Leon Z. Saunders

Leon Z. Saunders, DVM., PhD, Dr Med Vet, DSc, age 89 years of age, passed from this life peacefully on Wednesday March 4, 2009, surrounded by his family. A native of Winnipeg, Canada, Dr. Saunders was educated at Wesley College in Winnipeg and the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph, from which he graduated in 1943 with his DVM. Between 1943 and 1945, he served in the Royal Canadian Artillery as a veterinary officer. Upon demobilization, in 1946, Saunders attended Iowa State College in Ames, Iowa in the United States to pursue postgraduate work, earning his Masters degree in Veterinary Bacteriology in 1946. He stayed on the staff at Iowa State College until 1948. At that time, Saunders moved to Cornell University, College of Veterinary Medicine, in Ithaca, New York, to concentrate on neuropathology, and received his PhD in pathology in 1951.

After completing training in pathology and passing the first certifying examination given by the American College of Veterinary Pathologists in 1951, Saunders attended the Army Chemical Center in Edgewood, Maryland as a civilian pathologist. The following year, he attended Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, New York. After over 6 years at Brookhaven, Saunders moved to Philadelphia in 1958 to become Head of Pathology & Toxicology for Smith Kline & French Laboratories. Saunders went on to stay at SmithKline for decades, through most of its mergers, ending in Saunders’ eventual retirement in 1990 from SmithKine Beecham. During his time at SK&F, Saunders served once again as Veterinary Officer in the US Air Force Reserve, assigned to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, DC, and served on its Scientific Advisory Board from 1985–1991.

Leon Saunders’ scholarship extends well beyond interests of traditional academic pathology, as he was an historian and all-around scholar as well. He published more than 90 articles and 6 books. He nurtured a special interest in the history of veterinary pathology, and published two well-known books on this topic, which lead to Saunders’ honorary election in to the American Osler Society. He co-founded the international journal Veterinary Pathology, the premier journal in its field, for which he served as Managing Editor for 25 years. He also served as President of the World Federation of Veterinary Pathologists and of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists.

He was bilingual in speaking (English/German), but multilingual in scientific reading and writing. Some of his honors include two honorary doctoral degrees for his scientific accomplishments: one from the University of Vienna in 1968, and another in 1993 from his alma matter, the University of Guelph, in Ontario, Canada. The University of Munich bestowed the prestigious Theodor Kitt medal to Saunders in 1982. He was also awarded the distinguished Centennial medal by the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (at which he was an adjunct Professor since 1958) in 1984. Due to his life-long promotion of the history of veterinary pathology in North America, Saunders was awarded the Lifetime Achievement commendation by the American Veterinary Medical History Society in 2000. To quote the former Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, Dean Marshak, “[Leon Saunders’] piercing intelligence—logical, demanding, precise—his rock-hard integrity, his qualities of courage, loyalty and compassion, combine to make him a tremendous force of a man.”

An avid equestrian, Leon enjoyed horseback riding as well as polo. During his tenure at Cornell, he actively participated on the polo team there. He also enjoyed snow skiing with his family, which he did all around the world including such places as Canada and Switzerland. He is sadly missed and survived by his wife, Marliese; daughter Christine (Aurelio Galli) Saunders; grandchildren, Greta and Erika; and by his brother Al (Phyllis) of Winnipeg, Manitoba; sister Leikie (Yitz), of Richmond Hill, Ontario; and sister-in-law Diana (wife of the late Harry) of Los Angeles, California.

For me, it is a mixed blessing of pleasure and sadness to write this note as a sequel to the remarks prepared by Leon’s daughter. Leon Saunders was a world-renowned veterinary pathologist who was a close friend and colleague of mine for more than 40 years. The word “renowned” is not used loosely, for Leon’s work and his writings are to be found in all corners of the world. There was the massive text written with J. R. M. Innes on veterinary neuropathology—the only such in existence—and another large text, A Biographical History of Veterinary Pathology, that showed his intense interest in the history and development of his favorite subject not only in the United States but also in 20 other countries, some of which had only one pathologist. Veterinary Pathology in Russia, 1860–1930 was another large volume, as was a text on the pathology of the eye in animals. I think it was my review in the Cornell Veterinarian of the neuropathology book that first brought us together. Our respect for each other was enhanced not only through our mutual interest in pathology but also our love of the English language and how it should be used to advantage in writing clearly and concisely about our favorite subject and in lecturing to students.

Leon was an active participant in The American College of Veterinary Pathologists in its early days, and he later was elected to the small group of Distinguished Members. He was the prime mover in establishing Pathologia Veterinaria, and he was its first editor. Some members will be surprised to learn that Leon and his supporters had to resist some serious opposition to The ACVP having its own journal, the success of which is another feather in his professional cap.

Now, I ask you to join me in saying farewell to this great man who, although small in stature, was a giant in the pathology branch of our veterinary profession. Long will he be admired, respected, and remembered.

David C. Dodd

Janis H. Audin

Dr. Janis H. Audin, the innovative American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Editor-in-Chief whose leadership helped advance the relevance, accessibility, and global reach of the Association's scientific journals, died April 22, 2009. Dr. Audin, 58, of Northbrook, Ill., was a 1979 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Audin began her career with the AVMA in 1985 as an assistant editor in the Publications Division. She was promoted to associate editor in 1989 and editor in 1994. She set out to leverage leading print and electronic technologies, overseeing the conversion to desktop publishing, and helped create varied information formats for the journals' audiences. As Editor-in-Chief, she led expansion of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) and American Journal of Veterinary Research from a print-only format, adding an electronic format with the AVMA Journals Online. More recently, she led the staff effort to repurpose journal content into features such as the AVMA Collections and the AVMA Ed online learning courses. She worked to broaden the journals' global reach while upholding the highest standards for veterinary publishing and humane treatment of animals. She enhanced the content by initiating practice-relevant features in areas such as dentistry and anesthesiology, and she worked to make the journals more relevant for the entire profession by providing articles on the many facets of veterinary medicine. Her creativity was evident not only in the innovations she sponsored but also in the JAVMA cover itself. The Boston native came to Illinois to earn her bachelor's degree in art history and biology at Lake Forest College outside Chicago. Early on, she expanded the use of cover art to both semimonthly issues, and each year, she chose a work of art from the International Exhibition on Animals in Art to appear on the cover. To strengthen the AVMA's creative capabilities, she added to the graphic design staff. Dr. Audin's tenure as division director and Editor-in-Chief was marked by outstanding success and divisional growth. She embraced technology to cut lead time, reduce costs, and improve reporting abilities. She consolidated the two journals at a single printing location, moved to a complete in-house production system, and instituted online manuscript submission and tracking. In recent years, ad revenue dramatically increased under her leadership, generating substantial nondues revenue. In 2007 she received an AVMA President's Award. She was inducted as a distinguished practitioner in the National Academy of Practice in Veterinary Medicine in 2002. Before joining the AVMA staff, Dr. Audin practiced small animal medicine for four years in Calumet City, Ill. At the University of Illinois, she received a Master's degree in reproductive physiology in 1977 and her DVM degree with honors two years later. She followed that with two years of clinical work and postgraduate training and research in clinical pathology at the veterinary college.

Susan C. Kahler