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Message from the President

Megan Sprinkle, DVM

Dear Colleagues,

It's an exciting year for AAVN: it's an AAVN election year! The next election for the AAVN Executive Board will take place in May 2025. This year, there are several open positions available, including President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and Member at Large.

As someone who has been on the board for many, many years and served in many positions, I encourage you to consider running for office!

Being an active member of the Board allows for great relationship-building, collaborating with a diverse set of colleagues, and a wonderful opportunity to give back to our profession.

 AAVN Executive Board members serve two-year terms. Responsibilities include monthly zoom meetings, attendance at the Annual AAVN Clinical Nutrition & Research Symposium in June, and committee work.

Nominees may be submitted by the general membership, with a petition of three voting members, and must be received at least 90 days prior to the Annual Business Meeting. This year, the business meeting will take place during lunch at the Symposium, so the nomination deadline is 

Sunday, March 23.

If you are interested in learning more (and I hope you are), please contact me at aavnexecutive@gmail.com.

Best,

Megan Sprinkle, DVM, DACVIM (Nutrition)

President

The AAVN's 25th Annual Clinical Nutrition and Research Symposium will take place on Saturday, June 21 at the Omni Louisville Hotel in Louisville, KY. 

Join us for a full day of lectures, oral and poster abstract presentations, student programs and networking opportunities. 

Keynote Speakers are:

The Current State of Large Animal Veterinary Nutrition Panel

Moderator: Megan Shepherd, DVM, DACVIM (Nutrition)

Panelists: Mark Fagundes, DVM; Pat Harris, MA, VetMB, PhD, DECVCN, MRCVS; Ashley Self, BS, LVMT, VTS (Nutrition); Robert Van Saun, DVM, MS, PhD, DACT, DACVIM (Nutrition)

Dietary Fiber: Characterization, Laboratory Analyses, and Physiological Effects on Dogs and Cats Kelly S. Swanson, MS, PhD

University of Illinois

Nutritional Management of Neuromuscular Disorders in Horses

Stephanie Valberg, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, DACVSMR

Valberg NMDL.com

A full schedule is available here. All listed times are Eastern Time.

This program will be submitted to RACE for 3.5 CE credits.

Don't miss the Annual AAVN Party (location TBD) on Saturday, June 21 from 7 pm - 9 pm.  Tickets are available for purchase at Symposium registration check out. The cost is just $25 for Symposium attendees and $35 for guests.. Each ticket includes one drink and entry in a prize drawing. All proceeds from ticket sales will be used to support student travel to the 2026 Symposium.  

Registered attendees receive a 15% discount on registration for the ACVIM Forum The registration code is provided in the AAVN Symposium registration confirmation.

While the Symposium will be an in-person event, audio recordings with slides will be available to registered attendees and AAVN members for a limited time after the live event. Please note that the registration fee is the same whether you are planning to attend in-person or view the virtual sessions.

James Pendergast

Introduction and Interview by Dr. Laura Gaylord

While investigating different companies in the pet food industry, I met James Pendergast, and it didn't take long for me to realize I had come across someone truly exceptional. His depth of knowledge in pet food formulation was impressive, but what stood out even more was his willingness to educate, his honesty, and his genuine passion for improving pet nutrition. Over time, James has become not just a trusted expert in the field but also a valued friend. His commitment to transparency and innovation in pet food is inspiring, and I’m excited that we have the opportunity to get to know him better through the AAVN. I am hopeful that he will continue to share more about his journey, expertise, and impact on the industry. 

Full Name: James Pendergast

Credentials: Kansas State University, IGP Institute, Pet Food Formulation for Commercial Production Certificate, January 2025, Companion Animal Nutrition Certificate, University of Illinois, Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture, Consumer & Environmental Sciences, November 2020, PCQI Certified Individual, FSPCA Preventive Controls For Animal Foods, July 2017, College of the Extended University, at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, & the International HACCP Alliance, Certificate of Completion, Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point (HACCP), November 2016.

How long have you been an AAVN member? I was honored to become a non-veterinarian member in 2022 with the support of two wonderful colleagues, Dr. Laura Gaylord and Dr. Donna Raditic.

What company or organization do you work at right now? Since 2019, I’ve been at NetPet Nutrition LLC as a Pet Food Formulator and Nutritional Consultant specializing in the fresh food segment. Before this, I worked as a Product Manager for a large national “fresh” pet food company for 14 years.

What are 2 things that you really like about your current job? Global opportunities and diversity of projects. While representing a single organization has its rewards, I genuinely love the global interactions and observing the paradigm shifts of parts of the world embracing pets as family members, resulting in the expansion of less processed foods and their impacts on the health and well-being of their companion animals.

What has been your top professional achievement? Letting go and learning to develop the confidence and trust in my abilities to leave the security of being “gainfully employed” to that of being self-employed. I have many people to thank for my consulting success.

Please describe the best animal nutrition-related experience you've had in your career to date. My approach to animal nutrition focuses more on product development and pet food regulations rather than individual patient cases. With this in mind, learning the nutrient idiosyncrasies of different pet food formats (e.g., Gentle-cooked, Raw, Freeze-dried, Air-dried, etc.) has been a tremendous nutritional experience, allowing me to serve this industry confidently.

Who has made the biggest impact on your career in animal nutrition? If comfortable, you can share why. This is a great question, and I find it difficult to name just one, as there have been many important figures who have impacted my career and nutritional understanding. From early-on book authors such as Dr. Tom Lonsdale and Dr. Ian Billinghurst to Linda P Case and Steve Brown. My professors, notably Dr Kelly Swanson and Dr. Julia Pezzali, and Industry Associates Dr. Trevor Faber and Michael Trapp (ret.). None of this would have been possible without Gary Tashjian for believing in me and giving me my first opportunity. Thank you all!

What do you hope to see as part of the future for animal nutrition? I would like to see a consensus on new “Optimal” nutritional standards for modern, highly digestible pet food formats and adopt redefined (energy) K-factors to meet these new standards.

If you could work with a nutrition colleague in your practice for a week, who would you invite to join you, and why? Though I do not have a “practice” per se, I’d love to gather the brightest minds from the top Nutritional Software manufacturers at my conference table to discuss the development of a unified, companion animal-specific formulation software that all formulators and nutritionists would all use. This would be the new gold standard in formulation software and end the segmented field that is now common. This would significantly enhance the collaboration and sharing of nutritional data among food scientists, nutritionists, and veterinarians.

Please share something about yourself that none of your nutrition colleagues know. My quirkiness of always wanting to position myself on your right side when standing and talking or seated at a dinner table. This is because I’m blind in my right eye. When I was 5 years of age, I had trauma resulting in the removal of the lens in that eye.

Experiencing VMX 2025:

An Adventure Both Thrilling and Exhausting

Contributed by Dr. Laura Gaylord



The recently concluded VMX 2025 in Orlando, Florida, was nothing short of extraordinary. With nearly 30,000 attendees from 86 countries gathering at the Orange County Convention Center from January 25 to 29, this year's conference set a record-breaking milestone in veterinary medicine. Hosted by the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC), VMX 2025 emphasized innovation, education, and leadership, delivering an unparalleled experience for professionals in the field.

Just a Few Spaces Available!

2 days (13 hours) of CE

AAVN's first-ever Veterinary Nutrition Workshop for Technicians is happening April 4-6, 2025 at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square

Earn 13 RACE-approved CE credits while expanding your knowledge on veterinary nutrition and connecting with fellow technicians from your region. This is a fantastic opportunity for licensed veterinary technicians to network and enhance expertise.

The cost to attend is just $200.

Zoo nutritionists are often faced with myriad misinformation or misconceptions when designing appropriate diets for animals in our care. It is challenging to apply relentless skepticism to most of the information available in popular and peer-reviewed articles that are available, yet it is a necessary exercise in order to ensure the best nutritional welfare. Both historic and most recent examples of myths within the field of zoo nutrition, will be discussed in this presentation to hopefully set some of them straight, and share how their impact can be minimized for the good of our animals.

Michael Maslanka is the senior nutritionist and Head of the Department of Nutrition Science at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. His zoo experience began in the summer of 1990, as a seasonal zoo keeper at a small zoo in Maryland. Since then, he completed an undergraduate degree in Forestry and Wildlife at Virginia Tech, a graduate degree in Animal Science from the University of Minnesota, and a residency in zoo nutrition at the Chicago Zoological Society. He is the Chair of the AZA Nutrition Advisory Group, the Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Zoo and Wildlife Nutrition Foundation, and an active member of both AZA and ZAA. He works with all taxa, with applied research and special interest ranging from harvester ants to whale sharks.

This webinar is free to all AAVN members. The cost for non-members is $20.

Student Members - contact us at aavnexecutive@gmail.com to receive your promo code.

AAVN Student members are invited to an engaging panel discussion exploring the diverse roles that nutritionists play in the pet food industry. Learn from leading experts as they share their unique perspectives and career paths.

This program is free but registration is required.

What Have You Been Listening To Lately?

If you've been reading our E-newsletter over the past 8 months, you know that our current AAVN President, Dr. Megan Sprinkle, has been deep into the world of podcasting for more than a year with her podcast "Vet Life Reimagined". There's also a veterinary-related podcast at the Ontario Veterinary College, called "Vet Sessions" that some readers might find interesting.  

I have been curious about other podcasts and webinars -- especially those that have a nutritional angle or theme, and after an hour or so of running down rabbit holes, I decided I should ask my network. Dear AAVN members, please share your favorite webinars and podcasts! If you have one or two that focus on diet, health and fitness, that would be great. However, if you like podcasts to utilize other parts of your brain (like I do), share those, too!  

My favs are as follows:

Revisionist History hosted by Malcolm Gladwell

Hidden Brain hosted by Shankar Vedantam

The Ted Radio Hour hosted by Manoush Zomorodi

Freakonomics hosted by Stephen Dubner

AAVN Funding is Available for Student Chapters

Student chapters can apply for grants of up to $500 annually to support chapter activities.  

Only active student chapters may apply. 

Active student chapters are those who have submitted a list of current officers and faculty advisors with contact information by October 15 of this calendar year. New student chapters who have submitted their draft constitution to the AAVN Student Committee for review are also eligible for funds, if a list of officers and faculty advisors with contact information has been submitted to AAVN.

Requests for funding must include: 

• Date of the request
• Student chapter name
• Primary student contact and faculty advisor, with email and phone number 
• Date(s) of the activity/event
• Amount requested and budgeted expenses
• Description of the activity including goal(s) and anticipated outcome(s)

There is no deadline for funding requests.

Please submit to aavnexecutive@gmail.com. 

Student Chapters receiving funds are required to: 



• Submit a write up (250 words MAX) of the event or activities, including pictures, for the AAVN e-newsletter. This summary is due within 1 week concluding the event/activity and can be sent via email to aavnexecutive@gmail.com

• Create a social media post that includes photos. This post must be shared within 1 week of the event/activity. This event can be shared on Facebook or Instagram by the student chapter or sent to AAVN at aavnexecutive@gmail.com.

• Provide receipts to the AAVN Executive Director following the event.

Upcoming CE Opportunities

ACVIM On Demand Course

A Comprehensive Approach to Enteral Feeding: When, Why, How

For more information and registration click Here

WVC Annual Conference

March 2-5, 2025

Las Vegas, NV

For more information and registration, click here

ASPEN 2025 Nutrition Science and Practice Conference

March 22-25, 2025

Columbus, OH (virtual option available)

For more information and registration, click here

Classified Ads

Texas A&M University's College of Veterinary Medicine is seeking a full-time, tenured or tenure-track faculty member in clinical nutrition at the assistant, associate, or full professor level, starting Spring/Summer 2025. The position splits time between research (35%), clinical instruction and patient care (40%), classroom teaching (15%), and service (10%). The role involves managing nutrition cases, teaching veterinary students, and mentoring interns/residents within the Clinical Nutrition Service of the Gastrointestinal Laboratory. Candidates must have a DVM degree and be an ACVIM-Clinical Nutrition diplomate or have completed a relevant residency and be board-eligible. The position offers extensive research collaboration opportunities across Texas A&M's medical and scientific departments, access to state-of-the-art facilities, and a generous start-up package. The Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital features 60 board-certified specialists and comprehensive support staff. Located in Bryan-College Station, Texas A&M is the nation's largest single university with 78,000 students, offering a growing college town environment with good quality of life and reasonable living costs. Applications must be submitted online at apply.interfolio.com/160586.

The University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine has launched a search for an Assistant/Associate Professor of Nutrition in the Department of Molecular Biosciences (tenure track; includes a 50% clinical appointment in the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH)). Fully accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association, the VMTH comprises 40 services with more than 150 specialists, 130 house officers, 335 staff, and a caseload exceeding 75,000/year. The current base pay range is $174,500-$226,300. Other components of pay may be offered when necessary to meet competitive conditions, qualifications, and experience. Click Here for more details.

Faculty Position in Clinical Nutrition, Kansas State University. Assistant/Associate/ Full Professor (Tenure Track). For more details click here.

AAVN Membership Renewal -- Are You Caught Up on Dues?

Renewing after September 1 means a late fee of $20 to be assessed.



 To Renew Your Membership:

• Sign in to the AAVN website
• Your username is your email address
• If you don't remember your password, you may use the automated password reset request
• Click on Invoices and Payments and process payment for your open membership invoice

Only by renewing can you continue to receive these member benefits:

• Access to the AAVN Membership Directory 
• Free webinars on cutting edge veterinary nutrition topics (4 per year)
• Discounted registration for the Annual Clinical Nutrition & Research Symposium
• Access to “Members Only” information on the AAVN website, including Symposium proceedings and recordings
•  Monthly E-Newsletter 
• Access to the AAVN List Serve (includes job and training posts)
• Opportunity to submit research abstracts for consideration at the annual Symposium

If you have any difficulty signing in or with the renewal process, please contact us at aavnexecutive@gmail.com.

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