Student vet scientists tackle animal diseases in USA
Monday 26 July 2010
Student veterinary bioscientists from the University of Surrey are joining experts in the USA to research how infectious agents interact with the host animal as part of a summer scholarship programme. It is hoped that this important research will lead to the development of novel methods to control the spread of disease from animals to humans.
Two first year students from the University of Surrey will spend their 10-week summer placements at North Carolina State University (NCSU) to undertake this research. They will work in the research laboratories of the NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine to help develop ways to tackle diseases spread by ticks and to develop model systems to study important diseases of cats.
Hannah Preedy, a student on the Veterinary Bioscience programme at the University, said: “I’m really excited to have been given the opportunity to work with top scientists in the veterinary field in America. It will be a great experience and I look forward to the challenges I will face.”
The other student winning the scholarship, Anna Stedman, said: “It's a fantastic opportunity to gain hands on experience in ongoing research that could have a direct impact on animal and human health. Also it’s great to be mentored by people at the top of their professions and I’m hoping that some of their brilliance will rub off on me! Hopefully I will make new contacts that could be useful in my future career”.
Links between the two universities extend beyond this scholarship programme. In an exciting development, from 2012, a strategic link between the University of Surrey and North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine will mean two places will be available on the NCSU Veterinary Medicine programme for students graduating from the Veterinary Bioscience programme at Surrey - subject to meeting the NCSU entrance requirements.
Dr Lisa Roberts, Veterinary Bioscience Programme Director at the University of Surrey, said: “I am delighted with how our links with NCSU in the veterinary science area are progressing. The summer exchange is one of the first steps in what promises to be an exciting collaboration between the two universities in both research and teaching. I am delighted that the university could support this initiative by awarding these two scholarships".
Professor David Bristol, Dean of the NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine, commented: “We are very excited about the University of Surrey students that will be working with our faculty this summer in the laboratories of Drs. Ed Breitschwerdt and Jody Gookin, as it marks the beginning of the realisation of a larger collaborative agreement between our college and the University of Surrey. We are also looking forward to the opportunities for faculty interchanges and for similar experiences for our own students in Surrey”.
Read all about Hannah and Anna's activities on their weekly blogs:
Media Enquiries
Howard Wheeler, Press Office at the University of Surrey, Tel: +44 (0)1483 686141, or Email mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk