Annual Research Day Showcases PVM Scholarship while Recognizing Important Milestone

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Faculty, graduate students, residents, and veterinary students all contributed to a special PVM Research Day that marked the 60^th Anniversary of Purdue’s Omicron Chapter of the Society of Phi Zeta, which is the honor society of Veterinary Medicine. The chapter annually organizes the event that highlights scientific discovery in the College of Veterinary Medicine. The 2022 PVM Research Day also represented the first time the event had been held in person in two years, because the pandemic necessitated cancelling the event in 2020 and conducting it in an online format last year.

This year’s Research Day began in Lynn 1136 with remarks by Dean Willie Reed followed by an introduction of the keynote speaker by Dr. Malathi Raghavan, this year’s Phi Zeta president. Dr. Sumiko Mekaru, director of public health and clinical design at The Public Health Company and a veterinary epidemiologist working at the intersection of traditional epidemiology and information technology, spoke on the topic, “Data Science Needs Veterinarians! (They Just Don’t Know it Yet).”

Then new members were inducted into Phi Zeta, beginning with third-year DVM students in the top ten percent of their class and fourth-year veterinary students in the top 25 percent of their class. Faculty, graduate students, and residents also were inducted based on their nomination by their respective departments for their contributions to scholarship and research in veterinary medicine.

The remainder of the morning program involved a series of oral presentations given in parallel panel sessions focused on the themes of Big Data/Bioinformatics, Oncology, and Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS)/Sepsis. Following the panel sessions, attendees were able to visit the Research Poster Session in Lynn G119/155 that showcased poster presentations about research conducted by graduate students, residents, and DVM students, who stood by their posters to discuss them and answer questions.

The afternoon portion of the Research Day featured presentations by winners of research awards, including the Osborne Award Competition finalists, the recipient of the 2022 Phi Zeta Omicron Chapter Graduate Student Research Award, the 2022 PVM Graduate Student Research Award winner, and the Phi Zeta Manuscript Award winner in Clinical/Applied Research.

The presentations concluded with a talk by the recipient of the 2021 Zoetis Award for Veterinary Research Excellence, Dr. Maggie O’Haire, professor of human-animal interaction in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology, as well as a special presentation commemorating the 60^th Anniversary of the Omicron Chapter of Phi Zeta, given by Dr. Deborah Knapp, Distinguished Professor of Comparative Oncology. Dr. Knapp addressed the topic, “Combining Clinical and Basic Science to Grow a Research Program in a Clinical Setting.”

The Research Day concluded with award presentations. The first award, sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, was presented by Associate Dean for Research Harm HogenEsch, who explained that this is a new award as of last year to recognize a faculty member who mentors students in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Summer Research Program. This year’s Boehringer Ingelheim Summer Research Mentorship Award recipient is Dr. Amanda Darbyshire, who has a faculty appointment in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology and is one of two board certified laboratory animal veterinarians at Purdue. Dr. HogenEsch praised her not only for doing a great job mentoring Summer Research Program participants, but added that she also has given seminars as part of the program to introduce students to careers in laboratory animal medicine. “She is a very highly deserving awardee,” Dr. HogenEsch said as he presented her with the 2022 Summer Research Mentorship Award.

The following additional awards also were presented. Congratulations to all of the award recipients!

Phi Zeta Manuscript Award

Clinical/Applied Research: Dr. Nelly Elshafie, graduate student, Department of Comparative Pathobiology

Phi Zeta Omicron Award

1^st place: Shreya Kumar, graduate student, Department of Basic Medical Sciences

PVM Graduate Student Award

1^st place: Shawna Cook, graduate student, Department of Basic Medical Sciences

2^nd place: Taylor Bailey, graduate student, Department of Comparative Pathobiology

Osborne Award Finalists

1^st place: Dr. Karena Tang, clinical pathology resident, Department of Comparative Pathobiology

2^nd place: Dr. Levi Smith, ophthalmology resident, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences

3^rd place: Dr. Sara Ostenkamp, cardiology resident, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences

Research Poster Awards

Basic Science

1^st place: Dr. Jennifer Peterson, small animal surgery resident, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences

2^nd place: Shawna Cook, graduate student, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, and
Juan Hernandez-Franco, graduate student in immunology, Department of Comparative Pathobiology

Clinical/Applied Science

1^st place: Dr. Daniela Peña Hernandez, microbiology resident, Department of Comparative Pathobiology and Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory

2^nd place: Dr. Leanne Nieforth, graduate student in human-animal psychology, Department of Comparative Pathobiology

DVM Students

1^st place: Max Rowley, Class of 2023

2^nd place: Alex Rahn, Class of 2023

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