2016 Equine Research Award Recipients Announced

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI) has selected five research proposals to fund as part of its 2016 Advancement in Equine Research Award program. Since 2011, BIVI has awarded more than $375,000 to advancing the knowledge of equine infectious disease.

“Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. knows that the future of equine health lies in identifying new disease treatment and prevention methods, which is why we support the research awards,” says Dr. Steve Grubbs, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, BIVI equine technical manager. “Through this program, we are committed to helping advance the understanding, diagnosis and prevention of equine diseases.”

BIVI congratulates the 2016 Equine Research Award recipients for the following projects:

• Macarena Sanz, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVIM, Washington State University, Pullman

  “Evaluation of EM and RT-PCR to detect equine coronavirus in fecal samples of horses admitted to a veterinary teaching hospital”
  “Dynamics of serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid opsonizing activity for Rhodococcus equi after hyperimmune plasma administration to newborn foals”

• Joshua Ramsay, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVP, Washington State University, Pullman

  “Hepaciviral/Pegiviral infection and subclinical liver disease in racing Thoroughbreds”

• Nicola Pusterla, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, Dept. Med and Epi, SVM, UC Davis

  “Comparison of an experimental and a natural infection route for equine coronavirus in adult horses”

• Ashley G. Boyle, DVM, DACVIM, University of Pennsylvania, New Bolton Center, Kennett Square

  “Validation of a point of care self-heating, microfluidic cartridge for isothermal nucleic acid amplification of Stretococcus equi subsp equi”

Each researcher will receive a grant of $15,000 in support of their study proposal. An independent panel of equine practitioners, university professors and veterinary medical researchers selected the recipients from numerous proposals. The awards were announced at the recent American Association of Equine Practitioners Annual Convention in Las Vegas.

Applications for the 2017 Equine Research Award will be open next spring. Veterinarians, diagnosticians, and public and private researchers in the United States and Canada are eligible to submit proposals. For more information, visit www.healthyhorses.com.