Student Research Grant

Any veterinary, veterinary social work, veterinary technician, or veterinary nursing student may apply for the research grant.  The student must be in good standing, able to complete the research within 2021, and have a faculty advisor willing to support the research. Students must be in the US, Canada, or attending Ross University or St. Matthews University.

The Student Research grant will be available from Sept. 2, 2020 at 12am EST-  Sept. 30, 2020 at 5pm EST.  Each student must login to Cybergrants (PetSmart Charities’ grants management system) and create a user profile.

The student will create a login, then select the appropriate university and complete the application questions, including verification of a faculty advisor and Dean notification.

Funding will be provided to the school, college, university or university foundation to pay the student and applicable expenses.  The Dean must be notified of the research application and potential for funding of the research to allow funding transfer.

Each Student Research grant is $8,500. The student shall receive a stipend of $6,500 paid directly by the university. The stipend is $6,500 regardless of the length or duration of the research period. No additional funds are provided for research costs. One $1,000 travel stipend is to support travel to a 2021 national research symposium to present research via visual and/or lecture means. This national research symposium may be BI/NIH, AVMA, or ABVP. Should an alternate symposium be requested, prior approval from PetSmart Charities is required. The second $1000 travel stipend is to support travel to a national research networking event to be hosted by PetSmart Charities, at either VMX January 2022 or WVC February 2022.

• Spectrum of Care: A phrase describing a variety of diagnostics, treatment options, and outcomes at a wide variety of price points.
• Access to Care: A phrase describing barriers to seeking or accessing veterinary care, which may include (but are not limited to): language, financial, socioeconomic, transportation, or cultural.
• Incremental Care: A phrase describing starting with basic/most urgent/most influential diagnostic or treatment options available for a veterinary case, and then increasing the number of options added to the treatment plan, based on time, response to treatment, and financial ability to pay for options. This method is opposite to what is currently the most common method of providing treatment plans, whereby the veterinarian provides a Plan A and removes diagnostics and/or treatments to meet the client’s ability to pay for services.
• Community Medicine: Primary care veterinary services, including basic preventative care provided within the community, via mobile clinic, pop up clinic, utilizing community space, or other methodology.
• Community of Need: The human community experiencing the barrier to veterinary care. This community can be identified and described by a variety of means, including (but not limited to): zip codes, demographics of humans living in the community, range of services available within the community, number of veterinary clinics and/or veterinarians within a community, number of non-equine pets, or other means.
• Platinum Care: A type of veterinary service at a university or specialty level of care including advanced diagnostics, advanced treatments, advanced surgery, or other aspects of care which may be cost or culturally prohibitive.

Examples of research include (but are not limited to):

• Telemedicine business models in remote communities
• High volume, low cost veterinary business modeling
• Best practices for outpatient treatment of acute vomiting
• Best practices for outpatient treatment of chronic cough
• Longitudinal study of illnesses and outcomes within a community of need
• Identification of the most common veterinary complaints and diagnoses in a community of need
• Identification of challenges faced by low cost clinics
• Identification of challenges faced when providing veterinary care to housing-insecure populations
• Exploration of veterinary social work services in a population of need
• Population assessment of preventative care in indigenous communities

All pets must be owned by private individuals; homeless animals or shelter animals are excluded.  Non-equine companion animals, such as dogs, cats, non-poultry birds, reptiles or pocket pets are admissible to the study.  No animal included can be for commercial use.

Due to the volume of applications, applications cannot be evaluated by the review team prior to close of the application period.

Applications are reviewed on a competitive basis.  All applications in the United States and Caribbean schools compete against each other, and all applications in Canada compete against other Canadian applications.  The application pools can be very competitive and are evaluated based on the quality of the proposal, feasibility, importance of research, and alignment with the mission of PetSmart Charities.

Yes, multiple applications from a university can be considered.  All applications will be evaluated competitively, and the top projects will be funded.  Multiple projects from an institution/college/university may receive a grant.  Applications from the same institution will compete against each other.

All projects shall abide by state and national laws and board regulations.   Appropriate research protocols and IRBs (if required by applicant's institution) shall be identified and documented.

Yes, you can apply for the grant.

Unused travel funds may be used to offset research costs associated with the research project or may be returned to PetSmart Charities.

No.