Roundtable participants of "A multimodal approach: Add mosquito control to your canine heartworm protocol"

Learn more about the group of veterinary practitioners and parasite researchers who recently gathered to discuss the problem of heartworm disease in dogs and a new multimodal solution.

Moderator

Elizabeth Hodgkins, DVM, Esq.

Director, Veterinary Services, Ceva Animal Health, LLC

After earning her DVM degree, Dr. Hodgkins served an internship at the Animal Medical Center in New York City and an oncology residency at University of California-Davis. Following her residency, she taught veterinary parasitology at UC-Davis. Dr Hodgkins then attended law school at the University of Kansas and became a member of the Kansas Bar. She developed and patented a currently marketed food for the management of feline diabetes. In 2003, she built and opened her own cat-exclusive private practice in Yorba Linda, California. In 2009, she joined Summit VetPharm's Veterinary Services group for the Western Region. Currently, she is Director of Ceva Animal Health's Veterinary Services group. She is also the author of Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life (Thomas Dunn Books, 2007) and co-author of Not Fit for a Dog (Quill Driver Press, 2012).

Roundtable Participants

Susan Little, DVM, PhD, DACVM (Parasitology)

Regents Professor and the Krull-Ewing Chair in Veterinary Parasitology, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University

Dr. Little is active in veterinary parasitology teaching and oversees a research program that focuses on zoonotic parasites and tick-borne diseases. She is recognized as an international leader in parasitology and vector-borne disease with an emphasis on One Health. She is past-president of the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists, President of the Companion Animal Parasite Council, and a founding director of the National Center for Veterinary Parasitology. She was instrumental in securing recognition for the subspecialty of veterinary parasitology through the AVMA's American Board of Veterinary Specialists. She has received two Excellence in Teaching Awards from the national Student American Veterinary Medical Association.

John W. McCall, MS, PhD

Professor Emeritus, Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia

Dr. McCall was a member of the faculty in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia from 1970 to 2006, retiring as Professor Emeritus of Veterinary Parasitology. For more than three decades, he has been President/Chief Operations Officer of TRS Labs Inc., a contract research laboratory. He is past vice president and editor of the American Heartworm Society and currently serves as associate editor. He was the UGA Director of the National Institutes of Health-funded Filariasis Research Reagent Resource Center from 1973 to 2006 and UGA Director of a Filariasis Drug Screening Laboratory funded by the World Health Organization from 1976 to 1999. He has published more than 250 peer-reviewed research articles, 50 non-refereed research articles, and 11 book chapters, presented more than 300 lectures, and co-written more than 250 scientific papers and abstracts for scientific meetings.  

C. Thomas Nelson, DVM

Past President and Executive Board Member, American Heartworm Society and Owner and Medical Director of Animal Medical Center, Anniston, AL

Dr. Nelson has been in private veterinary practice for nearly four decades, and he has served as an executive board member of the American Heartworm Society (AHS) since 2001. He was elected AHS president in 2004. He is the co-author of the AHS guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis, and management of heartworm infection. He also has served on the board of Companion Animal Parasite Council. Dr. Nelson has written or co-written several papers and contributed to several textbooks on the subject of heartworm disease. He is considered a pioneer for his clinical work in the study of heartworm disease in cats.

Nancy Soares, VMD

2016-2017 President of the American Animal Hospital Association

and Owner and Medical Director of Macungie Animal Hospital, Macungie, PA

Dr. Soares is AAHA's 2016-2017 president. In 2007, Soares established her own practice, Macungie Animal Hospital, where she serves as owner and medical director. Her practice was presented with the AAHA-Accredited Practice of the Year Award in 2013, and has grown to include five full-time veterinarians. Macungie Animal Hospital offers an educational lecture series, youth activities, and shadowing opportunities for those interested in animal medicine. Dr. Soares has been published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association and has served as a lecturer for multiple veterinary conferences.

Robert Wirtz, PhD

Retired Chief of the Entomology Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Dr. Wirtz has spent a distinguished career in researching and developing solutions to mitigate the impact of insect-transmitted diseases, especially by mosquitoes, on the world's population. He served in the military and the Department of Defense, working in various entomology-related positions, for three decades. In 1997, he began an 18-year career at the CDC, where he directed activities to reduce the threat of arthropod-borne diseases to humans, with a focus on malaria, lymphatic filariasis, and Chagas disease. He also supervised work on insecticide resistance, analysis of insecticides and anti-malaria drugs, and evaluation and implementation of long-lasting insecticide treated bed net and indoor residual spray programs. His commitment to vector control spanned the globe and touched many countries and worldwide organizations, including the World Health Organization. His knowledge of vector control transitioned to positions as an adjunct professor at five universities and on several national and international committees and professional societies. Dr. Wirtz is also an accomplished author and co-author, with his work appearing in more than 275 publications, including nine book chapters, on worldwide parasite-related health issues. After retiring from the CDC in 2015, Dr. Wirtz continues to assist at the agency as a volunteer guest researcher and also works as an independent consultant.