Three NSAC Graduate Students Excel in International Research Meetings – Bring Home Top Awards

Three NSAC graduate students, Morag Dick, Catherine Pal and Jennifer Dobson, have received top awards in international research meetings recently held in Nova Scotia.

Morag Dick was the recipient of the prestigious Susan Crissey Memorial Scholarship from the Comparative Nutrition Society for the best student paper on captive animal research. The award also included a $1,000 travel stipend. Morag presented her research at the Seventh Biennial Symposium of the Comparative Nutrition Society held at Liscombe Lodge, Liscomb Mills, during August 8-13, 2008. Morag’s winning paper was titled, “Effects of Dietary Fat Source and Feeding Intensity on the Development of Fatty Liver in the American Mink (Neovison vison).” The research was co-authored by a fellow NSAC student, Jennifer Hurford, and a visiting PhD student, Sha Lei from the Dalian University of Technology in Dalian, China, as well as Research Assistant Lora Harris, Dr. Anne-Mari Mustonen and Dr. Petteri Nieminen from the University of Joensuu, Finland and Dr. Kirsti Rouvinen-Watt from NSAC.

More academic accolades were received by Catherine Pal and Jennifer Dobson, who attended the graduate student competition in the recent IX International Scientific Congress in Fur Animal Production held in Halifax during August 19-23, 2008.

Catherine won the best oral presentation category and Jennifer took back to NSAC the best poster presentation award. Catherine presented research results on the “Effects of Fasting and Re-feeding on the Development of Hepatic Lipidosis in the American Mink (Neovison vison).” The research team consisted of Catherine and Drs. Nieminen, Mustonen and Rouvinen-Watt. The winning poster presentation of Jennifer Dobson was titled, “Intensive Handling of Mink (Neovison vison) Dams During Lactation Reduces Litter Performance and Weaning Weight.” It was co-authored by Dr. Georgia Mason from the University of Guelph and Dr. Rouvinen-Watt.

The award stipends, $500 each, were sponsored by the International Fur Trade Federation (IFTF). The Congress, held only every four years, is organized by the International Fur Animal Scientific Association (IFASA).

All three students are members of the Carnivore Nutrition and Physiology Research Program lead by Dr. Kirsti Rouvinen-Watt at the Department of Plant and Animal Sciences. Our congratulations to these bright young scholars for their top academic achievements!