Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) will be contributing $45,000 to three infectious disease research projects as part of its 2017 Advancement in Equine Research Award program, according to EquiManagement.

BI has given upwards of $470,000 for advancing the knowledge of equine infectious disease since 2011.

“For the past 6 years, BI has supported equine research into identifying new disease treatment and prevention methods,” says equine veterinarian Steve Grubbs, BI equine technical manager. “Through this program we are committed to helping advance the understanding, diagnosis, and prevention of infectious equine diseases.”

The following are the 2017 Equine Research Award recipients.

• Nicola Pusterla and Sharon Spier, equine vets at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine.

“Investigation of the role of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and anti-histaminic drugs on the humoral response to a commercial Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis vaccine given to naïve healthy horses.” 

• Nicola Pusterla, equine vet at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine.

“Investigation of the Florida sublineage clade affiliation of equine influenza virus strains using novel multiplex real-time quantitative PCR in nasal secretions submitted to a diagnostic laboratory (2012-2017).” 

• Rebecca P. Wilkes, equine vet at the University of Georgia, Tifton, Ga.

“Targeted next-generation sequencing panel for detection of equine pathogens.” 

An independent panel of equine practitioners, university professors and veterinary medical researchers selected the recipients from numerous proposals. The awards were announced at the American Association of Equine Practitioners Annual Convention in San Antonio, Texas.

Applications for the 2018 Equine Research Award will be open next spring. Veterinarians, diagnosticians and public and private researchers in the United States, Canada and Mexico are eligible to submit proposals. For more information, visit healthyhorses.com.