2008 FHS Election: VOTE NOW!!

The AFS Fish Health Section 2008 Elections have begun.  Voting is open for selecting individuals to serve as Vice President and Secretary/Treasurer, and to serve on the Professional Standards, Technical Standards, and Nominating and Balloting committees. Review the candidate biographical sketches that are listed below and make your selections on the AFS-FHS 2008 ballot.

Please send the completed ballot to Evi Emmenegger via email at eemmenegger@usgs.gov.

Ballots must be received by June 13, 2008.

Alternatively, ballots may be faxed to (206) 526-6654 (ATTN:  Evi), or sent by regular mail to USGS, Western Fisheries Research Center, 6505 NE 65th Street, Seattle, WA 98115.

Any inquiries can be directed to Evi by telephone (206) 526-6282 X276 or email.

Candidate Biographical Sketches

Vice-President:

Diane Elliott            

Diane Elliott is a long-time member of the Fish Health Section of the American Fisheries Society (FHS-AFS). Diane received her Ph.D. degree from the University of Washington (UW) College of Fisheries in 1985, and currently works as a Research Microbiologist for the Western Fisheries Research Center (WFRC), U.S. Geological Survey, in Seattle, Washington. She is also an Affiliate Associate Professor of the UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences and is certified as a Fish Pathologist by the FHS-AFS. Diane supervises the bacteriology and histopathology laboratories at the WFRC, where her major research projects have concerned the detection, pathogenesis and control of salmonid bacterial kidney disease caused by Renibacterium salmoninarum. For the FHS-AFS, Diane has served as chair of the Technical Standards Committee, the Nominating and Balloting Committee, and the Inspection Manual Bacteriology Subcommittee. In addition, she has served on the Blue Book Committee, the Awards Committee, the Inspection Committee, and the International Meeting Program Committee. Diane supports continuing efforts to recruit and retain FHS-AFS members, particularly student members, who will be the future of the Section. She is also interested in developing a closer relationship between the FHS-AFS and the OIE (the World Organization for Animal Health) to work toward international standardization of diagnostic procedures for OIE-listed fish diseases. Diane supports the efforts of the Professional Standards Committee and the Professional Certifications (Ad-Hoc) Committee to update the certification standards and procedures for fish health professionals, to better address current needs for identification and recognition of professional competence and expertise in the fish health field. Finally, she believes that continued improvements in communication with members and dissemination of information to the public are crucial for increasing member involvement in the Section and retaining the prominence of the FHS-AFS in the fish health community.

Michael Mauel

Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center, Stoneville, MS.

Michael received his BS in Biology from California State University, Los Angeles. After teaching middle school science in Los Angeles for 5 years he went to graduate school in the Department of Microbiology at Oregon State University. He completed his PhD, under Drs. Fryer and Rohovec, with an emphasis on bacterial diseases of fish in 1996. Between 1996 and 1999 he organized and was head of the Zoonotic Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory and a Research Associate for the Center for Vector-borne Disease, University of Rhode Island. In 1999 he moved to the University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine where he was head of the bacteriology section for the Veterinary Diagnostic and Investigational Laboratory and an assistant professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology. While at the University of Georgia he continued his research on obligate intracellular pathogens of fish. In 2003 he returned full time to the fish world with a position as an assistant professor and now associate professor with the Delta Research and Extension Center, Aquatic Diagnostic Laboratory and the Department of Pathobiology and Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, Stoneville. Michael’s research program involves the pathobiology, epidemiology and pond ecology of bacterial pathogens of fish such as Edwardsiella ictaluri and Flavobacterium columnare.  He has also continued his research with Piscirickettsia salmonis and the recently identified Francisella sp. causing epizootics in fish. In addition to the Fish Health Section of the AFS, Michael is a member of the American Society of Microbiology, the United States Aquaculture Society, the World Aquaculture Society and the European Association of Fish Pathologists. In the future the transportation and importation of aquatic species is going to come under much greater scrutiny by governmental agencies and Michael considers the Fish Health Section to be one of the major ways fish health professionals can help guide the development of regulations. He feels we need to increase the membership of the FHS and continue to evolve the Fish Pathologist and Fish Inspector certifications to reflect the changing role fish health professions will need to perform as aquaculture comes under closer appraisal.

Secretary-Treasurer: 

Jill Rolland

Jill Rolland is the assistant director for aquaculture, swine, equine and poultry health programs at Veterinary Services’ (VS) National Center for Animal Health Programs in Riverdale, MD.  Jill started her career with USDA VS in 2002 as a staff officer for the aquaculture program.  Jill received her B.S. degree in fisheries with an emphasis on aquaculture from the University of Washington, School of Fisheries in 1993.  Following a summer internship at the Austevoll marine biological station in Norway working on fish culture projects with turbot, cod, wolf eel and halibut, Jill decided to pursue her masters and doctoral degrees in comparative pathology/fish pathology at the University of Bergen.  Her research focused on viral pathogens of fish.  After returning to the U.S., Jill worked at the Western Fisheries Research Center in Seattle conducting fish health research before joining USDA.

Joan Thomas

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA          

Joan Thomas has been a Fish Health Specialist/Virologist for Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) since 1990.  Her position includes a variety of experiences including fish health support to WDFW hatcheries, managing the WDFW's fish health laboratory and providing statewide oversight for many health related issues.  She participated in writing the Co-Managers' Salmonid Disease Control Policy and it's subsequent revisions.  She is responsible for implementing this policy for WDFW activities and related regulations for the private sector.  Prior to this Joan worked as a Microbiologist for Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) from 1983 to 1990.  At ADFG she participated in applied research, primarily on IHNV; performed laboratory testing; provided diagnostic support for both ADFG and private-non-profit hatcheries; and did annual inspections of these facilities.    Joan received a BS in Microbiology from University of Washington and began her career in fish health as a research associate for Tavolek and then BioMed, primarily involved in the development of vaccines for aquaculture.  She is an FHS Certified Fish Health Inspector and USFWS Title 50 Inspector.

Technical Standards Committee:

Sonia Mumford

Olympia Fish Health Center, Olympia WA

Sonia received her BS in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill   and her DVM at N. C. State University.  She completed internships in small animal medicine and surgery at Michigan State University and aquatic animal medicine at the New England Aquarium in Boston, MA.  She worked as collection veterinarian at the New England Aquarium for an additional three years.  She has been employed with the US Fish and Wildlife Service Olympia Fish Health Center as a veterinary medical officer for the last 6 years.  Her duties at the fish health center include diagnostics, inspections, histology, and the National Wild Fish Health Survey.  In addition to the Fish Health section of the AFS, Sonia is a member of the European Association of Fish Pathologists, the International Association of Aquatic Animal Medicine, and the American Veterinary Medical Association.  She would work to continue to maintain the high standards that allow the AFS and its Certified Pathologists and Inspectors to be leaders in aquatic animal health.

Kimberly True

Kimberly True is Assistant Project Leader of the USFWS California-Nevada Fish Health Center in Redding, California.  Ms. True received her Bachelor of Science degree from the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington majoring in biochemistry and salmon ecology.  Kimberly has over 20 years experience as a fish health specialist working in Washington at the Olympia Fish Health Center and currently in California.  Ms. True was editor of the National Wild Fish Health Survey – Laboratory Procedures Manual for over 5 years, and was a contributor and active participant in developing the USFWS-AFS Standard Procedures for Aquatic Animal Health Handbook.  Additionally, she has been committed to Quality Assurance throughout her career and has served on QA/QC committees aimed toward advancing and standardizing techniques for fish health diagnostics.  Ms. True has provided training in QPCR to fish health professionals from various agencies, and has developed and distributed several reference controls to optimize assay performance and promote standardization of molecular techniques. Kimberly has over 15 years experience in applied research with a focus on immunology, physiology and the disease transmission between hatchery and wild fish populations. Currently, she is conducting studies in Klamath River Chinook and Coho populations using molecular techniques to quantitatively assess myxozoan infection and evaluate the long term prognosis for infected juveniles. 

Professional Standards Committee:

Al Camus

Dept. of Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA

Al received his D.V.M. in 1984 from Louisiana State University and Ph.D. in Veterinary Pathology in 2001, also from LSU. Additional training in fish health, pathology, and aquaculture was acquired at the University of Rhode Island from 1988-1991. While completing doctoral studies on Streptococcus iniae infections in tilapia, Al also served as pathologist and diagnostician for the Louisiana Aquatic Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, working closely with both commercial and recreational fish interests. From 2001 to 2006, Al served as Director of the Aquatic Diagnostic Laboratory, Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center in Stoneville, MS, which provides field and laboratory diagnostic services, as well as disease prevention and treatment recommendations for approximately 100,000 acres of commercial catfish production in the Mississippi Delta. Research activities included the study of various aspects of enteric septicemia of catfish, proliferative gill disease, catfish anemia, and visceral toxicosis of catfish. Currently, Al is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Georgia, where he provides diagnostic services to aquatic animal producers and is developing a resident training program in the histopathology of aquatic animal diseases. Al has participated extensively in the Aquamed program, taught through the Gulf States Consortium for Aquatic Pathobiology, and lectures regularly on fish anatomy and physiology, husbandry, and disease. Al’s goal in running for election to the Professional Standards Committee is to uphold the principles of the Fish Health Inspector and Fish Pathologist certifications, while working to adapt the established values of these credentials to the changing demands of the fish health profession.

Nominating and Balloting Committee: (vote for one)

Ben LaFrentz

Ben is a Research Molecular Biologist at the USDA-ARS Aquatic Animal Health Research Unit in Auburn, Alabama.  His research is aimed at investigating host-pathogen interactions and vaccine development for the prevention of catfish and tilapia diseases.  He received a B.S. degree from Iowa State University in Animal Ecology with an emphasis in Aquaculture in 2000.  He then went to the University of Idaho for graduate work where he received a M.S. in Fisheries Resources in 2002 and a Ph.D. in Natural Resources in 2007.  Ben’s graduate research focused on characterizing immune responses of rainbow trout to Flavobacterium psychrophilum and vaccine development.  Ben has been active in the Fish Health Section as the website editor, Chair of the Communications Committee, and participation in the Student Involvement Committee.  He looks forward to the opportunity to remain active in the FHS.

Maureen Purcell

Western Fisheries Research Center

Maureen received her BS degree in Zoology from Washington State University in 1993 and a MS degree in Zoology from the University of Maine in 1997. After graduating with her MS, she conducted research primarily focused on population and quantitative genetics at the Jackson Laboratories (Bar Harbor, ME) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (Seattle, WA). In 2000, she joined the Western Fisheries Research Center (Seattle, WA) studying the innate immune response of rainbow trout and earned a Ph.D. on that subject from the University of Washington in 2005. She is currently employed at the WFRC and her major research projects involve characterizing protective host responses to Renibacterium salmoninarum and infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus. In addition to the fish health section of AFS, Maureen is a member of The International Society of Developmental and Comparative Immunology, The European Association of Fish Pathologists and The American Association for the Advancement of Science.  Maureen is running for election to serve on the Nominating and Balloting Committee of the AFS Fish Health Section and would welcome the opportunity to become more active in the section.

Policy/Position Development Committee:

Kevin Amos

NOAA National Aquatic Animal Health Coordinator

Kevin Amos serves as the Aquatic Animal Health Coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Aquaculture Program. He has served in this capacity for NOAA for the past seven years.  In his work for NOAA he addresses policy issues related to infectious disease management in marine finfish, crustaceans, and bi-valve mollusks.  He is the NOAA technical representative on the Joint Subcommittee on Aquaculture’s Task Force developing the National Aquatic Animal Health Plan in cooperation with the USDA (APHIS) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Prior to his work for NOAA, Mr. Amos directed the aquatic animal health program for the State of Washington, Department of Fish and Wildlife. Kevin has served in many capacities outside NOAA including serving on AFS, Fish Health Section Technical Procedures Committee and acting chair of the new Policy and Procedures Committee, as a consultant to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, and as a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Aquatic Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee.

Scott LaPatra

Dr. LaPatra has worked in the rainbow trout industry for the past 17 years and his work focuses on integrated fish health management.  He is currently the Director of Research and Development at Clear Springs Foods, Inc. in Buhl, Idaho.  Dr. LaPatra received a B.S. degree in biology, and a Ph.D. in microbiology from Oregon State University in 1979 and 1989, respectively.  He is or has been a member of or an officer in over 20 organizations or committees relating to aquaculture or fish health at the local, state, national and international level.  This includes being the past president of the Fish Health Section of the American Fisheries Society (AFS).  He has been a primary author of over 100 manuscripts in refereed publications relating to fish health and 30 book chapters or proceedings, over 200 published abstracts and over 55 manuscripts printed in non-refereed publications.  Dr. LaPatra is also an AFS Certified Fish Pathologist, Fish Health Inspector, and Fisheries Professional and is recognized as a United States Title 50 Inspector and Canadian Fish Health Official.

Denise Petty           

Denise Petty practiced ambulatory equine medicine after graduation from veterinary school. Ten years later, she became obsessed with ornamental fish, so she decided to pursue a career in fish health. She has worked in aquaculture medicine since 1990, first serving as a fish health consultant to an ornamental fish farm. From 1995-2002, she was the staff veterinarian for a large ornamental fish wholesale facility, where she worked with many fish and invertebrate species. She also worked with the Florida Department of Agriculture as an aquaculture specialist at the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Kissimmee. Denise joined the University of Florida in 2004. As an aquaculture extension veterinarian, her responsibilities include extension and research on health related issues for the ornamental fish industry, the sport fish industry, and the cultured hard clam industry.