AVMA Excellence Awards

Nominations open: Powered by you

Your nominations help the AVMA reward excellence. Review descriptions of each award, and consider which of your colleagues deserve recognition for their work. Nominations close January 14, 2026.

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Important dates

Nomination deadline for 2026 awards: January 14, 2026
Nominees notified: March/April 2026
Nominations open for 2027 awards: Fall 2026

AVMA awards FAQs

Questions about the awards or the nomination and selection process? Get answers to frequently asked questions.

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View the 2025 award recipients

The veterinary profession thrives with esteemed colleagues who have dedicated themselves and their careers to a diverse range of disciplines—agriculture, public health, humane education, animal welfare, clinical practice, research, government activities, professional education, and more.

The AVMA Excellence Awards honor these individuals for their contributions to both animal and human health. These annual awards recognize excellence in every aspect of veterinary medicine. They honor educators, researchers, clinical practitioners, veterinary advocates, and those who are not veterinarians but whose work has contributed significantly to advancing veterinary medicine. The variety of awards showcases the breadth of veterinary medicine, the diversity of veterinary careers, and the many ways in which veterinary professionals protect both animal and human health.

AVMA recognizes individuals with awards spanning the following areas:

Public service
Animal health and welfare
Research
International affairs
Volunteerism and leadership
Media

All award recipients are presented with a crystal award celebrating their achievements, and honored in a press release and on the AVMA website and social media.

How to submit a nomination

This is your opportunity to recognize mentors and colleagues for the valuable work they do and their contributions to both animal and human health. Nominate someone you know who has made an extraordinary difference to the veterinary profession.

Choose the right award for each nominee. Read the descriptions, nomination criteria, submission requirements, and selection process for each award.
Submit your nominations. Download the nomination form, gather all required supporting materials, and submit them together by email to avma-awardsavma [dot] org (avma-awards[at]avma[dot]org) no later than January 14, 2026.

If someone you nominated last year was not a recipient, you may contact avma-awardsavma [dot] org (avma-awards[at]avma[dot]org) to ask that the nomination be reconsidered during this year's nomination and selection process. Resubmitted nominations may be carried forward for only one additional year. After that, submission of a new nomination is required. More information is available in the Frequently Asked Questions.

Public service award

Animal health and welfare awards

*Animal Welfare, Humane, and Bustad awards are generously supported by Merck Animal Health

AVMA Animal Welfare Award

The AVMA Animal Welfare Award recognizes an AVMA member veterinarian for achievements in advancing the welfare of animals via leadership, public service, education, research, product development, or advocacy. By doing so, the AVMA raises public awareness of the important role veterinarians play in:

Improving understanding of animal welfare-related science and ethics
Ensuring that animal use for human purposes is conducted responsibly
Attending to and promoting animal welfare within the context of responsible animal use

Read criteria and requirements

AVMA Humane Award

The AVMA Humane Award recognizes a non-veterinarian for achievements in advancing the welfare of animals through leadership, public service, education, research, product development, or advocacy.

Read criteria and requirements

AVMA Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year Award

Named for the late Leo K. Bustad, DVM, PhD, this award recognizes a distinguished AVMA member veterinarian for outstanding work in preserving and protecting the human-animal bond.

Read criteria and requirements

Research awards

AVMA Career Achievement in Canine Research Award

This award honors an AVMA member veterinarian’s long-term contributions to advancing canine research.

Read criteria and requirements

AVMA Clinical Research Award

The AVMA Clinical Research Award recognizes an AVMA member veterinarian for achievements in patient-oriented research, including the study of mechanisms of disease, therapeutic interventions, clinical trials, development of new technologies, and epidemiological studies. This award will be presented to an active AVMA member who has made significant contributions to the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of diseases in animals.

Read criteria and requirements

AVMA Lifetime Excellence in Research Award

This award recognizes a veterinary researcher based on lifetime achievement in basic, applied, or clinical research. Nominees will be considered on the total impact their careers have had on the veterinary or biomedical professions.

Read criteria and requirements

AVMF Career Achievement in Feline Research Award

This award, established by the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) recognizes an AVMA member veterinarian’s long-time to advancing feline health through their research.

Read criteria and requirements

International affairs award

AVMA Global Veterinary Service Award

The Global Veterinary Service Award was established initially as the XIIth International Veterinary Congress Prize from funds remaining after the 1934 International Veterinary Congress (former name of the World Veterinary Association [WVA] Congress) recognizing outstanding service by an AVMA member veterinarian who has contributed to international understanding of veterinary medicine. It was renamed in 2019 in honor of the visionary international leadership exemplified by Dr. René Carlson and Dr. Leon Russell, both past presidents of the AVMA and WVA. Dr. Carlson also served two terms as the AVMA Director of International Affairs.

Read criteria and requirements

Volunteerism and leadership awards

The AVMA Award

This award recognizes a distinguished AVMA member veterinarian who has contributed to the advancement of veterinary medicine in its organizational aspects.

Read criteria and requirements

AVMA Frederick Douglass Patterson Lifetime Achievement Award

This award recognizes an AVMA member veterinarian who has made significant contributions to the veterinary profession through innovative and transformative leadership in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, and who has demonstrated a commitment to advancing these values within the veterinary profession and has brought honor and distinction to the field through their exemplary efforts.

Read criteria and requirements

AVMA Meritorious Service Award

This award recognizes an AVMA member veterinarian who has brought honor and distinction to the veterinary profession through personal, professional, or community service activities that are conducted outside the scope of organized veterinary medicine or research.

Read criteria and requirements

Media award

AVMA Steve Dale excellence in veterinary media AWARD

The AVMA Steve Dale Excellence in Veterinary Media Award recognizes an individual for contributing substantively to the positive visibility of the profession by raising public awareness of the important and diverse roles veterinarians play in every facet of the health and welfare of animals, people, and the environment.

Read criteria and requirements

Unsung Heroes Awards

AVMA’s Unsung Heroes Awards shine a light on the veterinary team members whose hard work and dedication often go unnoticed. Help us recognize the impact of these dedicated individuals by submitting a nomination for an Unsung Hero.

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