Veterinary surgeon wins travel scholarship to Tanzania

Ms Kathryn Allan was today (Saturday) announced as the winner of the Harry Steele-Bodger Memorial Scholarship travel award for 2008.  The announcement came during the Awards Ceremony at the British Veterinary Association’s Annual Congress in London.

Ms Allan, who graduated from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Edinburgh in July, was awarded a grant of £1089 to undertake an evaluation of diagnostic tests for investigating the epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis in Tanzania.

Notes for editors

1. The Harry Steele-Bodger Memorial Scholarship was established in 1953 to honour the memory of Mr Henry W Steele-Bodger, President of the BVA 1939/41, in recognition of his great services to the veterinary profession and agriculture, particularly during the war years of 1939/45.  The award is only open to graduates of veterinary schools in the UK and Ireland who have been qualified for not more than three years, or to penultimate or final year students at these schools.

2. Graduating from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Edinburgh in July, Ms Allan also has an intercalated BSc in Veterinary Pathology from the Royal Veterinary College, London where her research project focused on captive wildlife disease, investigating cholesterol-related diseases in captive meerkats.   Ms Allan has a strong interest in the control of disease between domestic animals, wildlife and humans.

3. Ms Allan’s project will involve an evaluation of diagnostic tests for bovine tuberculosis (TB) in rural Tanzania and an investigation of genetic factors affecting disease patterns in multiple hosts. This will include a comparison of rapid test (lateral flow) (Chembio Diagostic Systems Inc) and interferon gamma tests in the field in addition to intradermal tuberculin tests.   A continuation and development of background work started by Dr Tiziana Lembo’s BBSRC-funded project on bovine TB in Tanzania, this project is a collaboration between Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Tanzania, Swiss Tropical Institute, Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA), UK. SUA is a regional centre for excellence and during this project Ms Allan will be working with Professor Rudovick Kazwala, a recognised leading specialist in his field.

4. The project will also include participation in a regional training course run by a Wellcome Trust-funded project which is establishing a network for bovine TB in East Africa at SUA. This will include additional training in molecular methods, strain-typing and spoligotyping.

5. For further information contact Helena Cotton on 020 7908 6340 or by email  helenac@bva.co.uk