The Association of Primate Veterinarians recognize that as an organization, we do not adequately represent the current demographics of society. However, moving forward, we are committed to prioritizing efforts to understand inclusivity with the mission of creating more diversity within our professional community and a culture of antiracism in medicine and science.

Recognizing the negative impact of conscious and unconscious bias on diversity provides us the opportunity to generate divergent ideas necessary to address complex challenges such as racism, sexism, violence, discrimination, systemic injustice, and inequity.  The collective sum of the individual differences in race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or physical ability and the range of invisible differences and similarities in life experiences, knowledge, innovation, self-expression, and talent that a diverse membership provides, is invaluable and critical to the growth and long-term success of not only the organization but also for society as a whole.  In turn, as we become better people we provide better medical care to our animals.

To foster a diverse, equitable and inclusive community, we understand it will require an intentional and sustained effort with accountability. To this effect, we have decided to take action on identifying ways that we can broaden the diversity of both our membership and leadership (BOD and committee chairs). As a few first steps:

The BOD has formed a Diversity and Inclusion committee tasked with evaluating the “current state” of the organization’s diversity and inclusivity metrics and identifying and prioritizing areas for improvement.

• The Diversity and Inclusion committee in collaboration with the annual workshop committee will include relevant opportunities of topics and speakers for the education of our members regarding the value of diversity and inclusion and how to promote them along with navigating unconscious bias.
• The Diversity and Inclusion committee will create a guidance document outlining metrics to support actively diversifying the organizational leadership to create inclusive representation on the BOD and committee membership selections.
• The BOD will include Diversity and Inclusion aims as a core priority within the next review of the strategic plan.

Leaders, Please Apply!

Are you interested in serving APV? Now is your chance! The APV officer positions available for the 2022 elections are:

Vice President

This position requires a four year (2023-2026) commitment to serve through Past President and requires provision of leadership and vision for APV, attendance at workshops, planning and attending BOD meetings at workshops, planning and participation in monthly and other teleconferences, planning of the 2024 workshop, and active service on standing committees, as required. The Vice President will be a voting member of the Board of Directors.

This position requires a two-year (2023-2024) commitment, and requires attendance at BOD meetings at the workshop, participation in bimonthly teleconferences, and active service on standing committees, as assigned. Each trustee will be a voting member of the Board of Directors.

Secretary

This position requires a two-year (2023-2024) commitment. This individual will have responsibility for taking minutes at all Board of Directors meetings (virtual and in-person) and maintaining minutes for historical purposes. The Secretary contributes to discussion of Board of Director matters and introduces new topics for consideration to the Board of Directors.

All applications are due April 1st. Nominees will be announced May 1st and electronic elections will take place in June. The Candidate application form is available here. For questions you can contact Joyce Cohen, APV Nominations Chair.

American Society of Primatologists (ASP) Conference

It is not too late to plan to attend the in-person ASP conference in Oklahoma City, November 17 – 20, 2021! There will be 7.75 RACE credits available through sessions on physiology and neuroscience, managing macaque social groups, reproduction, colony management and health.

Highlighted, one-hour talks will be:

 “The Impact of Behavioral Management on the Primate Experience, their Caregivers, and Successful Clinical Translation” by Melanie Graham

“A One Health Approach to Understanding and Mitigating Pathogenic Threats to Wild Primates” by Tom Gillespie

“The Medicine of Life: Social Life and Survival in Wild Primates” by Distinguished Primatologist Award winner Susan Alberts  

“Proyecto Tití:  Successful Efforts to Conserve Cotton-top Tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) in Colombia” by Anne Savage

Go here for more information https://asp.org/asp-meetings/asp-oklahoma-city-meeting-2021/

APV offers three types of travel grants: post-doc/resident, student, and for a member of the European Primate Veterinarians. Each type of grant has different submission criteria. See below for instructions and the scoring rubrics. Submission for all grants will reopen once a new date for the workshop is set.

Post-Doc/Resident Travel Grants
Submission instructions
Scoring rubric
Submission form

Student Travel Grants
Submission instructions
Scoring rubric
Submission form

EPV Member Travel Grant
Submission instructions
Scoring rubric
Submission form

Case Report Submission

APV invites submission of posters and clinical cases for presentation in either the case report or “What’s Your Diagnosis” format. These presentations of cases and clinical experiences are the backbone of the APV Workshop. We are looking for interesting and relevant clinical cases, research applications, new models, behavioral management strategies, and nonhuman primate psychological enrichment or welfare information. Submission will reopen once a new date for the workshop is set.

Submission instructions
Submission form

Congratulations to the following individuals who will be serving in APV leadership in the coming years.

Vice President:
Diana Scorpio
Texas Biomedical Research Institution
1 (443) 418-7261

Secretary: 
Melissa Berg
Wisconsin National Primate Research Center
1 (608) 400-5616

Trustees:
Anna Goodroe
Texas Biomedical Research Institute
1 (713) 743-9199

Greg Timmel
Oregon National Primate Center
1 (503) 346-5311

The APV Election will open June 1. Be sure to review the candidates so you can make an informed decision on who should lead APV. Elections will be held electronically, Specific instructions will be sent to members prior to the opening of the electronic election process. Candidate bio-sketches may be reviewed by clicking on the names below.

Vice President

This position requires a four year (2021-2024) commitment to serve through Past President and requires provision of leadership and vision for APV, attendance at workshops, planning and attending BOD meetings at workshops, planning and participation in monthly and other teleconferences, planning of the 2022 workshop, and active service on standing committees, as required. The Vice President will be a voting member of the Board of Directors.

Diana Scorpio

Trustees (two positions available)

This position requires a two-year (2021-2022) commitment, and requires attendance at BOD meetings at the workshop, participation in bimonthly teleconferences, and active service on standing committees, as assigned. Each trustee will be a voting member of the Board of Directors.

Jaco Bakker
Kate Breyer
Anna Goodroe
Andrew Gorman
Stacy Seelye
Gregory Timmel

Secretary

This position requires a minimum of a two-year (2021-2022) commitment, and requires attendance at BOD meetings at workshops, planning and participation in bimonthly teleconferences, active service on standing committees. The Secretary will record and maintain permanent records of all BOD meetings/teleconferences along with the membership business meetings. The Secretary will maintain permanent records of the Organization, conduct official correspondence of the Organization, and introduce matters for consideration to the Board of Directors. The Secretary will be a voting member of the Board of Directors.

Melissa Berg
Melissa de la Garza
Lorna Millen
Diane Stockinger

The following joint statement is the result of a collaboration between several research advocacy organizations – including Speaking of Research – along with individual biomedical researchers, animal care experts, and university communicators. Research organizations are invited to share this statement by posting it on their own websites or linking to this webpage. We also encourage the research community to share this statement widely with colleagues and the general public via social media.

Click here for full statement.

The European Animal Research Association (EARA) has produced a global interactive map based on World Heath Organization (WHO) data and EARA sources, displaying the efforts currently underway across the world to find a treatment for COVID-19, that involves the use of research animals.

The page, located here, provides a one-stop shop for the media and the public to understand the global collaborative efforts under way to combat the pandemic.

The page is being updated daily as more researchers contact EARA with information and as more research becomes known.

APV has launched an all membership community. It will be a place to engage with other APV members, share information, and learn from your peers – an excellent tool for member engagement.

You will automatically be added to the APV Community. To view the APV Community, members will need to login to the AALAS Community Exchange (ACE): community.aalas.org. Your login information for the community site will be the same as your login for the APV website. If you need assistance logging into the site, please contact info@primatevets.org or 901-754-8620.

Upon logging into the community site for the first time, you will be prompted to accept the Community Rules & Etiquette and Privacy Guidelines. AALAS is the host for branch and affiliate communities, which may have additional rules or guidelines. All community participants must follow the general community rules established by AALAS.

You will be able to send a message to the APV Community directly from your email. The email address for the APV Community is aalas-apv@connectedcommunity.org. You have the option of logging into the community site to post and review discussions or sending your message from your email – no login required! In addition to the discussion forum, the APV Community will include a resource library for uploading and downloading files.  Now you can share helpful documents with community colleagues. There will also be a directory of community participants. This feature will enhance direct communication and networking with fellow members.

If you have any technical issues using the community site, please contact the community administrator at community-admin@aalas.org. 

The 2020 APV Ultrasound Workshop will focus on abdominal imaging in primates. Didactic lectures and labs will be provided by multiple veterinary specialists in the field. The workshop will also provide unique opportunities for hands on experience with abdominal ultrasound examination in small group sessions involving live animal wet labs and dry labs. Registration will be capped at 32 participants in order to provide as much individual learning opportunity as possible. Additional details on the program and registration will be available this fall. Mark your calendars and join us as we explore the field of abdominal ultrasonography!

Location: University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, Bastrop, TX
Date: March 25-27, 2020
Program Details: available Fall of 2019
Registration: opens November 2019

For questions, please contact Anna Goodroe.

For more information, click here.