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Since 2002, the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) has held the BI Veterinary Scholars Program for students to conduct career-affirming research. After 10 weeks of research, participants present a poster at the CVM’s Research Day each October.
The “summer scholars” who have participated in the program have produced several projects that have resulted in a journal publication. The process allows participating students to better understand the role research plays in advancing veterinary medicine.
“Even if they don’t end up choosing a ‘nontraditional’ vet career, such as research, many feel that they better understand the role research plays in developing new treatment protocols or therapeutics,” says Mark Rutherford, PhD, associate dean for graduate studies at the CVM. “They appreciate the science behind the medicine.”
In the past 16 years, fruitful discoveries made by summer scholars have sparked many careers, including cancer researchers, drug development scientists at biotech companies, and even a wildlife veterinarian for the National Park Service.
Infographic by Nathan Pasch