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Young Scientist Award
The European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD) invites applications for the ABCD & Merial Young Scientist Award 2012.
Candidates should have made an original contribution to the field of feline infectious diseases and/or immunology.
For the first time this year, two prizes will be awarded, one for clinical research, the other for basic investigation.
Applications
Applications for the 2012 awards should be submitted by 1 January 2012.
Details can be found in the following documents:
Previous AMYSA laureates
Isabelle Dietrich, laureate of the 2011 ABCD & Merial Young Scientist Award
The ABCD and Merial Young Scientist Award 2011 was presented to Isabelle Dietrich (Center for Virus Research of the University of Glasgow, UK) for her work on a potential gene therapy for cats infected with the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), based on restriction of the virus with a synthetic feline TRIM5-CypA fusion protein. Such a gene therapy for FIV-infected cats would offer an effective antiviral defense strategy with a very low potential for toxicity and the emergence of resistant viral variants, and would contribute significantly to animal welfare.
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Isabelle Dietrich, of the University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, received the 2011 ABCD & Merial Young Scientist Award on 25 June 2011, on the occasion of the International Society of Feline Medicine, held in Vienna, Austria. She is flanked by professor Horzinek (ABCD chairman, at left) and Jean-Christophe Thibault (Merial). |
William McEwan, laureate of the 2010 ABCD & Merial Young Scientist Award
The ABCD and Merial Young Scientist Award 2010 was presented to Dr William McEwan (MRC-Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK), for his work on the replication and cross-species transmission of feline immunodeficiency virus infection in domestic cats and lions, and the resitriction factors in these species in particular. FIV infections of the domestic cat and lion are examples of comparatively novel and ancient host-pathogen interactions respectively, and while domestic cats are permissive to a broad range of retroviruses, lions can potently restrict replication.
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William McEwan (centre), of the MRC-Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK, received the 2010 ABCD & Merial Young Scientist Award on 20 June 2010, on the occasion of the International Society of Feline Medicine, held in Amsterdam. He is flanked by professor Horzinek (ABCD chairman) and Jean-Christophe Thibault (Merial). |
Jonas Wensman, laureate of the 2009 ABCD & Merial Young Scientist Award
The ABCD & Merial Young Scientist Award 2009 was won by Dr Jonas Wensman (SLU, Sweden) for his work on the diagnosis of bornavirus infection in cats. At present, the tentative diagnosis of bornavirus infection (staggering disease) can only be made clinically by excluding other causative agents. The need for sensitive and specific diagnostics has led Jonas to help develop a real-time RT-PCR assay.
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Jonas Wensman, from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) received the 2009 ABCD & Merial Young Scientist Award (AMYSA) on 20 June 2009, on the occasion of the congress of the European Society of Feline Medicine, held in Cavtat, Dubrovnik (Croatia). At left, Jean-Christophe Thibault (Merial) and at right, Marian Horzinek (ABCD chairman). |
Hannah Dewerchin wins the first ABCD & Merial Young Scientist Award 2008
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The ABCD and Merial Young Scientist Award 2008 was won by Dr Hannah Dewerchin (Ghent University), for her work on Feline infectious peritonitis, and in particular its interaction with the host cell, monocytes and its ability to evade the humoral immune response.
The first ABCD and Merial Young Scientist Award 2008 was presented to Dr Hannah Dewerchin, from the Ghent University (Belgium), on 25 September in Edinburgh, on the occasion of the congress of the European Society of Feline Medicine. |