Each year, the Lindstrom-Engel Fellowship Awards help College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) postdoctoral researchers who are advancing research in veterinary medicine. Recipients are chosen based on financial need, strong academic performance, and personal character.

In 2025, the fund provided $84,840 to support salaries and professional development opportunities for its postdoctoral researchers. About a quarter of the funding supported career development opportunities for 12 researchers, helping them cover expenses such as conference fees, travel for specialized training and publication costs.

Understanding the future

Jesper Chia-Hui Hsu, DVM, a postdoctoral associate in the Center for Animal Health and Food Safety, used the funds to participate in the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine’s second annual symposium on artificial intelligence in veterinary medicine, an international hybrid event that highlights AI innovation, inclusion, and impact.

At the conference, Hsu delivered the presentation “Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Revolutionize Global Swine Disease Surveillance,” which showcased his team’s research using AI to streamline data collection and evaluation of large language models (LLMs). Thanks to the funds, Hsu was able to afford the conference fee and travel expenses. Hsu says the conference deepened his understanding of how other researchers are bringing AI applications to veterinary medicine, something he says will ultimately strengthen One Health.

“It was a great opportunity to meet people from academia and from the industry who are using artificial intelligence in veterinary medicine,” Hsu says.

Making new connections

Dhananjay Singh, PhD, a postdoctoral associate in the Veterinary Clinical Sciences, is a pharmacist by training and is currently working on pain control research that directly impacts both animal and human health. He used the funds to attend the 2025 United States Association for the Study of Pain in Chicago, where he presented his research on how sex-specific genes influence how pain medications work. The research could lead to better pain medications for both people and animals. 

Singh says attending the conference allowed him to get important updates on what areas of pain research other teams are exploring, and to share his lab’s work with researchers who specialize in both human and animal medicine. 

“It was an opportunity to demonstrate what we were doing in the lab and then get reviews that will help improve the quality of the research we are doing,” Singh says. “I also utilized this opportunity to make new connections with experts in the field of pain medicine, which will certainly help me for future collaboration and professional development.”

Creating opportunities

Xiaomei Yue, PhD, a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, was awarded funding to attend the 2025 American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) meeting in San Francisco. The national conference brings together veterinarians, researchers, and industry professionals to discuss scientific advancements and practical solutions in swine health and production.

Yue was one of 13 presenters selected from approximately 70 submissions for the prestigious Research Topics session. Yue’s research focused on how air filtration can reduce disease outbreaks in sow herds. She says that beyond sharing her work, she benefited from sitting in on other presentations, gaining a better understanding of the challenges and needs of the swine industry.

“What really stood out was the impact of presenting my research in front of such a wide audience,” says Yue, who works on the Morrison Swine Health Monitoring Project. “Shortly after my talk, veterinarians approached me and my supervisor to discuss possible future collaborations, which was both unexpected and exciting.” 

Yue also connected with an associate professor from China, who passed her CV along to a colleague at a strong veterinary medicine program.

That introduction ultimately led to me receiving an official faculty job offer, something that would not have happened without attending this conference,” Yue says.

Honoring Dr. Engel’s Legacy

The postdoctoral fellowship awards are made possible by a generous donation by the estate of Dr. Ronald E. Engel, ’54 DVM, and his wife, Rhea Lindstrom-Engel, which continues to support the future of veterinary research.

A proud University of Minnesota alumnus, Engel earned doctorates in both veterinary medicine and radiation biology before beginning a distinguished career with the USDA in 1977. He rose to become assistant deputy administrator for International Programs within the Food Safety and Inspection Service and, starting in 1988, served as the department’s international scientific liaison. He also contributed his expertise to an interagency radiation research committee under the White House Office of Science and Technology.
Throughout his career, Engel authored over 60 scientific papers covering a range of topics, including radiation, toxicology, microbiology, and food hygiene. At the time of his death, he was the president of the World Association of Veterinary Food Hygienists and had received numerous prestigious awards.

Today, the funding that bears his name continues to extend his influence by providing vital resources to early-career scientists in veterinary medicine.

“Once again, we carried out the vision of Dr. Engel and Mrs. Lindstrom-Engel, supporting our postdocs conducting research in the area of veterinary medicine,” says Alonso Guedes, associate dean for research at CVM. “We are so proud of these early-career scientists who do amazing work and represent us well in so many places and scientific fields.”