Locations of current and past Expanding Horizon student programs. Current students are marked with red stars.
Dr. Karel A. Schat is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the College of Veterinary Medicine. He has won numerous awards for his work in avian virology, including the Beecham Award for Research Excellence, the Upjohn Achievement Award, the Pfizer Award for Excellence in Poultry Research and the Merck Award for Achievement in Poultry Science. In October 2015, Schat was presented with another award “in recognition of outstanding research and contributions to poultry health,” and commemorating his contributions which have spanned flocks and nations around the world.
Schat credits much of his career’s success to its beginnings as a DVM student interested in international development work. As a student, he spent five months in Nigeria where he loved his work with cattle and interacting with the people. Soon after, Schat was hired by the Dutch government to set up a laboratory in Mexico researching Marek’s disease – research that would introduce him to his future mentor at Cornell and fuel the work that has been critical to poultry health around the world. While Marek’s disease is only known to cause death in poultry and not humans, often it is required to cull huge flocks to prevent its spread. Much like the avian flu, Marek’s can have a huge negative impact on local and international economies.
Because Schat was so powerfully influenced by his early international work, he is a firm supporter of the Expanding Horizons program which enables a small group of DVM students to spend up to ten weeks engaging in either veterinary research or hands-on veterinary experience in developing nations every year. When Schat retired he established an endowment using funds from royalties derived from the SB-1 Marek’s disease vaccine strain, which he isolated as part of his PhD research at Cornell University. In addition, Schat initiated the establishment of a second endowment with help from many alumni of the Expanding Horizon program, faculty, corporations, and a generous gift form the Alumni Association. These endowments are essential to funding the program.
“For most students who have gotten the chance to go abroad, it has opened their eyes and broadened their perspectives,” says Schat. “My own time abroad was crucial to my personal development. I feel it is extremely important for our students to have the same kind of experience that was for me so life-changing.”
This summer, there are eleven Expanding Horizons students undertaking a variety of public and animal health-related projects around the world, from Namibia to American Samoa. We’ll be profiling some of their work here!
This article was written by Cecelia Madsen.