Three College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) students helped lead their team to an eighth place finish in the annual Emory Morningside Global Health Case Competition.

The University of Minnesota team, which included CVM students Sarah Kenney, Paige Palomaki, and Rees Parrish as well as students from the UMN Medical School, were tasked with developing a country-wide COVID-19 vaccination program for one of four countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Japan, or Nigeria. As part of their plan, the students also needed to find innovative solutions to hurdles such as vaccine mistrust and distribution issues. 

The UMN team competed alongside 51 other multidisciplinary student teams from universities representing 15 countries and six continents. 

Earlier this year, the team also reigned supreme at the UMN Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility’s (CGHSR) Global Health Case Competition. There, they beat out 14 other teams for the top prize. In total, the competition drew 80 students across 12 schools within the University.

Kenney is a DVM student while Palomaki and Parrish are enrolled in the dual-degree DVM and Masters of Public Health program.