Student Awards

Students should indicate that they want to be considered for these awards on the CRWAD website at the time the abstract is submitted for the meeting.  Preference will be given to students presenting oral presentations, and to students who are close to completing their PhD.

Brenda Love Memorial Travel Award

Brenda Love received her DVM from Oklahoma State University in 1990, and her PhD from the University of California, Davis in 1997, where she characterized heat shock protein expression in avian isolates of Pasteurella multocida.  After obtaining her PhD Brenda worked as a diagnostic bacteriologist, directing service laboratories and collaborating on a variety of applied research projects at the Ohio Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, the Animal Diagnostic Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University, and then the Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory.  Brenda was respected and valued by her colleagues and collaborators for her intelligence, competence, and collegiality.   An ACVM Diplomate in the specialty of bacteriology, Brenda was prominently involved in College activities, having served as a member of the Board of Governors, and as Chair of the Examination Committee.  Personally, Brenda worked to promote opportunities that aided the advancement of working women in developing nations.  Her many thoughtful contributions, typically delivered with a bit of easy humor, are greatly missed. This memorial award provides $1000 to support travel for graduate students in a PhD program to present original research in veterinary bacteriology at the annual CRWAD meeting. 

Elankumaran Subbiah Memorial Travel Award

After growing up in a small town outside of Chennai, India, Kumaran Subbiah completed a veterinary degree, a master’s degree in veterinary microbiology, and a Ph.D. in veterinary microbiology from the Madras Veterinary College. He achieved Diplomate status in virology with the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists in 2003. A nationally renowned virologist, Kumaran studied human and animal viruses and the control of diseases produced by them. He also investigated the use of certain viruses as treatments for invasive tumors and the development of novel, non-invasive immunization strategies to control viral diseases. Subbiah and his colleague Nammalwar “Nathan” Sriranganathan used a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop a veterinary student exchange program between students at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine and students at his alma mater, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) in India. The role that he played in establishing the exchange program, his discoveries in the area of viral infectious diseases, and his mentorship of veterinary students, graduate students, and postdoctoral associates will have a lasting positive impact on global animal and public health.  This memorial award provides $1000 to support travel for graduate students in a PhD program to present original research in veterinary virology at the annual CRWAD meeting. 

Click here for more information about the application procedure for these awards.

Dave Bemis Memorial Award

Dr. David Bemis, PhD, DACVM (Honorary), was a professor and Director of the Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology Laboratory at the University of Tennessee and was an honorary diplomate of the ACVM. The depth and breadth of his bacteriology knowledge was consummate and he was a devoted educator. Dr. Bemis was and one of the original faculty members at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, and he taught bacteriology/mycology to every veterinary student that attended UT until his passing in 2019. He also trained many diplomates of ACVM, passing on his knowledge and love for microbiology. He was highly respected in the field and was a passionate clinical microbiologist. 

This is a joint award between AAVLD Bacteriology Subcommittee and ACVM for travel to the AAVLD Annual Meeting. It is handled by the Bacteriology Subcommittee of AAVLD.  Click here for more information about this award and the application process.

Students should indicate that they want to be considered for these awards on the CRWAD website at the time the abstract is submitted for the meeting.

Don Kahn Award  for Best Overall Presentation

ACVM Student Presentation Award (oral)

ACVM Student Presentation Award (poster)

Consideration for all awards includes clarity of the abstract, scientific merit (sound design, clear and concise description of methods and results, interpretation, conclusions, and impact), quality of the presentation, and presenter responses to questions.  For presentation award, graduate student must be the presenter and using data from their own work to be eligible.  For poster award, candidates must be at their poster during the scheduled presentation time to be eligible.

ACVM/Merck Animal Health Veterinary Graduate Student Research Scholarship

This scholarship is designed to fund graduate student research projects in companion animal infections disease, immunology, or parasitology.  Click here for more information about the scholarship and application process.