2016 Veterinary Research Fellowship

Katarzyna Dembek, DVM, MS, DACVIM
Ohio State University


2016 Research Fellow

Left to Right: Dr. Jeff Berk, AAEP Foundation Chairman, Katarzyna Dembek, DVM, MS, DACVIM,
and Dr. Richard Mitchell, DVM, EQUUS Foundation Board Member and incoming Chairman, AAEP Foundation Advisory Council.


Ohio State University doctoral candidate Katarzyna Dembek, DVM, MS, DACVIM, received the 2016 EQUUS Foundation Research Fellow for her research into how the dynamics of hypothalamic, pituitary, and adrenal hormones relate to severity of disease and mortality in newborn foals.

Dr. Dembek was recognized on December 5th prior to the Frank J. Milne State-of-the-Art Lecture at the AAEP's 62nd Annual Convention in Orlando, Fla.

Dr. Dembek has made several clinical discoveries, including how an increase in the number of adrenal steroids in septic foals is directly proportional to severity of disease and likelihood of mortality. She also demonstrated foals with adrenal endocrine failure are likely to die within a very short period after admission. In addition, Dr. Dembek helped develop an application called FoalScore, which estimates the probability of sepsis and survival in foals.

Dr. Dembek earned her veterinary degree in 2005 from the College of Veterinary Medicine at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences in Poland. She completed her master's in veterinary clinical sciences and equine medicine residency in 2012, both at Ohio State University.