Zoetis Award
for Veterinary Research Excellence
Annually, the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Research Committee partners with Zoetis in honoring a faculty member who fosters innovative research, on which the scientific advancement of the Veterinary profession depends, through outstanding research effort and productivity. Please join us in congratulating our 2023 awardee, Dr. Eva Furrow.
Dr. Eva Furrow, VMD, PhD, DACVIM
Board-certified small animal internist and geneticist as well as an Associate Professor within the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Dr. Eva Furrow has grown her research program and her cross-disciplinary collaborations in genetic determinants of canine and human disease. Her research benefits not only the veterinary patients she serves but using dogs as a spontaneous model of human urinary stones, her research translates to human patients who suffer from this painful disease. Her exemplary performance in research is obvious from reading her curriculum vitae. Her record of publications and grants would be competitive if it belonged to someone in the later stages of their career; it is even more impressive in an early to mid-career faculty member. Dr. Furrow studies disease that naturally occurs in animals to uncover genetic risk factors in the corresponding disease in humans.
Major focuses of her studies are urinary calculi and hyperlipidemia. The goals of her research are to improve both prevention and treatment of genetically inherited conditions in animals and people. She has a strong cross-professional research partnership with the O’Brien Urology Research Center, working with Dr. Romero to test genes responsible for calcium oxalate stone formation in a drosophila fly model, and had collaborated with the Mayo team on two separate NIH NIDDK U grants (U54 DK083908 and U54 DK100227). She was awarded a NIH K01 SERCA to study the role of zinc transporters and dietary zinc in calcium oxalate urolithiasis, and secured a rare, funded extension of this promising work.
One glance at her CV shows how successful Dr. Furrow has been at securing small and large external research grants from foundation grants to NIH grants. Her work is well renowned. She has published over thirty peer-reviewed journal articles in her short tenure at the CVM, has given nearly 50 invited lectures and served as a leader in related scientific organizations, including on the organizing committee for The International Conference on Canine and Feline Genetics and Genomics, and the Calcium Oxalate Summit Organizing Committee. Dr. Furrow’s work is impactful for veterinary patients every day in her role as principal investigator for the UMN Canine Genetics Laboratory, which provides genetic testing for over 20 inherited canine diseases, 7 of which were discovered by her research laboratory. In addition to her accomplishments in her own research, Eva is incredibly passionate about encouraging appreciation and understanding of research and the scientific process in our trainees. As is demonstrated in her CV, she has served as an advisor or co-advisor for the great majority of small animal residents. What the CV doesn’t say, however, is her daily commitment to using evidence-based medicine to guide the management of cases. In addition, she provides training materials for both her residents and graduate students on study design and manuscript preparation and meets with each new resident to help design research projects that are feasible in the short residency timeline, even when she is not the primary research advisor.
From Dr. Tracy Hill and Dr. Jennifer Grannick's nomination letter:
In our College with premier research output, Eva is a bright star amongst our faculty. She successfully secured an NIH grant along with a paid extension, a rarity in today’s competitive research funding environment. She has numerous intramural and extramural foundation grants that have been funded, with successful publication at completion of the projects. She has successful collaborations in a variety of areas, including genetics, endocrinology, and lower urinary tract diseases.
We believe Eva should be recognized for her efforts and success in her research program.