Our chapter’s annual meeting was held on May 7th at the Ansley Golf Club. The highlight of the day was the presentation from two scientists at the UGA School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Jon Mochel started us off with an overview of Precision One Health and what they do. Currently, they are personalizing treatment for patients at the hospital with several diseases including cancer, Alzheimer’s and liver disease. Dr. Chris Zdyrski detailed exactly how the process works. What is most impressive is that all the research is done in the lab with stem cells they grow in-house. No animals are harmed as they develop the best method of treatment for each patient. With cells taken from a biopsy or sometimes simply from a urine sample, they can grow diseased cells in the lab. They treat these cultured cells with various drugs at different strengths to determine the best treatment plan. Dr. Zdyrski runs the lab and Dr. Mochel aggregates all the data to make it accessible to other doctors. Their research has been posted to the NIH website and is the only veterinary research to be published by NIH.
Everyone was excited by the prospect of such personalized treatment but many questions from the members expressed concern about the future funding of this research. Both Dr. Mochel and Dr. Zdyrski are worried about such cuts in the future but remain optimistic. Elizabeth Guest, Director of Development for the College of Veterinary Medicine, also attended the meeting and brought fun gifts for the group including bandannas and UGA lint rollers - the perfect gift for every pet parent.
After the presentation our members and guests enjoyed a wonderful buffet lunch, and the chapter held a brief business meeting. Angelle Hamilton assured the group that the Atlanta chapter remains in great financial shape. Our conservative investment strategy has proved to be the correct choice as we have not seen the same rate of decline as the market in general. Lee Doyle did double duty assuring the chapter that fund raising remains strong and also delivering the nominating committee report. The members in attendance wholeheartedly supported the new board. Patty Reid reminded everyone to pay their dues and to nominate new members before the end of May. The meeting concluded as Carolynn Cooper passed the gavel to the chapter’s new President, Frances Swennson.
