Courtney Boyd, an undergraduate in the Applied Animal Biology Honours program at the University of British Columbia, was the university’s first recipient of the Kristian Domingo Award this past winter.

During her time at UBC, Courtney has been involved in research at the BC Cancer Research Centre, as well as being part of the university’s animal welfare research team. After her mother fell ill from a near-fatal heart infection, she was inspired to get involved in biomedical research. Being a lifelong animal lover, this experience led her to pursue research in the field of animal welfare with the goal of improving the quality of life for animals used in medical research. After winning an NSERC-URSA, she was able to conduct a study aiming to refine euthanasia methods for rodents used in research.

In the spring of 2019, her mother suffered a severe stroke and she is currently completing her degree while supporting her family during this time of adversity.

“I am very grateful to be the recipient of the Kristian Domingo Award. Kristian was a person of great integrity who never stopped pursuing his goals and continued to be a loving friend and family member despite the challenges he was faced with in life. Being the recipient of this award reminds me to demonstrate these same qualities in my own life, and I feel privileged to be a part of honouring his memory. I am thankful to Kristian and his family for supporting and inspiring students like myself.”