AAVI Mission Statement

The American Association of Veterinary Immunologists (AAVI) is dedicated to the development, promotion, and dissemination of knowledge in veterinary immunology. This includes immunology of livestock and poultry, companion animals, fish and marine mammals. The AAVI was formed in 1979 by a group of veterinary immunologists assembled at the annual Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases (CRWAD). The AAVI is open to all veterinary immunologists internationally The AAVI holds an annual business and scientific meeting in conjunction with CRWAD each year as well as an annual symposium in conjunction with the American Association of Immunologists (AAI).
The AAVI website outlines many of its activities.

Advantages of AAVI Membership
  1. Sharing of developments within veterinary immunology
    • Contacts with interested scientists in the US and worldwide through sponsored meetings
    • Access to vetimm listserv [to send a message just email to vetimm@vasci.umass.edu. To subscribe, or to change your own subscription (i.e. when you get a new email address), go to the following web page: http://list.umass.edu/mailman/listinfo/vetimm]
  2. Sponsorship and organization of veterinary immunology programs within numerous meetings, CRWAD, AAI, International Veterinary Immunology Symposium (IVIS)
    • AAVI/ACVM cosponsored Symposium at CRWAD
    • AAVI/AAI veterinary immunology committee (VIC) cosponsored symposium at AAI
    • Lower registration at AAI [$100 savings for registration because AAVI is an AAI Guest Society]
    • Members of AAVI can become members of the international veterinary immunology committee (IUIS VIC) and of AAI VIC.
    • Interactions with European Veterinary Immunology Groups (EVIG) and participation in their workshops at European Congress of Immunology
    • Outreach and interactions with Comparative Immunology societies
  3. Development of opportunities for improved veterinary immunology research
    • The initiative for the National Veterinary Immune Reagent Network was started by AAVI at a USDA ARS veterinary immunology workshop.
    • This stimulated a national USDA CSREES “Toolkit” grant initiative. An award of $2.15-million was launched February 7, 2006 with Dr. Cynthia Baldwin, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, as the Lead.
    • The Network is described in the April 2006 ARS Healthy Animals Newsletter www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/ha/han25.htm
  4. Advantages for students, postdoctoral fellows and younger faculty
    • Presentation awards for students at CRWAD
    • Travel grants to meetings, e.g., International Veterinary Immunology Symposia (IVIS)
    • Service on AAVI committees as aid to tenure for new faculty members
  5. Mentoring Opportunities
    • AAVI members will be asked to sign up as potential mentors so they could be teamed up with younger AAVI members.
    • Younger scientists could interact with faculty from other institutions who could assist with reading manuscripts ready for journal submission, outlines and drafts of grants, etc.
    • Advise and foster collaboration and reagent sharing between members.
  6. Access to journals
    • electronic subscription for Veterinary Immunology Immunopathology (VII)
    • VII service to our organization with meeting announcements and summaries
    • VII interest in special issues sponsored by AAVI members
    • Potential for access to Developmental and Comparative Immunology, another Elsevier journal.
  7. Contact with USDA ARS and CSREES leaders concerning community needs
    • AAVI Immune Toolkit grant and international toolkit efforts
    • AAVI responses at USDA ARS and CSREES stakeholder workshops