The AASV Foundation awarded scholarships totaling $25,000 to 15 veterinary students during the meeting’s annual student competition. Twenty-five students representing 10 universities submitted abstracts for consideration, and from those submissions, 15 students were selected to present during the annual meeting.

• Fourth-year WCVM student Heather James received a $1,500 award for her abstract and presentation, "Umbilical hernias and abscesses: result of management issues, not genetics." James conducted her study during the summer of 2006 at Fast Genetics Inc., in Spiritwood, Sask., under the supervision of Murray Duggan and Dr. John Harding.

• Second-year WCVM student Valerie Millette received an honourable mention for her abstract and presentation, "A kinematic analysis of walking posture and gait in neonatal pigs after castration." Millette conducted the project as a 2006 summer research student at WCVM with Dr. Joe Stookey and PhD student Monica Seguin.

• An honourable mention also went to second-year WCVM student Leane Paetkau for her poster and presentation, "Observations of aggression during lairage in cull slaughter boars from Western Canada assembled for export." Paetkau conducted the research in Winnipeg, Man., with Dr. Terry Whiting of Manitoba Agriculture and Food during the summer of 2006.

Overall, Canadian veterinary students received four of the competition's 15 awards. Judges representing private practice, academia and industry selected award recipients based on written communications skills, their presentation of case reports and on the applicability of their research to swine medicine.

Alpharma Animal Health, the student seminar's sponsor, provided a $750 travel stipend to each student who was selected to participate. As well, the Western Canadian Association of Swine Veterinarians provided $5,000 to help defray the travel and accommodation expenses for the five WCVM students who attended this year's meeting.