MEDIA ALERT: DENVER/July 22, 2024 – Morris Animal Foundation recently announced that 23 students were accepted into its prestigious Veterinary Student Scholar program. This program offers veterinary students an invaluable opportunity to engage in mentor-guided research, fostering their passion for animal health science and inspiring fulfilling careers.
"Our Veterinary Student Scholar program is the Foundation’s most far-reaching investment for advancing animal health research," said Dr. Kathy Tietje, Chief Program Officer at Morris Animal Foundation. "We are thrilled to support students from veterinary schools worldwide to participate in animal health research at this pivotal stage in their careers."
The program provides veterinary students in good standing at accredited veterinary medicine programs with a stipend of up to $5,500 to pursue a research project under the guidance of a mentor.
Since the program's inception in 2005, nearly 600 veterinary students have participated, gaining invaluable hands-on research experience. Many have published their findings in peer-reviewed journals as part of larger research projects. Some have transitioned into established investigators, continuing the mentoring cycle to educate future researchers. Past programs have funded students in Australia, Indonesia, Rwanda, Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, Kenya and the United States.
The students selected for the program are:
Bothway Richard Klottey – Welfare Concerns and Seroprevalence of Rabies in Hunting Dogs in the Northern Region of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Daniel Fields – Early Detection, Classification, and Staging of Lymphoma in Canines Using Raman Spectroscopic Urinalysis, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
Patrik Kouba – Monitoring of the Level of Mid-regional Pro-adrenomedullin and Other Biochemical Markers in Dogs with Myxomatous Mitral Valve Degeneration, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
Zziwa Jonathan – Molecular Characterization of Canine Parvovirus Strains from Owned Dogs in Kampala, Uganda, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
Andrea Paredes – Social Determinants of Health (SDH), Animal Human Bond (HAB), and their impact on Golden Retriever Owner’s Choices in Nutrition, Exercise, Lifestyle, and Routine Care: A Model Using Machine Learning for Assessing Social Determinants of Animal Health (SDAH), Texas Tech University
Bryan Melvin – Validation of Patient-Derived Canine Mammary Tumor Organoids as Faithful Model of Their Parent Tumors, University of Georgia
Ruth Ankala – Deciphering the Burden of Helminth Parasites of Dogs and Their Associated Risk Factors in Jos and Environs Plateau State, Nigeria, University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria
Brianna Moore – Rationalizing Combination Chemotherapy Strategies for Canine Hemangiosarcoma, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Stacey Ma – Identification of Genetic Risk Factors for Chronic Superficial Keratitis, Cornell University
Jemimah Gyarazama – Survey on Heavy Metals in Blood and Fur of Guard Dogs and Soil in Automobile Workshops in Jos Metropolis, Nigeria, University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria
Meagan Wojtysiak – Characterization of Serum Exosomes in Conditions Leading to Bone Remodeling, University of Minnesota
Elyse Davey – The Unexplored Potential of D-Amino Acids in Equine Health, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom
Imisioluwa Adedayo, Detection of Multidrug-Resistant Salmonella enterica in Horses in Nigeria, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
Greta Benedetti – Macrophage Response in the Prognostic Evaluation of Feline Meningioma, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
Kerrigan Fleming – Growth Differentiation Factor-8 in Cats with Early Chronic Kidney Disease, Purdue University
Babatunde Olowu – Molecular Characterization of Feline Panleukopenia Virus and Other Parvo-like Viruses in Stray and Captive Wild Cats in Nigerian Zoological Gardens, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
Serena Zhang – Mom’s Milk: Investigating the Role of the Milk Proteome on Neonatal Survival in South American Fur Seals, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
Faynowsh Ghani – Pathologic investigation of Kidney Disease in a Danish Population of European Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus), The Royal Veterinary College, London, United Kingdom
Chase Reinert – Causes of Unnecessary Admissions and Outcomes for Koalas at the Australian Zoo Wildlife Hospital, Tufts University
Ndayambaje Emmanuel – Exploring Public Awareness, Attitudes, and Behavioral Intentions Regarding Microplastic Pollution and its Impact on Lake Kivu Marine Life and Ecosystem, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda
Catherine Yeoman – Characterization of Electrophoretic Urine Protein Banding Patterns in Healthy Captive Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) and Captive Cheetahs with Chronic Kidney Disease, Texas A&M AgriLife Research
Anna Mueller – A Review of Hormone-Assisted Antler Hardening and Casting in Castrated Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and Caribou (R. tarandus caribou), University of Minnesota
About Morris Animal Foundation
Morris Animal Foundation's mission is to bridge science and resources to advance the health of animals. Founded in 1948 and headquartered in Denver, it is one of the largest nonprofit animal health research organizations in the world, funding nearly $160 million in more than 3,000 critical animal health studies to date across a broad range of species. Learn more at morrisanimalfoundation.org.
Media Contact: Lindsey Washington
