Recent Awards
2022 Louis R Rowan Fellowship
The California Thoroughbred Foundation Louis R. Rowan Fellowship was awarded to Dr. Christina Rohlf. A recent doctoral graduate in biomedical engineering, Rohlf conducted her research at the J.D. Wheat Veterinary Orthopedic Research Laboratory under the direction of Dr. Susan Stover.
The fellowship, funded by the California Thoroughbred Foundation with financial assistance from the Oak Tree Racing Association, was established in memory of Louis R. Rowan, a founder of the California Thoroughbred Foundation.
Rohlf’s research focused on optimizing the interface between equine locomotion and performance surfaces, with the goal of preventing the most common injuries to tendons and ligaments associated with repetitive motions incurred during training and competition. She also obtained limb kinematic data from horses jumping on the same surfaces to determine the effect of surface shear and vertical impact surface properties on limb motion. Using these data, in conjunction with a computer model of equine forelimb locomotion, she is determining the flexor tendon and suspensory ligament strains associated with different surface properties, which are likely related to risk for injury.
“Dr. Rohlf’s research exposed the large variation in the mechanical behavior of arena surfaces,” said Dr. Stover. “Her results demonstrated that simple categorization of material composition as dirt or synthetic does not capture surface behavior.”
Developing a set of standards for arena surface properties designed to minimize tendon and ligament injuries of jumping horses will guide the construction and management of arena surfaces which reduce the risk of injury for horses in training and competition.
In her spare time, Rohlf volunteers as a mentor for the Woodland High School robotics team where she teaches engineering design principles and teamwork. She hopes to continue conducting research to understand and reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injuries of animal athletes.
2022 James M. Wilson Award
Dr. Erin Hales and Dr. Sarah Shaffer were named as the recipients of the 2022 James M. Wilson Award. Presented to graduate students or UC Davis veterinary hospital residents, this award recognizes individuals who significantly advance equine health through publication of the year’s most outstanding research reports.
Dr. Hales was chosen for her publication entitled, “Postmortem diagnoses of spinal ataxia in 316 horses in California,” which was published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (2021, 258(12): 1386-93). Dr. Shaffer was honored for her publication, “In vitro motions of the medial and lateral proximal sesamoid bones under mid-stance load conditions are consistent with racehorse fracture configuration,” published in the Journal of Biomechanics (2022, 130:110888).
Dr. Hales completed her PhD in animal biology at UC Davis under the mentorship of Dr. Carrie Finno. Her graduate work focused on equine neuroaxonal dystrophy/equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy (eNAD/EDM), an inherited neurodegenerative disorder linked to a vitamin E deficiency. Her research identified cervical vertebral compressive myelopathy (CVCM or wobblers), equine neuroaxonal dystrophy/equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy (eNAD/EDM), and trauma as the leading causes of diagnosable ataxia. This research has helped give veterinarians some insight into which disease may be affecting an ataxic horse in their care.
Dr. Hales currently uses her knowledge of biological processes and statistics to evaluate and improve personalized medicine in her current role at SomaLogic. She continues to be active in her local equine community and is always looking for ways to bring equine medicine and research together with her current work.
“Dr. Hales’ publication reflects a tremendous collaboration between clinicians and pathologists to carefully review medical records of ataxic horses at UC Davis over 12 years and determine the top causes of spinal cord disease in California,” said Dr. Finno. “By providing data on which diseases are most likely to occur in which breeds, this study has a significant clinical impact.”
Dr. Shaffer completed her PhD in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UC Davis at the J.D. Wheat Veterinary Orthopedic Research Laboratory (VORL) under the supervision of Drs. Susan Stover and David Fyhrie. Her research focused on how proximal sesamoid bone (PSB) fractures develop in racehorses. The PSBs are a pair of bones in the forelimb of horses and PSB fracture accounts for nearly 50% of racehorse deaths in the United States.
Dr. Shaffer’s research helps explain the relationship between PSB fracture, internal biological changes in PSB morphology in response to mechanical loading, and racehorse training and racing history. Dr. Shaffer recently began a new role as a Research Engineer at the Southwest Research Institute.
“Dr. Shaffer’s publication reflects an engineer scientist and accomplished horsewoman making a significant contribution to racehorse welfare,” said Dr. Stover. “Building on her work that elucidated the microscopic events leading to PSB fracture, this study discovered biomechanical factors that should be investigated to prevent PSB fracture.”