Kathryn M. Meurs, a professor and associate dean for research and graduate education in the College of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University, has been chosen as the inaugural winner of the Mark L. Morris Jr. Investigator Award presented by the Morris Animal Foundation of Denver, Colorado. The foundation was founded in 1948 and has invested more than $100 million in 2,400 grants for animal health studies.
Dr. Meurs’ award will fund her research on canine mitral valve disease, the most common cause of heart disease in dogs. She will attempt to identify the genetic basis for the disease and use that information to develop new treatments and prevention plans for dogs that are at high risk for developing canine mitral valve disease.
Professor Meurs is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she majored in zoology. She earned a doctorate in veterinary medicine at the University of Wisconsin and completed her internship at North Carolina State University and her residency in cardiology at Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Meurs also holds a Ph.D. in genetics from Texas A&M University.