News
November 13th, 2015
Dr. Bowdridge, Dr. Garza, and Elizabeth Shepherd of the Parasite Immunology lab have received an award for $15,000 from the National Center for Veterinary Parasitology
September 9th, 2015
West Virginia University graduate students, Jesica Jacobs and Elizabeth Shepherd, along with postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Javier Garza, attended the 60th Annual meeting of the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists (AAVP), held in Boston, MA, July 11-14, 2015. These students are members of the Parasite Immunology Lab led by Dr. Scott Bowdridge, of WVU’s Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design.
AAVP is made up of 450 members, comprised of teachers, students, veterinarians, scientists and others involved with parasites of companion, production, and wildlife animals. AAVP provides an invaluable experience for participants to share research, as well as connect with others in industry and academics. This year’s meeting included 280 registrants, of whom 71 were students, notably marking a greater than 50% increase in student participation. A total of 166 total abstracts were submitted, and 53 of those abstracts were from students in the student competition.
Due to the 40% in abstract submissions compared to previous meetings, this year marked the introduction of poster sessions in addition to oral presentations. For 2015, students were given the opportunity to compete in oral and poster presentation competitions. Garza and Jacobs participated in the oral competition, and Shepherd competed in the poster competition. First place in the student poster presentation was awarded to Shepherd, with a prize of $500 generously provided by Elanco, along with a registration fee waiver for the 2016 meeting. All three students were also awarded an AAVP Young Investigator Travel Grant to cover their travel expenses to the conference and during their stay.
These students also have a highly active presence in the conference and remain so throughout the year. In addition to finishing his PhD at Louisiana State University this year, Garza also acted as AAVP’s Student President and served on the AAVP Executive Committee as the student representative. Student representatives are responsible for organizing all student functions during the meeting. Student reps also vote on upcoming conference locations, put together the scientific program, and review abstract submissions as part of the AAVP executive committee. Additionally, they work year-round to maintain a line of communication between all students through social media to help prepare the students for the conference. After a two year term, Garza stepped down as acting president, giving a warm welcome to Jacobs, who was elected by the student body as their representative on the AAVP executive committee and president-elect for the coming year.