Six Cornell veterinary students have been selected from a national competition to present research papers on the history and the future of veterinary medicine at the 150th meeting of the American Veterinary Medical Association. The conference will be held in Chicago this month. In addition to the opportunity to present at the profession’s signature meeting, the selected students will also receive scholarship support from the American Veterinary Medical Foundation.

The six Cornellians will offer four of the eight presentations offered during the all-day symposium entitled “Understanding our Past to Transform our Future.”

Based upon interviews with more than 15 national leaders in the field of small animal medicine, Rebecca Donnelly and David Seader, both from the Class of 2016, will discuss advances and the future of small animal medicine.

Final-year student Sarah Khatibzadeh will present findings on the evolution of equine surgery, based on several in-depth, primary interviews.

Melissa Fenn and Nikhita Parandekar, both from the Class of 2015, have interviewed a large number of leading equine veterinarians from across the country and will share their findings in a presentation titled “Making Strides through History: A Look into the Past, Present, and Future of Equine Veterinary Medicine.”

Finally, Dr. Shira Rubin ’13 will present “The History of Feline Medicine in America: Nine Lives and Counting,” which draws upon Cornell’s heritage in feline faculty and alumni.