AKC Canine Health Foundation Researchers Receive Awards Recognizing Their Work in Veterinary Medicine

The AKC Canine Health Foundation (CHF) is pleased to announce that Dr. Lance Visser, DVM, a CHF 2013 Clinician Scientist Fellow from the Ohio State University and Dr. Randolf Winter, DVM, a co-investigator on a CHF Acorn grant from Texas A&M University, were recently recognized as 2014 ACVIM Resident Research Award Winners by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM).

Dr. Visser presented on “Echocardiographic Assessment of Right Ventricular Systolic Function Following a Single Dose of Pimobendan Versus Atenolol in Conscious Healthy Dogs: A Prospective, Blinded, Randomized, Crossover Study.” He aims to define the best-performing echocardiographic variables that track changes in right ventricular function in response to pharmacologic manipulation. His data will stimulate further studies that will allow veterinary cardiologists to define new ways of evaluating and prognosticating for dogs with heart and lung diseases that affect heart function.

Dr. Winter presented on “Biologic Variability of N-Terminal Pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide and Cardiac Troponin I in Healthy Dogs and Dogs with Myxomatous Mitral Valve Disease”. He is working with his mentor, Dr Ashley Saunders, to enhance treatment of mitral valve disease through the identification of biological markers of disease.

“CHF is committed to funding research that helps move canine health forward,” said Dr. Shila Nordone, CHF’s Chief Scientific Officer. “Both Dr. Visser and Dr. Winter represent our commitment to supporting young clinician scientists, and we expect that these two men will be among the next generation of key opinion leaders in veterinary medicine. CHF congratulates them on this prestigious achievement.”

The ACVIM Research Award is presented annually. This prestigious award recognizes ten active researchers who are on the cutting edge of veterinary medicine.