Danny Scott, Emeritus James Law Professor of Dermatology, was awarded the International Canine Health Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award at Kennel Club in London May 22. The award is run by the Kennel Club Charitable Trust and is funded by Vernon and Shirley Hill of Metro Bank.

"Congratulations to Cornell," said Vernon Hill. "A very worthy winner."

Scott received the prestigious award for his contribution to improving the health and wellbeing of dogs and other animals through both his original research on skin diseases and his teaching of successive generations of young veterinarians. His peers describe him as one of the best known and most respected veterinary dermatologists in the world.

During his 45-year career at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine working on all species with a particular focus on dogs, cats and horses, Scott developed new methods for analyzing skin lesions that have revolutionized the diagnosis of many different diseases by making the results of skin biopsies easier to interpret. He was responsible for improving the recognition and treatment of generalized demodicosis in dogs – a distressing condition which previously would often have resulted in euthanasia. He also carried out crucial studies on the various autoimmune dermatoses of dogs, such as pemphigus erythematosus. His vast output of published research includes descriptions of 38 novel treatment regimens for various skin conditions and work on clinical trials of over 30 different drug treatments.

“When I was a veterinary student and I started receiving lectures in dermatology, there were only 35 diseases covered in all species,” said Scott. “Now there are approximately 4,000. As an early graduate, most diseases had names like ‘chronic allergy,’ ‘chronic seborrhea’ and ‘chronic eczema,’ but I knew they had to be something more than that. Over the years I described about 50 or so dermatologic diseases which previously had never been recognized in the dog, also around 20 pathological conditions that had never been documented. So my dream has come true. I’ve helped push the frontier forward in disease recognition and skin pathology.”

His easy-going nature and passion for his subject have made Scott a popular teacher and lecturer. He has guided the early professional careers of 26 veterinary residents and around 100 postgraduate students. He is also in demand as a speaker at meetings for fellow veterinarians, dog breeders and others, and has delivered more than 500 presentations at events across the globe.

Scott described being almost as close as family to his former residents. “I’m not very actively involved in the profession anymore, but I love picking up a journal, seeing their name on it and remembering when they were a young resident,” he said. “It makes me think that maybe I did make a difference, that’s the one time you stop to think about your own achievements. Not for the things you’ve written or the talks you’ve given, but when your residents do something great – you go ‘wow,’ there’s a little piece of me in there.”

The awards were developed to recognize and reward innovative researchers, veterinary scientists and students who are significantly impacting the health and well-being of dogs. The awards are judged by a panel of influential representatives from the veterinary profession and the world of scientific research.

Awards for excellence in canine medicine were also presented to Professor Yasuko Rikihisa from the Department of Veterinary Biosciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Ohio State University; Royal Veterinary College Ph.D. student, Alice Denyer; University of Liv​erpool third-year undergraduate student, Jennifer Palfreyman; and breed health coordinator for Basset Hounds, Tina Watkins.

The full press release about the award ceremony is available here.