{"id":924,"date":"2012-03-28T10:29:35","date_gmt":"2012-03-28T00:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?p=924"},"modified":"2012-03-28T10:29:35","modified_gmt":"2012-03-28T00:29:35","slug":"veterinary-radiologist-receives-highest-academic-honour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?p=924","title":{"rendered":"Veterinary radiologist receives highest academic honour"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Graeme<\/a>Veterinary specialist radiologist Graeme Allan will be awarded a Doctor in Veterinary Science (DVSc) this year in recognition of his prolific contribution to the field of veterinary diagnostic imaging.\r\n\r\nThe DVSc is a rare honour, awarded to outstanding researchers whose body of work is deemed to have made a consistent and distinguished contribution to veterinary science. Candidates submit a collection of original publications for assessment by examiners who are considered pre-eminent in their respective research field.\r\n\r\nThe unusual thing in Allan\u2019s case is that his clinical research was undertaken while running a busy private specialist practice. As such he is the first Australian veterinarian in private practice to receive the DVSc by examination.\r\n\r\nHis thesis, ‘Radiological Studies of Disease in Companion and Zoo Animals’, is a compilation of more than 45 years of collaborative studies looking into a range of conditions, including pioneering studies on contrast radiography, oesophageal dysfunction, radiotherapy for treatment of cancer in companion animals right through to new forms of rickets in rex kittens, osteochondrosis in the cheetah and osteocondritis in snow leopards.The examiners unanimously agreed that Allan\u2019s contribution to the field was outstanding. Professor Donald Thrall, best known as editor of the Textbook of Veterinary Diagnostic Radiology, <\/em>described Allan as \u201ca Renaissance man, with talents in many areas; accomplished veterinary diagnostic radiologist, investigator of numerous problem areas, teacher, and mentor.\u201d\r\n\r\nEmeritus Professor Patrick Gavin, of Washington State University, wrote that Allan\u2019s thesis \u201cwill facilitate veterinary education, new veterinary radiologists, residents, interns, and veterinary science students.\u201d\r\n\r\nProfessor Erik Wisner, Chair of UC Davis\u2019 Department of Surgical and radiological sciences, wrote that \u201cveterinary diagnostic imaging has only recently emerged as a specialty compared to other clinical disciplines and advances in imaging technology and computing power have caused the specialty to expand and evolve at an astonishing rate. Dr Allan, considered one of the pioneers of the specialty, has successfully navigated and adapted to this ever-changing terrain throughout his career.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe irony is that Allan graduated without ever having had a single lecture in radiology. But when one delves into his early life, imaging doesn\u2019t seem a far-fetched career option.\r\n\r\nBorn in New Zealand in 1940, Allan grew up in the rural town of Waipawa.\r\n\r\n\u201cDad was the town doctor. He really liked living in the country,\u201d Allan said. \u201cSo I spent a lot of time within a farming community, fishing in rivers and enjoying that sort of lifestyle. As I thought more about what I would do with my life I thought that living in this sort of community and being a vet would be pretty good.\u201d\r\n\r\nThat wasn\u2019t Allan\u2019s only aspiration. He really wanted to be a pilot or a cinematographer.\r\n\r\n\u201cI was told I was too tall to be a pilot. Back then you couldn\u2019t be too tall [Allan is 193cm]. I didn\u2019t have great eyesight either and when I look back it is patently obvious that it wasn\u2019t the right career choice: I would have hated to be responsible for all of those people up in the air.\u201d\r\n\r\nWhen he attended an interview at Film New Zealand, the panel advised him \u00ad- incorrectly – that there was no future for cinematography in New Zealand. On hearing this, Allan\u2019s parents, who had driven him to Wellington for the interview, \u201csaid it was obviously a loony idea\u201d.\r\n\r\n\"Studying<\/a>Veterinary science emerged as the front-runner.\r\n\r\nAt the time there was no veterinary school in the country. Instead, the Government provided funding for 25 students to train in Australia \u2013 in exchange for working in New Zealand for five years upon graduation. He enrolled at the University of Sydney.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe were occasionally shown radiographs but we were not taught how they were taken, how they were processed or a systematic approach to their interpretation,\u201d Allan recalls.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe mystery of radiography at the veterinary school at that time was known only to Arthur Gee, a faculty employee with a background in medical radiography.\u201d\r\n\r\nDuring his studies, Allan met Roslyn Ward, and his plans to return home fell by the wayside. With the support of his future father-in-law he opted to pay out his bursary and remain in Australia, a decision he has never regretted. The pair married in 1966.\r\n\r\nIn 1965, at the end of his studies, Allan became a locum in Mildura.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe vet met me at the train station with his whole family bundled into the car,\u201d Allan said. \u201cAfter a brief introduction, he took me to the practice and he and his family disappeared to the coast. That was not an unusual experience in those days.\u201d\r\n\r\nIt wasn\u2019t a particularly edifying one either. The practice extended from central Victoria to the Western border of NSW. The practitioner had left Allan with his wife\u2019s Mini-minor, ill-equipped to endure the dirt roads of the outback.\r\n\r\n\u201cI was all alone and I just didn\u2019t know a damn thing,\u201d he admits. \u201cI spent a hell of a lot of time driving and getting lost, visiting people who you knew wouldn\u2019t pay you…but it didn\u2019t occur to me that it was that bad. It wasn\u2019t until I learned that some graduates were committing suicide that I realised, and I could understand how some people could be driven to despair in such circumstances.\u201d\r\n\r\nUpon graduation, Allan accepted a position at North Shore Veterinary Hospital which possessed a small X-ray machine (it had an output of 90kVp and 30mA). Under the mentorship of Rowland Pursell, a veterinarian who had pioneered the development of tick antiserum, Allan was bitten by the discovery bug.\r\n\r\nThis signalled a change from his university days, when even Allan admits he wasn\u2019t a stand-out scholar.\r\n\r\n\u201cI wasn\u2019t a good student in the traditional sense. I didn\u2019t like lectures and I didn\u2019t learn from the reams of notes that were handed out.\u201d\r\n\r\nBut reading case reports and journal articles related to the conditions of animals he was treating in practice was endlessly fascinating.\r\n\r\n\u201cI found that reading journal articles and looking at clinical material and trying to work out what was going on was a tremendous way for me to learn more about what I did. So all of my early publications related to what I was seeing and doing in practice.\u201d\r\n\r\nNorth Shore was an unusual practice in that two of its four veterinarians were female. One, Jennifer Edols, helped the young Allan write up his very first case report. The patient was a cocker spaniel presented for a routine spey. However, discovery that the bitch possessed an os penis<\/em> caused much head scratching.\r\n\r\n\u201cThis led to karotyping the dog, something which was completely new to me and made me realise that there was so much that I didn\u2019t know. It also led to cooperative work with members of the medical profession, who had the skills and laboratory facilities that enabled us to stretch our investigations.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe article, entitled ‘A case of male pseudo-hermaphroditism in a cocker spaniel’, was published in the Australian Veterinary Journal <\/em>in 1968.\r\n\r\nThe realisation that practice generated new knowledge constantly was to see many papers follow.\r\n\r\n\u201cI found it was through clarifying my own ideas by reviewing the literature, and writing, that I could best further my knowledge as a new graduate.\u201d\r\n\r\nAllan immersed himself in his work, probably \u2013 he reflects \u2013 a bit too much.\r\n\r\n\u201cAt our recent reunions people from my year have talked about the fact that back then we expected to work seven days a week, we expected to be on call seven nights. We knew we\u2019d be back at work after dinner, we would have to work on weekends and when the phone rang at 2am we would have to get out of bed \u2013 it came with the territory,\u201d Allan said.\r\n\r\nDespite the gruelling hours, Allan enjoyed his work.\r\n\r\n\u201cMy wife once told me that she didn\u2019t know anyone who looked forward to going to work in the morning the way I did. I still do.\u201d\r\n\r\nAllan was fortunate at the time to have two close friends – Rolfe Howlett (then a PhD candidate investigating bone pathology), and Bruce Duff (then training in veterinary pathology). The trio exchanged ideas about cases and acted as a \u201cbrains trust\u201d for one another.\r\n\r\nNo one in Allan\u2019s practice at the time really knew what to do with the X-ray machine, least of all him.\r\n\r\n\u201cMy shortcomings as a radiographer became manifest as frustration with the modality. I used to spend my weekends radiographing animals and hanging the film on pegs on the clothesline in the backyard. I realised that not only did I not know anything about radiology, but hardly anyone else did either.\u201d\r\n\r\nHe commenced a Masters by research under Richard Dixon at Sydney University. Dixon had recently returned from Colorado State University where he had received advanced training in radiology and radiotherapy. He proved a wonderful mentor, helping Allan investigate contrast media in cholecystography of dogs.\r\n\r\nAnother faculty member, Graham Cotton, arranged for Allan to observe radiology rounds at the Royal North Shore Hospital.\r\n\r\n\u201cThese weekly sessions introduced me to a medical radiology community. While I found these sessions richly rewarding, the medical radiologists in turn were fascinated by the range of skeletal disorders that we encountered in dogs and cats.\u201d\r\n\r\nSoon after completing his masters, Allan joined the partnership at Ku-ring-gai Veterinary Hospital, where he investigated dwarfism disorders in German shepherds.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s never easy accumulating data in a practice situation where expensive tests and procedures are required, and invariably the cost of pursuing interesting case material was self funded,\u201d Allan said. \u201cThis is a situation that has existed for my entire career.\u201d\r\n\r\nAllan, along with Clive Huxtable, Rolfe Howlett, Rob Baxter, Bruce Duff and Brian Farrow, published the seminal paper on pituitary dwarfism in German shepherds in the Journal of Small Animal Practice \u2013 at the time the most prestigious small animal medicine journal in the Commonwealth.\r\n\r\nWhile at Ku-ring-gai , Allan took charge of refurbishing the radiology suite, installing a high output X-ray machine and an automatic film processor. But the frustration of not being competent at radiography proved overwhelming. Training in North America was the only solution.\r\n\r\n\u201cThis was an agonising decision as I was a part owner of the practice. My family, Rolfe Howlett and Richard Dixon were all influential in helping me decide to leave my safe veterinary practice environment, sell my shares in the practice, and move to Ithaca in upstate New York.\u201d\r\n\r\nAllan completed a residency at the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine under Victor Rendano. His overseas experienced opened up new worlds \u2013 Allan had a taste of diagnostic ultrasound, radiotherapy, contrast studies and advanced imaging as well as radiography. Allan sat his board exams and passed with flying colours.\r\n\r\nUpon returning to Sydney he worked hard to create a viable practice relying solely on referral work. It was a dry period. Allan spent much of his spare time writing case histories for the Australian Veterinary Practitioner, covering diseases which were and remain difficult to diagnose.\r\n\r\n\u201cThese cases were designed to demonstrate that ordinary practitioners could practice \u2018on the edge\u2019, just as effectively as many better qualified colleagues,\u201d he said.\r\n\r\nAllan developed one of the first distance education programs offered by the Post Graduate Foundation in Veterinary Science, now the Centre for Veterinary Education. It remains one of the most popular distance education programs.\r\n\r\nTogether with Robert Nicoll he established Veterinary Imaging Associates, a diagnostic imaging consultancy which provides services to veterinarians around Australia. Allan and Nicoll taught diagnostic imaging at the University of Sydney for over a decade while maintaining their private practice. With Paul Mahoney and Andrew Wood he created the Australasian Association of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging, aimed to further the education, knowledge and skills of the local veterinary diagnostic imaging community.\r\n\r\nHaving celebrated his 70th<\/sup> birthday, Allan shows no signs of slowing down. He continues to work a four-day week, visiting practices in the Sydney region to read films and perform ultrasound while mentoring dozens of practitioners and sharing his wisdom.\r\n\r\nRetirement is not imminent, but Allan is asked almost daily when he might give up the game.\r\n\r\n\u201cYou do get to a time in your life when people are obviously thinking \u2018You are an old bugger and why are you still here?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cThere is a palpable bias against old people in the profession and you do hit that wall. I will continue doing this while I enjoy it.\u201d\r\n\r\nHis secret seems to be that enthusiasm for discovery and thirst for knowledge that bit him with his very first paper.\r\n\r\n\u201cAt a recent reunion one of my year mates told me he hated being a vet all his life \u2013 and I thought that was really strange. I can\u2019t imagine not enjoying what we do. There are so many clinical syndromes that we come across in practice all the time, and if you keep your eye open you can build very interesting case histories. Imaging is just imaging, but where I\u2019ve been successful is in collaborating with others to help elucidate strange disorders. I\u2019ve been so lucky to be surrounded by inquisitive and enthusiastic people.\u201d\r\n\r\nAnne Fawcett<\/strong>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Veterinary specialist radiologist Graeme Allan will be awarded a Doctor in Veterinary Science (DVSc) this year in recognition of his prolific contribution to the field of veterinary diagnostic imaging. The DVSc is a rare honour, awarded to outstanding researchers whose body of work is deemed to have made a consistent and distinguished contribution to veterinary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[401,711,710,78,707,400,39,708,254,709],"class_list":["post-924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","tag-award","tag-doctor-in-veterinary-science","tag-dvsc","tag-face-to-face","tag-graeme-allan","tag-honour","tag-new-zealand","tag-radiography","tag-veterinarian","tag-veterinary-diagnostic-imaging"],"rise-blocks_total_comments":1,"rise-blocks_categories":[{"term_id":67,"name":"Features","slug":"features","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":68,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":63,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":67,"category_count":63,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Features","category_nicename":"features","category_parent":0}],"rise-blocks_excerpt":"Veterinary specialist radiologist Graeme Allan will be awarded a Doctor in Veterinary Science (DVSc) this year in recognition of his prolific contribution to the field of veterinary diagnostic imaging. The DVSc is a rare honour, awarded to outstanding researchers whose body of work is deemed to have made a consistent and distinguished contribution to veterinary science. Candidates submit a collection..","blog_post_layout_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":"","full":""},"categories_names":{"67":{"name":"Features","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?cat=67"}},"tags_names":{"401":{"name":"award","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?tag=award"},"711":{"name":"Doctor in Veterinary Science","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?tag=doctor-in-veterinary-science"},"710":{"name":"DVSc","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?tag=dvsc"},"78":{"name":"Face to Face","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?tag=face-to-face"},"707":{"name":"Graeme Allan","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?tag=graeme-allan"},"400":{"name":"honour","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?tag=honour"},"39":{"name":"New Zealand","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?tag=new-zealand"},"708":{"name":"radiography","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?tag=radiography"},"254":{"name":"veterinarian","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?tag=veterinarian"},"709":{"name":"veterinary diagnostic imaging","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?tag=veterinary-diagnostic-imaging"}},"comments_number":"0","wpmagazine_modules_lite_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":"","cvmm-medium":"","cvmm-medium-plus":"","cvmm-portrait":"","cvmm-medium-square":"","cvmm-large":"","cvmm-small":"","full":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=924"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":927,"href":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924\/revisions\/927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}