(September 21, 2010   Stillwater, OK) – Heather Austin, a fourth-year veterinary student at OSU’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, recently competed in the Society for Theriogenology Student Abstract Competition held in Seattle, Wash. Austin placed 2nd for her presentation entitled, “Surgical correction of priapism in an 18-year-old Quarter Horse gelding.”

The case Austin presented was special because it involved her own horse, Sonny.  Priapism is a prolonged penile erection in the absence of sexual desire and is observed in several animal species as well as in man.  According to Austin, Drs. Chelsea Makloski, Reed Holyoak (both board certified Theriogenologists) and Dustin Devine (board certified equine surgeon) all played important roles in Sonny’s treatment and eventual surgery.  All three are faculty members at OSU’s veterinary hospital.

“Heather did so well.  She wrote an outstanding abstract that was accepted to be presented and I may be biased, but I think she had the best presentation of the group,” says Makloski.  “She was very poised, professional and had researched her topic thoroughly, which was evident in the way she handled her questions perfectly.  I told Dr. Holyoak that he was going to be dazzled by the presentation and she delivered.”

Austin is the daughter of Suzanne Stahlhut of Peachtree City, Ga., and David Stahlhut of Jackson’s Gap, Ala.  She earned her B.S. degree in Animal Science from Colorado State Univeristy and a M.S. degree in Animal Science from North Carolina State University.  Austin is married to Brandon Austin and resides in Stillwater.

The Oklahoma State University Center for Veterinary Health Sciences is one of 28 veterinary colleges in the United States and is fully accredited by the Council on Education of the American Veterinary Medical Association.  The center’s Boren Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital is open to the public and provides routine and specialized care for small and large animals.  It also offers 24-hour emergency care and is certified by the American Animal Hospital Association.  For more information, visit www.cvhs.okstate.edu or call (405) 744-7000.

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