(September 29, 2011   Stillwater, OK) – Veterinary medicine and global health will be the topic of the keynote address at Oklahoma State University’s Annual Fall Veterinary Conference to be held on the Stillwater campus on October 6 and 7, 2011.  Sponsored by the Class of 1963, Guy Palmer, DVM, Ph.D., will present “The Challenge for Veterinary Medicine in Global Health” at 11:30 a.m. in the Wes Watkins Auditorium on Thursday, Oct. 6.  His one hour seminar is open to the public at no charge.

“The AVMA has declared 2011 ‘World Veterinary Year’ in celebration of the 250th anniversary of veterinary medicine,” explains Dr. Carolynn MacAllister, professor and conference organizer.  “Veterinary medicine is a profession that serves society by helping to protect the health of animals, humans and the ecosystem in which we live.  We are delighted that Dr. Palmer is joining us to talk about global health and the important contribution veterinarians make to maintaining public health.”

Palmer is a Regents Professor of Pathology and Infectious Diseases at Washington State University where he also holds The Jan and Jack Creighton Endowed Chair in Global Health and is the director of the Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health.  Currently Palmer serves as an advisor to the International Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Northwest Regional Center for Excellence in Infectious Diseases.

OSU’s veterinary conference is open to all veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and veterinary students.  Experts in small animal, food animal and equine veterinary medicine from around the country, including many OSU veterinary alumni and faculty, will be on hand to present information on a wide variety of veterinary topics during the two day conference. Attendance is expected to exceed 500 people.

The Oklahoma State University Center for Veterinary Health Sciences is one of 28 veterinary colleges in the United States and is fully accredited by the Council on Education of the American Veterinary Medical Association.  The center’s Boren Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital is open to the public and provides routine and specialized care for small and large animals.  It also offers 24-hour emergency care and is certified by the American Animal Hospital Association.  For more information, visit www.cvhs.okstate.edu or call (405) 744-7000.

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