The recipient of the 2009 award was Louise McLean, a graduate of Liverpool University. She has worked in numerous practices throughout northern England and gained her RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Medicine in 2003. Louise now works at Croft Referrals in Northumberland, where she sees internal medicine and reproductive cases, as well as being responsible for infection control and the in-house canine blood bank. Her particular area of interest is canine endocrinology and reproduction.