2017 ABCD & Merial Young Scientist Award
PRESS RELEASE
Maciej Parys wins the 2017 ABCD & Merial Young Scientist Award
The 2017 ABCD & Merial Young Scientist Award (AMYSA) will go to Dr Maciej Parys (32), originally from Poland and currently working at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies of the University of Edinburgh, UK, for his work on the immunomodulatory properties of feline mesenchymal stem cells (MSC).
“Our studies have shown that feline MSC use a similar set of genes as human cells. This makes inflammatory disorders in cats a reliable model for studying MSC therapy”, Dr Parys explained. “We have also proven that feline MSC are able to block the proliferation of stimulated peripheral mononuclear blood cells, which further supports their use in the treatment of immune-mediated diseases.”
“Dr Parys’s work may be of importance for a wide field of inflammatory and immune-mediated diseases, and not only in cats”, commented Dr Karin Moestl, chair of the European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD), adding that this year’s applications were of particularly high quality. “Dr Parys provided excellent work and this award recognizes a scientist with very promising career”, added Dr Jean-Christophe Thibault, Merial’s Global Technical Director for Companion Animal vaccines.
The award (1000€) is funded by Merial and will be presented by the ABCD at the congress of the International Society of Feline Medicine, to be held from 28 June to 2 July 2017 in Brighton, UK. The recipients of the Clinical and Research AMYSA 2016 were Vito Colella (University of Bari) and Mirja Nolff (University of Munich).
The ABCD and Merial Young Scientist Award, created in 2008, is funded by Merial and is presented to young scientists in veterinary or biomedical sciences, who have made an original contribution in the field of feline infectious diseases and/or immunology.
Applicants should have published their findings in a journal listed in PubMed or Web of Science or have had them accepted by another recognised assessing body. Candidates should be based in Europe, have completed a veterinary or biomedical curriculum, and be under 35 years of age at the time of application. Applications in the fields of both basic and applied sciences are welcome.
For further information, please contact Karin de Lange, ABCD secretary, karin.delange@abcd-vets.org
Notes to Editors:
- The European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD) is an independent panel of 15 leading veterinarians from eleven European countries, with an expertise in immunology, vaccinology and/or feline medicine. The ABCD was set up to compile guidelines for the prevention and management of major feline infectious diseases in Europe, based on current scientific knowledge. For more information, please visit www.abcdcatsvets.org
- Merial is a world-leading, innovation-driven animal health company, providing a comprehensive range of products to enhance the health, wellbeing and performance of a wide range of animals. Merial employs 6,900 people and operates in more than 150 countries worldwide, with $2.5 billion of sales in 2015. Merial is now part of Boehringer Ingelheim. For more information, please see http://www.merial.com.
Mirja Nolff and Vito Colella win the 2016 ABCD & Merial Young Scientist Awards
The ABCD & Merial Young Scientist Awards (AMYSA) for Basic Research and for Clinical Research were presented at the occasion of the congress of the International Society of Feline Medicine, organised by International Cat Care, in Malta, on the 30th of June.
Mirja Nolff: Negative pressure wound therapy
The 2016 AMYSA for Clinical Research was presented to Dr Mirja Nolff (35), staff surgeon at the Clinic for Small Animal Surgery and Reproduction at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany. “The incidence of multidrug resistant bacteria in companion animals is increasing, she recalled. Antibiotic therapy is per definition rarely effective in these cases. Although the value of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) has been shown to significantly reduce sepsis and improve healing in dogs, studies in cats were lacking. Our controlled study showed the benefit of this technique for cats.”
“Her work has highlighted the potential of this new form of therapy in cats, commented Dr Karin Moestl, chair of the European Advisory Board on Cats Diseases (ABCD), and may certainly help improve the quality of wound care and welfare in our feline patients.”
Vito Colella
The 2016 AMYSA for Basic Research went to Dr Vito Colella (28), PhD student and resident of the European Veterinary Parasitology College at the University of Bari, for his work on feline lungworm infection. “Recently, we demonstrated the ability of dead or alive C. aspersum snails to shed infective third-stage larvae (L3s) of these lungworms in the environment. These elimination pathways may represent alternative routes of environmental contamination and sources of the infection for cats under field conditions and may significantly affect the epidemiology of feline lungworms.”
“Dr Colella’s work will contribute to a better understanding of the epidemiology and transmission patterns of feline lungworms, commented Dr Jean-Christophe Thibault, Merial’s Technical Director for Biologicals (Europe, Middle East and Africa). It will also assist in the identification and development of novel treatment and control strategies.”
ABCD & Merial Young Scientist Awards
The ABCD and Merial Young Scientist Award, created in 2008, is funded by Merial and is presented to young scientists in veterinary or biomedical sciences, who have made an original contribution in the field of feline infectious diseases and/or immunology.
Applicants should have published their findings in a journal listed in PubMed or Web of Science or have had them accepted by another recognised assessing body. Candidates should be based in Europe, have completed a veterinary or biomedical curriculum, and be under 35 years of age at the time of application. Applications in the fields of both basic and applied sciences are welcome.
For further information, please contact Karin de Lange, ABCD secretary, karin.delange@abcd-vets.org
Notes to Editors:
Photo attached (credit: ©iCatCare). Caption ABCD & Merial Young Scientist Award winners Mirja Nolff (second right) and Vito Colella (at right) flanked by Karin Moestl (ABCD chair, at left) and Jean-Christophe Thibault (Merial, second left),
- The European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD) is an independent panel of 15 leading veterinarians from eleven European countries, with an expertise in immunology, vaccinology and/or feline medicine. The ABCD was set up to compile guidelines for the prevention and management of major feline infectious diseases in Europe, based on current scientific knowledge. For more information, please visit abcdcatsvets.org
- Merial is a world-leading, innovation-driven animal health company, providing a comprehensive range of products to enhance the health, well-being and performance of a wide range of animals. Merial employs 6,100 people and operates in more than 150 countries worldwide, with over $2 billion of sales in 2014. Merial is a Sanofi company. For more information, please see http://www.merial.com.
Paweł Bęczkowski and Emily Porter win the 2015 ABCD & Merial Young Scientist Awards
Publication date: 21/09/2015
September 2015 - Two ABCD & Merial Young Scientist Awards (AMYSA), for Basic research and for Clinical research were presented this year. The award ceremonies took place on the 2nd of July in Porto (Portugal), at the occasion of the congress of the International Society of Feline Medicine, organised by International Cat Care.
Paweł Bęczkowski: better understanding FIV infection
The 2015 AMYSA for Basic Research was presented to Dr Paweł Bęczkowski (31), a Polish resident in internal medicine (ECVIM) at the Small Animal Hospital at the University of Glasgow, UK. While studying at the University’s Centre for Virus Research, he focused on virus evolution in the disease progression of natural feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). Relatively little is known about this process in naturally infected cats: why do some infected cats remain healthy while others rapidly progress to immunodeficiency? Dr Bęczkowski found this may be due to the relative stability of the FIV env gene.
“His work may help contribute to a better understanding of FIV infection, commented Dr Karin Moestl, chair of the European Advisory Board on Cats Diseases (ABCD). “This work is not only of veterinary significance and of clinical relevance, but also of comparative significance, as FIV serves as a valuable model for HIV infection.”
Emily Porter: FCoV genotypes and the development of FIP
The 2015 AMYSA for Clinical research went to Dr Emily Porter (27) of Bristol University, for her work on the relationship between FCoV genotypes and the development of FIP. Feline coronavirus infection (FIP) is one of most common causes of infectious disease in young cats housed in multicat environments. However, only a small percentage of infected cats go on to develop disease signs associated with FIP. Sequencing of the complete genomes of pathogenic and non-pathogenic viruses allowed identifying differences in the viruses that may contribute to pathogenicity.
“Emily Porter’s work contributes to the identification of virus mutations relating to the development of FIP”, commented Dr Jean-Christophe Thibault, Merial’s Technical Director for Biologicals (Europe, Middle East and Africa). “It also opens the door to the development of a robust reverse genetics system, contributing to the development of new diagnostic tools and to the construction of genetically modified recombinant viruses as candidate vaccine strains”.
ABCD & Merial Young Scientist Awards
The ABCD and Merial Young Scientist Awards, created in 2008, are funded by Merial and are presented to young scientists in veterinary or biomedical sciences, who have made an original contribution in the field of feline infectious diseases and/or immunology.
Applicants should have published their findings in a journal listed in PubMed or Web of Science or have had them accepted by another recognised assessing body. Candidates should be based in Europe, have completed a veterinary or biomedical curriculum, and be under 35 years of age at the time of application. Applications in the fields of both basic and applied sciences are welcome.
For further information, please contact Karin de Lange, ABCD secretary, karin.delange@abcd-vets.org
Notes to Editors:
g Photo attached (credit: ©iCatCare). Caption ABCD & Merial Young Scientist Award winners Emily Porter (second left) and Paweł Bęczkowski (centre) flanked by Jean-Christophe Thibault (Merial, at left), Karin Moestl (ABCD chair) and Claire Bessant (iCatCare, on the right)
g The European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD) is an independent panel of 17 leading veterinarians from eleven European countries, with an expertise in immunology, vaccinology and/or feline medicine. The
ABCD was set up to compile guidelines for the prevention and management of major feline infectious diseases in Europe, based on current scientific knowledge. For more information, please visit www.abcdcatsvets.org or www.abcd-vets.org.
g Merial is a world-leading, innovation-driven animal health company, providing a comprehensive range of products to enhance the health, well-being and performance of a wide range of animals. Merial employs 6,100 people and operates in more than 150 countries worldwide, with over $2 billion of sales in 2014. Merial is a Sanofi company. For more information, please see http://www.merial.com.