The American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine will present Ray Dillon, D.V.M., of Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine with the inaugural ACVIM Foundation Distinguished Service Award.  Dr. Dillon will be honored May 31 during the awards luncheon of the 2012 ACVIM Forum held May 30 through June 2 in New Orleans at the New Orleans Convention Center.

Dr. Dillon was chosen for the inaugural award in appreciation for his contributions, dedication, and commitment to advancing veterinary specialty medicine.  Dr. Dillon is the founding president of the ACVIM Foundation.

With the direction and support of the ACVIM Board of Regents, Dr. Dillon chaired the ACVIM exploratory committee and then the organizational board which initiated a 501(c) tax-exempt foundation dedicated to the research of clinically important animal diseases.  As an arm of ACVIM, the initial foundation board drafted the initial charter, mission statements, governance and bylaws, committee structure, budget projections, legal liability assessments, and IRS application for tax-exempt status. 

The ACVIM Foundation application received full tax-exempt status in 2000.  The foundation board drafted a fund raising strategy and a research granting and scoring process which were implemented by the ACVIM Foundation.  During these initial steps of creation, Dr. Dillon served as president of the ACVIM Foundation (1998-2001) and as president of the board for two additional years. 

Dr. Dillon is the Jack O. Rash Professor of Medicine in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Auburn University.  After receiving his D.V.M. from Texas A&M University in 1973, he was an intern and clinical resident at Auburn earning his M.S. in internal medicine in 1977.  He became board certified in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in 1979.  He received his M.B.A. degree in 2001 from Auburn.

Dr. Dillon is active in cardiopulmonary research with an emphasis on inflammatory lung disease and molecular mechanisms in myocardial remodeling of dogs and cats.  In addition to clinical duties, he has been directly associated with over $22 million in research over the past 15 years including collaborative research with the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heart Failure Center and other medical schools.

The mission of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine is to enhance animal and human health by advancing veterinary internal medicine through training, education, and discovery.