AAVN Newsletter January 2020
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From the President's Desk
Greetings AAVN Members! The AAVN Executive Board has been busy behind the scenes in 2019.
New Executive Directors, Hannah Street Consulting, were hired in the spring and began management of the AAVN following Dr. Wilbur Amand’s retirement in the summer.
The 2019 AAVN Clinical Nutrition & Research Symposium, held in Phoenix, Arizona on June 5
th
, was well attended with over 150 guests. The symposium hosted 25 original research abstracts and 4 guest speakers as well as our member’s business luncheon and cocktail hour. Plans are well underway for the 2020 Clinical Nutrition & Research Symposium to be held in Baltimore, Maryland on June 10
th
.
In late July, several AAVN members gathered in North Carolina for our first Early Career Researchers workshop in conjunction with ESVCN and supported by WALTHAM. Twelve countries were represented at this workshop allowing for truly international collaboration.
Our newly formed student member committee is working to increase the number of student chapters and to provide more resources to our student members.
The outreach committee has been working diligently on the relaunch of our newsletter presented here in its new format. The entire Executive Board and Directors continue to work to provide a better member experience for you all. Ideas, feedback, volunteers, and questions are always welcome.
Happy New Year!
Martha G. Cline, DVM, DACVN
AAVN Executive Board – President (2017 – 2021)
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2019 Early Career Workshop Reflections
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Not infrequently, I make the comment that, ‘I feel like I spend as much time justifying the importance of nutrition to fellow veterinarians as I do teaching and doing research on the topic’. As such, I was thrilled to be awarded attendance at the 2019 AAVN ESCVN Early Careers Workshop. This event provided me with valuable (and dedicated) time with fellow early career nutrition researchers and educators, i.e. folks who care about nutrition as much as I do.
It was incredible to meet people from all over the world (e.g. Europe, China and the USA) who were pursuing their nutrition passion in so many different pathways. As they spoke, I rapidly learned that there were others who shared (or who had experienced) many of the same challenges in their efforts to broaden nutrition understanding.
When I think about what I liked best about the workshop, there is no doubt that the people I met were the highlight of the event. What an incredible, talented, warm and supportive group of attendees and presenters. All of whom were willing to speak candidly about their experiences, share their knowledge (from learning tips on publication and grant writing to working in various nutrition career paths) and encourage following one’s nutrition goals and dreams.
One of the biggest take homes of my time at the North Carolina held workshop (besides the bear sightings!) was the time dedicated to emotional intelligence and the group work surrounding this. I think that we all learned a lot about ourselves (and each other) along with practical techniques for communication.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the workshop to any AAVN student or members. It was an amazing experience for my own career growth, and also a networking opportunity that allowed me to meet, learn from and feel connected to others pursuing similar goals. We truly are a global nutrition community, and I feel very lucky to have been invited to attend and benefit from this event.
My sincere thank you to the AAVN, ESCVN and Waltham for supporting the event-it was awesome! I sincerely hope that this event (or others like it) continue to be supported. As the group shared, nutrition research can feel a bit lonely at times, and knowing there is a community (and support network) can provide reassurance, scientific expertise and bring joy to the work. My very best to those I met this summer for the holiday season and wishing everyone a food-filled 2020!
Michelle Evason, BSc, DVM, DACVIM
Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island
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Pet Nutrition Alliance Announces an Updated Resource
to Aid in Making Informed Decisions about Pet Foods: Dare to Ask!
The Pet Nutrition Alliance (PNA) announced the 2019 annual update on its resource that helps veterinary healthcare teams make more informed decisions when recommending pet food for their patients. This new tool,
Dare to Ask: We Did!
was created by compiling information about pet food manufacturers.
With thousands of choices of pet foods, it is confusing for pet owners and the veterinary healthcare team to make informed decisions about the best pet food for an individual pet. Surveys show that practitioners are overwhelmed with the volume of food choices available and feel unequipped to make educated food recommendations to clients. With this in mind, PNA set out to create resources that not only inform veterinary healthcare teams on the best food options available, but also save veterinary professionals time and energy in their research.
“Most pet owners base food decisions on an ingredient list, and we want them to understand the decision should be more focused on quality control, nutritional expertise, and other important factors surrounding the pet food manufacturer,” said Julie Churchill, DVM, PhD, DACVN and PNA President. The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA)
developed recommendations for selecting the best food
, but most of this information is not on the label and requires contacting each manufacturer to ask them for information. PNA “dared to ask” by contacting more than 200 manufacturers selling pet food in the United States and Canada and asking them questions based on some of the WSAVA criteria. The results answer critical questions including details on the manufacturers’ nutritional expertise, where their foods are manufactured, and whether they can provide information on a requested nutrient (and if that nutrient meets the Association of American Feed Control Officials profiles).
A newly updated version of Dare to Ask is now available on the
PNA website
and expands its library of valuable tools for veterinary healthcare teams on nutritional assessment and planning, including calorie calculators for dogs and cats which are available in English, Spanish and French. “The goal is to provide veterinary healthcare teams with more objective information on which to base their pet food decisions and recommendations. We want to empower the veterinary healthcare team to help their clients navigate the sea of pet nutrition information (and misinformation) to provide optimal nutrition for every pet.” added Lisa Freeman DVM, PhD DACVN, PNA Past-President. For more information about this project, and to access scientifically-based nutritional information, calorie calculators, and other useful pet nutrition resources, please visit
www.PetNutritionAlliance.org
.
About the Pet Nutrition Alliance
PNA, supported by the American Veterinary Medical Foundation, is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to providing resources to support veterinary healthcare teams in helping pets live longer through better nutrition. PNA strives to provide objective information and resources so that veterinarians and veterinary technicians can be the most credible sources of information on pet nutrition. PNA’s member organizations include the Academy of Veterinary Nutrition Technicians, American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition, American Animal Hospital Association, American College of Veterinary Nutrition, American Veterinary Medical Association, Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America, Veterinary Medical Association Executives, and World Small Animal Veterinary Association.
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AAVN Nutrition Program - VMX 2020
January 21, 2020
I
nvited Speakers:
Julie A. Churchill, DVM, PhD, DACVN & Deborah Linder, DVM, DACVN
8:00-9:15am
“Crucial Conversations: Tips for Talking to Clients About Foods and Fads”
Speakers: Churchill & Linder
9:55-10:45am
“Nutritional Triage: Conundrums of Managing Comorbidities”
Speaker: Churchill
10:55-11:45am
“To Cook or Not to Cook? Talking to Owners About Home Cooking”
Speaker: Linder
1:45-2:35pm
“Eliminate the Pitfalls of a Diet Trial”
Speaker: Churchill
2:45-3:35pm
“Why Isn’t the Weight Coming Off? Creative Strategies for Weight Loss”
Speaker: Linder
3:55-4:15pm
“A Perfect Storm: the History Behind Diet Associated DCM”
Speaker: Churchill
4:25-4:45pm
“Diet-Associated DCM: It’s Not Just Grain-Free”
Speaker: Linder
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Meet the AVNT Board Members
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Meet the members of the AVNT Board of Directors! To learn more about these volunteers click
here
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Congratulations to the 2019 Student Blog Contest Winners!
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Last year there were quite a few submissions to the annual blog writing contest and the winners were recognized at the AAVN Research Symposium last June. Over the next several issues of the E-newsletter, we will share some of the 2019 winning entries and we encourage student members to submit their own blog for the 2020 competition!
Equine
1
st
Place
“Burro-ing our Heads in the Sand: Is your donkey’s dinner dangerous?”
Submitted by Carleigh Cathcart, Ontario Veterinary College
2
nd
Place
“How Body Condition Can Impact Saddle Fit”
Submitted by Beverly Gartland, Western Kentucky University
Companion Animal
1
st
Place
“Tetris for your Terrier, Sudoku for your Saluki: Puzzle Feeders”
Marie Francesca Menniti, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies
2
nd
Place Tie
“Bare Necessities--The Simple Bare Necessities”
Vivian Pedrinelli, University of Sao Paulo
“The Facts & Fiction of Pet Food: Raw Diets”
Caitlin Holly, University of Florida
“How to Read a Pet Food Label Like a Pro”
Stephanie George, University of Missouri
3
rd
Place
“Weight Loss: A Vital Step in Improving Your Arthritic Dog’s Quality of Life”
Alison Mikes, Louisiana State University
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AAVN Call for Abstracts (for 2020 Research Symposium):
The AAVN is now accepting abstracts for the 20th Annual AAVN Clinical Nutrition and Research Symposium taking place on June 10, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. Abstract submission is currently open and the deadline is Friday, January 31, 11:59 p.m. (EST). Please see the attached document for the call and more information. All questions should be emailed to
aavnsymposium@gmail.com
. The call for abstracts and a form for submission are attached.
AAVN Student Blog Contest (call for abstracts):
Calling all bloggers! If you've got a nutrition-related topic with a message for animal owners or veterinary health care teams, we would like to hear from you. The 2020 AAVN Blog Writing Contest is now open and submissions will be accepted through 5:00pm EST on March 15, 2020. The word limit is 2,000 words and all submissions should be in Times Roman, 12-font, with one-inch margins. Send your entry to our AAVN Executive Director team at
aavnexecutive@gmail.com
Are you planning on publishing an article or making a nutrition presentation some time in 2020?
We'd love to announce it for you! Please send to the Executive Directors at
aavnexecutive@gmail.com
or the E-newsletter editor
aboodsarah@gmail.com
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Place your ad here!
The AAVN offers both display and classified advertising in the monthly e-newsletter. To learn more about space limitations and fees, please contact
aavnexecutive@gmail.com
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