EHRF Research Fellowship program

EHRF Research Fellow Dr. Stacy Anderson. Photo: Michael Raine.

During the mid-1970s, you could count the number of equine veterinary specialists and researchers who were living and working in Western Canada on the fingers of one hand.

Things have dramatically changed in three decades. Today, the region has a thriving population of equine specialists — and much of the credit for that growth goes to the Equine Health Research Fund’s research fellowship program.

Nearly three dozen graduate students at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine have taken on the honoured title of EHRF Research Fellow since the first student was selected for the role in 1977. Each year, the Fund selects one or two graduate veterinarians for the fellowship program, then pays for their annual salaries and provides grants for their research projects.

With the Fund’s support, former EHRF Research Fellows have gone on to work in or to establish their own equine practices in Western Canada. Others have joined the faculties of veterinary institutions across North America, while some have excelled in research, industry or in the public service.