To WAVD Administrative Committee,
I am hoping this brings some joy to all of you, given the atrocious nature of global events at present.
One year ago, I had the honor and pleasure of receiving a travel grant to attend the WCVD10 Congress in Boston. I would like to once again extend my deepest gratitude, as this immersive, enriching experience—full of learning and invaluable connections—would not have been possible without your generous support, due to my personal financial limitations.
I had previously reached out to share some photos of lectures I gave at the Veterinary School of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), directed toward both students and faculty of our veterinary dermatology department. During the congress, I used our department’s social media account (@dermatovetufrgs on Instagram) to post real-time updates, alongside constant and highlighted updates on my personal instagram profile (@vetdermato.keylla).
In Brazil, we are currently facing a severe endemic crisis of leishmaniasis. As a result, our team has been actively engaged in raising awareness and disseminating essential information about this zoonotic disease, especially in under-resourced schools (as shown in the attached photos). Among many new acquired knowledges in different areas of veterinary dermatology, the updates on the new guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of leishmaniasis presented at WCVD10 have been extremely helpful in our outreach efforts—not only to the general public (as shown in images below), but also to fellow veterinary students and professionals (through instagram posting).
With this in mind, I developed a free eBook in Portuguese (to support colleagues with limited English proficiency) based on the congress materials, now available on my personal Instagram profile (@vetdermato.keylla), in which I also tagged @wcvd10. While we considered printing this content in leaflet format, we have decided, at least for now, to prioritize digital media due to environmental concerns and accessibility.
Words cannot fully express the impact this experience has had on both my life and professional development. This journey stands out as one of the most remarkable and joyful moments in my personal and academic life, and I feel truly grateful to have lived it at such a young age.
Once again, I thank each and every member of the committee for this incredible opportunity that I am fondly remembering today.
Warm regards,
Keylla Steffen