MSD Student Award for Excellence in Tropical Animal Health Research

MSD Animal Health intends to support one student from a developing country to attend the first joint AITVM-STVM Conference to be held in Berlin in September 2016. The award will be merit-based in so far as can be judged on the basis of a summary of a completed masters or doctoral research project on Transboundary Animal Diseases.

Transboundary Animal Diseases (TADs) have been described as “those diseases that are of significant economic, trade and/or food security importance for a considerable number of countries; which can easily spread to other countries and reach epidemic proportions; and where control/management, including exclusion, requires cooperation between several countries” (FAO 1996).

The recipient of the Award will be afforded an opportunity to present their findings at the AITVM-STVM conference. The competition is open to young scientists who should have obtained their relevant masters or doctoral degrees on transboundary animal diseases not more than 2 years prior to the application deadline. In addition, only applicants from low- to middle income economies as defined by the World Bank will be eligible. A list of these countries can be found here.

The Award provides:

• A cash prize of 1,600 Euro to off-set travel expenses and accommodation at the first AITVM-STVM conference in Berlin in September 2016.

• The conference registration fee

Application procedure and guidelines:

A complete application must be submitted before March 31, 2016 and should include the following:

1. Research Summary - The student will prepare a concise summary of not more than 3 typed pages describing a research project performed by the applicant. The project should be in the area of Transboundary Animal Diseases. The summary should contain: a) Title with all authors and affiliated institutions listed, b) type of research (Masters or PhD etc.), c) an introduction (history/motivation), d) materials and methods, e) the major findings and f) a discussion/interpretation of the results. The project or research must be completed by the time of application and submission must be approved by all authors. The summary should convey sufficient information for the review committee to fully evaluate the project.

2. Abstract - An abstract based on the research summary will be prepared for inclusion in the conference program. The abstract should contain a title, list of authors and their affiliations, and concise description of the research (see Guidelines for abstract submission at conference website: www.aitvm-stvm2016.com).

3. Letters of Recommendation - The student should submit 2 letters of recommendation from faculty or professional members of the institution(s) which supported the research project.

4. Letter of Motivation - The applicant should submit an essay of no more than 1 page indicating their interest in tropical veterinary medicine, prior experiences and career goals.

5. Biographical Sketch - A CV should be submitted with the educational background of the applicant including academic awards, presentations and/or publications.

Each application will be evaluated by the Members of the Scientific Committee. Evaluation will be based on scientific merit, recommendations and student essay. The winner is expected to give a 15 minute oral presentation of the project at the conference in Berlin.

Deadline for receipt of student award application packet is March 31, 2016. Reviews will be completed on/or before May 6, 2016.

The application must be submitted electronically in Microsoft word or pdf format by e-mail to: info@aitvm-stvm2016.com