9th International Conference of Novel Approaches to the Control of Helminth Parasites of Livestock (NA9)
March 8-11, 2024, at SGU School of Veterinary Medicine on the beautiful tropical island of Grenada.
Chair’s Welcome, NA9 Conference
Greetings and a warm welcome to the 9th International Conference on Novel Approaches to the Control of Helminth Parasites of Livestock (NA9), hosted at St. George’s University School of Veterinary Medicine. This conference, first held in 1995 in Armidale Australia, was born out of the concern that helminth control based solely on the use of anthelmintics would not be sustainable given the rapid increase and spread of anthelmintic resistance. This concern underscored the necessity for global collaboration and the allocation of research resources to develop novel non-chemical, and low-chemical strategies to enhance the sustainability of helminth parasite control programs. The objective of this conference is to provide a forum for international experts to share information on recent developments and advances in the state of the art for sustainable parasite control. We expect a major outcome of this conference will be the re-establishment of collaborative efforts that were interrupted by the pandemic as well as the promotion of new global collaborations.
Anthelmintic resistance continues to increase in its spectrum and geographic range, and has become a direct threat to the health and productivity of livestock, worldwide. With no products containing new classes of anthelmintics expected in the livestock market for the foreseeable future, now more than ever, we need novel approaches that do not depend primarily on chemical anthelmintics. We look forward to bringing together a broad coalition of experts including veterinarians, parasitologists, livestock extension specialists and other interested persons from around the world to share their most recent discoveries and insights for novel technologies and approaches designed to improve the sustainability of parasite control in livestock.
I welcome all of you to St. George’s University School of Veterinary Medicine and the beautiful tropical island of Grenada. We have a great conference planned that will be both informative and fun. I hope you will come and join us at NA9, and if you do, you should plan to take a few extra days to experience the beauty and wonders of my new island home.
Ray Kaplan, DVM, PhD, DipEVPC, DipACVM
Senior Associate Dean
St. George’s University
Dean’s Welcome, SGU
We are pleased that St. George’s University School of Veterinary Medicine will be hosting the 9th International Novel Approaches Conference (NA9). The NA9 Conference will bring together researchers, scholars, scientists, professors, and business leaders who are involved with the control of helminths. Discussion will be centered around “novel, non-chemical or low-chemical strategies that will enhance the sustainability of helminth parasite control programs for livestock.”
We are excited to showcase SGU worldwide as we are outfitted with the facilities and personnel to educate conference participants. Our scenic university also provides an atmosphere of relaxation while participants can earn continuing education credits.
We expect the NA9 Conference to provide an avenue for participants to build on their professional knowledge while networking with international peers. SGU’s environment of higher learning and advancement truly provides an opportunity for academic endeavors to flourish.
Welcome to the “Island of Spice!”
Neil Olson, DVM, PhD
Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine
St. George’s University
Keynote Speakers
Roz Laing, BVMS, PhD
I am a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow. I qualified as a veterinary surgeon in 2004 then after two years in practice undertook a PhD in molecular parasitology in the Gilleard lab. This project, which focused on ivermectin resistance in parasitic helminths, led to my involvement in the Haemonchus contortus genome project, when the need for significantly improved genomic resources to identify the genetic basis of resistance became clear. Since then, I have worked extensively with the Wellcome Sanger Institute and Moredun Research Institute, including as a Researcher Co-I on a BBSRC funded strategic Lola (The BUG Consortium). In 2020, I was awarded a Wellcome Clinical Research Career Development Fellowship and a Lord Kelvin Adam Smith Fellowship to study the evolution of moxidectin resistance in parasitic helminths of veterinary and medical importance. Ongoing work in my lab includes the use of genetic crosses to study drug resistance in Haemonchus, the development of genetic markers and field-based tests for anthelmintic resistance, the optimisation of functional tools such as RNAi in parasitic helminths, and the use of transcriptomics and metabolomics to investigate anthelmintic mode of action.
Eric Morgan MA, VetMB, PhD, DipEVPC, MRCVS
Eric Morgan graduated from Cambridge University in 1997 with degrees in veterinary medicine and zoology and after a short period in mixed veterinary practice completed a PhD at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom on parasite epidemiology and ecology, joining Bristol Veterinary School in 2003. There he further developed research interests in parasite transmission and sustainable control and taught parasitology to veterinary students, moving to Queen’s University Belfast in 2017. He is author or co-author of more than 150 peer-reviewed papers on this subject, many on helminths in grazing ruminants, and particularly seeks to understand the impact of weather and climate change on infection patterns and how these can be managed. This includes a combination of computer modelling, laboratory experiments, and field epidemiology, increasingly exploring applications of novel and complementary approaches alongside anthelmintics. He is a Diplomate of the European Veterinary Parasitology College and core group member of the international initiatives Combating Anthelmintic Resistance in Ruminants (COMBAR) and the Livestock Helminth Research Alliance (LiHRA), and as such contributes to the development of sustainable parasite control strategies and their translation into practice in the UK and internationally.
Featured Speakers
Carlos Lanusse, MV, DCV, PhD, DipECVPT
Dr. Carlos Lanusse is a full Professor of Veterinary Pharmacology at the Universidad Nacional del Centro, Tandil, Argentina, former Director and Member of the Center for Veterinary Research (CIVETAN) at Tandil. He has had an outstanding research and academic career in veterinary pharmacology oriented to improving the control of veterinary parasites. Since 1992 he acted as Scientific Director of the research program on “Pharmacology of Antiparasitic Drugs in Ruminants”, which has received financial support from several national/international agencies. An important number of Ph.D. students and Fellowship recipients have received their formation in Veterinary Pharmacology and Parasitology under Dr. Lanusse´s supervision. He is a global leader in addressing the control of veterinary parasites by understanding drug pharmacological features and optimizing the use of veterinary anthelmintics. He has made an outstanding scientific contribution to the integrated understanding of the plasma disposition kinetics, tissue distribution, biotransformation in the animal host and patterns of parasite influx/efflux/metabolism for different antiparasitic compounds in livestock animals. This pharmaco-parasitological knowledge applied to optimize parasite control in the presence of drug resistance, has been worldwide disseminated in over 300 peer-reviewed publications in the most reputed Parasitology/Pharmacology Journals (Scopus: 6653 citations, h index: 45; Google Scholar: 9431 citations, h index: 54). Professor Lanusse has received numerous international scientific awards throughout his career. He was the recipient of the 2015 WAAVP-Bayer Award for Excellence in Research in Veterinary Parasitology, the 2019 Research Award of the AAVP, and the 2023 LLoyd Davis Award of the American Academy of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, amongst several other national/international recognition/awards.
Felipe Torres-Acosta, MV, MSc, PhD
Studied Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science at the FMVZ, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mexico (1988), a MSc degree at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland (1991) and a PhD at the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, England (1999). Professor of Veterinary Medicine and the MSc and PhD programs on Animal Science at the FMVZ-UADY since 1993. Has taught various undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education courses at UADY and other national and international institutions and with producer organizations. Works with tropical goats and sheep production since 1986 conducting teaching and research with an emphasis on small ruminant nutrition and health, sustainable methods of controlling ruminant gastrointestinal nematodes, and epidemiology of anthelmintic resistance in ruminant parasites. He is a member of the National System of Researchers of CONACYT (level 3), the International Goat Association. Member of the Mexican Association of Veterinary Parasitologists, the Mexican Veterinary Academy and the Parasitology Committee of Mexico’s Technical Advisory Committee on Animal Health (CONASA). Member of the Editorial Board of Small Ruminant Research (since 2010) and Associate Editor of Veterinary Parasitology Regional Studies and Reports (since 2015), Tropical and Subtropical Agroecosystems (since 2019), and Tropical Animal Production and Health (since 2020). He has supervised more than 60 bachelor’s theses, 50 MSc theses and 18 PhD theses. His publications include more than 170 articles in indexed scientific journals, many articles in extension journals, more than 30 book chapters and 5 books with ISBN.
Registration for NA9 Conference
The organizers of NA9 are pleased to announce that we have added a virtual registration option. Click on the “Online Registration” button to access the virtual registration option.
This CE offers 18.5 RACE approved credits
Regular Registration – $475.00
Early Bird Registration – $375.00
Early Bird Registration ends on February 16
Regular Registration (SGU Faculty) – $200.00
Regular Registration (Veterinary Technician) – $175.00
Regular Registration (DVM and Graduate Students) – $150.00
Early Bird Registration (DVM and Graduate Students) – $100.00
Virtual Registration (Regular) – $100
Virtual Registration (Students) – $25
Registration fee includes welcome package, conference materials, refreshments, lunches, dinners and post-conference farm tour.
Virtual registration fee includes access to the conference via Zoom and an electronic copy of the conference program.
Program
The conference format will include two keynote speakers, nine scientific sessions, and poster sessions where researchers will be able to share new data. Each topical session will include introductory presentations by noted experts, followed by a lengthy period for discussion and debate that will facilitate the exchange of information and perspectives from the diverse global community in attendance. During the discussion sessions, participants are permitted to share and discuss 1 or 2 PowerPoint slides containing new data relevant to that session’s discussion. Anyone who wishes to do this must submit their pptx file to the AV technician prior to the start of the session.
Pre-Conference Meeting context: Beef + Lamb New Zealand, funded by levies, advocates for New Zealand’s sheep and beef farmers. Our mission is to “Revolutionise Parasite Management for Sustainable Global Control of Gastrointestinal Nematodes in Livestock”. To achieve this, global collaboration and partnership is needed. If you are interested in finding out more and/or joining our initiative, we invite you to attend this pre-conference meeting. During the meeting we will share the progress we have made so far, seek feedback from others to help progress further, and will welcome discussion on potential priority projects for collaboration. For further information please contact Suzanne Keeling at suzanne.keeling@beeflambnz.com.
Platinum Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
Accommodations
The following two hotels have provided a discount to conference attendees
Blue Horizons Garden Resort
Grand Anse
St. George’s, Grenada
+1 473 444 4316
www.grenadabluehorizons.com
Guests should email blue@grenadabluehorizons.com and reference discount code SGUNA9 after which they will provide special rates. This is a no-smoking facility.
Rooms begin at US170.00 p/n
True Blue Bay Resort
Old Mill Road, True Blue,
St. George’s, Grenada
(473) 443-8783
www.truebluebay.com
mail@truebluebay.com
Guests should select their dates, then select Special Code and enter NA9CONF23 to receive an automatic 20% discount on the rates which will be valid for booking up to February 15th and valid on all available room categories.
Rooms begin at US312.00 p/n
Feel free to check out other hotels in the area listed below
The University Club
Lance-Aux-Epines,
St George’s, Grenada, West Indies
+1 473-439-2001
Visit Site
Contact
Rooms begin at US110.00 p/n
Radisson Grenada Beach Resort
Grand Anse,
St. George’s, Grenada
+1 473-444-4371
Visit Site
Contact
Rooms begin at US206.00 p/n
Coyaba Beach Resort
Grand Anse
St. George’s, Grenada
+1 473 444 4129
Visit Site
Contact
Rooms begin at US360.00 p/n
La Heliconia Hotel
Point Salines, Maurice Bishop Highway, Grenada, West Indies
+1 473 439-8585
Visit Site
Contact
Rooms begin at US132.00 p/n
About Grenada
Stay an extra day and explore Pure Grenada! In addition to traditional Caribbean activities like snorkeling, hiking the rain forest, and fishing, there are many must see attractions on the island of Grenada, including the Grenada National Museum, Fort George, Fort Frederick, Seven Sisters Falls, Grenada Chocolate Company, Rhum Runner, River Antoine Rum Distillery, and Annandale Falls. Visit puregrenada.com for details on these and other attractions.
FAQs
The conference is open to scholars, educators, students and business leaders to come together to share research and ideas involving novel and sustainable approaches to controlling parasites of livestock.
Yes, a valid passport is required of all visitors when entering the independent island-nation of Grenada.
Yes, click here to view the campus map or visit SGU’s virtual tour.
Because of our tropical location, most of our attendees will be comfortable in casual attire. However, the conference venues are fully air conditioned, thus if dressing for the tropical environment, attendees may like to bring a sweater or light jacket to the venue.
The SGU bus route will be shared with conference attendees.
SGU will provide buses to and from several hotels if sufficient number of attendees are in residence there, and if staying at a different hotel, participants can use the regular SGU bus system. Schedules will be available at registration.
Your registration confirmation is immediate, following completion of the online registration form and payment. Bring a printed or electronic copy of your confirmation to the registration desk. Have further questions? Send us an email – novelapproaches@sgu.edu.
St. George’s University makes every effort to accommodate individuals with disabilities. If you require disability accommodations to attend an event at, please contact us in advance of the event.
Yes! There are 3 ATMs on campus: one at Charter Hall (lower campus, adjacent to the Welcome Centre) and two at David Brown Hall (upper campus, near to the clock tower).
Drop us an email! The conference organizers monitor and respond to conference mailbox all year long: novelapproaches@sgu.edu.
Who can attend the Novel Approaches (NA9) Conference in Grenada?
The conference is open to scholars, educators, students and business leaders to come together to share research and ideas involving novel and sustainable approaches to controlling parasites of livestock.
Is a passport required?
Yes, a valid passport is required of all visitors when entering the independent island-nation of Grenada.
Is there a campus map?
Yes, click here to view the campus map or visit SGU’s virtual tour.
What is the dress code for the conference?
Because of our tropical location, most of our attendees will be comfortable in casual attire. However, the conference venues are fully air conditioned, thus if dressing for the tropical environment, attendees may like to bring a sweater or light jacket to the venue.
How do I get to campus?
The SGU bus route will be shared with conference attendees.
How do I get from my hotel to the congress venue?
SGU will provide buses to and from, Radisson Grenada Resort and Mount Cinnamon Hotel. Buses will also be available to and from the dinner locations.
When will I get the confirmation of my registration?
Your registration confirmation is immediate, following completion of the online registration form and payment. Bring a printed or electronic copy of your confirmation to the registration desk. Have further questions? Send us an email – novelapproaches@sgu.edu.
Is campus accessible?
St. George’s University makes every effort to accommodate individuals with disabilities. If you require disability accommodations to attend an event at, please contact us in advance of the event.
Is there an ATM on campus?
Yes! There are 3 ATMs on campus: one at Charter Hall (lower campus, adjacent to the Welcome Centre) and two at David Brown Hall (upper campus, near to the clock tower).
I don’t see my question here, who should I contact?
Drop us an email! The conference organizers monitor and respond to conference mailbox all year long: novelapproaches@sgu.edu.