PVM Alumna Receives Prestigious ACVS Award

November 1, 2024

Karen K. Cornell, DVM, PhD, Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons, recipient of the Al and Carolyn Schiller Distinguished Service Award

This year’s American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) Surgery Summit featured the announcement of the recipients of a trio of prestigious awards, and one of the award winners is a Purdue Veterinary Medicine alumna. Dr. Karen Cornell (PU DVM ’88; PhD ’98) was selected by the ACVS Board of Regents as the recipient of the 2024 Al and Carolyn Schiller Distinguished Service Award, which was presented at the conference on October 24 in Pheonix, Arizona.

The Al and Carolyn Schiller Distinguished Service Award is given to recognize exceptional contributions to the ACVS. Dr. Cornell earned both her DVM and PhD degrees at the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1988 and 1998, respectively. After completing the DVM program, Dr. Cornell worked in a small animal private practice before returning to Purdue to complete a small animal surgical residency and earn her PhD degree in cancer biology.

Dr. Cornell’s record of service to the ACVS dates back to the time when she became board-certified and began volunteering as a member of the editorial review board for Veterinary Surgery. She transitioned to continuing education, serving with the Small Animal Surgery Scientific Session Committee. Dr. Cornell served on the Examination Committee and as its chair. She also served as a regent on the Board of Regents and as ACVS president and chair. During that time, Dr. Cornell led the organization through strategic planning, the creation of fellowship programs, and the move to a digital examination process. Dr. Cornell has been a frequent speaker at the ACVS Surgery Summit and former ACVS Veterinary Symposium, demonstrating her prominence as a surgeon and communication skills leader.

Dr. Cornell is associate dean for professional programs at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. She received the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Distinguished Alumna Award in 2009.

In addition to her ACVS service, Dr. Cornell has demonstrated a passion for professional development and surgical training of all veterinary professionals in her faculty roles at Texas A&M University and previously, the University of Georgia. Dr. Cornell has been responsible for the surgical education of more than 4,000 veterinarians. Her passion for teaching is clear in the multiple accolades with which she has been honored, including the Carl J. Norden/Pfizer/Zoetis Distinguished Teaching Award twice, the Student AVMA Community Outreach Excellence Award, and the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorship.

Writer(s): Purdue Veterinary Medicine News

Source: Lucretia DiSanto, Communication Director, American College of Veterinary Surgeons

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.