Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine releases fall/winter edition of TRACKS magazine

BLACKSBURG — The Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine recently released the latest edition of its biannual magazine, TRACKS, which spotlights noteworthy happenings at the college.

In its fall/winter edition, TRACKSmagazine focuses on the busy Food Animal Field Services unit that provides on-the-farm primary and emergency patient care and preventive health care programs to large herds of beef and dairy cows, swine, and sheep owned by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, in addition to local area farms.

The edition also looks at current swine research conducted at the college. With viruses in swine causing devastating economic losses, researchers are seeking to reduce the spread of such viruses, develop animal models of disease, and reduce antibiotic use in swine while also developing animal models of human disease impacting millions of people globally.

In addition, the magazine also highlights current events and stories of interest around the college:

• Held in the last week of July, the college’s inaugural Veterinary Medicine Science Camp offered students from underrepresented populations a week of tours, lectures, and hands-on experiences about veterinary medicine as part of InclusiveVT.
• Anna Katogiritis, a third-year veterinary student, did volunteer work at the Jane Goodall Institute’s Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center in Congo in summer 2015.
• Curtis, a Veterinary Teaching Hospital patient who snacked on a BBQ skewer, won the 2015 Hambone Award, which recognizes the most unusual pet insurance claim of the year.
• Faculty, student, and alumni profiles.

Print copies of TRACKS magazine can be found at the college or can be requested by emailing Sheila Steele, executive assistant to the dean. An online version can be found on the college’s website.

Last month, the Public Relations Society of America's Blue Ridge Chapter awarded the college a gold award in the modest budget category for the previous issues of TRACKS magazine. The award recognized efforts to develop the magazine's visual identity and feature faculty research, student achievement, and hospital success stories.