Colorado State University Veterinarian Receives International Award for Scientific Achievement

Note to Reporters: A photo of Dr. David Twedt is available with the news release at http://www.news.colostate.edu.

Dr. David Twedt, professor of Clinical Sciences at CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital, has received the World Small Animal Veterinary Association International Award for Scientific Achievement at the WSAVA World Conference.

The International Award for Scientific Achievement honors small animal veterinarians with a significant influence on the advancement of knowledge concerning the cause, detection, cure and control of disorders.

Twedt is recognized for his clinical work in liver disease, gastroenterology, and endoscopy as well as his research in liver disease and antioxidants.

Twedt received the award at the WSAVA World Conference in Auckland, New Zealand earlier this month. The conference attracts veterinarians from around the world to gain knowledge from all aspects of small animal practice.

“Dr. Twedt has a long and distinguished career of teaching veterinary students and advancing veterinary medicine. I can think of no one more deserving for this prestigious award. He is one of the faculty who make CSU great,” said Chris Orton, interim chair of the Department of Clinical Sciences within the university’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Twedt began work with endoscopic techniques in 1972 as a veterinary student at Iowa State University and continued his work during an internship and medicine residency at The Animal Medical Center in New York City. Besides providing an easy way to make diagnoses, endoscopy has provided opportunities for therapeutic veterinary procedures such as arthroscopic surgery, in which microsurgery is performed inside joints, and laparoscopy, which allows surgery using only a small slit in the skin.

Twedt is a recognized expert in gastroenterology and hepatic diseases of small animals, providing more than 400 continuing education programs to graduate veterinarians in the United States and around the world. He has published hundreds of refereed articles, book chapters and abstracts.

He is a past recipient of the Distinguished Contemporary Faculty Award, the Norden-Pfizer Distinguished Teacher Award and the Innovative Instructional Methodology Award. In 1999, the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association honored him with the Outstanding Faculty Award. In 2000, he was selected as the North American Veterinary Conference Small Animal Program Speaker of the Year. He is a previous recipient of Iowa State’s Stange Award for Meritorious Service. The award is the highest honor given to alumni of Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

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