Annual Research Day Highlights Scientific Discovery in College of Veterinary Medicine

A man is standing in front of an attentive audience and is giving a presentation of some kind behind a podium — The 2026 PVM Research Day enabled students to hear research presentations by renown faculty members like Dr. Suresh Mittal, Purdue Distinguished Professor of Virology, who spoke on the topic, “Cattle flu: implications and control strategies.”

Purdue Veterinary Medicine celebrated veterinary medical and One Health scholarship during the 2026 PVM Research Day – an annual event hosted in April by the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Office of Research and the Omicron Chapter of the Society of Phi Zeta, which is the Honor Society of Veterinary Medicine. Held Friday, April 10 in Lynn Hall, the event gave faculty, residents, postdoctoral fellows, and students the opportunity to present clinical and basic research findings, and hear lectures on topics important to animal and human health. Another special feature of the day was the Research Poster competition and the closing reception when awards were presented.

The Research Day began with a keynote presentation by Dr. Qijing Zhang, BVSc, MS, PhD, a microbiologist at Iowa State University recognized for his work on antimicrobial resistance and bacterial pathogenesis. Dr. Zhang is the Clarence Hartley Covault Distinguished Professor and Dr. Roger and Marilyn Mahr Chair in One Health at Iowa State’s College of Veterinary Medicine. His talk entitled, “One Pathogen, Many Hosts: Combating Hypervirulent and Antibiotic-Resistant Campylobacter through One Health and Collaborative Sciences,” attracted a capacity crowd of students as well as faculty and staff.

Dr. Zhang’s research focuses on transmission, evolution, pathogenesis, and antimicrobial resistance of foodborne and zoonotic pathogens at the animal-human interface. With an engaging speaking style, Dr. Zhang shared how Campylobacter is a zoonotic pathogen that colonizes a wide range of animal hosts. He went on to describe a hypervirulent Campylobacter clone, designated clone SA, which has emerged as a leading cause of ovine abortion and foodborne enteritis in humans in the United States, representing a significant One Health challenge at the animal–human interface.

Dr. Zhang said clone SA is characterized by heightened virulence, rapid transmission, antimicrobial resistance, and the ability to cause systemic infection in pregnant animals. He added that through a comprehensive investigative approach, its enhanced virulence has been linked to specific mutations in the major outer membrane protein, and the recent emergence and expansion of clone SA appear to be driven by converging selective pressures, including antimicrobial use and host immune responses. He emphasizes that addressing this threat requires a truly collaborative, cross-disciplinary effort, which underscores the critical importance of breaking disciplinary silos to confront emerging zoonotic threats in the One Health era.

Following Dr. Zhang’s talk, the Research Day continued with a series of research presentations by Purdue Veterinary Medicine faculty members. The talks were organized into parallel tracks covering the topics of Cancer, Companion Animals, and Translational Science. The Cancer panel session was moderated by Dr. Susan Mendrysa, associate dean for research, and featured talks by Dr. Michael Wendt, Dr. Katie Hebron and Dr. Andrea dos Santos. Dr. Wendy Beauvais, assistant professor of epidemiology and public health and Omicron Chapter president, moderated the Companion Animals panel session which included presentations by Dr. Shawna Klahn, Dr. Sarah Malek and Dr. Leanne Nieforth. The Translational Science panel session, moderated by Dr. Ahmed Hassan, research assistant professor in the Comparative Pathobiology Department, included talks by Dr. Suresh Mittal, Dr. Harm HogenEsch, and Dr. Viju Pillai.

The midday lunch break coincided with the Poster Session that featured nearly 60 research posters, which were evaluated by a panel of judges in three categories: Basic Research, Clinical/Applied Research, and DVM student research. Cash prizes were awarded for first- and second-place in each category. Congratulations to the following prize winners:

people are scattered in a room while looking at numerous research posters. — A research Poster Session featured nearly 60 posters covering basic and clinical/applied research projects.

a yellow research poster is being studied by two graduate students — A research Poster Session featured nearly 60 posters covering basic and clinical/applied research projects.

Basic Research:

First Place – Madeline Coffey, graduate research assistant, Basic Medical Sciences Department
Second Place – Surya Teja Murala, graduate research assistant, Comparative Pathobiology Department

four people are standing in front of a large black backdrop. The two people in the middle are holding award certificates — President of the Omicron Chapter of the Society of Phi Zeta Wendy Beauvais (left) with first- and second-place winners in the Basic Research Poster category Madeline Coffey and Surya Teja Murala, along with the Research Day keynote speaker, Dr. Qijing Zhang.

Clinical/Applied Research:

First Place – Giovanna Vinci Roberto, graduate research assistant, Comparative Pathobiology Department
Second Place – Ana Soares, visiting scholar, Comparative Pathobiology Department

DVM Student:

First Place – Emily Godollei-Jacob, DVM Class of 2028
Second Place – Kyra Holt, DVM Class of 2026

The remainder of the Research Day involved special research talks by award winning residents, graduate students and faculty. The event concluded with a reception for Dr. Zhang and an awards presentation in the Veterinary Medical Library.

Congratulations to these award recipients.

Phi Zeta Manuscript Award – Clinical/Applied Research

Dr. Emma Stapley, graduate student, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences

three individuals are standing in front of a large black backdrop. The woman on the far right is holding an award certificate — Dr. Emma Stapley (right), a graduate student in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, received the Phi Zeta manuscript Award for clinical/applied research.

Phi Zeta Omicron Graduate Student Award

1^st place – Dr. Wen-Chien Wang, postdoctoral research associate, Department of Comparative Pathobiology
2^nd place – Madeline Coffey, graduate research assistant, Department of Basic Medical Sciences

PVM Graduate Student Research Award

1^st place – Marwa Alhashimi, graduate student, Department of Comparative Pathobiology
2^nd place – Yanru Ji, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Basic Medical Sciences

Phi Zeta Omicron Osborne Award for Clinical Investigation

Dr. Em Adam, Dr. Alison Vancouver, and Dr. Marcela Apuy Martinez, all clinical pathology residents in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology, received the awards for first-, second-, and third-place, respectively.

five people are standing in front of a large black backdrop. The three individuals in the middle are holding up award certificates — Dr. Beauvais and Dr. Zhang with the finalists for the Phi Zeta Omicron Osborne Awards for Clinical Investigation (left-right) Drs. Em Adam (1^st Place), Marcela Apuy Martinez (2^nd Place) and Alison Vancouver (3^rd Place).

Another element of the Research Day program was the induction of new Phi Zeta members, who include several third- and fourth-year veterinary students, residents and faculty in the Departments of Basic Medical Sciences, Comparative Pathobiology and Veterinary Clinical Sciences.

Writer(s): Kevin Doerr | pvmnews@purdue.edu

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