CSU veterinary student awarded at American Indian research conference

Note to Reporters: A photo of Madeline Anna is available with this news release at www.news.colostate.edu.

A Colorado State University veterinary student from the Choctaw Nation recently was honored for developing training exercises that teach aspiring and practicing veterinarians how to respond during an infectious-disease outbreak.

Madeline Anna, who grew up in Colorado Springs and is in her first year in the CSU Professional Veterinary Medicine Program, won second place at the American Indian Science and Engineering Society National Research Conference in Denver. Her training presentation focuses on zoonotic disease, or infection that can be passed between animals and people.

Zoonoses include West Nile virus, Lyme disease, anthrax, Ebola, rabies and bovine tuberculosis, among many other diseases that threaten animal and human health around the world.

“I teared up a little bit when I found out,” Anna said of her success in the competition. The research conference typically attracts more than 1,500 people.

Anna first provided her tabletop training program for veterinary students at The Ohio State University; then it was offered at the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association’s 2013 Midwest Veterinary Conference.

Anna, 25, earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental health at CSU, followed by a master’s degree in veterinary public health at The Ohio State University. She envisions working as a federal veterinarian to help address public-health issues for American Indians.

At CSU, she is active with the campus Native American Culture Center and, through the center, tutors other students in biology.

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