Veterinary Student Engagement

ACVP-Recognized Pathology Clubs

In order to increase the awareness among veterinary students of the various career opportunities in veterinary pathology and to generate more interest in the discipline, ACVP in conjunction with the Student Engagement Committee recognizes veterinary student pathology clubs at individual domestic and international veterinary schools according to the following criteria:

Accreditation by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)
Submission of a letter of support from an on-site pathology faculty advisor who is an ACVP Diplomate
Submission of Constitution and Bylaws for approval. Model Constitution and Bylaws should be customized by the applicants for their schools
Contact information for current officers and advisors

*To apply for ACVP recognition, application materials should be submitted to the ACVP Student Engagement Committee Chair, Abigail Armwood, with a copy to ACVP.

Benefits of Pathology Club Recognition

Upon recognition by ACVP, veterinary pathology clubs receive:

Official charter for the recognized club and the faculty advisors by ACVP
The use of “ACVP-Recognized Pathology Club” within the club name
A Facebook page for recognized clubs – visit today!

Recognized Club Annual Reporting – Due December 15

Each recognized pathology club, to maintain recognition status, and qualify for the Pathology Clubs Travel Awards (see below), must submit an Annual Report detailing current officers, faculty advisors, and club activity over the past calendar year, student applications to pathology training programs, and club member participation in this year’s ACVP Annual Meeting.

All ACVP-recognized clubs are required to submit an annual report by December 15 each year, regardless of whether any member from the club attended that year’s meeting. To qualify for the Pathology Clubs Travel Award (information below), club member participation in this year’s Annual Meeting must be noted.

To assist clubs in maintaining records for ACVP report, see **newly created** Path Club Officer Onboarding Guide.

Awards

ACVP-Recognized Pathology Clubs Travel Award

The ACVP-Recognized Pathology Clubs Travel Award is intended to encourage and partially support veterinary student attendance at the ACVP Annual Meeting. ACVP provides a reduced Annual Meeting registration pricing for veterinary students and several activities, including the Veterinary Student Breakfast, the Veterinary Student and Residents Forum showcasing veterinary pathology programs, and the Meet the Pathologists session featuring mid-career pathologists from various career paths within the field of veterinary pathology.

New this year: Travel awards will be $1,000 for clubs with 1-4 veterinary students attending the Annual Meeting and $2,000 for clubs with 5 or more veterinary students attending.

To qualify for the award, pathology clubs must:

Submit an annual report by the December deadline
Report at least one student from the club attending the Veterinary Student Breakfast at the Annual Meeting
Complete at least 3 of the 5 activities listed below over the past calendar year:

hold regular club meetings, at least bi-annually
conduct at least one anatomic or clinical pathology wet lab
host at least one internal or external guest speaker who is a pathologist and/or speaks about pathology
report at least one club member attending the ACVP Annual Meeting
report at least one club member presenting a scientific poster at the Annual Meeting.

Travel Award qualification is determined based on the club’s Annual Report. Any funds awarded may only be made payable to a pathology club or university account to later be disbursed to cover a portion of the travel of its members to an ACVP Annual Meeting. (Payment details must be included in the Annual Report.)

Student Award for Excellence in Pathology

This award, generated by faculty at AVMA-accredited veterinary schools that have an active ACVP-recognized pathology club, may be given annually to one or more students at each school.

The award is intended to encourage veterinary schools to acknowledge outstanding graduating students who have demonstrated exceptional proficiency and interest in anatomic and/or clinical pathology. The recipient(s) are selected by the pathology faculty, including the pathology club advisor, at each institution. ACVP members representing the veterinary program enter their awardees’ name (to be listed on the ACVP website) and generate Certificate(s) of Recognition via this members-only link.

The award can be linked to a pathology-related monetary award at the discretion of the awarding university or can represent a stand-alone award certificate and ACVP recognition. Honorees may be selected and added at any point throughout the year, according to timing that works best for the university. There is no ACVP deadline for this award.

Recommended criteria for the ACVP Excellence in Pathology Award:

Excellence in pathology coursework.
Excellence in senior pathology rotations and/or externships.
Dedicated involvement in pathology departmental activities (i.e., rounds, slide seminars, research seminars, etc.).
Demonstration of strong leadership abilities.
Active membership in the ACVP recognized pathology club (strongly recommend).

Congratulations to the 2025 Recipients of the Student Award for Excellence in Pathology!

Ng Chi Hin (Alister), The University of Queensland, School of Veterinary Science
Jessica Wakeman, University of Tennessee
Liz Kyle-Labell, Mississippi State University
Alyssa LeComte, Texas A&M University
Cyrus Salvani, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine
Rachel Fost, Colorado State University
Marie A. Rivera, University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine
Alejandra Molina, CVM Western University of Health Sciences
Alexis Ybarra, CVM Western University of Health Sciences
Halle Lutz Cantor, North Carolina State University
Kelsey Roberts, Oregon State University
Ali McAllister-Day, University of Missouri
Madison Knight, University of Missouri
Taylor King, University of Saskatchewan
Cassandra McDonald, Colorado State University
Victoria Shuster, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Mackenzie Hebert, Louisiana State University
Jordan Vivien, Louisiana State University
Marissa Rosen, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Hannah Stephen, University of Georgia
Erin Moss, University of Georgia
Alyssa McGee, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island
Jessica Wakeman, University of Tennessee
April Raab, Michigan State University
Kaylyn Telfair, Auburn University
Julia Harris, Iowa State University
Payton Van Dusseldorp, Iowa State University
Frank Leitgeb, Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine
Victoria Lee-Valerio, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Medicine
Deanna Gennett, Kansas State University
Jiashi Feng, Kansas State University
Katarina Silver, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine
Brittany Graham, The Ohio State University

ACVP Veterinary Student Mentor of the Year Award — Nominations due September 2

The ACVP Veterinary Student Mentor of the Year Award recognizes pathologists who are outstanding mentors to veterinary students interested in pathology. Veterinary students, in conjunction with an ACVP Diplomate from the nominated mentor’s workplace, are invited to submit nominations for this annual award.

Please consider nominating a deserving pathologist mentor for the ACVP Veterinary Student Mentor of the Year Award, which will be announced during the Veterinary Student Breakfast at the Annual Meeting.

To nominate a pathologist, complete the nomination packet and include letters of nomination from veterinary student(s) and an ACVP Diplomate pathologist from the nominated mentor’s workplace. Contribution to students’ scholarly and professional development, participation in pathology related student activities, interest in the veterinary student mentoring relationship, contribution to veterinary student learning, and long-term impacts on students may all be considered in determining the awardee and should be addressed in the letters.

Although not necessary, resident and graduate student input and signatures on the student letters of recommendation are encouraged.

Mentor of the Year nominations must be submitted by an ACVP member, via this members-only form.

Mentor of the Year Honorees

Brian Porter, BS DVM DACVP (2024)
Paula Schaffer, BS DVM MS DACVP (2023)
Kevin Woolard, DVM PhD DACVP (2022)
Elizabeth Howerth, DVM PhD DACVP (2021)
Raquel Rech, DACVP (2020)
Kevin Keel, DVM PhD DACVP (2019)

ACVP William Inskeep II Scholarship Award – Applications due September 1

The William Inskeep II Scholarship Award recognizes veterinary students who have an interest in pursuing a career in veterinary pathology and attend the Colorado State University (CSU) College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences or any other school of veterinary medicine with an ACVP-Recognized Veterinary Pathology Club. The Inskeep Scholarship will be awarded to one member of the CSU Veterinary Pathology Club and to one member of another ACVP-Recognized Veterinary Pathology Club who demonstrate the highest standards of scholarship and leadership in pursuit of a career interest in veterinary pathology. Each recipient will receive a $1,000 award and will be recognized at the ACVP Annual Meeting. See Inskeep Award information.

Veterinary Student Poster Award

Veterinary students are encouraged to submit abstracts of their research for possible presentation at the ACVP Annual Meeting. All accepted student abstracts will be presented as posters and a small number of student abstract submitters will also be invited to present orally. All student posters will be considered for ACVP Veterinary Student Poster Awards and may be entered for consideration for one other applicable award.

Read about abstract submission and deadlines.

Read about abstract awards.

Congratulations to all 2024 Veterinary Student Poster Winners

Best Diagnostic Pathology Poster

First Place: Alexis Walny, Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine
AN INVESTIGATION OF ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE IN SITU HYBRIDIZATION FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF OSTEOSARCOMA IN DOGS

Second Place: Carissa Grove, Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative
NONINFLAMMATORY ALOPECIA OF WILD FREE-RANGING NORTHERN RACCONS (PROCYON LOTOR) IN NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA

Third Place: Hailey Jennings, Michigan State University
PROGNOSIS AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF CANINE PLEOMORPHIC IRIDOCILIARY ADENOCARCINOMA

Best Experimental Disease Poster

First Place: Katherine Morucci, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine
IDENTIFYING A MYCOPLASMA SP. AS THE CAUSAL AGENT OF SYNOVITIS IN BIG BROWN BATS

Second Place: Angela Shriver, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE-BASED IMAGE ANALYSIS OF NODAL CANINE CUTANEOUS MAST CELL TUMORS

Best Natural Disease Poster

First Place: Samantha Hicks, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
NEUROPATHOLOGIC ANALYSIS OF IL-15-ENGINEERED NK CELL THERAPY IN A MURINE GLIOBLASTOMA MODEL

Second Place: Hunter Wojtas, Michigan State University
RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF RATTLESNAKE MORTALITY FROM 1983-2023

Third Place: Amanda Blublaugh, University of Georgia
SIMILARITIES IN GENE EXPRESSION INCLUDING SPEARMAN CORRELATION DISPLAYS RESEMBLANCE OF SPONTANEOUS CANINE ATOPIC DERMATITIS TO HUMAN ATOPIC DERMATITIS

See winning student abstracts from previous years on the Past Annual Meetings page.

ACVP Pathology Externship Scholarships – Apply by March 1 or October 1

ACVP is committed to fostering pathology interest in veterinary students. Fundable efforts to expand pathology knowledge include, but are not limited to, in-person externships, virtual externships in pathology, virtual pathology-related conferences or course fees, textbooks, pathology-related equipment such as a microscope camera, publication costs, and society memberships. Apply by March 1 or October 1, depending on timing of your externship. Read more.

Navigating Veterinary Pathology Programs

View a virtual one-hour panel discussion about veterinary pathology training programs including perspectives from anatomic pathology and clinical pathology residency coordinators and current residents.

Training Resources

ACVP Veterinary Student and Resident Forum

The Veterinary Student and Resident Forum offers an opportunity for current training program residents and faculty to showcase their programs for veterinary students at the Annual Meeting. For more information, watch the Annual Meeting events page.

Training Programs Directory

See this directory listing programs specializing in anatomic and clinical pathology residency training and graduate education including links to institutional websites, ACVP-hosted Program Overviews (based on updates provided by each institution), and even some fun videos overviewing the programs.

If you have additional questions regarding a position for an institution to which you are particularly interested in applying, call or email the contacts listed for each program.