She's already packed her limit of three suitcases' worth of kids' books. But there's one book Natalie Carter plans to carry in her hand luggage to peruse during this month's flight to Africa: a Swahili-English dictionary. A master's student in population medicine, she figures the volume will be useful for her planned six-week stay in a remote village in eastern Kenya.

During her second trip to the East African country in as many years, she will divide her time between research and development work.

Carter began graduate studies last fall with Prof. Cate Dewey, chair of Population Medicine. Working with smallholder farmers in Kenya, they are formulating pig rations using locally grown foodstuffs. Many farmers raising up to three pigs on less than two hectares of land need help finding cheap, nutritious feed for their livestock.

That work will see Carter visiting farmers – along with an interpreter – to discuss their lives and livelihoods. She'll be based in a village called Kikule. That's the hometown of her Kenyan collaborator, Florence Mutua, who completed a PhD in Population Medicine last year and now teaches at the University of Nairobi. Together, they will also work with women's groups to help develop small businesses.

Carter plans to stay with Mutua's family during the trip, from mid-June to mid-July.

For more, read the profile in At Guelph.

This week the OVC Companion Animal Hospital hosts the next segment in its series of community presentations exploring issues of interest to pet owners.

Join senior student veterinarians as they discuss "The Pros and Cons of a Raw Food Diet" on June 16 at 6 p.m. in the community room at the Hill's Pet Nutrition Primary Healthcare Centre. Olenka Batruch and Allison Grant, members of the Class of 2012, will talk about the origins of raw food diets for pets, the different types of raw food diet and their components, the pros and cons, as well as some alternatives and resources for pet owners.

All are welcome to attend. Please RSVP to ovccah@uoguelph.ca or call 519-840-0100.

University of Guelph veterinary students will gain hands-on experience in treating farm animals in a new state-of-the-art facility opened today at the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC).

Supported by a $2.3-million investment from the Ontario Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), the Large Animal Clinical Skills Building is helping prepare Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) students for careers in rural veterinary practice.

"OMAFRA has made a tremendous investment in protecting the health of our animal agriculture industry and in Ontario's rural communities," said Elizabeth Stone, OVC dean. "Student veterinarians will develop critical experience with farm animals in a safe learning environment."

Carol Mitchell, minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, added: "Our government is proud to support the next generation of veterinarians and animal health experts. This new clinic will contribute to strong, growing livestock and agricultural industries, and support our rural communities."

The 8,300-square-foot facility will provide a bright and flexible space for OVC's large animal learning labs, allowing students and faculty to use modern technology and animal-handling equipment.

Healthy animals will be kept separate from hospitalized patients, ensuring that OVC meets requirements for accreditation by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and the standards of the Canadian Council on Animal Care.

Stone said OMAFRA's investment in the clinical skills building is one of many ways that the ministry supports learning through the Veterinary Clinical Education Program. The program funds student veterinarian externships, post-DVM training and graduate programs in the OVC Health Sciences Centre, and stipends for veterinarians enrolled in the master of public health program, and partially funds some faculty and staff salaries.

"This support from OMAFRA is vital to our ability to provide high-quality veterinary clinical education and for protecting and advancing the health of animals, people and the environment, Stone said.

The Large Animal Clinical Skills Building is located next to Barn 37, U of G's historic dairy barn. A separate renovation project funded by OVC and donations has improved the barnyard and added 19 box stalls for horses. OVC and the Ontario Agricultural College both use this facility, which is the last functioning barn on the U of G campus.

The Ontario Veterinary College made headlines in recent weeks with coverage of a conference the human-animal bond and the latest research on heart medication.

An article in the Guelph Mercury explored the positive health benefits of pet ownership, as discussed by Dr. Marty Becker, keynote speaker at the Come, Sit, Learn: Celebrating the Human and Animal Bond conference, held May May 28 at U of G.

Biomedical sciences professor Tami Martino was featured in national and international media for her research revealing that timing matters when it comes to administering certain heart medication. In a study published May 17 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Martino's team found angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors – commonly given to patients with high blood pressure or after a heart attack or during heart failure – improve heart structure and function when given at sleep time. But during wake time, ACE inhibitors are no more effective than a placebo.

Results of the study were covered in the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and National Post as well as CTV news.

You've probably heard that to get good behaviour from your dog or puppy, you need to establish yourself as the leader. That doesn't mean being forceful and stern, says veterinarian Susan Simmons.

"That's being a tyrant. Good leadership is like being a good parent. You should be fair, consistent, meeting needs and providing safety. That gives you the foundation to teach self-control, manners and deference," she explains.

She'll be sharing ways to improve the behaviour of dogs and cats at the May 28 Come, Sit, Learn event at the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC). Simmons is an OVC graduate who works at the Heartland Pet Hospital in Mississauga, Ont. Her talk, "It's Not the Impossible Dream: The Well-Behaved Pet," will focus on understanding the body language and needs of our companion animals, and how to make the relationship more positive.

She's one of three speakers presenting in the morning and will be followed in the afternoon by well-known veterinarian Marty Becker, who appears regularly on Good Morning America and The Dr. Oz Show, as well as a series of shorter sessions.

Simmons says that animal behaviour has always been her passion. "I think that by helping people understand their animals, so that the animals thrive and are well-behaved, the animal-human bond is strengthened and people are more committed to providing good care." For more, read the article in At Guelph.

A University of Guelph professor has been named as the new Egg Farmers of Canada (EFC) Chair in Poultry Welfare.

Tina Widowski, a professor in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science and director of the Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare, is the recipient of the research chair supported by a gift from the EFC worth $110,000 a year for seven years. In her new role, Widowski will collaborate with researchers on laying hen welfare and egg production, including enriched and aviary systems.

For more, see the news release on the Ontario Agricultural College website. The story is also featured in the Globe and Mail.

When doctors give heart drugs to patients, the time of day can make a big difference, according to new research by University of Guelph scientists.

Many doctors prefer to give heart drugs to patients in the morning. But the study revealed that angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors -- commonly given to patients with high blood pressure or after a heart attack or during heart failure -- improve heart structure and function when given at sleep time. When given during wake time, ACE inhibitors are no more effective than a placebo, the study found.

The research was conducted on mice with high blood pressure.

Department of Biomedical Sciences Prof. Tami Martino and Prof. Jeremy Simpson, Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, conducted the study with Nazneen Tata in the laboratory of Dr. Michael Sole at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre and the Heart and Stroke Richard Lewar Centre of Excellence in Toronto.

The study will appear May 17 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

For more, read the U of G news release.

Police arrested a would-be bicycle thief Wednesday morning thanks to a pair of quick thinking OVC faculty members.

It's believed the man may have cut the locks off at least three bikes this morning. Anyone whose bicycle is missing from the racks around OVC, or whose bike lock may have been tampered with, is asked to contact U of G Campus Community Police at Ext 52245.

The incident began around 9:40 a.m. as Pathobiology Prof. Andrew Peregrine walked across the courtyard between the Lifetime Learning Centre and the Pathobiology / AHL building. There he spotted a man who appeared to be trying to cut the lock off a bike in full view of several bystanders.

Wary but not convinced anything was amiss, Peregrine continued to his office in the Pathobiology building. Once inside, he went to see Prof. Dorothee Bienzle, whose third-floor office overlooks the courtyard. He pointed out the man below and asked if she thought he looked suspicious.

"Yes, because he's stealing my bike," a surprised Bienzle told him.

The pair hurried outside where they found the man still trying to cut the lock. When confronted, the man initially claimed the bike belonged to him. When Bienzle replied that the bike was in fact hers, he left, first heading toward the main OVC building and then across the lawn to Gordon Street.

As Bienzle talked to police on her cellphone, she and Peregrine followed the man south along Gordon Street, behind the Food Science building and back toward the Central Animal Facility on McGilvray Street. That's when police arrived and arrested the suspect as he tried to ride away on another bike.

The man has been charged with several offences including theft, possession of stolen property, breach of probation, and possession of burglary tools, said a campus police spokesperson.

An OVC professor was among several members of the University community who were honoured May 5 at the 2011 YMCA-YWCA of Guelph's Women of Distinction Awards.

Dr. Pat Shewen, a professor in the Department of Pathobiology, was recognized for lifetime achievement in the Science, Technology and Research category.

University of Guelph students, faculty and alumni made up more than half of the 29 nominees for the awards. Winners were announced at the River Run Centre during a gala fundraiser for the Teenage Parents Program.

An OVC graduate, Shewen joined the faculty in 1982. She became assistant dean of research in 1995 and served as founding chair of the new Department of Pathobiology from 1997 to 2002. Along with professor emeritus Bruce Wilkie, she helped develop an effective vaccine for bovine pneumonic pasteurellosis. The disease, also known as shipping fever, is a major cause of sickness, death and economic losses in the cattle industry.

For more on the Women of Distinction awards, see the U of G news release.

"Lock up your bike? Lock up your brain." That's the message of a grad student's guerrilla-marketing campaign about bike helmet safety that caught the eye of population medicine professor Karen Morrison this spring.

"I wanted to promote helmet use among young people," says Sarah Wilmer, who developed the campaign for a communication and leadership course taught by Morrison this past semester in the master of public health program.

For more, see the story in At Guelph.