Abstract
The E. P. Pope Memorial Award is presented in memory of Dr. Edward P. Pope who was one of the founders of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) and who served with distinction as its Secretary-Treasurer from 1950 to 1972. The award was established in his honor in 1974. The Pope Award is the highest award given by the Association and is presented to an individual who has made noteworthy and significant contributions to the Association in regard to implementing and advancing the recognition of the specialty of veterinary diagnostic laboratory medicine.
The 2013 E. P. Pope Memorial Award was presented to Dr. Gary A. Anderson of Kansas State University (KSU) during the 56th Annual Meeting of the AAVLD in San Diego, California. Dr. Anderson joined the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory as director in 2005, after numerous years (1988–2005) in private industry where he was involved in animal diagnostics and vaccine research and development. He and 3 colleagues formed ImmTech Biologics in 1995, which was acquired by Novartis Animal Health in 2002. The first 5 years of his career were at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln where he had diagnostic and research responsibilities and was promoted to associate professor in 1988. He holds a BS in Microbiology from South Dakota State University (1975), a DVM and MS (veterinary pathology) from KSU (1979), and a PhD in Comparative Pathology from the University of California–Davis (1983). Dr. Anderson participated in the National Institutes of Health–sponsored training program in anatomic pathology and considered himself privileged to have Dr. Bennie Osburn as major professor during his graduate studies in Davis, California.
Dr. Anderson is a professor in the Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine at KSU. He has been a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and the AAVLD throughout his career, including membership in the Academy of Veterinary Consultants, American Association of Bovine Practitioners, and Kansas Veterinary Medical Association. Dr. Anderson served on the AAVLD Executive Board as Vice-President, President-Elect, and President (2010). He has served on numerous AAVLD and U.S. Animal Health Association (USAHA) committees over the years (Membership, Constitution, Resolutions and By-Laws, Government Relations, and Directors). He is currently co-chair of the joint AAVLD/USAHA Diagnostic Laboratory and Veterinarian Workforce Development Committee and chair of the AAVLD Strategic Planning Committee. He has served on the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) Methods Technical Working Group since its inception and the Coordinating Council since 2010 where he currently serves as co-director.
Priorities for Dr. Anderson have included strengthening the NAHLN and working toward the development of a supply of well-trained veterinary diagnosticians, as well as the application and practice of One Health in veterinary and diagnostic medicine. He was instrumental, along with Dr. Valerie Regan and Dr. Rich Breitmeyer, in establishing the USAHA/AAVLD partnership with the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine at Virginia–Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine.
Community service has been a hallmark of Dr. Anderson’s career. He has served as a board member of schools, churches, youth recreational organizations, and a private college, as well as a youth soccer, basketball, and baseball coach. Dr. Anderson has encouraged and facilitated programs that promote science and veterinary medicine at high schools in Kansas City, particularly the Shawnee Mission and Blue Valley districts. He was recognized by the Kansas Veterinary Medical Association with the 2008 KSU Distinguished Service Award and by the KSU Center for Advancement of Entrepreneurship with the 2009 Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Dr. Anderson has served the AAVLD and the diagnostic community well, and we are pleased to present him with the 2013 E. P. Pope Award.
A word from Dr. Anderson
It is a tremendous honor to receive the E. P. Pope Award. I thank everyone who has been part of my training and career, but especially the dedicated employees of the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and my AAVLD colleagues who have encouraged and challenged me over the years. The AAVLD is an outstanding organization, and I greatly appreciate the effective partnership it has with the USAHA. It is a privilege to be a member of both organizations. Thank you again for this honor.