Gustavo Aguirre, V.M.D., Ph.D., the Alfred H. Caspary Professor of Ophthalmology at Cornell University, has been selected to receive the World Small Animal Veterinary Association's (WSAVA) International Award for Scientific Achievement for 1998.

Aguirre, who conducts research on inherited eye disease at the James A. Baker Institute for Animal Health in the College of Veterinary Medicine, will be cited for his "outstanding contribution to the advancement of knowledge concerning disorders of companion animals." The award is sponsored by the Waltham Centre and will be presented at the WSAVA World Congress next October in Buenos Aires.

A specialist in comparative ophthalmology, Aguirre and his laboratory colleagues work to determine the modes of inheritance of various forms of canine progressive retinal atrophy, an important problem in dogs and a valuable model for the study of retinitis pigmentosa in humans. One goal of the canine studies is the development of DNA-based diagnostic tests to determine the carrier and disease status of dogs before they are bred. The first such test, for diagnosis of rod-cone dysplasia 1 in Irish setters, was developed in Aguirre's laboratory in 1994 and now is in use among dog breeders.

Previous awards to Aguirre include an honorary doctorate from Sweden's Gothenburg University (1993) and the American Kennel Club's Excellence in Canine Research Award (1997).