Boehringer Ingelheim awards five veterinarians with equine research funds

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Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) has announced the recipients of the 2019 Advancement in Equine Research Awards, honoring veterinarians dedicated to researching equine infectious respiratory disease and equine asthma syndrome.

The awards, which were presented in December at the American Association of Equine Practitioners Annual Convention in Denver, are a part of BI’s mission to help improve equine patient’s health and quality of life, according to a press release.

“As a global leader in equine health, Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to supporting equine research and its role in helping understand, diagnose and prevent disease,” says Steve Grubbs, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, equine technical manager for BI. “With these research awards, we hope to help make great strides in the industry’s ability to address equine respiratory disease and equine asthma syndrome.”

Winning proposals

The following five recipients will split $75,000 in grant money to continue their studies:

Laurie Beard, DVM, MS, DACVIM, clinical professor and section head of equine medicine and surgery at Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, is researching the efficacy of disinfection of endoscopes contaminated with Streptococcus equi subsp. equi.

Jessica Rutledge, BVetMed MRCVS, veterinary clinical sciences resident at the Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine, is researching nebulized glycosylated-caffeic acid phenylether ester attenuation of particulate-induced airway inflammation in horses.

Michelle Coleman, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, assistant professor and associate department head of academics at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, is researching the association between equine asthma and obesity in horses.

Nicola Pusterla, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, associate professor of equine internal medicine at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, is researching comparative immune responses to modified-live and killed equine herpesvirus type 1 vaccines in weanling foals.

Melissa R. Mazan, DVM, DACVIM, professor of internal medicine, equine respiratory system and lung function at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, is researching the development of a portable pulmonary function test for equine asthma.