We have arrived!

We are busy settling into our new spaces at Trent University. My office is starting to feel more familiar (and I really can’t argue with the huge window, natural light, and views that are not the rooftop technical ventilation system like at OVC). I will miss the sound of the horses downstairs.

I am working to get our lab space set up. It’s a great space with large windows, a private postdoc office, and lots of space for storing our equipment and also for setting up our computer hardware to ensure that everyone in the team has dedicated, protected workspace with computer monitors and docking stations (to make coding much less painful).

We can also hold our lab meetings in our new space without having to book a room. These are some photos from today. It needs some attention but the “bones” are amazing and we will get it into shape this winter.

Sharing our research activities with colleagues at CAVEPM.

Earlier in the spring, the Canadian Veterinary Epidemiology community gathered in Saint-Hyacinthe, QC for the annual conference of the Canadian Association for Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine (CAVEPM). This year our group contributed five oral presentations (Wendy Xie, Elissa Giang, Roksolona Hovdey, Salah Uddin Kahn, Dylan Melmer). We also learned about navigating our way through information overload in the era of big data.

Photo courtesy of Amy Greer

Salah discussing his work navigating an overwhelming amount of climate data to project the ecological niche of two different types of mosquitoes in Canada and the US.

Roxy presenting the results from her mathematical modeling study assessing the impact of person-to-person transmission during an outbreak of Verotoxin-producing E. coli.

Photo courtesy of Amy Greer

Nous sommes au Québec cette semaine!

Photo courtesy of Wendy Xie

Here we are in lovely Sainte-Hyacinthe, QC for the 2019 Conference of the Canadian Association of Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine (CAVEPM).  We are learning about navigating science information overload in the era of big data. We are also presenting some of the work being done by our very own mathepilab members!

Welcome Kamal!

Our newest lab member, Kamal Acharya, hails from the University of Sydney where he completed his PhD in veterinary science examining various aspects of Johne’s disease.

Kamal joins the math epi lab as a post-doctoral fellow. His current research is focused on the development and evaluation of an open web-based system for veterinary antimicrobial stewardship.

We look forward to working with you Kamal!

Photo courtesy of Kamal Archarya

Sharing our equine research program with international colleagues in Calgary.

Dr. Rachael MIlwid talks about her proximity sensing study and network epidemic model.

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What a great start to fall 2018! It was an absolutely fantastic experience to attend the first annual International Equine Symposium in Calgary in September 2018. Rachael, Tanya and I each presented different equine projects that we have been conducting in Ontario and the feedback was really fantastic. It was a great way to interact with equine practitioners, researchers and students and wrapped up with an absolutely wonderful evening at Spruce Meadows to watch the 6-bar jumping event. We can’t wait to return next year to share updated results!

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Dr. Amy Greer, Dr. Tanya Rossi, and Dr. Rachael Milwid (left to right)

Lead up to the 6-bar jumping event at Spruce Meadows.

The most wonderful time of year...CRWAD 2017!

Every year in early December the Veterinary Epidemiology community comes together in Chicago for the Conference for Research Workers in Animal Disease (CRWAD). This year our group contributed three oral presentations (Rachael Milwid, Melanie Cousins, and Kelsey Spence) and one poster presentation (Rachael Milwid) at the conference. I also served as the session moderator for the Modeling and Network Analysis session along with Kristen Davenport from Colorado State. Rachael presented two different projects related to her work on equine contact networks and Melanie presented her work on the development of a mathematical model for Campylobacter in Ontario. Since Kelsey is in the UK, I presented her longitudinal study of equine movement patterns. All of our projects were very well received by the audience and the Department of Population Medicine was well represented with a very large group of attending graduate students. 

Melanie giving her oral presentation in the ecology of food-borne pathogens session. 

The Magnificent Mile is quite magnificent in December!

CIHR Impact Fellows Retreat

This week Dr. Salah Uddin Khan, Dr. Victoria Ng (Public Health Agency of Canada), and I had the great pleasure of attending the first CIHR Health Systems Impact Fellows Cohort Retreat in Toronto. Salah was awarded this prestigious postdoctoral award in the summer and began his fellowship in collaboration with the National Microbiology Laboratory this fall. The goal of these fellowships is to train PhD graduates in a way that focuses on both research and core competencies (such as project management, leadership, and change management) so that they can progress in their careers as leaders within the Canadian Health System. This was the first cohort retreat and it was a really excellent experience for both the fellows and their academic and organizational sponsors. I met many really interesting fellows who I expect will go on to do great things for the Canadian Healthcare system. One of the really amazing things about the inaugural HSI cohort? 80% of the fellows are women!  I am looking forward to the next retreat in spring 2018. 

Do you aspire to be a "future veterinarian?"

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

We are currently recruiting undergraduate students interested in helping out with a large equine research project that will be running from November until the Christmas break 2017. No horse experience is necessary. This is a great opportunity for students interested in a career in veterinary medicine to learn more about veterinary research and get some experience working in a large animal (equine) environment. You will be providing technical and logistical support to the study coordinator, Dr. Tanya Rossi. Please contact Dr. Amy Greer in the Department of Population Medicine to learn more about this opportunity.