The announcement was made at the 2012 Allen D. Leman Swine Conference for veterinary continuing education in St. Paul, Minnesota, by Shelley Stanford, DVM, Director, US Pork Technical Services.

Ms Menard is a consultant with F. Menard, Inc. in Ange-Gardien, Quebec. She graduated from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Montreal in 1987 and has been a swine practitioner consultant since then. She focuses on sow herd management and PRRS control through gilt acclimation, biosecurity, air filtration in barns, and regional control.

She serves on the Quebec Swine Health Advisory Board of the Quebec Pork Value Chain, the advisory board of the Research Chair on Feed Safety from the University of Montreal, and the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) Area Regional Control and Eradication Project, Monteregie area, in Quebec.

"I accept this award as a gift in my life and my career," said Ms Menard. "I always try to do my best in my day-to-day work, but when a prize like this comes, it is more than you can expect. I thank the University of Minnesota committee for choosing me for this very prestigious award and am very honored to be part of the impressive list of past recipients."

Ms Menard has consulted as an expert advisor for many Canadian Swine Health Board projects. She is past president of the Canadian Association of Swine Veterinarians and served on the International Pig Veterinary Society (IPVS) Congress organising committee in 2010.

"Her contributions to the swine industry have been significant," said Ms Stanford. "Her work in the area of PRRS control has resulted in advancements to help the industry as a whole."

The 2012 Allen D. Leman Science in Practice Award has been awarded to some of the most prominent leaders in the swine industry over the past 18 years. As part of the Pfizer Animal Health ongoing Commitment to Veterinarians™, this award helps signify the company's support and investment in the future of the veterinary profession.