Polly Weldon

University of Florida veterinary student Polly Weldon won top honors in a national contest for her essay about how veterinarians worked with civilians, entomologists and others to save the endangered Key deer during the 2016 screwworm outbreak in the Florida Keys.

The Smithcors Student Veterinary History Essay Contest, sponsored by the American Veterinary Medical History Society, will feature Weldon’s prize-winning essay, titled, “Unexpected Allies: How an Original Thought from the 1930s Saved the Florida Key Deer from Getting Screwed,” in the society’s journal in the coming months.

The ‘original thought’ referenced in the essay’s title refers to sterile insect technique, a form of insect control that involves releasing sterile males into a population to mate with females.