I represented A&M along with two of my classmates and we began our trip with the pre tour where we were able to see some of Beijing’s major historical sites. Over the course of 4 days, I visited the Lama Temple, Tiananmen Square, the Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Forbidden City, and the Great Wall. On the 4th day, we had free time to go about the city to explore anything we desired. My classmates and I were able to meet up with a vet student from China who took us to enjoy a different kind of Chinese cuisine called hot pot, and to visit Beihai Park. We also looked around the shop streets, and the grounds and parks where the Olympics were held, all while becoming quite proficient in using the public transportation system. One of the most interesting aspects of the tours was interacting with the people and trying the local cuisine.

After the tours, we moved to a different hotel where our course was being hosted. We began each day with a breakfast of traditional foods before beginning lecture or lab activities. The first day of class was all lectures discussing fundamental points such as the five element theory and Zang-fu physiology. We practiced self-needling so that we could learn the correct way to place needles and then talked about techniques such as dry, aqua, moxa, and electro acupuncture. The next day, the class was split into working groups that each had an instructor to help teach us over a hundred of the most commonly used acupuncture points. Each group had a greyhound to palpate and locate points for practice. Subsequent lectures on the concluding days focused on how to make a diagnosis based on traditional Chinese medicine and how to treat common syndromes and diseases using acupuncture.

Upon conclusion of the course, we flew to Hong Kong for three days to further immerse ourselves in the new culture and to take the opportunity to take advantage of a connection made in a study abroad trip from the prior summer. Last year, I was in South Africa for a conservation medicine course with Wildlife Vets and met a veterinarian that worked at Ocean Park in Hong Kong. We asked to shadow the veterinary staff at the park while we were in town and were given visitor passes so that we could follow them as they went about their schedule for the day. I had the privilege to observe blood draws and ultrasounds on dolphins, and health checks on sloths and sturgeons. My fellow classmates and I also explored local cuisine, The Peak on Hong Kong Island, took the Star Ferry to Kowloon, and walked through Hong Kong Park. My favorite thing we did in Hong Kong was to go to the horseraces at Happy Valley racecourse.

Upon completion of this trip I have finished two of five parts required for certification and I fully intend to complete all remaining parts in the future in hopes that having another treatment option will help make me a better, more well-rounded doctor. I never thought I would find myself in China, but I am glad I took this opportunity to visit another part of the world to see a new culture and way of life. I have succeeded in gained knowledge of both a worldly and veterinary nature while making new friends and meeting colleagues from around the world.

In May of 2017, 2 classmates and I journeyed to Beijing, China, to attend a course offered on veterinary acupuncture and traditional Chinese veterinary medicine. This course was not part of the curriculum at the  Texas A&M University CVMBS, but instead was a pursuit that was taken up of our own volition and prerogative during an intersemester break. We each procured our own funding for the trip, and were each approved to receive a travel stipend offered by the International Program Advisory Committee. The excursion consisted of a four-day theoretical and practical course in veterinary acupuncture, preceded by an optional four-day guided tour of different cultural sites around the city.

The tour group included approximately 20 participants – a mixture of veterinary students, veterinary practitioners, and their loved ones. The day that we arrived, all students met in the evening to eat and check into the hotel, however, the three of us from TAMU did not arrive until after the rest of the students ate. As a result, we were taken separately to a restaurant where several dishes were ordered for us. Our host left us there with some very diverse and unusual food, and wait staff that spoke no english. We were exhausted, but hungry, so we ate a lot of what was provided. We then returned to the hotel to retire.

During the tour, we visited the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven on the first day, the Great Wall and the Lama Temple on the second day, and the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square on the third. We also went to several prominent and iconic markets as well. It was fantastic finding ourselves in the shadows of these iconic locales and monuments that we’ve only seen in tour guides or on documentaries. The scale of these attractions were staggering, both in size and the energy that must have gone into their construction.

On a fourth day, we were given reign to explore the city freely. The class split into several groups, each of which built their own itinerary. Our group went to a couple of markets, met with a Beijing veterinary student for lunch, then took a tour of BeiHai park.

After the free day, we all transferred to a different hotel, where the course was to be held. There we were able to meet up with the balance of our class, who had all arrived that day. The following day, we began lectures. The first day consisted primarily of conceptual lecture, accompanied by a short exercise wherein each student was challenged to find a number of acupoints on themselves. Proper needling techniques were taught and practiced, then we broke for the day.

The second day consisted entirely of practical exercise. The class was split into groups of 5 students, and each group was paired with an instructor and a live dog. The day was spent palpating landmarks, identifying meridians, and learning acupoints on the dogs.

The third day was split into morning lectures, covering more conceptual topics, and an afternoon practical session. During the practical session, more points were discusses, as well as usage of techniques such as aquapuncture and electroacupuncture.

The fourth day of class was only morning lectures, and focused on practical integration and instruction on how to begin using traditional Chinese medicine in contemporary practices. The afternoon was given to us as an opportunity to again explore our surroundings. Our group chose to visit a local market, then explore the Olympic Park before returning for a farewell dinner in the evening.

One of the only two landlocked, South American countries, Paraguay is often overlooked in terms of tourism and research, which is perhaps why the Chacoan peccary (Catagonus wagneri) has unfortunately become critically endangered.  But spending two weeks working with the enthusiastic and determined staff of the Centro Chaqueño para Conservación e Investigación (CCCI) in Fortin-Toledo, along with a team of curators and veterinarians from the United States, made me believe in the potential to save a species on the brink of extinction.

The CCCI is a small reserve located in the Gran Chaco region of Paraguay, a region that spans the majority of the western “Region Occidental”.  It began under the name “Proyecto Taguá” (the Taguá Project, Taguá being the local name for the Chacoan peccary) in 1985 as a research project and captive breeding program for the species.  It has since grown to incorporate many projects that examine the biodiversity present in the region, though the Taguá remains its top priority.

Currently, the CCCI has a population of 97 animals in captivity, and our goal for our two weeks at the center was to gather health parameters on as many animals as possible.  For each immobilized animal we would note the weight, length from snout to tail, and collect hair and blood samples (for DNA analysis.  We would also use this time to insert a microchip and ear tag, and trim the hooves (if necessary).  It was a male, we would also proceed with an electroejaculation protocol in order to collect semen to perform semen analysis (which has yet to be done in this species), as well as attempt cryopreservation.

Dr. Juan Campos, the director of the CCCI, would also note the age and general size and health of the animal, making note of candidates for export to U.S. zoos, an important part of maintaining genetic diversity in reserve populations.

Once all the samples were collected and the health assessment was complete, we would administer the reversal and put the animal into a crate to recover before returning them to the pen.

The days proved to be long and hot (even though it was Paraguayan winter!), and we ended each day exhausted, but satisfied, often partaking in constructive and enthusiastic debates about the future of animal conservation.

In total our group of nine managed to complete 60 peccary health assessments over the course of 11 working days, generating data that will hopefully be a step towards saving the Chacoan peccary from extinction.

T. cruzi demonstrates extreme biological plasticity. It can infect a wide range of mammalian hosts and is genetically diverse being characterized by seven genotypes. In the US, we find two strain types, while in Brazil they have all seven.  The goal of this project was to explore the genetic diversity of T. cruzi in wildlife along the urban-sylvatic interface. While ample research has been devoted to transmission and control of T. cruzi in a domestic or peridomestic environment, many questions remain regarding T. cruzi ecology and transmission along the sylvatic-urban environments. To better understand the sylvatic cycle we sampled wildlife in peridomestic environments and propagated T. cruzi from host blood in pure culture to ascertain the genetic strain type.  T. cruzi plasticity within the sylvatic transmission cycle threatens progress towards Chagas disease elimination as spillover from wildlife reservoirs and oral transmission can limit the effectiveness of conventional vector control methods.  Our research aimed to provide an ecological basis for disease transmission, which is a necessary prerequisite for developing effective intervention strategies.

For the first three weeks of my project I worked in the city Campo Grande, which is a biologically diverse area with a wide diversity of wildlife species.  Here we set up traps in city parks and along urban-sylvatic interfaces. Small mammals were captured by setting up linear transacts with defined capture points using baited Sherman and Tomahawk live traps. Trapped animals were either euthanized for blood sample collection by cardiac puncture for parasitological and serological analyses, or the animal was anesthetized and skin and blood samples were taken. We mostly caught opossums and some small rodents, opossums are a known reservoir for T. cruzi in Brazil.   We did also sample a marmoset to see if it was T. cruzi positive (it was not).  Additionally, we set up mist nets in the evening to capture bats. Two bats of each species were euthanized for blood and tissue collection, all other bats were tagged and released.

For my remaining time in Brazil, I analyzed the samples at FioCruz in Rio de Janeiro. FioCruz is a well-known public health organization that is at the forefront of Chagas disease research.  I worked under the guidance of Dr. Jansen, the head of the trypanosomatids biology laboratory.   Here I examined and tested the samples collected in the field.  To test for the T. cruzi parasite, fresh blood samples were examined to visualize flagellates and hemoculture was performed. Hemoculture will be performed by inoculating blood into tubes with media and visually examined weekly for three (for seronegative animals) to six weeks (for seropositive animals).  Samples were also tested by Indirect Immunofluorescent Antibody Test (IFAT) and ELISA to detect anti-T. cruzi IgG antibodies.   While not directly a part of my research there, I got to see their kissing bug colony, which as established over 50 years ago from kissing bugs throughout South and North America.  We established a kissing bug colony at TAMU two years ago, but it was wonderful to see the diversity of species that they had at FioCruz and to see how they housed and cared for their bugs-all information that will be informative for our TAMU colony.

Working in the Chagas disease system in an endemic environment was both enlightening and rewarding (finding a T.cruzi positive animal is more common in Brazil than in our Texas environment). It was also wonderful to work on part of a project that is a part of such a large and established research facility.  Chagas research is relatively new in the US, where our first human case was documented in 1950s and the first canine case the 1970s, whereas Carolos Chagas, a Brazilian physician at FioCruz, first discovered Chagas disease in 1909.  Therefor it was educational and inspirational to be in this environment.

My main goal as a part of the WCS project was to gain insight on the overall cashmere goat health in the Ömnögovi province in southern Mongolia. This assignment allowed me to design my own methods for obtaining data in the field. I talked to various veterinary and research professionals about the ways to design a study and what would be the most efficient ways to collect the data. I finally decided on a set of physical exam protocols, and a questionnaire for each nomadic herder family. I was then paired up with a local veterinarian, a recent veterinary graduate with some English skill, and a driver. I knew there would be a language barrier, but as I began the data collection I found that I had so much more to learn.

Once in the field, a typical day was started with each family in their home, that some would call a Yurt, or Ger. The family always hospitable and kind, always giving us milk tea and cookies before any real conversation had begun. My recent veterinary graduate would ask the questionnaire as we shared our tea. The questionnaires included queries on whether farmers dewormed their goats, how much money they spent on them, and what health issues they observed in the herd. We would then all ride out together (us in our van, and the locals on their motorcycles) to the location of the herd. I then measured body condition score (BCS), recorded gender and age, used FAMACHA cards to score anemia, documented ectoparasites, and took fecal samples to analyze the fecal egg per gram counts. We met about four families a day and sampled at least twenty goats out of each of their herds. We would spend most of the afternoon setting up camp, reading fecal samples, and cooking a meal that would likely involve goat meat.

Through all this, I struggled to learn the language on fundamental level. Though my translator is someone I now consider a dear friend, at first the language learning curve was quite steep for both of us. She had never actually spoken English with a native speaker, and I knew little to no Mongolian. For the first time in my life I was in a situation where I had no means to express what I meant if misunderstood. My team and I learned some creative body language and started to understand each other more and more. About a week or two into our study, I sustained an injury that forced me to return to the city. That’s where I gained a new resource- a veterinary student from Utah with a statistics background.

After I dealt with my health issues, our new team member took another look at the way we collected data. We re-worked our comments section and instead started scoring animals on their skin and hair, bloating, and stool quality. We then were able to use the statistical software R to analyze our data in the field, even running paired T tests to make sure that each observer was scoring on the same scale as the study went on. With this new insight, we were able to provide the project with a way to easily repeat this study every year as the project continues. Though we have just begun to analyze the data, it shows promise to be a very informative and helpful set of materials.

Though I learned a lot for my professional career, I also was able to meet families who shaped me as an individual. Each family in their Ger had one room where the family would eat, sleep, and play. They were always generous and helpful, even though I knew they had work to do to survive in the harsh desert environment that they lived in. They celebrated Naadam, a large cultural holiday, with me as if I was one of their own, and invited me to sleep in their Gers with them. The local veterinarians were humble, eager to learn, and proud to show me the Eastern medicine techniques they used such as bleeding their animals when sick. These families focused on people over materials, and hospitality over distrust. I hope to continue my relationships with those I met so that I continue to learn from them.

This entire trip was one filled with wonderful experiences, foreign challenges, and beautiful people. I feel so fortunate to have received the ISA stipend and a stipend from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine’s International Program, without which this would not be financially possible. I now have a greater understanding of caprine veterinary medicine, Mongolian culture, and what it means to be focused on the things that truly matter in life. I feel that this trip has made me a better veterinary professional, but also a better person. I hope that everyone has the opportunity to see what it means to be a foreigner and learn what their true strengths are outside of their comfort zone.

Thanks to the CVMBS International Programs travel stipend I was able to travel to Beijing, China from May 14^th to the 27^th to attend the hands-on laboratory portion of an acupuncture course put on by the Chi Institute.  Prior to the course, however, there was an optional Pre-Class Tour for 4 days where a tour guide took everyone to all the major tourist attractions around Beijing for a cultural experience.

Over the four days of the tour, we saw the major attractions in Beijing such as the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, the Lama Temple, and Tiananmen Square.  In addition, we got to see part of the culture of China when we went to a Kung-Fu show, a Traditional Tea House, the cloisonné factory, and a few of the shop streets, such as Guangzhou, the Silk Market, and the Pearl Market.  Everywhere we went, our tour guide would give us a little of the history of the attraction we saw or the cultural or spiritual significance of the places we went and we got to experience how business is conducted in most Chinese shops when we tried to haggle for the best price at the shops on the shop streets.

After our planned four-day tour, we had a free day in which a few of us went around to some of the local parks and got to walk through and watch the morning Tai Chi routines or exercise classes offered in the parks.  One of the ones we visited was Olympic Forest Park near the Olympic Stadium built in 2008.  We got to see the stadium and the surrounding forest that was preserved when the stadium was built.

The next day, we moved to the next hotel across town where the acupuncture course was held.  This was a four-day lecture and lab, which reinforced the basic information learned on the online module before the course and allowed us to practice needling techniques on ourselves and a dog.  The lectures covered the Five Element Theory and Zang-Fu Physiology, which was a refresher from the online modules, and extended to different treatment strategies and how to determine where to put needles for certain disease processes.  Many former students who have since become certified veterinary acupuncturists attended as guest lecturers and lab TAs and we heard many case examples of how acupuncture helped animals with IBD, IVDD, and many other diseases that Western Medicine techniques weren’t able to cure.

After attending this course, I am more convinced that acupuncture has a place in veterinary medicine.  It is not the cure-all that most owners hope it to be, but I now feel more confident in its ability to help in certain situations and feel like I can have a conversation with an owner about whether or not I think we should pursue it as an option for their animal.  I believe having this skill will strengthen the relationship between me and my clients and give me another way in which I can help my future patients.

When we arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa we were greeted by 2 very friendly and helpful employees of the ARC-OVI, Prince who works for the transportation department and Ernest who does research in the rabies department. We stayed at a guesthouse at the OVI for the next 2 weeks.

Our first week was spent in the Tuberculosis (TB) Laboratory. The goal of the TB lab is diagnosing TB in bovine species and wildlife in South Africa and some of the surrounding countries. Dr. Tiny Hlokwe and her team taught us how to process tissues samples from animals for culture, differentiate Mycobacterium spp via PCR and gel electrophoresis and how to perform serologic diagnosis via the gamma-interferon test. We had to opportunity to process samples from Kudu, Impala, and White rhino! Week one was definitely a success.

We had the weekend off, so Taylor and I went to a nearby game reserve, Dinokeng. We had a great time seeing all the different species of animals; we met a bunch of very nice people and got to indulge in local South African cuisine. We even had the opportunity to take a microlight flight and see the reserve and all the animals from above!

For our second week at the ARC-OVI, we made our way across the street to the Transboundary Animal Diseases Laboratory aka TAD. On our first day, we met with Dr. Livio Heath, the program manager. We had a quick tour of the grounds and then went upstairs to get our gear for containment because the labs are BSL 3 meaning we have to change to enter the lab and then shower out. After making our way through the air locked doors, we were introduced to the diagnostic team for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and African Swine Fever (ASF). Over the week they taught us how to perform ELISA testing, PCR, virus isolation and cell culture. We learned a lot and even got to perform some diagnostic own tests on our own!

I had a great two weeks at the ARC. Not only did I improve my laboratory skills and gain more knowledge about tests that are commonly performed for various diseases, I learned more about the importance of disease control programs and experienced firsthand the urgency and challenges that occur when trying to manage a disease outbreak of a transboundary animal disease.

The staff of Ondonsterpoort Veterinary Institute were wonderful hosts and provided us with a diverse and comprehensive view of diagnosis and management of disease. They also provided us housing on the beautiful campus!

We spent the first week with in the Tuberculosis Lab. The lab functions mainly as a diagnostic laboratory for South Africa as well as many other neighboring African countries; they preform post mortem tests as well as screening tests for movement of animals especially Cape Buffalo. In addition to standard culture with microscopic identification, they preform PCR in order to identify the species of TB isolated (M. bovis, M. tuberculosis, M. bovis BCG, M. microti, M. canettii, M. pinnipedi, M. africum, M. caprae, M. mungi, and M. sucricattae). They start with a screening PCR for the most common isolate M. bovis and then have three other PCR tests to differentiate the others.

The research component of the laboratory focuses on the epidemiology of TB on the African continent. They will take each sample and identify the strain of TB within the species in order to better understand the transmission of TB between the different species of wildlife and domestic livestock.

On our free weekend, we went to Dinokeng Game Reserve on the suggestion of our hosts. There we were able to see some of the wildlife species whose samples we were processing at the laboratory such as impala, nyala, Cape buffalo, warthog, and white rhino. We were also able to speak to locals who deal with the implications of the livestock/wildlife interface every day. Johan, who is a microlight pilot on the reserve, struggles with abortions in his goat herd likely due to their contact with wild game on the reserve who harbor diseases such as Q Fever and Brucellosis.

The second week, we spent in the Transboundary Disease Laboratories. This facility houses mainly the African Swine Fever (ASF) and Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) diagnostic and research laboratories. We participated in the diagnostic component which consists of mainly serology, PCR, and virus isolation. There was an ASF outbreak currently going on in the Free State of South Africa during our stay and as the OIE reference laboratory for ASF, the lab was currently receiving all samples for confirmation.

This is a BSL 3 laboratory with a shower out policy so we gained experience with measures used to maintain biosecurity when working with these highly virulent pathogens. During our stay, there was also a Rift Valley Fever vaccine challenge going on. Sadly, because we are not previously exposed or vaccinated, we were unable to participate in any of the handson animal work.

Tired, dusty, sweaty, humbled, but filled with a fresh appreciation for the gift of my veterinary education at Texas A&M University summarizes how I felt each dayriding back to Rancho El Paraiso after a workday in the Agalta Valley in Honduras. This past spring break, I had the unique opportunity to travel to Honduras with a team of Christian veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and veterinary students gathered from all walks of life and from all over the country to provide basic, but incredibly needed, veterinary services to the people of Honduras. Our trip was a unique partnership with Christian Veterinary Mission and Honduras Outreach International (HOI), an organization dedicated to strengthening Honduras by encouraging local enterprise and economy, to provide veterinary services to villages in the Agalta Valley of Honduras that do not have access to any sort of veterinary care.

Each day on the ranch, our team would rise early to an incredible breakfast prepared by the locals employed by HOI before loading all our gear into our two rickety all-terrain vehicles and setting off into the valley. We would typically reach our villages mid-morning and immediately begin setup of canopies, surgery tables, deworming stations, and large animal supplies. As we set up, the villagers would begin to appear carrying, dragging, riding, or leading all manner of four-footed animals for us to tend to that day. Typically, our team would divide into multiple groups to tackle the cases for the day: a surgical team, large animal team, deworming team, and usually an individual or two that played with and entertained the village children. One day after returning to the ranch after work, our team even had the opportunity to rescue an unfortunate dog that had lost a battle with a porcupine. Our team coming to the villages was a huge source of excitement and entertainment for the local villagers everywhere we went. The school children would frequently leave school to come observe our surgeries or other procedures and the older villagers would come to enjoy the shade under our canopies while watching us and visiting with each other.

Working in the field under less-than-ideal circumstances, having to think on your feet and make do with limited supplies and help was an incredible experience for me, especially since I desire to pursue rural, mixed animal practice upon graduation. I feel as though my time in Honduras has better prepared me for some of the challenges I may face in practice one day. However, my time in Honduras was not only beneficial for advancing my veterinary experience, but also for the incredible friendships that developed while there. Each evening under the stars on the ranch, our team would gather for a time of devotion and fellowship during which we shared life experiences and words of support and wisdom. I am extremely grateful for my experience in Honduras and feel as though it has better equipped me mentally and emotionally to tackle the remainder of my time in vet school.