Quick Summary
- Nematologist Edward Caswell-Chen receives Teaching Excellence Award
- Veterinary nutrition professor Andrea Fascetti wins award for advancing feline health
- Plant scientist Chris van Kessel joins Field to Market advisory board
- TripAdvisor Labels Arboretum No. 1 ‘Thing to Do in Davis’
- Sharon Shoemaker named a co-editor of new journal: npj Science of Food
- Globe Theatre remembers Chancellor Vanderhoef
- Beef Improvement Federation commends Alison Van Eenennaam
What a week for Susan Stover, professor of veterinary anatomy and director of the J.D. Wheat Veterinary Orthopedic Research Laboratory: She received a lifetime achievement award and then learned she would be inducted into the Equine Research Hall of Fame at the University of Kentucky.
The American Veterinary Medical Association gave its Lifetime Excellence in Research Award to Stover on July 30, during the Merial-NIH National Veterinary Scholars Symposium at Ohio State University. The award recognizes her achievements in applied and clinical research, which focuses on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of musculoskeletal injuries, predominantly in horses, but also in small animals.
“Throughout her distinguished career, Dr. Stover has played a pivotal role in improving our understanding of performance-related injuries in racing horses,” said Joe Kinnarney, AVMA president, as quoted in an AVMA news release. “She is an accomplished researcher whose work has been recognized across the globe and has had far-reaching effects across the veterinary profession.”
The news release states: “Stover’s critical research has substantially improved the welfare of horses, as evidenced by the industrywide adoption of evidence-based recommendations to enhance race track surfaces, augmented training methods and refined surgical treatments.”
The hall of fame ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 25 at the Gluck Equine Research Center on the UK campus in Lexington. Established by the university’s Gluck Equine Research Foundation, the hall of fame honors scientists who have dedicated their careers to expanding the body of knowledge of equine science through their contributions to basic or applied research.
The Gluck Equine Research Foundation has invited her to present a seminar while she is in Lexington for the induction ceremony.
As director of ٺƵ’ J.D. Wheat Veterinary Orthopedic Research Laboratory, Stover is described as having had a transformative effect on the understanding of the pathophysiology of catastrophic musculoskeletal injury in performance horses, and is known for charting new and sustained improvements in the welfare of these horses and the practice of veterinary medicine.
Stover earned her doctorate in veterinary medicine at Washington State University in 1976, and completed an internship and residency in equine surgery at ٺƵ. She returned to ٺƵ after working in private practice in Washington. She was the ninth recipient and first woman to receive the American College of Veterinary Surgeons Founders Award for Career Achievement.
Andrea Fascetti, professor of nutrition, School of Veterinary Medicine, recently received the American Veterinary Medical Foundation-Winn Feline Foundation Research Award, honoring her contributions to advancing feline health through her research, which focuses on nutrition and metabolism in companion animals, especially cats.
A news release from the American Veterinary Medical Association describes Fascetti as an internationally recognized, highly productive researcher and a dedicated ambassador for improving feline health through carefully designed research. “Her creative and scholarly activities, along with her ability to bring scientists from basic and clinical sciences together, have had considerable impact on the advancement of veterinary nutrition,” the news release states.
Fascetti is chief of the Nutrition Support Service in the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, and serves as the scientific director of the Feline Nutrition and Pet Care Center, the Feline Research Laboratory and the Amino Acid Laboratory.
The international Society of Nematologists recently presented its Teaching Excellence Award to Professor Edward Caswell-Chen, a nematologist who has been teaching at ٺƵ for nearly 30 years.
“Ed is known for his enthusiasm, dedication, high-quality instruction and keen interest in helping his students understand and appreciate nematology — from the undergraduate level to the graduate level and beyond,” his nominators said. Students who evaluated him offered such comments as “Who knew nematology could be so interesting?” and “Great teacher! Loved going to class.”
Caswell-Chen is chair of the Undergraduate Council of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate and recently was appointed vice chair of the UC Academic Senate’s Committee on Educational Policy. He is a former chair of the Department of Nematology and associate dean for Graduate Programs, Office of Graduate Studies.
Distinguished Professor Chris van Kessel, chair of the Department of Plant Sciences, has been named an inaugural member of Field to Market’s Science Advisory Council.
Washington, D.C.-based offers “collaborative leadership that is engaged in industrywide dialogue, grounded in science, and open to the full range of technology choices.”
The 12 members of the Science Advisory Council “will lend their knowledge and expertise to guide Field to Market’s staff and diverse membership from across the food and agricultural supply chain as they continue to develop a sustainability standard for U.S. commodity crop production that helps catalyze continuous improvement in environmental outcomes”
Van Kessel directs a research program on boosting the efficiency of fertilizer and reducing nitrogen losses. Specifically, his group is investigating how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve nutrient use efficiency in flooded rice systems.
The travel website has awarded a 2016 certificate of excellence to the ٺƵ Arboretum and Public Garden. These certificates celebrate destinations and businesses that have earned great traveler reviews on TripAdvisor over the past year.
“This recognition helps travelers identify places that regularly deliver great experiences,” said Heather Leisman, a vice president with TripAdvisor.
TripAdvisor ranks the arboretum as No. 1 on a list of 24
“We are so thankful that our visitors recognize and value the time they spend in the arboretum enough to leave a review,” said Kathleen Socolofsky, assistant vice chancellor and director of the ٺƵ Arboretum and Public Garden. “We are more than a pretty place, we are a portal for engagement for all who come to ٺƵ. Based on the reviews, our visitors are recognizing that and appreciative of it. We are thrilled!”
Sharon Shoemaker, executive director of the California Institute of Food and Agricultural Research, Department of Food Science and Technology, has been named a co-editor-in-chief of a new Nature Partner Journal: npj Science of Food.
Nature Partner Journals are online-only, open access journals published by Nature Publishing Group in partnership with global academic institutions, centers of excellence and others. For npj Science of Food, NPG is working with Beijing Technology and Business University, and the International Union of Food Science and Technology.
Shoemaker joined ٺƵ in 1991 as the founding director of the California Institute of Food and Agricultural Research. With a Ph.D. in biochemistry and nutrition, she has focused her research on biomass, especially studying cellulases and their applications; developing enzyme-to-mixed sugar processes and optimizing microbial strains for production of the value-added products, such as lactic acid and ethanol.
The late Chancellor Larry N. Vanderhoef is listed on a new memorial plaque at London’s Globe Theatre, honoring “a number of individuals who made much valued contributions to the work of Shakespeare’s Globe and who have now sadly died.”
The plaque includes a short write-up on each of the honorees. Vanderhoef’s reads, in part, “He spearheaded the Globe/ٺƵ partnership (for which he was also a significant private supporter) which resulted in the creation of the with the Mondavi Center and the ٺƵ School of Education.”
The Beef Improvement Federation recently presented a Continuing Service Award to Alison Van Eenennaam, genomics and biotechnology researcher, and Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Animal Science, in recognition of major contributions to the organization. This includes serving on the board of directors, speaking at BIF conventions, and working on BIF guidelines and other behind-the-scenes activities.
Bill Muir, Purdue University professor of animal sciences, said: “Dr. Van Eenennaam is the single most important mover and shaker addressing a wide range of issues related to regulation and acceptance of transgenic technology. If this important technology is ever accepted in the U.S. or abroad, it will be largely due to the advocacy of Dr. Van Eenennaam using science to quell the hype of the fear mongers. ... Alison is much more than just an advocate for GE technology. She is at the forefront of all new biotechnologies as related to animal production.”
Dateline UC Davis welcomes news of faculty and staff awards, for publication in Laurels. Send information to dateline@ucdavis.edu.
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