The ESVD award in memory of Ulli Runge Harms
The award was created in memory of our colleague Ulli Runge Harms and is funded by the ESVD. The award aims to help a highly motivated veterinarian in the early stages of his/her career and interested in veterinary dermatology, finance an externship. The award is granted to an applicant to help fund a training externship of 3-6 weeks duration with a Diplomate of Veterinary Dermatology. An amount of up to 1500 Euro will be funded to the grant recipient.
Award requirements:
The applicant is a licensed veterinarian interested in pursuing veterinary dermatology, at the early stages of this career. Diplomates in any veterinary field or residents enrolled in a formal training program are not eligible to apply
Applicants should have a minimum of one year of clinical work experience (either internship, or comparable working experience in a veterinary practice).
Applicants that are members of the ESVD will have precedence over non-members as will externships done within Europe.
The application should include:
- A short CV with a photograph of the applicant
- A copy of the original veterinary degree and if available a copy of an Internship certificate
- A letter describing why you should be granted the award
- An externship plan including the planned time and duration of the externship, anticipated costs*, location of the externship, name of the mentor, as well as a signed written preliminary agreement from the prospective mentor for the externship
The grant recipient agrees provide a short report on his/her externship to the ESVD Board within one month of completion of the externship including a summary of expenses. The grant recipient is also encouraged to attend the Annual General Meeting of the ESVD (AGM) that takes place during the yearly ESVD/ECVD congress and to present a short (2 PPT slides) description of the externship.
The award is for up to 1500 Euro in total. A sum of 1000 Euro will be paid to the grant recipient prior to the externship. An additional sum of up to 500 Euros will be paid to the recipient based on documentation of incurred expenses during the externship sent to the ESVD board together with a report of the externship. These documents should be provided within 1 month of the end of the externship. Expenses above 1500 Euros will not be covered by the grant.
Deadline for applications: 31.1 at 12pm CET
Application for the 2024 award is now open.
Applications for the 2024 ESVD Ulli Runge Harms Award should be sent to the ESVD Secretary secretary@esvd.org. The externship should take place during the year 2024. A decision on the succesful application will be announced by the end of February 2024
*The applicant must provide a financial plan of expected expenses, including travel, accommodation, dietary expenses, and if applicable, fees for the externship paid to the clinic/institution.
Below is the report from the 2023 Ulli Runge Harms recipient Daria Andrieieva
Practically everyone knows what hard times came to my country with the war. Now everyone must work hard to win the war, the victory of light over darkness. Every person is important and significant. One person can change the course of a war as one grain can tip the scales to the other side. My light is a knowledge. My goal is to raise veterinary medicine, especially dermatology, to another level in my country, to become closer to colleagues from Europe. This important step is the first step that brings me closer to the goal.
My 4-week-long internship took place in the AniCura clinic in the city of Munich, Germany, under the guidance of Dr Laura Udraite Vovk . I analyzed every clinical case, compared my approach with the approach of diplomated specialist and drew conclusions. During this time, I saw the difference in the approach of animals suffering from allergies due to various reasons. I also saw with my own eyes diseases that I only saw in articles, but did not have the opportunity to see in practice, such as lupus and angiomatosis. I was very interested in watching and taking part in the selection of lesions for biopsies and histological examination. Also, Dr Udraite answered and helped to solve difficult cases from my practice, provided constructive criticism of my early approach to patients and gave me a lot of advices. I am very grateful to her for the knowledge and time she devoted to me. We spent some time in the manipulation room to perform such invasive interventions as videootoscopy , myringotomy and sanation of the middle ear. Mostly each appointment was accompanied by such examinations as trichoscopy, cytology, superficial and deep scrapings.
I had the opportunity to see the preparation and blood sampling to identify allergens, and then Dr Udraite gave a detailed instruction on the selection of allergens for the creation of serum and also explained the performance technique and evaluation criteria for successful control. This experience is important for me, since from August in Ukraine it will be possible to identify allergens and start allergen-specific immunotherapy for allergic animals. Therefore, with this practical knowledge, I will confidently conduct this treatment.
I want to thank Dr. Udraite and the European Society of Veterinary Dermatologty for the support and the opportunity to take a step in dermatology more confidently, not to be afraid of difficulties, but to solve them.