Megan Niederwerder, DVM, took over the reins as executive director of the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) on Jan. 1, while Lisa Becton, DVM, began her tenure with SHIC as associate director.
“Both are eager to carry forward the mission of SHIC to protect and enhance the health of the U.S. swine herd by minimizing the impact of emerging disease threats through preparedness, coordinated communications, global disease monitoring, analysis of swine health data, and targeted research investments,” SHIC reports.
After joining SHIC as associate director in April 2022, Niederwerder has been engaged in all facets of SHIC’s operations, projects and priorities.
“SHIC strives to provide a unique and valuable service to the U.S. pork industry by focusing efforts on emerging diseases,” Niederwerder says in a release. “We will continue to work diligently on initiatives to serve pork producers and their practitioners with emerging disease information efficiently and effectively.”
SHIC plans to continue to deliver domestic and global swine disease monitoring information, research to address emerging disease threats, and review of swine health data. SHIC’s nimble structure allows it to address threats to U.S. swine herd health as they arise. The Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Program and efforts to prevent and prepare for potential emerging diseases, such as Japanese encephalitis virus, are key SHIC priorities.
“We’re going to have challenges. How quickly we can identify those challenges and turn those concerns into solutions shapes our effort,” Becton says. “A lot of the industry’s focus is on how rapidly we can diagnose new, emerging swine disease threats, and how quickly we can tell if an existing pathogen has changed to create new problems. This is at the core of SHIC’s mission.”
Becton will bring her previous experience in the industry and devotion to U.S. pork producers to enable solutions, SHIC reports. Both Niederwerder and Becton welcome swine industry stakeholders to provide ongoing input and ideas to fulfill the SHIC mission and provide return on investment to U.S. pork producers.
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