I.S.D.V.M.A. BERGAMO SYMPOSIUM
SPEAKERS
The speakers at the ISDVMA 2013 European Symposium will be:
DELPHINE CLERO (F) SIGRID EKRAN (N) DOMINIQUE GRANDJEAN (F) RICHARD LONG (CDN)
SERGIO MAFFI (I) JAIME MARTINEZ (E) MONICA PACHECO (E)
LAURA RAVASCHIO (I) JERRY VANEK (USA) INGRID WIIK HAUGBJØRG (N)
Here are their short Curriculum Vitae:
Delphine Clero, DVM, MSc,
is a veterinarian at the K9 Breeding and Sports Medicine Unit at the Alfort National School of Veterinary Medicine in Paris, France. She also is pursuing a PhD in working dog nutrition management under Dominique Grandjean, where she is investigating the relationships among stamina, oxidative stress, inflammation, and performance.
Dr. Clero is a captain and veterinarian with the Paris Fire Brigade, where she specializes in search and rescue dogs as well as serving as Technical Cynotechnic Advisor. Along with her collegues, she is working to improve the efficiency of search and rescue teams through the prevention of stamina-related pathologies such as dehydration.
Dr. Clero has practiced canine sports medicine since 2008 and La Grande Odyssee since 2010. Since two year, she is the Chief Veterinarian for La Grande Odyssee.
Dominique Grandjean, DVM, PhD, HDR, is a Professor at the national veterinary school of Alfort (France), where he works as head of the canine breeding and sport medicine unit. As a faculty in Alfort he has been focussing most of his work on dog’s nutrition and working dogs’s performance for the last 25 years, with a special attention to oxidative stress prevention and consequences. He is also a colonel veterinarian for the Paris Fire Brigade in charge, among other tasks, of the canine search and rescue teams. Dominique is also national and regional technical advisor of the civilian security for cynotechnics and biological hazards.
As a researcher his works are focussed on the consequences of stress and hostile environnements (warm, cold, altitude) in the working dog, with a deep involvement in sled dog long distance races since 1980, and in search and rescue dogs since 1990. His unit (Unite de Medecine de l’Elevage et du Sport –UMES-) also includes a physiotherapy service and a dedicated sub-unit for canine collectivities veterinay problems. Dominique already published more than 100 scientific papers on working dog physiology, nutrition and medicine, and a total of 29 books all related to this area.
He is a board member for the International Working Dog Breeding Association and a founding member of the International Sled Dog Veterinary Medical Association.
He is the actual Race Director for “la Grande Odyssée” sled dog race, has been an Iditarod veterinarian from 1985 to 1955, as well as chief vet for the late Scandream, Nenana Come Back, Alpirod and numerous European and world championships.
He and his team have been training handlers and veterinarians of Canine Police and Civilian Security Units in a lot of countries, including Canada, Argentina, Chile, UAE, Romania, Mexico, Brasil, Russia, Spain, Tunisia, Poland, Vietnam, China, etc…
Sergio Maffi, DVM, graduated at Milan University in 1987. He is the director and owner since 1988 of a 24/7 small animal clinic, being responsible for a team of 6 other vets. His clinical interests are mainly oriented to general surgery and image diagnostics, with a deep passion for sporting dogs medicine. He has been vet many times to various long distance races in Europe (Femundløpet 2010, 2011 - valid as IFSS long distance WCh - and 2012; Finnmarksløpet 2012 and 2013; Amundsenrace 2013, Alpentrail 2009) and in North America (Yukon Quest 2013, Race to the Sky 2009, Hudson Bay Quest 2011). He is head vet , since 2010, for Polardistans, held in Sarna, Sweden (the “Longest race in the world reserved to pure Nordic Breeds dogs”) and attended as chief vet also to some Italian, European and South-African sprint and dryland Championships. He is a Doping Control Officer for the International Federation of Sleddog Sport and Vice-President of the Italian Mushers Association, the oldest sleddog club in Italy.
He has been speaker at "Femundlopet 2012 Veterinary pre-race Seminar", presenting lectures about "Emergency treatments on the trail" and "WADA / IFSS and doping: test and control for sleddog races".
He has also been Official Vet at FCI "Search and Rescue World Team Championships", held in Italy in 2010 and published some scientific paper about various different subjects, such as "Prevalence of Heartworm disease in dogs living in a fluvial area in Northern Italy", "Perception of post-operative animal pain among Italian Veterinarians" and "Prevalence of intestinal parasites in dogs and cats living in two Italian Provinces and perception of zoonotic risks among their owners".
When not working in his clinic or on the sleddog trails, he loves cooking, downhill skiing, climbing, playing rugby and reading about History and Archeology. During the last seven years he has spent his vacations as volunteer in some "catch - spay / neuter - vaccine - release / foster " campaigns for stray dogs in South Africa, India, Romania and Spain.
Monica Pacheco, DVM, graduated from the Madrid Complutense University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1997 and now practices small animal medicine in her own clinic in Madrid, Spain. Dr. Pacheco is an active ISDVMA member and she has been the editor of the ISDVMA biennial meeting proceedings books for 2008, ’10, and ‘12. She has been a member of the Pirena sled dog race veterinary team since 2005, and she has been a trail veterinarian on the Yukon Quest and Finnmarksløpet, as well. Dr. Pacheco also serves as the veterinary advisor for the Mushing Committee of the Royal Spanish Winter Federation and most recently was the Spanish Team Leader for the 2011 IFSS World Championship Dryland sled dog races in Borken, Germany.
Jerry Vanek, MS, DVM, CCRT, has served as a Chief or Trail veterinarian on nearly 100 races and expeditions on four continents over three decades, including multiple times on the Iditarod, Quest, Beargrease, UP/Midnight Run, Empire, and numerous other North-American marathon, sprint, and dryland races, as well as IFSS World Sprint and Distance Championships, the South African National Championships, Norway’s Femundløpet and Finnmarksløpet, and Sweden’s Amundsen and PolarDistans races.
In 1993, Dr. Vanek was the veterinarian on the Mount Vaughan Antarctic Expedition and, in 2007, 2009, and 2011, a veterinarian on the 1925 Diphtheria Serum Run reenactment across 1000 km of Alaskan wilderness from Nenana to Nome. A musher since his teens and former sprint race competitor, he still drives dogs whenever he can. He is an honorary life member of the North Star Sled Dog Club; a recipient of both the Maeb Bayers’ Lifetime Achievement in Mushing award and the White Oak Classic Musher Tribute award; and past President, Life Member, and charter Board Member of the International Sled Dog Veterinary Medical Association.
Over the past twenty years, Dr. Vanek has presented over 160 lectures and publications on sled dogs and sled dog medicine to veterinarians and technicians, mushers, school children,
and the public. He is the co-inventor of the Ultimate Wrist Wrap, still the most commonly applied carpal support in mushing today, and he is a certified canine rehabilitation therapist (CCRT) with his veterinary practice focused on sled dogs and canine sports medicine.
Dr. Vanek divides his time among his grandfather’s 1881 farm in Minnesota’s northern Red River Valley, his retreat with Jill on the shores of Gitchi Gami in Grand Marais, Minnesota, and his travels around the globe working and teaching in the service of the most incredible of all animal athletes - the sled dog.
Sigrid Ekran, MSc,
is one of the most winning and famous dog mushers on the sleddog scene of the last years.
She went to Alaska in 2003, without any other plan then going there for a one-month canoe trip and ended up living there for 5 years, achieving her Master Degree in Northern Studies from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and becoming one of the few dog mushers who have run the longest long-distance sleddog races in the world.
During her fast and astonishing career she has raced:
+ Iditarod in 2007 ("Rookie of the year" and 20th place), 2008, 2012 (11th place)
+ Finnmarkslopet in 2009 (8th place), 2010 (6th place), 2011 (2nd place), 2013 (5th place);
+ Femundlopet in 2009 (3th place), 2010 (1st place), 2011 (1st place and "IFSS long distance World Champion"), 2013 (4th place)
+ La Grand Odyssee in 2009 (3rd place)
+ Kobuk 440 in 2012 (3rd place)
+ Many smaller races both in Norway and Alaska.
To prove her attention to the welfare of her own dogs, stand the awards for "Best Dog Care" she received at Femundlopet (2011), Finnmarkslopet (2011 and 2013) and Kobuk 440 (2012).
When not training and mushing, she loves hunting, fishing and being outdoors.
Richard Long, DVM, has been an ISDVMA member since the organization’s inception in 1991. He served as the Facilities Chair for our 1996 meeting and conference in Edmonton, Alberta, and for many years since, as our Vice President. In this expansive role, he manages the "ISDVMA@isdvma.org" mailbox, organizes global teleconferences for ISDVMA board meetings (a lot like herding cats), and moderates the ISDVMA symposia, where he introduces the conference speakers. In 1986, Dr. Long was a trail veterinarian on the Yukon Quest for the first time, followed by eight more Quests, including three times as Head Veterinarian. In addition, he has served multiple times as a race veterinarian on the John Beargrease, Rocky Mountain Stage Stop, Iditarod, Race to the Sky, Pirena, Finnmarksløpet, The Wartrail 150 in South Africa and the Hunter Valley Classic in Australia and many smaller races in Northern Canada. Dr. Long’s seminal paper describing sled dog injuries as published in The Compendium on Continuing Education (1993) remains the foundation for much of today’s sled dog injury research. For the past four years, Dr. Long also has hosted an open-line radio program and he authors a syndicated newspaper pet column. In addition to seeking the peace and quiet of exotic sled dog race checkpoints as an escape from the rigors of practicing veterinary medicine, he also pursues such sports as mountain biking, snowboarding, running races, and hitting the gym.
Jaime Martínez, DVM, has been a small animal veterinary clinic owner in Barcelona, Spain, for 25 years. He entered the mushing world at the Pirena sleddog race 15 years ago, and now is their Chief Veterinarian. Dr. Martinez also served on the veterinary teams for the Iditarod, Yukon Quest, Finnmarksløpet, and Race to the Sky several times. In 2008, he organized the ISDVMA’s 9th Biennial Symposium in Barcelona and he has been an ISDVMA Board Member for the past three years.
Laura Ravaschio, DVM,
graduated in Milan in 1987 after a stage in Lincoln College (NZ) where she wrote her thesis about sheep. She works parttime in her tiny Small Animal clinic in the suburbs of Rome, but she often escapes to travel and possibly work as a volunteer, vasectomizing vervet monkeys in SouthAfrica, migrating reindeer in Lapland, watching gorillas in Rwanda or transhuming horses in Southern France ... She could not miss sleddogs and joined Transitalia, Pirena, Race to the Sky and Finnmarksløpet. Laura is a member of ISDVMA and Doping Control Officer for IFSS.
Ingrid Wiik Haugbjørg, DVM, CAC, studied at the Norwegian Veterinary University and has practiced veterinary medicine for 20 years as a private practitioner in Rendalen (near Søvollen checkpoint of Femundløpet). In 2009 she qualified as an animal chiropractor. Ingrid has been a trail veterinarian for 20 years and has worked for Femundløpet, Finnmarksløpet, was head veterinarian for 3 years at the Amundsen Race and Pasvik Trail. In addition, she has also worked at several National and European Championships. In 2005 she volunteered as a vet at the Iditarod and received the Golden Stethoscope Award. Ingrid is also member of the ISDVMA. Ingrid is passionate about sleddogs and has mushed for 25 years. Since 1992 Ingrid has participated at each Femundløpet either as a handler, a veterinarian or as a musher. In 2008 Ingrid decided to give up her mushing career and now concentrates her efforts to the sport with her veterinarian skills. She is chief veterinarian for the Femundløpet.