AO Research Institute Davos veterinary research fellowships

The purpose of AO Research Institute Davos (ARI) veterinary research fellowships is to provide motivated veterinarians with on-site research training to gain experience in research and development (R&D) projects focusing on relevant clinical problems.

The application deadline for 2027 is September 30, 2025.

Decisions will be communicated by January 2026.

No more fellowships are available in 2025 and 2026.

Benefits of an AO Research Institute Davos veterinary research fellowship

Obtaining or refining knowledge on research project management
Creating tangible results in relevant orthopedic research
Inspiration from being part of a world renowned international multidisciplinary R&D team
Enlarging personal networks for future R&D and AO activities
Certificate of AO Research Institute Davos fellowship

Application

The candidate must have a degree in veterinary medicine and a strong interest in orthopedic research. ACVS/ECVS board eligibility is a plus, but not a prerequisite.

Please fill in the application form and submit along with your CV, a cover letter explaining your motivation, and two signed letters of recommendation giving contact details for your referees. An electronic copy of all certificates must also be attached. PDFs of all documents will be accepted.

Download application form

Apply here

Fellowship duration

Fellowships last twelve months (in exceptional cases this can be limited to six months, if sufficient justification is provided in the application). The application must be submitted by the deadline set for the year requested.

Application review process

The application will be reviewed within AO Research Institute Davos and after a decision has been made (as outlined in the request guidelines), a letter informing the applicant of this decision will be sent. Successful applications will require a contract to be signed. The allowance to start will be dependent upon successful application for a work visa within Switzerland. A stipend for one person, covering living costs in Davos, will be provided. The stipend is not enough to provide for anyone else (eg, partner/children). You will not be able to bring your family to Davos during your fellowship, unless your visitors stay in a separate hotel or apartment. Our agreements with the tenants for single rooms are only for single use, and pets are not permitted. No support is offered to help applicants find accommodation for relatives. No support for visa applications for relatives, or for pet-related travel permits, is provided.

We encourage self-financed fellowship applications (from people who have been able to secure funding from their hospitals, national societies, education foundations, government grants, etc).

Contact

General enquiries

AO Research Institute Davos fellowships

AO Research Institute Davos fellows

2024

Jeremia Giger
Switzerland

VetSuisse Faculty, University of Zurich

I am a 26-year-old master’s student in veterinary medicine at the VetSuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, currently in my final semester. This externship at the AO Research Institute is part of my clinical rotations. Driven by a strong interest in research, I chose the biomedical research focus program, which enabled me to conduct a 32-week master’s thesis. I look forward to gaining hands-on experience in the Preclinical Facility and exploring the various research fields at ARI, expanding my knowledge and skills in preparation for a career in veterinary science and research.

2022

	Vuyisa Mdingi South Africa KwaZulu Natal Vuyisa is a 33-years old Orthopaedic Surgeon from South Africa. He studied for his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degree at the University of Cape Town from 2006 to 2011. After completing his one year of internship and two years of community service, he served as a medical officer for three years. He then started his Orthopaedic residency in January 2018 and completed it in December 2021 at Grey's Hospital (Pietermaritzburg, South Africa) through the University of KwaZulu Natal. He is completing his Masters in Medicine degree in paediatric musculoskeletal infection. During his residency he showed a keen interest in orthopaedic-related research and aims to incorporate it in his clinical practice and become a true clinician-scientist. He is looking forward to his 12-month fellowship doing basic science research at the AO Research Institute Davos under the guidance of Fintan Moriarty in the Infection Biology team. During his time at the AO Research Institute Davos, he will study the impact of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) treatments on fracture-related infection.
	Maria Eugenia Pirera Argentina My name is María Eugenia Pirera I was born in the city of Miramar, state of Buenos Aires, Argentine Republic. I studied Dentistry at the National University of La Plata and continued my specialty in maxillofacial surgery at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. In 2018 I did an AOCMF fellowship at the Universitatpital Basel where I discovered my passion for research to find therapeutic alternatives for patients. In 2020 I obtained a scholarship at Harvard University for the program of Global clinical Scholars Research Training where I expanded my knowledge in the field of research. I am currently starting as a Research Fellow Regenerative Orthopedics for a period of 1 year. I am very grateful to join the team and have the opportunity to gain experience in the field of tissue engineering research. I appreciate the varied cultural and interdisciplinary experience as I work at the AO Center and look forward to establishing long-lasting collaborators, friends, and mentors for my career.
	André de Souza Salvatore Brazil São Paulo State University (UNESP – Botucatu Campus) I am from São Paulo, Brazil. I finished my studies in veterinary medicine in December 2018 at the São Paulo State University (UNESP). During my veterinary program I had a special interest in Equine surgical and orthopedic approaches as well as a passion for research and the role of research into developing new diagnostic methods and treatments. Led by this passion, I sought to assist in a research project designed to investigate biomarkers for colic syndrome. After my graduation, I completed a one-year Internship at the Clinic for Horses at the Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover (TiHo). This experience was ideal for me to understand the complexity of each orthopedic case, as well as how the osteosynthesis technique must adapt to address and treat each case differently. By joining AO, I hope that by managing and assisting in a variety of animal projects, I will be able to better understand the science behind the complexity of osteosynthesis. In addition, I hope to use one of these projects as my dissertation for a doctorate degree. Furthermore, I hope to develop my surgical expertise, as well as my critical thinking. My final goal is to apply for an equine surgical residency in Europe, and I'm sure that I will be able to use the experience gained here in my future veterinarian career as an equine orthopedic surgeon. I hope to bring the AO methods and philosophy to my home country of Brazil, and assisting with other colleagues around the world ultimately contributing to bring a better understanding and outcome for equine orthopedic emergencies.
	Ferdinand Weisemann Germany BG Unfallklinik Murnau Ferdinand got his medical degree from the Medical University of Innsbruck in 2017 and afterwards began his residency in orthopedics and traumasurgery in the BG Unfallklinik Murnau. He is a medical research fellow in the Musculoskeletal Infection group focusing on diagnosis of septic pseudarthrosis and fracture related infections and its surgical treatments. Besides that, he is eager to get insights on the wide field of fundamental research undertaken at the ARI to get to know the latest treatment approaches and their clinical use.

2021

	Samson Arveladze Israel HaEmek Medical Center affilliated with Rappaport Faculty of Medicine of the Technion Institute of Tecnology Samson is a 33-year-old, growing up in Moscow, Russia. Studied medicine at I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University and finished his MD degree in 2010. He wanted to try himself in a new country and moved to Israel. In Israel, he started a career in Rambam Medical center as an intern for one year. After the internship, he was recruited to the army and served as a battalion physician in IDF. During military service as a battalion physician in a front unit, he was involved in the treatment of many orthopedic cases. These experiences have taught him an important lesson about the value of life and brought me to the understanding that he wants to be an orthopedic surgeon. Subsequently, he started his orthopedic residency at HaEmek Medical Center in Afula and finished his residency in January 2021. During his residency, he showed interest in clinical research and understand the importance of integrating the research and clinical work. He realized that he wanted to learn more about basic science and particularly to better understand musculoskeletal infection, which led him to apply for a one-year fellowship at AO Research Institute. He was granted this fellowship to work under the supervision of Fintan Moriarty in the Musculoskeletal infection team.
	Franziska Breulmann German University of Münster Franziska is a 25-years old AO medical research fellow in the Regenerative Orthopedics Department. She studied medicine at the University of Münster, Germany, and graduated in May 2021. During her studies, she worked in a laboratory for sports medicine of the University of Münster and wrote her dissertation on the topic of shear stress- sensitive endothelial microRNAs in vitro and in vivo during high-intensity interval training. In her practical year she started clinical research on microRNAs at the department of trauma-, hand- and reconstructive surgery at the University Hospital Münster. She is looking forward to her 12-month stay at the AO Research Institute in Davos.
	Helene Bumann Swiss University of Basel Helen graduated from the University of Basel in 2015. Since then, she has done residency in both orthopedic surgery and internal medicine. She received her diploma as a general practitioner in 2020. After that, she continued her surgical residency to specialize in orthopedics and additionally did some clinical research. With growing interest in basic science, particularly in biomechanics and regenerative technologies of the spine, she applied for a medical fellowship in Davos. Striving towards advancement, she is excited to be part of the team of Sibylle Grad "Disc and Cartilage Biology" to improve understanding and treatment of degenerative intervertebral disc diseases.
	Phillipe Kastner German Kepler University Linz Philipp is a 27-year-old orthopedic trauma surgeon from Linz, Austria. He studied medicine at the Medical University of Graz from 2013 to 2019. Afterwards he started his residency at the Department for Orthopedics and Traumatology (Prof. Gotterbarm) at Kepleruniklinikum Linz in 2020. Philipp is especially interested in hand-surgery and sports injuries. He is very thankful to be part of the AO Institute as a medical fellow for 12 months, where he will be working in the Biomedical Service division.
	Firas Souleiman German University Hospital Leipzig "Firas Souleiman joined the AO Research Institute Davos (ARI) as a Medical Research Fellow in April 2021. He is a resident at the University Hospital Leipzig in the Department of Trauma Surgery, Orthopedics and Plastic Surgery. He started his surgical training in 2017 after completing his medical studies in Leipzig. Firas is especially interested in joint and sport injuries. He is currently involved in research at his clinic to optimize pre- and intraoperative planning based on three-dimensional imaging. He was able to gain expertise in this context at international school competitions on the topics of 3D animation and technology problem solving (tsaweb.org). Firas is very thankful to join the Biomedical Development Program here in Davos and is looking forward to new experiences and international exchange as part of the AO family."
	James Tapia-Dean Switzerland University of Bern Vetsuisse Faculty James is a newly graduated Vet from Bern Switzerland. During his studies, he spent a semester abroad in the small animal surgery department at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna. After developing an interest in orthopedics, he visited a AOVET osteosynthesis course. Having already had the opportunity to work at the Preclinical Facility at AO as an intern he is eager to continue his path and contribute to the field of research as a Fellow. Taking on new challenges and expanding his knowledge across the different branches of veterinary medicine is one of the key motivations in his young veterinary career.
	Ken van Knegsel Netherlands Cantonal Hospital Lucerne Ken was born in Eindhoven (Netherlands) and completed his medical degree at the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium) 2006 - 2015. He started his first two years of trauma and orthopedic residency in Zum Heiligen Geist Hospital Kempen (Germany) followed by two years of orthopedic surgery in Dreifaltigkeits Hospital Cologne (Germany). After four years in residency Germany, he moved to Switzerland to complete his residency at the Cantonal hospital of Lucerne. Under supervision of Prof. Knobe, he has the unique chance to do a 6-month medical research fellowship at the Biomedical Services division at AO Research Institute Davos. His interests lie within the biomechanical problems of trauma and orthopedics. Ken is looking forward to gaining more experience and exchanging professional and personal insights with the high variety of people and minds in Davos.
	Ensi Zhao China Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Ensi Zhao was graduated from Sun Yat-sen University with master degree of clinical medicine. From August 2017 to July 2019, he worked as general orthopedic surgeon at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital and finished training for residency. After that, he worked as orthopedic surgeon and did some clinical research at the Seventh Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University till he has the opportunity to do 1 year research at ARI Davos. He got interest in regeneration and fixation of bones. He is honored to get the chance to study research techniques of regenerative orthopedics at AO.

2020

	Susann Bärtl Germany University Medical Centre Regensburg Susanne is a trauma surgery resident, who is particularly interested in implant-associated bone infections in the field of trauma surgery and orthopaedics. After finishing medical school at Leipzig University, she started her residency at the Department of Trauma Surgery at the University Hospital Regensburg. There she has been involved in clinical research on the field of prosthetic joint infections and fracture related infections. Now at the AO, Susanne is going to work as a medical research fellow in infection biology with the regenerative orthopaedics program for 6 months. She is looking forward to learning from experts in research, gathering profound knowledge about musculoskeletal infections and building up international friendships and future collaborations with the AO Research community.
	Lena Gens Germany University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover Lena finished her studies in veterinary medicine in March 2020 at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover and is now doing a one-year veterinary research fellowship at the Preclinical Facility. She is interested in laboratory animal medicine and animal welfare research and wants to improve her knowledge and research skills during the fellowship. After the fellowship she wants to write a doctoral thesis in one of these fields, and aims for a career in veterinary research.
	Jan Gewiess Germany University Hospital, Munich Jan is a 26-year-old AO medical research fellow and is looking forward to his 12-month stay at the ARI Davos. After finishing medical school in 2018 at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Germany and writing his dissertation about the surgical management of complex proximal ulna fractures, he started his residency at the the 'Klinik und Poliklinik für Orthopädie, Physikalische Medizin und Rehabilitation' at the University Hospital of Munich, Germany. His main interests include spine orthopaedics and orthopaedic sports medicine. Jan will be joining the Regenerative Orthopaedics division in 2020, where he will focus on the relation of detrimental intervertebral disc loading and back pain. Besides he will perform a histomorphometric evaluation of the distal clavicle.
	Wei Hao China Shandong Provincial Third Hospital Wei Hao is a medical research fellow from the department of joint and sports medicine of Shandong Provincial Third Hospital. Dr. Hao is an experienced orthopaedic surgeon who has been performing clinical practices for up to 13 years. Before becoming an orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Hao finished his master and doctor degree at Fourth Military Medical University(now named as Air Force Medical University). During those time, he has made bone tissue engineering as the major research topic and finished experiments pertaining to bioengineering construct containing adipose-derived stem cell, collagen Ⅰ gel, and PLGA/𝛽-TCP in vitro and in vivo. Now he works as a medical research fellow in the regenerative orthopaedics group where he will focus on the osteogenesis of BMSCs on surfaces of different materials with microroughness. He is also keen on making friends with scientists working at AO foundation from all over the world.
	Walker Magrath USA Columbia University Walker is a medical research fellow from the United States who studied biomedical engineering at Columbia University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 2019. He is an aspiring orthopaedic surgeon and plans to begin medical school in the US in August 2020. At Columbia, Walker was involved with a translational research group studying shoulder biomechanics. His group developed a clinical device to quantitatively characterize scapular dyskinesis in humans. Walker also worked with Columbia's Bone Bioengineering Laboratory where he studied osteocyte mechanosensation in murine models. Now he works as a medical research fellow in infection biology with the regenerative orthopaedics program. During his time at the AO Research Institute Davos, he will study the impact of the gut microbiome on fracture healing in a murine model.
	Torsten Pastor Germany Cantonal Hospital Lucerne Torsten was born in Germany and is currently employed at the Department for Orthopaedic Trauma (Prof. Knobe) at the Kantonsspital Luzern. He studied Medicine at the Medical University of RWTH Aachen 2007-2013 and started his residency at the department of surgery at Kantonsspital Nidwalden (Dr. Remiger) in 2013. Later he worked at the Department of Traumatology at the University Hospital Zürich (Prof. Pape) and at the Balgrist University Hospital (Prof. Farshad). Torsten is interested in skeletal biomechanics and is looking for new experience, exchange and collaboration. He is a medical research fellow in the Biomedical Services division at AO Research Institute Davos for 6 month.
	Hella Schwegler Germany University of veterinary medicine Hanover My name is Hella Schwegler and I`m 24 years old. I studied veterinary medicine at the university of veterinary medicine Hanover and did an exchange year on vet faculty at the Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. In my practical year I did research based internships all around the world, for example pedigree analysis on sharks in California, where I really enjoyed working in an international team. I am thrilled to broaden my personal and professional knowledge and learn from highly skilled individuals as well as an interdisciplinary team, while being involved in various preclinical research projects at the ARI.
	Mai Vo Germany University of veterinary medicine, Hanover Mai Thanh is a veterinary research fellow from Germany who just finished her studies this year at Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover. She is starting a fellowship in the Preclinical Facilities. During the time at AO Research Institute she is looking forward to improving her knowledge in research and working with an interdisciplinary team. It is a great opportunity to learn about preclinical research and gain more working experience in this field. Furthermore she wants to enjoy the wonderful and unique environment of Davos and Switzerland.
	Catherine Young UK University of Bristol Katie is a Plastic Surgery resident with particular interest in infection post trauma. She studied both her undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Bristol in the UK and then a Masters in Trauma Science at the University of Birmingham. Her surgical training to date has taken place in both London and Milan, during which she has been involved in both pre-clinical and clinical research. Whist at the AO, as a research fellow in infection biology with the regenerative orthopaedics program, Katie is looking forward to making international collaborations in the fight against bone infection. Outside of work she can be found running or skiing.