2012 Veterinary scholarship awarded

The Winn Feline Foundation and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) announced their annual joint Student Scholarship Award to Alison McKay, a fourth year student at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University, during the American Veterinary Medical Assoc. convention in San Diego. Ms. McKay intends to become board certified in small animal internal medicine and hopes to work in a university teaching hospital or feline clinic. Alison McKay is the secretary for the Shelter Medicine Club at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University, and has helped organize several low-cost pet wellness clinics for senior citizens in her community.

Long committed to volunteerism, Ms. McKay has worked with a number of rescue organizations and free clinics for the pets of the homeless including the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, Portland Animal Welfare Team, Salem Friends of Felines, and Pro-Bone-O of Eugene, Oregon. She will be traveling to Nicaragua this summer on a veterinary service trip where she will provide surgical and basic wellness care to animals and investigate the prevalence of toxoplasmosis, internal parasites, feline leukemia virus, and feline immunodeficiency virus in cats on Ometepe Island.

She is currently working to organize a run/walk event which will benefit animal welfare in Uzhgorod, Ukraine.

Asked about plans for her continuing studies, Ms. McKay stated “During my clinical year of veterinary school, I will be completing my preceptorships at Corvallis Cat Care and West Vet, an internal medicine and emergency practice near Boise, Idaho. I also plan to spend two weeks at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, spending one week on cardiology and one week on internal medicine. I am very interested in feline medicine, therefore my senior project will focus on CT imaging of cats with feline asthma.”

Previous Winn/AVMF scholarship winners include:

• Adam Breiteneicher, Auburn University (2010)
• Jessica Balter, Cornell University (2011)

Winn Feline Foundation and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation are pleased to collaborate in this effort to focus attention on care for “Every Cat, Every Day.”

More on cat health: Winn Feline Foundation Library
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The Winn Feline Foundation and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) announced their annual joint Student Scholarship Award to Alison McKay, a fourth year student at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University, during the American Veterinary Medical Assoc. convention in San Diego. Ms. McKay intends to become board certified in small animal internal medicine and hopes to work in a university teaching hospital or feline clinic. Alison McKay is the secretary for the Shelter Medicine Club at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University, and has helped organize several low-cost pet wellness clinics for senior citizens in her community.

Long committed to volunteerism, Ms. McKay has worked with a number of rescue organizations and free clinics for the pets of the homeless including the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, Portland Animal Welfare Team, Salem Friends of Felines, and Pro-Bone-O of Eugene, Oregon. She will be traveling to Nicaragua this summer on a veterinary service trip where she will provide surgical and basic wellness care to animals and investigate the prevalence of toxoplasmosis, internal parasites, feline leukemia virus, and feline immunodeficiency virus in cats on Ometepe Island.

She is currently working to organize a run/walk event which will benefit animal welfare in Uzhgorod, Ukraine.

Asked about plans for her continuing studies, Ms. McKay stated “During my clinical year of veterinary school, I will be completing my preceptorships at Corvallis Cat Care and West Vet, an internal medicine and emergency practice near Boise, Idaho. I also plan to spend two weeks at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, spending one week on cardiology and one week on internal medicine. I am very interested in feline medicine, therefore my senior project will focus on CT imaging of cats with feline asthma.”

Previous Winn/AVMF scholarship winners include:

• Adam Breiteneicher, Auburn University (2010)
• Jessica Balter, Cornell University (2011)

Winn Feline Foundation and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation are pleased to collaborate in this effort to focus attention on care for “Every Cat, Every Day.”

More on cat health: Winn Feline Foundation Library
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Read the Cat Health News Weekly
Join us on Google+

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2011 Winn/AVMF Veterinary Scholarship Awarded

(Hillsborough, NJ, Aug. 1, 2011)  Winn Feline Foundation and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) join together annually to present two awards designed to promote and encourage feline health studies by both established veterinary research scientists and by those entering this field of study. The “Winnie” and $2500 cash are awarded to a distinguished researcher in feline medicine selected by the AVMF, and a matching cash award from the AVMF is selected by Winn from a large group of student applicants.

Dr. Jessica Balter

The scholarship award this year goes to a newly minted DVM from the Cornell University School of Veterinary Medicine, Jessica Balter. Dr. Balter was president of the student chapter of the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) and coordinated numerous events to educate veterinary students and the community on important aspects of feline medicine. She has been active in trap-neuter-return programs and feral colony care, demonstrating a devotion to the needs of felines in the shelter setting and rescue operations. Her interest in cats dates back to her high school days, when she fostered kittens and worked for her local shelter.  Dr. Balter says, “I hope to build a strong foundation of medical knowledge which I can use to guide me through the unique aspects of shelter medicine while simultaneously advancing the treatment of shelter animals….”   Having lived with many rescued felines, Dr. Balter has gained a deep appreciation of the behavioral needs of cats and a keen appreciation of the need for specialists dedicated to feline medicine. Dr. Balter will be completing a year-long, small animal rotating internship at Brightheart Veterinary Referral and Emergency Center, a specialty hospital on Long Island, NY.   

Winn Feline Foundation and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation are pleased to be associated together in this effort to focus attention on care for “Every Cat, Every Day.”  

(Hillsborough, NJ, Aug. 1, 2011)  Winn Feline Foundation and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) join together annually to present two awards designed to promote and encourage feline health studies by both established veterinary research scientists and by those entering this field of study. The “Winnie” and $2500 cash are awarded to a distinguished researcher in feline medicine selected by the AVMF, and a matching cash award from the AVMF is selected by Winn from a large group of student applicants.

Dr. Jessica Balter

The scholarship award this year goes to a newly minted DVM from the Cornell University School of Veterinary Medicine, Jessica Balter. Dr. Balter was president of the student chapter of the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) and coordinated numerous events to educate veterinary students and the community on important aspects of feline medicine. She has been active in trap-neuter-return programs and feral colony care, demonstrating a devotion to the needs of felines in the shelter setting and rescue operations. Her interest in cats dates back to her high school days, when she fostered kittens and worked for her local shelter.  Dr. Balter says, “I hope to build a strong foundation of medical knowledge which I can use to guide me through the unique aspects of shelter medicine while simultaneously advancing the treatment of shelter animals….”   Having lived with many rescued felines, Dr. Balter has gained a deep appreciation of the behavioral needs of cats and a keen appreciation of the need for specialists dedicated to feline medicine. Dr. Balter will be completing a year-long, small animal rotating internship at Brightheart Veterinary Referral and Emergency Center, a specialty hospital on Long Island, NY.   

Winn Feline Foundation and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation are pleased to be associated together in this effort to focus attention on care for “Every Cat, Every Day.”  

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