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Student Awards

Penny L. Bernstein Human-Cat Interaction Student Travel Award

Penny L. Bernstein was a beloved member of ISAZ since its inception in 1991. Sadly, she passed away shortly before the annual conference in 2012.  Penny was an associate professor at Kent State University where she taught biology and animal behavior for over 20 years.  She was a longtime member and coordinator for the Animal Behavior Society in addition to her involvement in ISAZ.

As an anthrozoologist and animal behaviorist, Penny’s primary interest was in relationships with domestic cats.  She is fondly remembered for her kindness, good humor, as well as her love of the feline species.

This award will be given in memory of Penny for a student project on human relationships with domestic cats to be given at the ISAZ conference.

Not accepting applications until the 2026 awards cycle, please check back in Fall 2025 for application details.

Criteria for Penny L. Bernstein Human-Cat Interaction Student Travel Award:

  1. Applicant must be a current ISAZ student member, and must be a student at the time of abstract submission.
  2. Preference will be given to students who have not received a previous award from ISAZ.
  3. Students must be the presenting author on an ISAZ conference abstract submission focusing on human-domestic cat interactions.

As this is a merit award, recipients will be selected based on the quality of their abstracts.

*Award winners are only eligible to win one award per conference. If an individual is selected to win an award and has applied for more than one award, they will be removed from the application pool for all other awards.

Award announced at the end of the conference.

Please visit the Awards Overview page for a complete list of awards, values, and deadlines.

Please direct questions to awards@isaz.net.

Meet our Bernstein Student Award Winners!

2023

  • Bailey Eagan
    Bailey Eagan

    University of British Columbia Animal Welfare Program, Canada
    “The Effect of Daily Gabapentin on Behaviour Modification Progression and Signs of Stress in Fearful Shelter Cats Rescued from Hoarding Environments”

2022

Sam Jack
Queens University, UK
"The Effect of Baby Schema in Cats on Length of Stay on an Irish Animal Shelter”

2021

Takumi Nagasawa
Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan
"The Effects of Interaction With Owners on Urinary Hormonal State of Cats"

2020

Kris Hill
University of Exeter, UK
"In or Out? Social discourses surrounding with free-roaming cats in urban communities"

 

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