The International Canine Health Awards

STUDENT INSPIRATION WINNER (UNDERGRADUATE)

Jennifer Palfreyman is a third-year undergraduate on the veterinary medicine course at the University of Liverpool, whose talents extend beyond the realm of science – she previously had a successful career as a professional saxophone player.

In the second year of her course Jennifer carried out a research project on the oriental eye worm Thalazia callipaeda, a parasitic infection of the eyes of humans, dogs and horses which will cause blindness if left untreated. The parasite is spread by the fruit fly Phortica species and the first UK cases have recently been identified in dogs imported from Europe.

In her earlier project, Jennifer examined the distribution of the insect vector at six locations in the south of England. Funding from International Canine Health Awards will enable her to extend that work over a greater geographical area to assess the likely risk of the parasite becoming established in the UK.

Her grant also supported her in attending the British Society of Parasitology conference in Aberystwyth in April where she was able to meet Professor Domenico Otranto from the University of Bari in Italy, who is among the foremost European experts on the Thalazia parasite. She has also been able to expand her work in creating information sheets and other educational materials to alert vets in first opinion practices across Britain to the threat posed by this exotic new disease.

STUDENT INSPIRATION WINNER (POSTGRADUATE)

Alice Denyer is young veterinary surgeon who relishes the challenge of finding out about the complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors as a cause of clinical disease in dogs. She graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2015 and spent two years in practice in her home county of Kent where she developed a particular interest in the management of endocrine diseases in her canine patients, notably diabetes.

Alice successfully applied for a prestigious London Interdisciplinary Doctorate programme and in September 2017, she began studying for PhD at the Royal Veterinary College, under the supervision of RVC professors Brian Catchpole and Lucy Davison. Her project will investigate the genetic basis for differences in susceptibility to pancreatic disease between the Samoyed breed (which has a high prevalence of diabetes mellitus) and in Boxers (which are resistant to diabetes but are prone to developing insulinoma, a malignant tumour affecting the same type of pancreatic cells).

Funding from the International Canine Health Awards will allow Alice to carry out a detailed analysis of the whole genome in these two particular breeds. She also hopes to be able to extend the study to look at the genes that determine the risk of developing pancreatic disease in two other common breeds, Tibetan and Cairn terriers. Understanding the genetic causes of different forms of diabetes and insulinoma will have a profound impact on dog welfare by speeding up the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic methods.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNER

Dr Scott has been described as one of the best known and most respected veterinary dermatologists in the world. He has made a massive contribution to improving the health wellbeing of dogs and other veterinary species through both his original research on skin diseases and his teaching of successive generations of young veterinarians.

Born in California, Dr Scott underwent his initial training in his home state before crossing the USA in 1971 to take up an internship in small animal medicine at Cornell where he has been based throughout an illustrious career. He developed new methods for analysing skin lesions which have revolutionised the diagnosis of many different diseases by making the results of skin biopsies easier to interpret.

Dr Scott was responsible for improving the recognition and treatment of generalised demodecosis in dogs, a distressing condition which previously would often have resulted in euthanasia. He also carried out crucial studies on the various autoimmune dermatoses of dogs, such as pemphigus erythematosus. His vast output of published research includes descriptions of 38 novel treatment regimens for various skin conditions and work on clinical trials of 26 different drug treatments.

His easy-going nature and passion for his subject have made Dr Scott a popular teacher and lecturer. He has guided the early professional careers of 26 veterinary residents and around 100 postgraduate students. He is also in demand as a speaker at meetings for fellow veterinarians, dog breeders and others. At the last count he had delivered more than 400 presentations at events across the

BREED HEALTH CO-ORDINATOR OF THE YEAR

Mrs Tina Watkins receives an award in the new category of Breed Health Co-ordinator of the Year for her unstinting efforts to improve the health and welfare of the Basset breed. After a career as a manager in the transport industry, Mrs Watkins has harnessed her formidable administrative talents to running health screening and training on behalf of her fellow Basset enthusiasts within the eight separate clubs serving the breed in the UK.

A life-long dog lover, Mrs Watkins kept a number of different breeds before settling on the Basset hound. She bred her first litter in 1990 and went on to a successful career breeding, showing and judging within the Basset world.

As a health coordinator her particular skill has been in encouraging others in the breed clubs to have their dogs tested for cherry eye, glaucoma and other eye diseases commonly inherited by Bassets. She has been recognised as a ‘true custodian’ of the Basset breed and her skills and energy have been acknowledged in the wider world of dog ownership through her membership of the Kennel Club and as a mentor for breed health coordinators across the UK.

INTERNATIONAL AWARD WINNER

Professor Yasuko Rikihisa, Department of Veterinary Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Ohio State University

Prof. Rikihisa has devoted her career to creating a better understanding of rickettsial conditions, a group of related diseases transmitted by ticks which affect humans and domestic animals, including dogs. Her work led directly to the development of the diagnostic tests used in veterinary practices around the world to identify dogs infected with one particular rickettsial, disease, Ehrlichiosis (also known as canine typhus). This is a debilitating and often fatal condition caused by a parasite that infects and survives within the white blood cells of its host.

In the 1980s Prof. Rikihisa developed a method for growing the Ehrlichia organism in laboratory culture, a pre-requisite for carrying out research into how the parasite interacts with its host. This development underpinned her later research into diagnostic methods which have allowed fast and accurate diagnosis at an earlier stage of the disease, improving the prospects for effective treatment and reducing the risk of the infection being passed on to other dogs.

Prof Rikihisa is a prolific author, responsible for 277 peer-reviewed papers in the scientific literature and 26 chapters in books and conference proceedings. She has also been granted 18 patents in the US and abroad on the laboratory technologies developed through her work. In 2012 she was elected a member of the prestigious US National Academy of Science for her contributions in this area.

While much of her research is focussed on developing methods for controlling human diseases, canine health remains an important concern. The funding she will receive through this award will be used in studies which it is hoped will eventually lead to the introduction of the first vaccine treatment for canine ehrlichiosis.

The Trust awards grants to organisations to help them to achieve its objective of 'making a difference for dogs' and supports work with dogs across three distinct areas:

• Science - funding research into health problems in dogs

• Support - helping to train dogs to help human beings

• Welfare - providing funds for dogs that need help or rescue

The Kennel Club Charitable Trust has committed a total of £2.7m of funding for the Kennel Club Genetics Centre at the Animal Health Trust, which is investigating a number of canine inherited diseases, having agreed £1.2m in funds over five years in 2009 and a further £1.5m over five years in 2013.

Professor Oliver Garden, who recently left the UK to take up a prestigious position at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet), has won an international award as part of one of the largest and most distinguished veterinary awards in the world, the International Canine Health Awards. The award was given to Oliver in recognition of his tireless work as a small animal internist and immunologist.

Professor Garden, who previously worked at the Royal Veterinary College in London for twelve years, currently carries the title of Chair of Department of Clinical Studies-Philadelphia at Penn Vet. Professor Garden has today won the coveted International Award category at the International Canine Health Awards, where he was awarded £40,000 towards his future work.

Professor Paul McGreevy, who lives in the Hunter Valley, Australia, has won a lifetime achievement award as part of one of the largest and most prestigious veterinary awards in the world for his pioneering contribution to canine welfare and behaviour.

Professor McGreevy, who was raised in Newcastle-under-Lyme, North Staffordshire but moved to Australia for work in 1989, is one of three academic veterinarians recognised worldwide by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons as a specialist in Veterinary Behavioural medicine. He is currently the University of Sydney’s first Professor of Animal Welfare Science and has today won the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Canine Health Awards, where he was awarded £10,000 towards his future work.

Harriet Davenport, 22, from Nottingham has won the Undergraduate Student Inspiration Award as part of one of the largest and most prestigious veterinary awards in the world, the International Canine Health Awards.

Harriet is currently in her third year of studying Veterinary Science at the University of Liverpool, and was awarded £5,000 towards her future work.

Andrea Strakova, 26, from Cambridge has won the Postgraduate Student Inspiration Award as part of one of the largest and most prestigious veterinary awards in the world, the International Canine Health Awards.

Andrea has been awarded a prize of £10,000 to help further her research into Canine Transmissible Venereal Tumour (CTVT), a contagious cancer that affects thousands of dogs all over the world.