RVC student wins prestigious award

An RVC canine research student has been announced as the winner of one of Europe’s most prestigious veterinary awards.

Alice Denyer received the Postgraduate Student Inspiration Award as part of the International Canine Health Awards (ICHA) organised by The Kennel Club Charitable Trust.

Global ceremony

Ms Denyer was one of five ICHA recipients at an award ceremony held at The Kennel Club in London.

This year’s other awards and their recipients were:

• International Prize in Canine Health – Yasuko Rikihisa, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine Department of Veterinary Biosciences.
• Lifetime Achievement Award – Danny Scott, James Law professor from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, New York.
• Student Inspiration Award (undergraduate) – Jennifer Palfreyman, University of Liverpool third-year undergraduate student.
• Breed Health Coordinator Award – Tina Watkins, breed health coordinator for basset hounds.

Cash prizes

The winners were given prize money to further their work in the field of canine research, underwritten by a major gift from Vernon and Shirley Hill of Metro Bank.

Prof Rikihisa was awarded £40,000, Dr Scott £10,000, Ms Denyer £10,000, Miss Palfreyman £5,000 and Mrs Watkins £1,000.

Further research

Nominations for the awards were judged by a panel of influential representatives from the veterinary profession and the world of scientific research.

Ms Denyer will use her funding award to help further her research into the genetic differences between individual dog breeds susceptible to pancreatic diseases, such as diabetes.

Great privilege

Her project will investigate the differences between Samoyeds, which have a high prevalence of diabetes, and boxers, which have a tendency to develop a specific type of tumour affecting the same cells as diabetes, with the hope that, in the future, she will also be able to look at the genes of other breeds, including Tibetan and cairn terriers.

She said: “It was very nerve wracking receiving the award, but it was a great privilege to be up there accepting it.

“I’m in the early stages of my PhD at the moment, but I’m really excited about the potential it has and I’m really enjoying it.”