Page 43 - Eclipse - Autumn 2015

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Molly Muedeking (2015)
Congratulations to Molly Muedeking, 2015 BVetMed graduate, who was awarded a scholarship from the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Foundation and insurance group Markel, at their 60th Annual Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Whilst in her 5th year at the RVC, Molly Muedeking was the only British or European student to receive a $2,500 scholarship from the AAEP Foundation and Markel. All of the other recipients came from the US and Canada.
Commenting on her award and the event, Molly said; “I was thrilled to receive the news that I had won the Markel Scholarship. It was an amazing experience
to be able to go to Salt Lake City for the national AAEP Conference to meet other dedicated students and listen to leading veterinarians discuss emerging research and dif cult cases.”
Now in its 26th year, the scholarship programme awards nancial support to veterinary students
who are proven leaders at their veterinary schools, advocates for equine welfare and academic achievers. Students are nominated for the scholarship by representatives from their institutions with supporting references from AAEP members and clinical instructors.
Paying tribute to the recipients, Julian Bowen-Rees, Managing Director of Markel Specialty, Equine and Livestock, said: “We are delighted to honour these exceptional senior veterinary students who have taken a special interest in equine medicine and surgery. We understand and appreciate the role of veterinarians.”
Michelle Reeve (2012)
RVC’s Structure and Motion Lab PhD student Michelle Reeve was featured earlier this year discussing her research in the lab and the path that has brought her here in the Independent.
The article explored the professional possibilities that arise from
studying STEM subjects - science, technology, engineering and maths - and featured Michelle as an example of the interesting work this can lead to.
Michelle began studying with
the RVC as an undergraduate, completing a degree in Bioveterinary Sciences that sparked her interest in locomotion research and presented the opportunity for diverse research exploration.
Michelle is now funded by the
Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council (BBSRC) to complete her inter-disciplinary PhD, supervised by both Dr Monica Daley of the RVC and Dr Stephen Hailes
of University College London. The focus of this study is to explore the robustness of eight legged systems, particularly spiders. Spiders have a natural ability to self-amputate legs in a process known as autonomy. Using high speed video Michelle is able
to capture the movement of spiders within a contained perspex area and explore how they adapt their gait after losing legs.
Viewing this footage, Michelle can manually track legs for analysis. This data will then be used to develop a control system for an eight legged robot: the T8X from RobugtixTM. This robot controller would be useful as it means that robots could automatically
adjust their gait if legs are damaged, removing the immediate need for repair. It could also be used to negotiate dif cult terrain for search and rescue scenarios as well as feeding back into the study of arachnids, understanding why they move the way they do in various conditions without experimenting with real spiders.