Student Summer Researcher: Alden Smathers, V29

She decided to pursue a comparative study of the wild horses on Assateague Island.

The summer research program and the opportunity to display their accomplishments during Research Day fully engage students in the process of advancing veterinary medicine and our understanding of human-animal relationships.

These experiences broaden their perspectives wherever their careers may take them.

So much cool work on wild horse behavior and humane management has been done at Assateague Island.

I’m excited for Alden to extend that tradition!

Bands of wild horses roaming Assateague Island were closely observed this summer by Alden Smathers, V29, a dual-degree D.V.M./Master of Science in Public Health (M.P.H.) student at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, for the Student Summer Research Program.

Her research project was on display at the 37 th Annual Veterinary Research Day on September 11.

“Alden is taking a new look at a challenging problem, which is how to evaluate well-being in free-roaming wildlife,” says Smathers’ advisor Dr.

Allen Rutberg, director of the Master of Science in Animals and Public Policy (MAPP) program and associate research professor in the Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health at Cummings School.

“Because standard measures of animal welfare don’t translate well to wildlife, Alden is exploring ways to measure agency, independent decision-making in wild horses living in herds that are managed in very different ways.” As an undergraduate at New York University, Smathers majored in anthropology and worked in the WATR-lab, focused on fish and aquatic animal welfare and behavior studies.

“I've always been interested in humans and human culture as well as animals and animal behavior and welfare, and how we intersect and interact with each other,” says Smathers.

The report adds to ongoing university-led research relevant to veterinary medicine, animal health, and clinical decision-making.

university website: Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University