Calvin Schwabe Award

The Calvin W. Schwabe Award is presented annually by the AVEPM to honor lifetime achievement in veterinary epidemiology and preventive medicine.

Calvin W. Schwabe was a professor of epidemiology in the schools of veterinary medicine and medicine at the University of California, Davis. He was widely known as the father of veterinary epidemiology and established the first department and graduate program in epidemiology within the School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis. Dr. Schwabe made important scholarly contributions in a broad array of subjects including epidemiology, diseases of animals transmissible to people, interactions of veterinary and human medicine, parasitic zoonoses and their control, tropical health, public health practice, livestock health in pastoral societies, ancient origins of human and veterinary medicine and the philosophy of science. In the 1980’s, he coined the phrase “One Medicine” to unify human and veterinary efforts to reduce zoonotic diseases. Dr. Schwabe was the inaugural winner of the award named in his honor.

Award Recipients

2026

2026 AVEPM Calvin Schwabe Award

Science’s social contract: Epidemiology in the real world

– A Symposium honoring the lifetime professional achievements of Dr. Stuart Reid –

Stuart Reid, CBE, BVMS, PhD, DVM, DipECVPH, FRSE, FRCVS

Royal Veterinary College, University of London

“Science’s social contract: Epidemiology in the real world”

Stuart Reid is President & Principal of the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), an autonomous member institution of the University of London federation.

An alumnus of the University of Glasgow, he became dean at his alma mater in 2005 before moving to the RVC, the oldest and largest veterinary school in the English-speaking world, in 2011.

Reid is a recognised by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons as a specialist in veterinary epidemiology and in veterinary public health by the European Board of Veterinary Specialists. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland’s National Academy, and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. His research interests, always data driven and evidence based, have ranged from the use of informatics and advanced technologies in diagnostics and clinical decision making to zoonotic disease and antimicrobial resistance. He has over 160 scientific publications, including in PNAS, Science and Nature, and he has secured over 20M USD in competitive research funding during his career.

Reid was President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) in the UK 2014-15. He has also been President of the European College of Veterinary Public Health and honorary secretary of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges.

He was made a Commander of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2018 for services to the veterinary profession and higher education, and in 2019 he was elected as a Fellow of the RCVS and an international member of the National Academy of Medicine in the USA. A CRWAD Fellow since 2021, in 2024 he received the Queen’s Medal, the RCVS’s highest recognition.

2026 Invited Symposium Speakers

H. Morgan Scott, DVM, PhD

Texas A&M University

“Through the Looking Glass: Epidemiology, Policy and Practice in Reverse”

Dan O’Neill, MVB, PGCertVetEd, FHEA, MSc(VetEpi), PhD, FRCVS

Royal Veterinary College, University of London

“Science reshaping the social license to operate on dogs with extreme conformation – the VetCompass story”

Natalia Cernicchiaro, DVM, MS, PhD

Kansas State University

“Evidence with a purpose: stakeholder-driven research and preparedness for Japanese encephalitis and other emerging threats”

2025

2025 AVEPM Calvin Schwabe Award

Interface of epidemiology and the complex issue of companion animal welfare

– A Symposium honoring the lifetime professional achievements of Dr. Jan Scarlett –

Jan Scarlett, DVM, MPH, PhD

Cornell University

“Challenges to conducting epidemiologic research regarding companion animal welfare”

The 2025 Calvin W. Schwabe award was awarded to Jan Scarlett, Professor Emerita of Epidemiology, founder, and former Director of the Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program at Cornell University. In the mid 1990’s a consultation with animal welfare groups changed the direction of her career. That experience awakened her passion for companion animal welfare and married it to her epidemiologic and preventive medicine skills. With Dr. Lilia Miller (ASPCA), she offered the first didactic course in the country addressing the welfare and population health management of shelter animals. With funding from the National Council on Pet Population and Policy she helped design and conduct some of the first studies of factors leading to relinquishment of animals to shelters. That consultation led to a series of seminal epidemiologic studies that stimulated interest and opened the door to a growing literature regarding the welfare/medical care of shelter and other homeless animals (that continues to this day).

2025 Invited Symposium Speakers

Margaret Slater, DVM, PHD

ASPCA

“Illuminating the welfare implications of free-roaming unowned cats via epidemiological approaches”

Alexandra (Sasha) Protopopova, MS, PhD, CAAB
The University of British Columbia

“The use of mixed methods to explore the complex issue of companion animal relinquishment to and adoption from animal shelters”

Rachael Kreisler, VMD, MSCE, DACVPM (Epidemiology)

Midwestern University

“Epidemiological Insights: Classic Tools for Modern Animal Shelter and Community Animal Health Research”

2024

2024 AVEPM Calvin Schwabe Award

Remaining relevant: Conceptual advances in research in veterinary populations

– A Symposium honoring the lifetime professional achievements of Dr. Jan M. Sargeant –

Jan M. Sargeant DVM, MSc, PhD, FCAHS

University of Guelph

“What question are we trying to answer? Embracing causal inference”

2024 Invited Symposium Speakers
David Renter, DVM, MS, PhD
Kansas State University
“Aligning valid research outcomes with stakeholder values”
Audrey Ruple, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVPM MRCVS
Virginia Tech
“Do our exposure variables tell us what we think they are telling us?”
Annette O’Connor, BVSc, MVSc, DVSc, FANZCVSc
Michigan State University

“Rethinking variable selection and study design approaches”

The 2024 Calvin W. Schwabe award was awarded to Jan M. Sargeant, Professor Emerita at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph. Jan’s primary areas of research were linking research methodologies and approaches across disciplines and among animal health and human health communities, and evidence synthesis in veterinary medicine and public health. Jan is an author or co-author on over 260 publications. She is a co-lead and co-author of the REFLECT, PetSORT, and STROBE-Vet reporting guidelines for clinical trials and observational studies in animal populations. Jan was the founding Director of the Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses (2007-2019) at the University of Guelph. In 2017, she became a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

Jan Sargeant: What question are we trying to answer? Embracing causal inference

Annette O’Connor: Rethinking variable selection and study design approaches

Audrey Ruple: Do our exposure variables tell us what we think they are telling us?

David Renter: Aligning valid research outcomes with stakeholder values

2023

2023 AVEPM Calvin Schwabe Award

Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics…Back to the Future

– A Symposium honoring the lifetime professional achievements of Dr. Tim E. Carpenter –

Tim Carpenter, MS, PhD

Professor Emeritus, Medicine and Epidemiology, University of California, Davis

“Veterinary epidemiology and animal health economics: the way we were”

2023 Invited Symposium Speakers

Karl Rich, PhD, MS

Oklahoma State University

“The state of play of veterinary economics: where we have been, where we are, and where we still need to go”

Michael Ward, BVSc (Hons 1), MSc, MPVM, PhD, FACVSc, DVSc

University of Sydney

“Spatial Epidemiology: Pushing the Boundaries”

Mark Stevenson, PhD, MPH

Melbourne School of Design

“Veterinary epidemiology: A vision of the future”

2021

2021 AVEPM Calvin Schwabe Award

From Science to Policy and On to Practice

– A Symposium honoring the lifetime professional achievements of Dr. Dirk U. Pfeiffer –

Dirk U. Pfeiffer, DVM, PhD

Chow Tak Fung Chair Professor of One Health, Director of the Centre for Applied One Health Research and Policy Advice (OHRP), City University, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, Hong Kong

“Risk management in an ever more complex world”

2021 Invited Symposium Speakers

Wantanee Kalpravidh, PhD

Scientific Advisory Committee for the School of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine
Chulalongkorn University

“Better Bridging Science and Animal Health Policy”

David Waltner-Toews, DVM

University of Guelph

“Creative Destruction and One Health: Policy, Science & Practice in a Post Normal World”

David Zilberman, PhD

University of California Berkeley, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics

“The cost and the lessons of the Covid pandemic”

(Annual meeting shifted from December to January after CRWAD 2021, next meeting January 2023)

2020

2020 AVEPM Calvin Schwabe Award

Utilizing Big Data in Veterinary Medicine

– A Symposium honoring the lifetime professional achievements of Dr. Larry Glickman –

Larry Glickman, VMD, DrPH

Professor Emeritus, Department of Comparative Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University

“Utilizing big data in veterinary medicine”

2020 Invited Symposium Speakers

Alan Beck, ScD

College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University

“The Biology of the Human-Animal Bond”

Charlene Edinboro, DVM, PhD

Exponent

“Small Animals – Big Data!”

George Moore, DVM, PhD, DACVIM

Purdue University

“Big Data (Big Benefits or Big Obstacles?)”

2019

2018

2018 AVEPM Calvin Schwabe Award

Counteracting animal diseases at the global level

– A Symposium honoring the lifetime professional achievements of Dr. Alfonso Torres –

Alfonso Torres

Professor Emeritus – Cornell University, and former Deputy Administrator for Veterinary Services at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Counteracting animal diseases at the global level.”

2018 Invited Symposium Speakers

Terry F. McElwain

Regents Professor Emeritus, Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, Washington State University.

“Impact of animal health at the community/household level in developing nations”

Steve Osofsky

Jay Hyman Professor of Wildlife Health & Health Policy and AHEAD Program Coordinator, Cornell University.

“Beyond fences: Policy options for wildlife, livelihoods and transboundary animal disease management in southern Africa”

Valerie Ragan

Director, Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.

“Bovine brucellosis and tuberculosis: International challenges”

2017

2017 AVEPM Calvin Schwabe Award

Design, analysis and reporting of test accuracy studies in animals: progress, challenges and opportunities

– A Symposium honoring the lifetime professional achievements of Dr. Ian Gardner –

Ian Gardner, BVSC, MPVM, PhD

Epidemiology and Canada Excellence Research Chair, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island

“Design, analysis and reporting of test accuracy studies in animals: progress, challenges and opportunities”

2016

2016 AVEPM Calvin Schwabe Award

"Building Public Private Partnerships to Deliver One Health"

– A Symposium honoring the lifetime professional achievements of Dr. Will D. Hueston –

Will D. Hueston, DVM, MS, PhD

University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Center for Animal Health and Food Safety

“Informing Public Policy in the Age of Social Media and Pseduoscience”

2016 Invited Symposium Speakers

Brian Evans

“Animal Health Research: Critical to Informed Decision Making and Policy Development in the Public Interest”

Jennifer Wishnie

“Beyond Academia: Why Scientific Engagement is Essential to Successful Animal-Human Health Policy”

2015

2015 AVEPM Schwabe Symposium (no awardee this year due to temporal proximity of ISVEE)
Big Open, Crowd-sourced and Exhaust(ed)! What opportunities do these data sources hold for Veterinary Epidemiology?

Dr. Julie Funk
Michigan State University
Introduction

Dr. Theresa Bernardo
Professor and IDEXX Chair in Emerging Technologies and Bond-Centered Animal Health Care, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph
“The Epinet: Implications of connected beings and things”

Dr. Adam Little
Director, Partnerships and Innovation, LifeLearn, Inc., Guelph, Ontario, Canada
“Artificial intelligence in animal health: case study in Sofie, veterinary medicine's first IBM Watson solution” (https://www.lifelearn.com/innovations/lifelearn-sofie/)

Daniel X. O’Neil
Smart Chicago Collaborative, Chicago, IL
“Crowd-sourcing public health: The Foodborne Chicago Project” (https://www.foodbornechicago.org/)

Noelle R. Noyes
USDA NIFA Postdoctoral Fellow, Colorado State
“Big Data for small things: Metagenomic approaches to understanding antimicrobial resistance”

2014

2014 AVEPM Calvin Schwabe Award
Diseases, Dilemmas, Decisions: Epidemiological Tools to Find Answers for Difficult Disease Control Problems
– A Symposium Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Roger S. Morris –

Roger S. Morris
Emeritus Professor of Animal Health, Massey University, New Zealand
“How epidemiological tools and insights can be used to produce decisions out of dilemmas for difficult disease control problems”

2014 Invited Symposium Speakers

Dirk Pfeiffer
Royal Veterinary College, London UK
“Spatial and temporal data analysis in support of decision making for complex animal health problems”

Ian Dohoo
University of Prince Edward Island, Canada
“Dealing with deficient and missing data”

Katharina Staerk
Safoso, Switzerland
“The value of information: Current challenges in surveillance implementation”

Shiyong Wang
World Bank, Washington
“Assessing disease incursion risk and response strategies in difficult environments”

Peter Davies
University of Minnesota
“The dilemmas of a current emerging disease – porcine epidemic diarrhea in North America”

2013

2013 AVEPM Calvin Schwabe Award

The whole is not only more than but very different than the sum of its parts

– A Symposium Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Yrjö Gröhn –

Yrjö T. Gröhn

Professor of Epidemiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University

“Progression to multi-scale models and the application to food system intervention strategies”

2013 Invited Symposium Speakers

Martin Wiedmann

Professor of Food Science, Cornell University

“Starting from the bench – Prevention and control of foodborne and zoonotic diseases”

Renata Ivanek

Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Texas A&M

“From the bench to modeling – At the interface between empirical and theoretical approaches in epidemiology of infectious diseases”

Cristina Lanzas

Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, University of Tennessee

“In modeling – Where are we and where are we going?”

Ynte Hein Schukken

Professor of Epidemiology and Herd Health, Cornell University

“Back to the real world – Connecting models with data”

Anders Ringgaard Kristensen

Professor, University of Copenhagen

“Does it pay? - From biological models to economic optimization”

2012

2012 AVEPM Calvin Schwabe Award

Making sense of the world around us - Methods in observational research

– A Symposium Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Ian R. Dohoo –

Ian R. Dohoo

Professor Emeritus, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island

“Bias - Is it a problem and what should we do?”

2012 Invited Symposium Speakers

Wayne Martin

Professor Emeritus, Ontario Veterinary College

“The Framework - Making causal inferences from observational studies”

Ulf Emanuelson

Professor, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

“The Data - Sources and validation”

Henrik Stryhn

Associate Professor of Biostatistics, Atlantic Veterinary College

“The Analysis - Where are we and where are we going?”

Annette O’Connor

Professor, Iowa State University, College of Veterinary Medicine

“The Synthesis - Meta-analysis of observational research”

Jan Sargeant

Professor, Ontario Veterinary College

“The reporting - Guidelines for observational studies in veterinary medicine”

2011

2011 AVEPM Calvin Schwabe Award

Inviting logic to the table: using epidemiology to resolve food safety and zoonotic disease controversies

– A Symposium Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Dale D. Hancock –

Dale D. Hancock

Professor, Field Disease Investigation Unit, Washington State University

“Veterinary epidemiology: the cavalry of bio-medicine”

2011 Invited Symposium Speakers

Will Hueston

Professor, Center for Animal Health and Food Safety, University of Minnesota

“BSE and vCJD: Emerging science, public pressure and the vagaries of policy-making”

Tom Besser

Professor, Department of Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University

“Data viewed through rose-tinted glasses: the example of bighorn sheep pneumonia”

Paul Morley

Professor, Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University

“Evidence-based infection control in clinical practice: If you buy clothes for the emperor, will he wear them?”

Susan Lance

Food and Drug Administration Liaison to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA

“The front lines of epidemiology: balancing the need for action with need for logic and information”

2010

2010 AVEPM Calvin Schwabe Award

Animal Health Surveillance: From Science to Application

– A Symposium Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Preben W. Willeberg –

Dr. Preben W. Willeberg

Senior Veterinary Global Health Specialist, Center for Animal Disease Modeling and Surveillance (CADMS), School of Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis

“Animal health surveillance applications: The interaction of science and management”

2010 Invited Symposium Speakers

Mo Salman

Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology, Colorado State University

“Global and Regional Surveillance of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy: Their impact on reducing the spread of the disease”

Aaron Scott

Center Director, National Surveillance Unit, USDA/APHIS/VS/CEAH

“Return on Investment of National Animal Health Surveillance”

Jette Christensen

Epidemiologist, Canadian Food Inspection Agency

“Four elements of surveillance -science, project management, communication and documentation”

Angus Cameron

Director, AusVet Animal Health Services

“The consequences of freedom: Developing output-based standards for surveillance to demonstrate freedom from disease”

2009

2009 AVEPM Calvin Schwabe Award

Methodologies in Epidemiological Research
– A Symposium Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Hollis N. Erb –

Hollis N. Erb, DVM, MS, PhD

Professor of Epidemiology, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine

“Changing expectations: Do journals drive methodological changes? Should they?”

2009 Invited Symposium Speakers

Jan Sargeant

“Introduction”

Margaret Slater

“Epidemiological research and evidence based medicine: How do they fit and for whom”

Ian Gardner

“Quality standards are needed for reporting of test accuracy studies for animal diseases”

Annette O’ Connor

“Reporting guidelines for primary research: Saying what you did”

Ynte Schukken

“Correlated time to event data: Modeling repeated clinical mastitis data from dairy cattle in New York State”

2008

2008 AVEPM Calvin Schwabe Award
A global perspective for education in veterinary epidemiology and One Medicine – A Symposium
Honoring the Legacy of Dr. David W. Hird –

David W. Hird, DVM, MPVM, PhD
Preventive Medicine Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis
“Global thinking and global education: philosophy, programs, perspectives”

2008 Invited Symposium Speakers

Patricia A. Conrad, DVM, PhD
University of California, Davis
“Vision for a transdisciplinary “One Medicine” approach to global health education”

Jorge A. Hernandez, DVM, MPVM, PhD,
University of Florida
“Education of global veterinarians”

M. D. Salman, DVM, MPVM, PhD
Colorado State University
“The role of veterinary epidemiology in combating infectious animal diseases on a global scale: impact of training and outreach programs”

Santiago Urcelay Vicente, DVM, MPH, MPVM
University of Chile
“Veterinary Epidemiology in Latin America”

2007

2007 AVEPM Calvin Schwabe Award
Field Disease Investigation and Population Health
– A Symposium Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Clive C. Gay –

Clive C. Gay, DVM, MVSc, MACVSc
Professor Emeritus, Former Director, Field Disease Investigation Unit, Washington State University.
“Field Disease Investigation - a Differentiating and Integrative Approach to Problems in Animal Populations”

2007 Invited Symposium Speakers

Thomas E. Besser, DVM, PhD
Professor and Director of Laboratory Services, Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Washington State University.
“Integrating Laboratory Science with Field Disease Investigation: A Win-Win Strategy”

David A. Dargatz, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACT
Analytic Epidemiologist and Beef Specialist, USDA:APHIS, Centers for Epidemiology and Animal Health.
“What Is Normal? A Field Approach to Characterizing the National Animal Populations”

Kenneth W. Hinchcliff, BVSc, PhD, Diplomate ACVIM
Dean, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Melbourne.
“An Experimentalists View of Field Investigations of Disease in Horses”

Dale D. Hancock, DVM, MS, PhD
Professor, Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University.
“Epidemiology: The Cavalry of Biomedical Research”

2006

2006 AVEPM Calvin Schwabe Award
"One Epidemiology": Linking Study Design, Analysis, and Causal Thinking
– A Symposium Honoring the Legacy of Dr. S. Wayne Martin –

S. Wayne Martin, DVM, MSc, MPVM, PhD
Professor Emeritus, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph
“One Epidemiology": Linking Study Design, Analysis, and Causal Thinking”

2006 Invited Symposium Speakers

Catherine E Dewey, DVM, MSc, PhD
Professor in Swine Health Management and Epidemiology, Chair – Department of Population Medicine,
“Quantitative Techniques Used to Enhance Production Animal Research”

Jan M. Sargeant, DVM, MSc, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University
“Influence of Veterinary Epidemiology on Public Health: Past, Present, and Future”

Brian G. Bedard, DVM, MSc
Senior Livestock Specialist–Veterinary, Europe and Central Asia Sustainable Social Development, World Bank
“The Role of Veterinary Epidemiology in Developing Countries”

Ian R. Dohoo, DVM, PhD
Professor of Epidemiology, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island
“Quantitative Epidemiology - Progress and Challenges”

2005

2005 AVEPM Calvin Schwabe Award

– A Symposium Honoring the Legacy of Dr. James H. Steele –

James H. Steele, DVM, MPH
Pioneer of the CDC’s veterinary public health program. Helped establish a Veterinary Medical Officer category in the Public Health Service (PHS). PHS Chief Veterinary Officer, Assistant Surgeon General of the US, Professor Emeritus, University of Texas School of Veterinary Public Health.

2005 Invited Symposium Speakers

Joseph McCormick

George Beran

Fred Murphy

Primo Arambulo

2004

2004 AVEPM Calvin Schwabe Award

– A Symposium Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Robert K. Anderson –

Robert K. Anderson, DVM, MPH
Professor Emeritus, Director of Veterinary Public Health, University of Minnesota's College of Veterinary Medicine and School of Public Health, Co-Founder of the Center to Study Human-Animal Relationships and Environments (CENSHARE)

2004 Invited Symposium Speakers

Bill Hooper

John Kaneene

Jan Scarlett

Mike Osterholm

2003

2003 AVEPM Inaugural Calvin Schwabe Award
One Medicine for the Future
– Inaugural Symposium Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Calvin W. Schwabe –

Calvin W. Schwabe, MS, DVM, MPH, ScD
Professor Emeritus of Veterinary Epidemiology, University of California Davis
"Keynote address: the calculus of disease – importance of an integrating mindset”

2003 Invited Symposium Speakers

Marguerite Pappaioanou
“Veterinary medicine protecting and promoting the public’s health and well-being”

Mo Salman
“Controlling emerging diseases in the 21st century”

Wayne Martin
“Measuring health and disease: progress in analytical approaches”

Lonnie King
“Impacting policy through science and education”