Two Year Term – Disease Surveillance Veterinarian
Prairie Diagnostic Services Inc. (PDS)
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Prairie Diagnostic Services Inc. (PDS), a not-for-profit veterinary diagnostic laboratory, has a
unique opportunity for an enthusiastic and motivated individual to lead the development of
animal disease reporting of laboratory data and participate in the set-up of national disease
reporting and analysis for specific diseases in food animals.
The position is a two year term with Prairie Diagnostic Services Inc., which is Saskatchewan’s
veterinary diagnostic laboratory. PDS is located at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine
on the University of Saskatchewan Campus in Saskatoon. The laboratory has a staff of
approximately 60, a budget of 8.5 million and serves clients throughout Western Canada.
Reporting to the CEO, and working under the direction of a project management committee
including the Ministry of Agriculture’s Disease Surveillance Veterinarian, the successful
candidate will be responsible for the following deliverables:
 Develop a series of species specific disease report templates using PDS laboratory data in
consultation with appropriate stakeholder groups. Priority species include beef and dairy
cattle, pigs, sheep, horses, bison, deer and poultry.
 Work with the PDS Information Technology programmers to explore what disease data can be
feasibly accessed from the existing PDS laboratory information system (LIMS) and migrated
to the new LIMS.
 Explore the opportunity for the use of standardized nomenclature for disease reporting at a
national level in conjunction with the Canadian Animal Health Surveillance Network
(CAHSN).
 Develop and trial a standardized reporting mechanism for national disease surveillance in
conjunction with provincial and federal partners utilizing 3 to 4 target diseases. This may
involve providing leadership in the development for reporting of one or more bovine diseases
including working with a diverse stakeholder set to develop a case definition, identifying
specific information requiring collection and supporting the development of tools to collate,
analyze and report the results.
Qualification for this position would typically be through a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
(DVM) with post graduate training in epidemiology or an equivalent combination of training and
experience. Experience in working within a laboratory and/or with laboratory data would be a
significant asset.
You will have extensive knowledge of:
 Issues, methods and requirements of developing and managing disease surveillance
programs.
 Knowledge of sound epidemiological practices for animal disease surveillance and control
including techniques to analyze and interpret disease data from a variety of sources and
determine validity of both data and results.


Knowledge of Canadian and North American animal agriculture. Expertise and/or experience
with bovine production would be of particular value.
A variety of computer software including a thorough working knowledge of Microsoft Office
Suite, specifically word and excel to use in data processing and communication. Experience
with laboratory databases (including the current PDS LIMS system) or relational databases
would be a significant asset.
You must:
 Demonstrate leadership and the ability to prioritize and meet the conflicting needs of
stakeholders at both provincial and national levels.
 Be proactive in your approach to work and achieving outcomes.
 Work to provide the best outcome for stakeholders through understanding their needs, effective
communication, innovative thinking and networking.
 Take innovative approaches to problem solving by generating varied solutions to problems,
anticipating long-term situations and taking appropriate actions to address them.
 Be able to work both independently and cooperatively in a team-based organizational setting.
The successful candidate will be a self-starter that is strategically focused, works and
communicates well with others, and is committed to delivering results on time. Interested
candidates should submit a CV and cover letter to Marilyn Jonas, CEO, PDS at
marilyn.jonas@pds.usask.ca by Friday, October 11, 2013.