More than $600K awarded over next four years to veterinarians pursuing careers in animal health research
In an effort to address the critical shortage of veterinary scientists, Morris Animal Foundation and Pfizer Animal Health awarded five veterinarians with The Pfizer Animal Health–Morris Animal Foundation Veterinary Fellowship for Advanced Degree.
Most veterinary students choose clinical practice instead of research careers, resulting in a critical need for new scientists capable of conducting the research necessary to advance veterinary medicine. One factor in why students choose a clinician career path is the high level of debt that most veterinary students accrue.
“By providing established scientists and veterinarians with financial support to pursue advanced scientific training, this program addresses one of the primary reasons interested students don’t pursue research careers—the financial burden,” said Wayne Jensen, DVM, PhD, MBA, chief scientific officer for Morris Animal Foundation.
The following veterinarians were awarded a Pfizer Animal Health–Morris Animal Foundation Veterinary Fellowship for Advanced Degree:
- Stacy Byers, PhD, Washington State University “Reducing the Risk of Transmission of Pathogenic Bacteria to Bighorn Sheep”
- Mary Klinck, DVM, University of Montreal “Creating Validated Pain Scales for Feline Osteoarthritis Pain Identification and Quantification”
- Alex Davies, PhD University of California–Davis “Understanding Mechanisms that Contribute to Early Changes in Cancer Stem Cells”
- Kristen Messenger, DVM, North Carolina State University “Analgesic Drug Therapy in Animals”
- Tiffany Wolf, DVM, University of Minnesota “Identification of Factors Contributing to Mycobacterium tuberculosis Transfer between Humans and Great Apes”
Each fellow receives $60,000 per year for four years—provided equally by Pfizer Animal Health, Morris Animal Foundation and the student’s academic institution—for living expenses and tuition while pursuing advanced veterinary study. Upon receiving their degree, graduates commit to stay in the animal health research field for at least four years.
The fellowship program is part of Morris Animal Foundation’s to provide funding that helps to train the future generation of veterinary scientists. The program falls under Pfizer Animal Health’s Commitment to Veterinarians, through which Pfizer pledges to comprehensively address the significant short- and long-term challenges facing practicing veterinarians and students in the United States. Commitment to Veterinarians focuses on four key areas for veterinarian support: training and continuing education, research and development, investing in the future of the profession, and philanthropy.
“By providing students with a living wage while they pursue advanced scientific training, this fellowship program opens the door to new careers for veterinary professionals and helps enrich the future of veterinary medical advances,” said J. Michael McFarland, DVM, Diplomat ABVP and Group Director of Veterinary Medical Services & Corporate Citizenship for Pfizer Animal Health