Left to right: Catherine Brinkley, Laurel Redding, Alison Barnstable

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Student Inspiration Awards for 2009 have been announced by the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. The award recipients, who will receive $100,000 in unrestricted funding, are:

1.     Catherine Brinkley, of La Crosse, MI, is a second-year student at Penn Vet and is enrolled in the School’s VMD-PhD program. Her winning project was entitled “Design for Health.” Her plan blends veterinary medicine with city planning to create a unified and cross-disciplinary approach to animal care and urban life. “I am honored and beyond thrilled to be chosen for the Inspiration Award,” she said. “The prospect of bringing Design for Health to life has been a dream for the past five years for me, and I am greatly indebted to the Hills and Penn Vet for giving me the chance to make it happen.” Ms. Brinkley also has been accepted into the Urban Planning PhD Program at Penn to pursue the study of “Design for Health: Planning Animal Facilities to Prevent Infectious Disease Spread.”

2.     Alison Barnstable, of Narberth, PA, and Laurel Redding, of Philadelphia, two second-year students at Penn Vet, won with a project entitled “Increasing Agricultural Productivity in Developing Countries.” “I am so excited to receive this award, as it creates an opportunity for me to join the global health community, addressing the issues of health, poverty and hunger,” said Ms. Barnstable. “This award will allow us to create a sustainable veterinary involvement in global health through collaboration with Heifer International. I hope this work will benefit veterinary students, animal health providers here and abroad and developing communities. I cannot thank Mr. and Mrs. Hill enough for their generosity.”

Their project involves a partnership with Heifer International, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people produce their own food, with a program that encourages the development of para-professional veterinary services to ensure the productivity of donated animals. They also plan to create opportunities for veterinary student volunteerism and research and increase the flow of information concerning the needs of developing countries into veterinary schools in the U.S. “I am truly honored and thrilled to have received this award,” said Ms. Redding, who is enrolled in Penn Vet’s VMD-PhD program. “The Inspiration Awards are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to make a contribution to veterinary medicine as students. I am very excited about launching this project and undertaking a meaningful collaboration with Heifer International in the field of global public health.”

“I am proud of all our outstanding students,” said Dr. Joan C. Hendricks, the Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of Veterinary Medicine. “The level of talent and commitment exemplified by these Student Inspiration Award winners is truly amazing. I am confident they are on the right track for changing the world.”

Earlier this month, Penn Vet announced the selection of Dr. Frederick A. Murphy as the 2009 recipient of the Penn Vet World Leadership Award. Dr. Murphy is the James W. McLaughlin Professor in Residence, Department of Pathology, at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

The Penn Vet World Leadership Award is given annually to a veterinarian who has dramatically changed the practice and image of the profession and substantially influenced the lives and careers of others. The award provides the recipient with $100,000 in unrestricted funding, the largest monetary award in veterinary medicine.

The Penn Vet World Leadership Award and Student Inspiration Awards will be presented Monday, April 20, 2009, at the Vernon and Shirley Hill Pavilion on Penn Vet’s Philadelphia campus. All three awards are underwritten by the Vernon and Shirley Hill Foundation. “Recognizing outstanding individuals with a commitment to changing the world is the purpose of the Penn Vet Student Inspiration Awards,” said Vernon Hill. “Congratulations to our outstanding student winners.”