Laboratory Diagnosticians' News Matters

It has been an honor to serve the AAVLD as president for the past year and to have been a member of the Executive Board since 2017. I have had the fortune of working on the Executive Board under the leadership of Drs. Halbur, Hooser, Bailey, Tewari, Zhang, and Saliki, and greatly appreciate their mentorship. I could not have made it through this year without the guidance and support of our executive director Dr. David Zeman and our Executive Assistant Reda Ozuna and to all of them I would like to express my sincere thanks.

The sustainability of our laboratories is critical, and one of the most significant new efforts the AAVLD Executive Board undertook in 2023 was to partner with the NVSL to develop plans for future workforce development initiatives. We are in the process of drafting proposals for diagnostician training, leadership development, benchtop scientist recruitment, and animal health scientist training programs. These efforts all focus on the creation of a pipeline for a sustainable workforce in veterinary diagnostic laboratories throughout the United States.

As my time on the executive board is winding down, I am pleased with all that we have accomplished but also look forward to what the next set of leaders will prioritize. I hope that the AAVLD, our annual meeting, and our journal continue to be avenues for creative exchange and strengthening of interlaboratory relations. I would encourage anyone who is considering becoming more involved in the AAVLD to take the leap. The members of the executive board are an excellent resource if you have questions about the process or about how you can contribute. AAVLD is truly an organic organization that strives to be inclusive and to provide opportunities for all members to become engaged. Thank you again for the opportunity to serve.

Eric Burrough

AAVLD Past President

Dr. Beverly Byrum,

DVM, PhD

Dr. Lanny Pace, DVM, PhD

Dr. Scott Fitzgerald, MS

2023 National Harbor, Maryland Photos

Full 2023 Photo archives...

The work of the AAVLD foundation to foster long-term engagement in diagnostic medicine by the next generation of diagnosticians is critical in these times of acute workforce shortages in many diagnostic specialties.

This year the AAVLD Foundation provided approximately $25,500 in travel support to engage the next generation of diagnosticians and advance student training by enabling students to attend the annual meeting and by providing monetary awards to reward excellence in diagnostic medicine. This work is only made possible through generous donations from engaged AAVLD members like you.

Thank you for your support!

Please donate an item or make a monetary donation to support this important cause. 

------ Visit https://aavco.memberclicks.net/foundation-auction to make a donation now!

Brett Webb, DVM, PhD., Foundation Cochair

Francois Elvinger, Dr.med.vet., PhD., Foundation Cochair

Thank you, committee chairs, for submitting your annual meeting reports. The committee membership list is due by January 1, 2024. Please use the

'2023 AAVLD COMMITTEE CHAIR PACKAGE'.

November 2023

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The Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation is the official journal of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians. The mission of the Journal is to educate by informing readers of progress in veterinary laboratory medicine and related fields of endeavor. The key objectives of the JVDI are to promote the science of veterinary laboratory medicine and the betterment of animal and public health. JVDI fully supports diversity, equity, and inclusion in our publishing activities.

Editor-in-chief, Dr. Grant Maxie / https://journals.sagepub.com/home/VDI

The results of AAVLD’s salary compensation and general funding survey were released several months ago. Dr. Bruce Akey was commissioned by AAVLD to complete the work which was distributed to all lab directors for their usage and can be viewed on our website. Since then, Dr. Akey has been responding to questions and doing some additional data analysis. Most recently, he has created an anonymized version of a table showing the percentage of Direct Funding/FTE. The new table is also posted on our website at the following link:  AAVLD Surveys

The AAVLD and NVSL have teamed together in an effort to improve workforce issues that are looming large at both state and federal animal health diagnostic laboratories. This problem also impacts the new NBAF facility in Manhattan KS, currently in the stand-up phase. The issue has been discussed by leaders of both organizations since the 2022 annual meeting in Minneapolis. Last spring,  efforts led to the development of a cooperative agreement (CA) between AAVLD and NVSL. The CA is titled NBAF-NVSL-AAVLD WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2023.  It was funded by USDA with a budget of $236,940. 

The CA was launched July 1^st and four teams composed of both AAVLD and NVSL subject matter experts were assembled to address 4 potential veins for workforce development. These were:

Team 1: DVM Diagnostician Training Program (certificate of completion)

Team Leader: Hemant Naikare

Member 1: Eric Burrough

Member 2: Jerry Saliki

Member 3: Kim Lehman

Member 4: Alicia O’Toole NVSL

Team 2: Laboratory Leadership Fellows Program (certificate of completion)

Team Leader: Bruce Akey

Member 1: Deb Reed

Member 2: Tanya LeRoith

Member 3: Kristy Pabilonia

Member 4: Christina Loiacono NVSL

Team 3: Recruitment of Bench Scientists to Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratories (outreach strategies program)

Team Leader: Keith Poulsen

Member 1: Robert Gibson

Member 2: Deep Tewari

Member 3: Travis Mays

Member 5: Jerry Torrison

Member 4: Lisa Pauszek NVSL

Team 4: MS/PhD Animal Health Scientist Training Program (fund and train graduate students in the core AHDL disciplines in cooperation with Universities). 

Team Leader: Bob Poppenga

Member 1: JQ Zhang

Member 2: Durda Slavic

Member 3: Pam Ferro

Member 4: Rachel Palinski NVSL

Team leaders made presentations to the AAVLD Executive Board and NVSL leaders during the October annual meeting in Washington. After final tweaks of the proposed plans, it is hoped that additional subsequent CAs will fund the implementation of some or all of the proposed development plans. 

NVSL Director Suelee Robbe-Austerman and AAVLD Executive Director David Zeman are jointly guiding the project with leadership input from both organizations.  

Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.

~ William Arthur Ward

Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.

~ Henry Van Dyke

Giving Tuesday. The idea is pretty straightforward. On the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, shoppers take a break from their gift-buying and donate what they can to charity.

~Bill Gates

Source: BrainyQuote

Functions of AAVLD Committees

Committees serve multiple functions that are essential to the AAVLD mission. This includes dissemination of the latest scientific information that will advance the many disciplines engaged with diagnostic medicine, including:

AAVLD Committee enrollment form

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• Annual Meeting Proceedings
• Annual Meeting Scientific Presentations (Video and PDF Posters)
• Plenary Sessions
• Testimonials

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Veterinary Jobs - American Association of Veterinary...

The American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians offers the top jobs available in Veterinary diagnostic labs. Search and apply to open positions or post jobs on the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians now.

Contact: rozuna@aavld.org

AAVLD membership is open to any individual interested in the disciplines and activities of veterinary diagnostic laboratories. Membership terms are by calendar year (January-December) and membership dues are payable by November 15th of the preceding year (to ensure inclusion in the annual membership directory, eligibility for committee involvement, and receipt of all six issues of the JVDI). Note: In order to receive a discounted rate for the Annual Meeting registration, you are required to be a current AAVLD Member.

2023 Student Travel and

Student Competitive Awardees

 click here

The generous contributions and participation by our Exhibitors and Sponsors is a huge part of our conference success year after year. On behalf of the AAVLD, we would like to thank these companies for their commitment to our organization and helping us to achieve our mission.