Boehringer Ingelheim and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture are joining forces to offer veterinary students the opportunity to research diseases that could affect livestock and public health.
The collaboration expands the Boehringer Ingelheim-led Veterinary Scholars Program, which has provided stipends to more than 3,500 veterinary students in the last 30 years to pursue biomedical research.
The expansion will create opportunities for up to 12 students to spend the summer at one of nine USDA sites working with an ARS scientist on a research project in livestock infectious diseases. Boehringer Ingelheim and USDA will cover all costs for the students, including a monthly stipend and costs associated with traveling to and from their schools to the USDA centers.
“ARS employs world-renowned veterinarian scientists with a broad range of expertise in infectious diseases of animal and public health concern,” said Roxann Motroni, DVM, PhD, USDA Agricultural Research Service national program leader for animal health. “This allows us to be responsive to emerging One Health disease threats by quickly implementing research needed to inform emergency response. Through this partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim’s Veterinary Scholars Program, veterinary students across the country will have the opportunity to train with these leading veterinarian scientists.”
USDA’s funding for the program is part of the Agrosecurity Partnerships for Innovative Research, or ASPIRE platform, which aims to stimulate the entire bio and agro-defense research sector through strategic partnerships. The goal of this five-year partnership with the Veterinary Scholars Program is to enhance relationships with national and international veterinary schools by providing their students with collaborative research opportunities in ARS’s specialized facilities. These facilities include the Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory in Athens, Georgia, the National Animal Disease Center in Ames, IA and the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, in Manhattan, Kansas.