WSAVA Awards
Left to right: WSAVA President Jolle Kirpensteijn, Dr Jan Rothuizen and Dr Hein Meyer
WSAVA president Jolle Kirpensteijn said: "The WSAVA is delighted to recognise the pioneering work of this year's award winners. They have made significant contributions to improving the care of companion animals in their specialist areas and, on behalf of the WSAVA, I congratulate them. We are also grateful that some of them were able to join us at the 2010 Congress to give lectures on their latest research, which were enthusiastically received by delegates.”
The winners are detailed below:
WSAVA Hill's Excellence in Veterinary Healthcare Award
This award was made to Jan Rothuizen, head of the clinical sciences department at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University. He was judged to have made an outstanding contribution to the promotion of companion animal healthcare and the family pet/veterinary bond. Dr Rothuizen has been instrumental in defining WSAVA standards for the clinical and histological diagnosis of canine and feline liver disease and is leading international projects to collect and analyse DNA from purebred dogs to identify genetic markers, help reduce the high level of inherited canine disease and improve the mechanisms and pathways of the pathology.
Left to right: WSAVA President Jolle Kirpensteijn, Prof Peter Muir and Dr Hein Meyer
This award, recognising the outstanding work of a clinical researcher in the field of canine and feline orthopaedics, was made to Peter Muir, professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. The award was made in view of Professor Muir's work to improve global understanding of the causes of cruciate ruptures in dogs, which was judged to have contributed significantly to the well-being of dogs and to have enriched the human-animal bond worldwide.
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
