Purdue Students Among 2019 Zoetis Veterinary Student Scholars Award Recipients

March 29, 2019

A total of eight Purdue veterinary students were honored at this year’s annual SAVMA Symposium as recipients of the 2019 Zoetis Veterinary Student Scholars Awards. The awards are given to second- and third-year students at colleges of veterinary medicine in the U.S. and Caribbean on the basis of academic excellence, leadership, and financial need, as well as efforts to meet the ongoing needs of the veterinary profession in the areas of diversity, sustainability, and mixed/rural medicine practice.

Congratulations to the following Purdue recipients of the Zoetis Veterinary Student Scholars Award:

DVM Class of 2020

Anne Marshall
Casey Schuelke
Jessica White
Jesse Whitfield

DVM Class of 2021

Zhané Brown
Wyatt Krom
Jonathan Richardson
Sarah Wunderlich

This year over 1,400 applications from second- and third-year students were received for the scholarship program, which is conducted as a collaboration between Zoetis and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC). From those applications, 315 recipients were selected to receive $630,000 cumulatively in scholarships. In a joint statement released by Zoetis and the AAVMC, Dr. Christine Jenkins, Zoetis chief medical officer and vice president for veterinary medical services and outcomes research U.S., said Zoetis is very pleased to be able to financially reward dedicated veterinary students who are already making outstanding contributions to the veterinary profession and to the overall well-being and medical care of animals. This is the ninth year for this program and Zoetis has donated over $6.7 million toward scholarships. The names of the 2019 Zoetis Veterinary Student Scholarship recipients were displayed at the Zoetis booth during the annual SAVMA Symposium, which was held March 9-11 at the University of Georgia.

The 2020 Veterinary Student Scholar Award program is expected to launch in early October 2019. The AAVMC said it is pleased to have the opportunity to support the Zoetis commitment to reward dedicated veterinary students who are making outstanding contributions to the future of the veterinary profession. Click here for more information about the Zoetis Veterinary Student Scholarship program.

Writer(s): Kevin Doerr | pvmnews@purdue.edu

Recent Stories

“Paws Up” for Jennifer Danaher – brought to you by the PVM Wellness Committee

This week we express our gratitude to Jennifer Danaher, who is department secretary for Veterinary Clinical Sciences.

‘Purdue Pursuits’: A PVM angle on Purdue’s teaching and learning reading groups

Crafting meaningful and engaging course experiences has been at the top of Dielson Vieira’s mind ever since he joined the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s faculty in 2024. As a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Vieira is already adept at applying innovative teaching practices to classroom environments, but that doesn’t stop him from seeking out new ideas, approaches and perspectives — insights he gains through outlets like Purdue’s teaching and learning reading groups.

Top tier biology journal publishes PVM study that unlocks secrets of a drug-resistant fungal pathogen, which causes serious infections in humans

Though the name “Candida auris” is far from a household term, public health experts know it well because the multi-drug-resistant fungal pathogen, which causes serious human infections, has been classified as an urgent threat by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Antibiotic Threats Report (2019). Dr. Shankar Thangamani, Associate Professor of Microbiology and University Faculty Scholar in the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Comparative Pathobiology, is researching C. auris, aided by a 2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). New research findings, just published in Nature Microbiology, show how C. auris adapts and evades the immune system.

In Print: ‘Translational Research Methods for Tauopathies’

A just-published 300-page volume edited by Jessica Fortin, Purdue assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Basic Medical Sciences, provides a significant new resource for researchers studying a group of neurodegenerative diseases known as tauopathies. “Translational Research Methods for Tauopathies” provides detailed protocols intentionally selected to serve as a basis for research laboratories seeking to further treatments for such debilitating neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer’s and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

It’s Almost Here!

Though the annual Purdue Veterinary Conference is almost upon us, there’s still time to register and take advantage of this time-honored College of Veterinary Medicine fall tradition that combines excellent continuing education with fun opportunities for reconnecting with colleagues and classmates, networking, and learning about the latest veterinary trends and products. The 2026 Purdue Veterinary Conference takes place September 23–26 on the Purdue University campus. The annual event has something for everyone, from veterinarians to veterinary technicians, faculty, staff and students.