It is my sincere pleasure to announce the recipients of our first awards for the best papers in JAVMA and AJVR authored by a student, intern, and resident. Manuscripts were nominated primarily by senior authors on the same manuscript, but support of a nomination was also received from many other wonderful, often unanticipated sources. Mentorship is alive and well in veterinary medicine! Nominated manuscripts were reviewed by a 6-member panel from our Associate Editor Board and ranked based on potential impact and clinical relevance.
The 2021-2022 winners are:
JAVMA Students
Briana Domenegato, University of Prince Edward Island, Canada. Effects of handling and storage on potassium concentration in plasma and serum samples obtained from cats.
doi:doi.org/10.2460/javma.20.09.0530
Brendan Nagler, Michigan State University. ATP7A, ATP7B, and RETN genotypes in Labrador Retrievers with and without copper-associated hepatopathy.
doi:doi.org/10.2460/javma.21.12.0541
JAVMA Interns
Ashley Iodence, University of Georgia. Dogs undergoing surgical excision of mast cell tumors are not at increased risk of incisional complications.
doi:doi.org/10.2460/javma.20.09.0488
Tyler Sugerman-McGiffin, Western University of Health Sciences. Clients’ attitudes toward veterinarian’s attire in the small animal emergency medicine setting.
doi:doi.org/10.2460/javma.253.3.355
JAVMA Residents
Christina De Armond, University of Florida. Accuracy of virtual surgical planning and custom three-dimensionally printed osteotomy and reduction guides for acute uni- and biapical correction of antebrachial deformities in dogs.
doi:doi.org/10.2460/javma.21.09.0419
Melissa Moya, Michigan State University. Investigation of the urine cortisol to creatinine ratio for the diagnosis of hypoadrenocortisicm in dogs.
doi:doi.org/10.2460/javma.21.12.0538
AJVR Students
Corey Fisher, University of Florida. Effects of a flotation vest and water flow rate on limb kinematics of Siberian Huskies swimming against a current.
doi:doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.21.02.0021
J. Blake Everett, University of Tennessee. Effects of stacked wedge pads and chains applied to the forefeet of Tennessee Walking Horses for a five-day period on behavioral and biochemical indicators of pain, stress, and inflammation.
doi:doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.79.1.21
AJVR Interns
Brenna Pugliese, AO Research Institute, Switzerland. Biochemical and wearability testing of novel legwear for variably limiting extension of the metacarpophalangeal joint of horses.
doi:doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.82.1.39
AJVR Residents
Nicole Alessia Mikoni, University of California-Davis. Evaluation of weight-bearing, locomotion, thermal antinociception, and footpad size in a carrageenan-induced inflammatory model in the cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus).
doi:doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.22.02.0020
Paula Rodriguez, University of California-Davis. Pharmacokinetics of grapriprant administered to red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) after food was withheld for 24 hours.
doi:doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.82.11.912
As you can see, there is tremendous diversity in the species and subject matter from clinical medicine and surgery to welfare topics in dogs, horses, and birds. What is also wonderful to see is the wide geographic distribution of alma maters where the awardees performed the work of their winning manuscripts.
Winners were announced at the AVMA convention in July, earning profession–wide recognition. Recipients received a Certificate of Achievement and a cash prize of $500.00. Winners will also benefit from our unmatched social media exposure including upcoming interviews for our podcast, “Veterinary Vertex,” that launches this month. We are also waiving the Open Access fee ($1600.00 value) for their next manuscript published in JAVMA or AJVR! That means free access for readers anywhere in the world.
These awards are just one of the many commitments from the AVMA to support our early career colleagues and give them the recognition they deserve. For instance, we are proud to announce in this issue a new feature in collaboration with SAVMA called “Did You Know?”—brief, fun veterinary facts submitted by veterinary students and published in the journals with full recognition of the contributor. (See below for our first “Did You Know?”) This is just one more visible sign of our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion of veterinarians at all stages of training. I reiterate that we welcome diverse opinions and approaches to clinical and research-based authorship—the very foundation of these awards. For instructions on how to submit to “Did You Know?” please visit this link: https://avmajournals.avma.org/page/Did-You-Know.
You might be wondering how you can nominate a student, intern, or resident author for next year’s awards? We will be updating the websites of JAVMA and AJVR so that nominations can be submitted year-round. If you would like to volunteer to be a manuscript award reviewer, or a reviewer of all manuscripts for that matter, please let me know! We are stiving to make all things JAVMA and AJVR as reviewer (as well as author) friendly as possible.
We at JAVMA and AJVR recognize that seeing a manuscript through to publication is a lot of work on top of your already busy veterinary schedule, and that authors have many choices as to where to submit their manuscripts. We are deeply honored that the authors of these awarded manuscripts entrusted us with their valuable work. I hope you will follow our new “Veterinary Vertex” Podcast to hear our interviews with each of them to gain a behind-the-scenes insight into the inspiration behind the manuscripts.
Respectfully,
Dr. Lisa A. Fortier
Editor-in-Chief, JAVMA and AJVR
Division Director of Publications, AVMA