(Hillsborough, NJ, August 9, 2010) Leslie A. Lyons, PhD, is the winner of the 2010 Winn Excellence in Feline Research Award, which consists of $2500 and a crystal cat, the “”Winnie.”” Betty White, Winn president, made the announcement and Dr.Larry Corry, President of the American Veterinary Medical Association, presented the award on August 3, 2010, at the President’s Installation Lunch at the 2010 AVMA annual convention in Atlanta, Georgia.
Receiving her graduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health in the Department of Genetics, Dr. Lyons joined the National Cancer Institute in 1992 in the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity. She moved to the West Coast in 1999 to join the faculty of the California School of Veterinary Medicine in the Department of Population Health and Reproduction. In her career in comparative genetics, Dr. Lyons has developed a feline genetic mapping pedigree. Most recently, her work has included the analysis of the origin of cat breeds and the sites of cat domestication. This endeavor resulted in a documentary with National Geographic as an episode of “”Explorer”” entitled “”The Science of Cats.”” Dr. Lyons has been the recipient of several Winn Foundation research grant awards.The American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) pairs this award with a matching $2500 scholarship award for a veterinary student interested in feline medicine. Adam Breiteneicher, a third- year student this fall at Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, is the recipient selected by the Winn Feline Foundation board at their June 24 meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The two awards are designed to promote and encourage feline health studies by both established veterinary research scientists and by those entering this field of study.
Winn Feline Foundation and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation are pleased to work together in this endeavor to improve and enhance the lives of “”Every Cat, Every Day,”” and to recognize those veterinary students and researchers who share this goal.