$200,000 distributed by Penn for student-research projects

Philadelphia

-- Penn Vet awarded two $100,000 research grants to three of its students for research projects as part of the 2009 Inspiration Awards.

The Inspiration Awards are administered by the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and funded by the Vernon and Shirley Hill Foundation. The $100,000 awards are the largest unrestricted student awards in veterinary medicine, according to the school.

Award recipient Catherine Brinkley, a second-year student, will use her $100,000 award to study a combination of veterinary medicine and city planning to create a new, unified approach to animal care in urban life, according to the school.

Alison Barnstable and Laurel Redding, who together will receive the other $100,000 award, have partnered with a nonprofit to help people produce their own food and encourage the development of para-professional veterinary services. Barnstable and Redding both are second-year veterinary students.