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Principal Investigator
Principal Investigator
Sian Durward-Akhurst
Sian Durward-Akhurst
PhD in Genetics, Comparative and Molecular Biosciences Program, University of Minnesota
Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Large Animal)
MS in Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Medicine Program, University of Minnesota
Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, University of Glasgow
Dr. Sian Akhurst is an Assistant Professor of Genetics, Genomics, and Large Animal Internal Medicine in the Veterinary Clinical Sciences Department. Sian has worked in equine private practice (Agnew Equine, Biddulph Moor, UK) and has undertaken advanced training in equine medicine, surgery, and anesthesia (Junior Clinical Training Scholar, Royal Veterinary College, UK) and Large Animal Internal Medicine (Residency, University of Minnesota). Her clinical interests include cardiology, neonatology, and critical care. Her research interests include comparative genomics and reducing the rate of sudden cardiac death in equine and human athletes. In her spare time, Sian enjoys riding horses (current opening for a retired Standardbred racehorse), entertaining/being entertained by her 3 year old, and singing in the Unexpected Company Chorale (an amateur choral group).
Graduate students
Graduate students
Jillian Marlowe (PhD student, Comparative and Molecular Biosciences Program)
Jillian Marlowe (PhD student, Comparative and Molecular Biosciences Program)
Jillian Marlowe is a PhD student in the Comparative and Molecular Biosciences program. She grew up in the sunny and humid climate of South Carolina and graduated from Clemson University with a degree in Animal Sciences. Her interest in equine genetics began in her undergraduate studies after taking classes in equine physiology and animal genetics. She will be continuing a project started by Dr. Durward-Akhurst to determine the causal variants of diseases of interest such as idiopathic renal hematuria. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading, writing, and watching movies about space and superheroes. She also spends a lot of time taking care of her cat that demands attention nearly all the time.
Undergraduate students
Undergraduate students
Joy Stock (Undergraduate student, Animal Science - Equine Emphasis, University of Minnesota)
Joy Stock (Undergraduate student, Animal Science - Equine Emphasis, University of Minnesota)
Joy is a senior undergraduate student at the University of Minnesota, on the pre-veterinarian track studying animal science with an equine emphasis. Just some of her previous experience includes veterinary assistance work in small animal preventive and emergency medicine, caring for the horses of the University of Minnesota’s Vet School, and interning for an equine forage producer. She plans to take a gap year before applying to vet schools, and then hopes to continue her education at the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
Alumni
Alumni
Kelsey Springer (DVM Summer Scholar, 2020 and 2021)
Kelsey Springer (DVM Summer Scholar, 2020 and 2021)
Kelsey is a UMN Class of 2023 DVM student from Atlanta, Georgia. In 2020, Kelsey assisted Drs. Durward-Akhurst and Molly McCue in validating genetic variants and genetic burden in the general equine population. In 2021, she returned to the lab to investigate genetic variants in peregrine falcons. After graduating, Kelsey plans to complete a rotating clinical internship and continue her research in avian/wildlife genomics. Aside from birds, she also enjoys working with horses, camelids, and small ruminants. In her free time, Kelsey kayaks, hikes, collects postcards, crochets, and reads.
Em Adam (DVM Summer Scholar, 2020 and 2021)
Em Adam (DVM Summer Scholar, 2020 and 2021)
Em is a University of Minnesota Class of 2023 veterinary student. Em is originally from Pennsylvania but currently works in the clinical pathology lab in the Veterinary Medical Center. Their clinical interests include clinical pathology and research in all species. Their Summer Scholars research project was on the identification and validation of alleles for cardiac arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation with ECG analysis with the long-term goal of reducing sudden cardiac death for horses on the racetrack. Throughout both summers, they were able to perform computation genetics while analyzing ECGs from racehorses and participating in acquiring echocardiograms in the field. They are currently interested in pursuing advanced training, both an internship and residency, in clinical pathology. In their spare time, Em enjoys latch hooking (a relative to crochet), reading, and playing with their many cats when able to visit their home in Pennsylvania.
Collaborators
Collaborators
Equine Genetics and Genomics laboratory, University of Minnesota, USA
Dr. Jenifer Gold, Associate Professor, Washington State University, USA
Dr. Kamalan Jeevaratnam, Head of Department of Veterinary Pre-Clinical Sciences and Program Director BVMSci, University of Surrey, UK
Dr. Celia Marr, Specialist in Equine Internal Medicine, Rossdales, UK
Dr. Christopher Stauthammer, Associate Professor, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, University of Minnesota
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