Veterinary cardiologist Ettinger named 2011 Mark L. Morris, Sr. Lifetime Achievement Award

Orlando

-- For his contributions in advancing veterinary care, pioneering veterinary cardiologist Stephen Ettinger, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM was awarded the 2011 Mark L. Morris Sr., Lifetime Achievement Award.

The announcement came during the opening ceremony of the North American Veterinary Conference.

"Each year, our nominees have experience in a wide range of fields in the veterinary profession. Dr. Ettinger's organizational service, research contributions and involvement in the academic future of veterinary medicine put him at the forefront and made him a natural choice to receive the Mark L. Morris, Sr., Lifetime Achievement Award," says Janet Donlin, DVM, chief veterinary officer at Hill’s Pet Nutrtion. "In addition, his authored Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine remains the gold standard in veterinary internal medicine resources."

In 1964, Ettinger earned a DVM degree from the University of Cornell. He interned and completed his residency training at the Animal Medical Center and at Bronx Veteran’s Administration Hospital in New York, N.Y., and later became a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow in cardiology.

Ettinger's career has included positions as staff cardiologist and assistant head of medicine at The Animal Medical Center; hospital administrator and internal medicine and cardiology team member at Berkeley Veterinary Medical Group in Berkeley, Calif. He has also worked as a consultant for EVSCO Pharmaceutical Company, IDEXX-CVD Laboratories, CardioPet, Inc. and Hill’s Pet Nutrition.

As a member of numerous veterinary associations like the Veterinary Medical Association of New York City, Southern California Veterinary Medical Association and Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, Ettinger also served in organizational leadership. These roles include vice president of financial affairs and secretary-treasurer at The Berkeley Veterinary Research Foundation, Inc., executive secretary of the Academy of Veterinary Cardiology and World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) and editorial board member of the American Journal of Veterinary Research.

Ettinger is also the recipient of past awards including the British Small Animal Veterinary Association’s Bourgelat Award (International Veterinarian of the Year), University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine's Centennial Award of Merit and WSAVA’s International Prize for Scientific Achievement.

Hill’s will donate $20,000 to the Morris Animal Foundation (MAF), which was founded by Dr. Mark Morris, Sr. in 1948 as a charitable organization to advance animal health. The foundation has funded more than 1,700 studies.