, travel many miles to get their dogs and cats vaccinated. Read more in “Old Remedy,” Summer 2017 issue.
In the 360-degree video below, you can drag the video around the scene of one such vaccination clinic in Bunda, Tanzania, while WSU Regents Professor Guy Palmer from the Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health explains the Eliminate Rabies program.
(Use mouse or finger to pan video in 360° … » More …
Summer 2017
Old remedy
Veterinarians use an old remedy to eradicate the deadliest infectious disease known to humanity. Rabies.
It was the season for guavas. Their sweet musky fragrance drifted through the morning air and into the open window of seven-year-old Sharon Korir, beckoning her outside to play.
The year was 2003, the day after Christmas. As was customary, Sharon had traveled with her parents to their home village in rural Kenya for the holiday. When it came time to return to Nairobi, the doting grandparents asked Sharon to spend an extra day.
The rains had passed and that day arrived with welcome blue skies. Sharon and her friends … » More …
Winter 2016
Prevention of cruelty to animals
A teenaged Marvin Mackie ’63 DVM was working all summer on the family farm at the end of the rail line in Buhl, Idaho, wondering what to do with his life.
“One day I saw a cloud of dust coming down the gravel road. It was the veterinarian and he was going to go save an animal. And the light came on.” Off Mackie went, first to the University of Idaho for his undergraduate degree, and then next door to Washington State University for his doctorate of veterinary medicine.
Mackie ended up in southern California, where he loved the weather and found lots of work. … » More …
Fall 2016
Bob Olds ’64, DVM ’67
If you want to get to know Bob Olds ’64, DVM ’67, just ask Lizzy. Sure, Lizzy is a dog and can’t speak, but her story speaks volumes.
Found beaten on the streets of Tijuana, Lizzy’s jaw was so badly damaged she couldn’t close her mouth, and could neither eat nor drink. Rescued by members of a Los Angeles-based nonprofit, The Forgotten Dog, Lizzy got a complicated, pro bono surgery that repaired the damage to her jaw. The surgeon? Bob Olds. Lizzy is now a happy, normal dog.
Olds always wanted to be a vet. Kids love animals, he says, and he never had any … » More …
Spring 2016
A veterinarian to the corps
He was the old guy in airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia, a U.S. Army veterinarian holding his own with soldiers half his age, preparing to leap from a plane.
JOHN L. POPPE ’86 DVM had parachuted recreationally back in his Pullman days but was taking command of a special airborne veterinary unit in 2001 and wanted to be jump ready.
“I was determined to do it,” recalls Poppe, now a brigadier general and chief of the U.S. Army’s multifaceted Veterinary Corps.
He was a 42-year-old lieutenant colonel back in jump school and his commitment to readiness was no academic exercise. Two years later, … » More …
Winter 2015
Emerging disease: A case study
Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at WSU
1999
Hundreds of people, cats, dogs, porpoises, birds, and other animals on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, fell victim to what was diagnosed as a rare fungal infection called Cryptococcus gattii. Though physicians and veterinarians were familiar with the more common Cryptococcus neoformans, C. gattii was considered a tropical disease found only in places like Australia.
Upon deeper investigation, B.C. health officials were alarmed to discover that C. gattii had established itself in the native trees and soil—and was especially prevalent in decaying wood. Epidemiologists speculate that climate change and warmer summers helped create favorable habitat for the … » More …
Summer 2015
The Clark Family—Pets, vets, and architects
Jeff Clark and Michael Clark, along with their wives Sharon and Judi, combined an architecture firm and veterinary clinic in their Kirkland building.
» More ...
Fall 2014
New & Noteworthy
Said & Done by Elder Crow, 2014 :: Tyler Morgan ’03 and his band crank up some old-school rock and roll in their debut album. The Vancouver, Washington, group blends lyrics of social justice and civil rights with roaring guitars and solid drumming straight out of the ’60s and ’70s. Morgan, a high school history teacher in Camas, sings lead and plays rhythm guitar alongside drummer Eddie Esparza, bassist … » More …
Spring 2014
Nancy Gillett ’78—The business of science
When pathologist and researcher Nancy Gillett ’78 decided to leave Genentech, a major medical biotechnology firm, for a small contract research company, her colleagues called it professional suicide. But Gillett had made life-altering career decisions before, moving from being a practicing veterinarian to a research scientist and then to a top-level business executive overseeing 5,000 people at 13 sites around the world.
Gillett’s significant success as a researcher and executive has led to accolades, including the 2013 Regents’ Distinguished Alumna Award from Washington State University. Her path to the University’s highest honor started as the young student from Las Vegas, Nevada, came to WSU to … » More …