Conference Attendance Spotlight

Student: Katherine Koebel

Conference: Annual Conference of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP)

Location & Dates: Minneapolis, Minnesota | August 27-29

Presented: A Research talk, entitled "Antimicrobial use indicators, patterns, and attitudes on 5 New York dairies," described findings from my analysis of nearly 30,000 health records from dairy cattle farms around the state.

Why I Attended: As a dairy vet, AABP is among my favorite conferences, and one that I first attended during veterinary school.  My research focuses on epidemiology and herd health in dairy cattle, with an emphasis on the zoonotic threats of antimicrobial resistance and H5N1. It was a privilege to attend AABP again this year and present a major component of my dissertation.

What I Took Away: My collaborators and I were able to demonstrate that, when it comes to quantifying and comparing antibiotic use on different farms, the choice of metric matters and oftentimes one single number doesn't tell the full stewardship story. The presentation was well-received and I am proud to announce that it won first place in the Graduate Student Competition bracket!

My Research: My research focuses on epidemiology and herd health in dairy cattle, with an emphasis on the zoonotic threats of antimicrobial resistance and H5N1. It was a privilege to attend AABP again this year and present a major component of my dissertation..

The Bigger Question: The complicated relationship between on-farm context and antibiotic use is one that I am continuing to investigate with additional data collection and even simulation-based computer modeling