A founding faculty member of the Atlantic Veterinary College was honoured during a book launch and reception celebrating his teaching and research career on Tuesday, December 4, at the University of Prince Edward Island.

Dr. Ian Dohoo, Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology and immediate past-Director of the Centre for Veterinary Epidemiological Research, retired in August 2012 after an illustrious 25-year career in AVC’s Department of Health Management. A highly respected teacher and researcher, Dr. Dohoo joined the College in 1985 as one of five founding faculty members.

In his honour, the Dr. Ian R. Dohoo Award has been created for a graduate student registered at AVC in the specialization of epidemiology/health management. The award, which will begin in the spring of 2013, will support travel for presentation of the recipient’s own scholarly work at a national or international conference.

Dr. Dohoo’s extensive publication and graduate student supervision records, combined with authorship of the leading graduate level text in the field, Veterinary Epidemiologic Research, have established his reputation as a leading international figure in veterinary epidemiology and population-based health research.

The event included the launch of a new textbook co-authored by Dr. Dohoo; Dr. Henrik Stryhn, Associate Professor of Biostatistics at AVC; and Dr. Wayne Martin, Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology, University of Guelph. Methods in Epidemiologic Research is essentially the same as Veterinary Epidemiologic Research but deals with epidemiology—the study of disease within a population—from a human rather than a veterinary perspective.

Dr. Dohoo is recognized as an excellent teacher both locally and internationally and is frequently involved in the delivery of high level post-graduate courses around the world. He has served as President of the Canadian Association of Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine and has received numerous teaching and research awards. In 2005 he was one of four veterinarians in Canada elected as an inaugural Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. In 2008 he was awarded an honorary Veterinary Medical Doctorate by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and in 2012, an honorary Doctor of Science by the University of Guelph, his alma mater. He was honoured with the Calvin W. Schwabe Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Association for Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at the annual meeting of the Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases on December 2.

Dr. Dohoo studied veterinary medicine at Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, graduating in 1976 with his doctor of veterinary medicine degree and in 1982 with his PhD.

Photo: Dr. Ian Gardner, Director of the Centre for Veterinary Epidemiological Research, presents Dr. Ian Dohoo with a framed copy of the Dr. Ian R. Dohoo Award.