ECVS Research Grants

Mission Statement

In keeping with the objectives of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons, whereby ECVS encourages Diplomates and prospective members to pursue original investigations and contribute to the veterinary literature, ECVS has established two Research Grant Programmes, one for Residents and one for Diplomates. The ECVS recognises the importance of surgery-related research, both clinical or basic, in advancing science, improing the quality of surgical care provided to patients, and enhancing innovation through evidence-based decision making.

The Resident Grant Programme (established in 2013) is available to Large and Small Animal Residents with the aim to enable surgeons in training to conduct sound scientific research. These grants are expected to support studies contributing to the research and publication components of the training programme. 

In 2023, a dedicated research grant application programme for fellow Diplomates has been created. This latter program enables Diplomates in practice or academia to conduct research related to Small and/or Large animals’ surgery (basic or clinical). It was created to recognize the increasing demand of our membership to conduct research.

The list of previously funded research projects is available further below on this page.

Ethics

The European College of Veterinary Surgeons, recognising its responsibility, promotes high-quality and humane care of animals whether for companionship, agricultural use, sporting events, teaching, or research. The use of animals in teaching and research is viewed as a unique privilege with inherent responsibilities and not as an absolute right. Advances in surgical and medical care of animals and people requires research which must at times involve the use of animals.

All research involving animals must comply with our Guidelines for the Humane Care and Use of Animals. All applications for ECVS Research Grants must provide proof of ethical approval having been obtained.

Humane Care and Use of Animals

Research Grant Programmes

The ECVS offers two grant programmes per year:

• In the Resident Research Grant programme, two grants of up to € 7'500, one for a Small and one for a Large Animal research project, are available.
• In the Diplomate Research Grant programme a total annual amount of € 15'000 will be available for Diplomate research projects, either one project for the total sum or several projects up to that sum.

The Diplomate Research Grant programme was created in 2023. This programme enables Diplomates in private practice or academia to conduct research related to small and/or large animals’ surgery (basic or clinical). It was created to recognise the increasing demand of our membership to conduct research. Our Research Committee evaluates the different proposals and make a final decision on the award recipient.

Since 2013, 26 Resident projects and 4 Diplomate projects  have been founded entirely by the ECVS and with no sponsor support. 

To apply for a research grant, please refer to the Research Grant guidelines. Applications are to be submitted to [email protected] via the relevant application form. The submission deadline for both research grant programmes is 1st December. The award winners will be ratified by the Board of Regents at the February meeting of the following year.

Downloads

• Diplomate Research Grant guidelines
• Diplomate Research Grant application form
• Resident Research Grant guidelines
• Resident Research Grant application form

ECVS Research Committee

Research Grant Recipients

Previous Recipients of the ECVS Resident Research Grant

2025

• Large Animal: Karolina Kalka (University of Copenhagen, Denmark), Investigation into the anatomy and imaging features of the equine parotid duct and development of less- or minimally invasive techniques for its examination and treatment of pathology
• Small Animal: Anika de Witt (University of Pretoria, South Africa), Quantification of the degree of osteoarthritis in dogs: The use of thromboelastography to test the viscoelastic properties of synovial fluid

2024

• Large Animal: Daria Debald (University of Vienna, Austria), Physiological volumes of frequently injected equine joints and intraarticularly achieved Triamcinolone concentration
• Small Animal: Owen Glenn (University of Edinburgh, UK), Rapid identification of antimicrobial resistant bacteria from surgical site infections using nanopore-based metagenomic sequencing

2023

• Large Animal: Thimo Maurer (University of Berne, Switzerland), Accuracy of computer-assisted drilling in the equine cervical spine when using a purpose-built frame to stabilise the neck - an experimental cadaveric study
• Small Animal: Mathieu Monard (TRIOVet Rennes, France), A princeps study: Is CINSARC signature (a gene-based signature) efficient predicting outcome of sarcoma bearing dogs?

2022

• Large Animal: none awarded
• Small Animal: Emily Vrijsen (University of Ghent, Belgium), Anatomical study of the common carotid arteries and cerebral arterial blood supply in cats: can common carotid arteries be ligated in cats?

2021

• Large Animal: Hanna Haardt (University of Ghent, Belgium), Third Generation sequencing - a new modality to identify bacteria in equine septic synovitis cases
  and Alexander Shanklin (University of Liverpool, UK), The impact of sampling protocol on microbiological culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing and how these results influence antimicrobial selection in horses with traumatic wounds and surgical site infections.
• Small Animal: Philippe Franklin (University of Cambridge, UK), Comparison of rhinoplasty techniques for the treatment of stenotic nares in brachycephalic dogs

2020

• Large Animal: Ariane Campos Schweitzer (Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, France), Assessment of cricoarytenoideus dorsalis (CAD) muscle reinnervation using the spinal accessory nerve (SAN) in horses with induced recurrent laryngeal neuropathy (RLN)
• Small Animal: Kadie O’Byrne (University of Melbourne, Australia), Biomechanical evaluation of tenorrhaphy in canine gastrocnemius tendon
  and Raya Atamna (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel), Quantification of the beneficial effect of laryngeal stenting in clinical cases of laryngeal collapse

Previous Recipients of the ECVS Diplomate Research Grant

2025

• Large Animal: Antonia Troillet (University of Leipzig, Germany): Sonographic, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, and Histological Evaluation of the Dorsal Joint Capsule Duplication (Synovial Pad) in the Metacarpophalangeal Joint of Adult Warmblood Horses: Insights into Morphology and Its Relationship to Joint Disease
• Small Animal: Joshua Milgram (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel), Characterisation of the effect of aging and lameness on structure and biomechanical properties of the craniomedial aspect of the proximal femoral diaphysis in dogs

2024

• Large Animal: Nora Biermann (University of Vienna, Austria), Exploring hidden consequences of antimicrobial use and its implications for hospital infection control: Antibiotic resistant bacteria in hospitalized horses and environmental contamination
• Small Animal: Simona Vincenti (University of Berne, Switzerland), Investigation on the specific tropism of autologous gadolinium-marked extracellular vesicles towards gliomas in dogs

Sponsors

Sponsoring Opportunities

Advancing knowledge is one of the core values of ECVS and the College will continue to provide support to research. However external sponsoring of research grants is the only way to achieve our goal to increase research funding. Linking with centres of clinical excellence performing high-quality research should appeal to sponsors.

Sponsoring levels are cumulative, allowing sponsors and donors to build up through the levels. Please see our sponsoring brochure for the full details of the available sponsoring opportunities.

Sponsoring Brochure

Principle sponsors

sponsoring of >EUR 25'000

Diplomate Research Grant sponsors

sponsoring of EUR 15'000 - EUR 24'999

Resident Research Grant sponsors

sponsoring of EUR 7'500 - EUR 14'999

Seed level sponsors

sponsoring of <EUR 7'500

Ashley Brabon, Australia
Daniel J. Brockman, UK
Matthew Cullen, UK
Emma Hall, Canada
Peter J. Delisser, USA
Claire Hawkes, Ireland
Janina N. Janssen, Austria
Georgia Jenkins, UK
Thomas Launois, France
Carsten Rohde, Germany
Ilona Schwarzkopf, Belgium
Mitchell R.A. Scott, Australia
Ellen R. Singer, UK
Miguel A. Valdés, Spain
Aldo Vezzoni, Italy
Frank Wagner, Germany
Zdenek Zert, Czech Republic