The importance of scientific discovery and the research contributions of veterinary students, graduate students, residents, and faculty alike, were recognized during the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s annual PVM Research Day this spring. During a daylong program in Lynn Hall on April 15, PVM scholars shared research findings during lectures and poster presentations, and were honored with awards.
The day began with a keynote presentation featuring Dr. Tony Goldberg, PhD, DVM, MS, who is the John D. MacArthur Research Chair and Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Goldberg received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1996 in Biological Anthropology, and earned his DVM degree and MS degree in Epidemiology in 2000 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Since 2004 he has served as an honourary lecturer for the Department of Zoology at Makerere University in Uganda.
Dr. Goldberg addressed the topic, “Scary Viruses, Killer Tapeworms, Brain Maggots, and Nostril Ticks: predicting Zoonoses in an Unpredictable World.” His presentation reflected his research that combines epidemiological study designs with laboratory-based methods in molecular biology to study disease transmission and to identify the causes of disease of unknown etiology. He also uses methods of the social sciences to link the resulting findings to root drivers of pathogen emergence, many of which hinge on human activities. His focus is on diseases that threaten wildlife and imperil ecosystem services, whether or not those diseases are zoonotic, with the overarching goal of improving the health and wellbeing of animals and people while helping to conserve the rapidly changing ecosystems we share.
Following Dr. Goldberg’s presentation, the PVM Research Day continued with the induction of new Phi Zeta members, who were recognized by the president of Purdue’s Omicron Chapter of the Society of Phi Zeta, Dr. Wendy Beauvais. Phi Zeta is the Honor Society of Veterinary Medicine, and recognizes and promotes high-level scholarship and research.
Congratulations to the following inductees:
Veterinary Students
DVM Class of 2025 (top 25%)
- Emily Zollars
- Sarah Giglio
- Riley Lautenschlager
- Madeline Milburn
- Braleigh Blauvelt
- Lea Logan
- Aric Swihart
- Riley Schill
- Cameron Vaughn
- Madison Hanley
- Kelsey D’Amico
- Zachary Sayre
- Eve Neumann
- Caitlyn Gunther
- Sophia Scheer
- Brayden Burbrink
- Sydney Gehlhausen
- McKenzie Pirtle
- Kiara Nobbe
DVM Class of 2026 (top 10%)
- Keely Harris
- Yonghua Hu
- Paige Kinzie
- Josaphine Roberts
- Jordan Chan
- Aaron Seymour
- Kaitlyn Steele
- Andrew Montgomery
Faculty/Residents/Graduate Students
Veterinary Clinical Sciences Department
Faculty:
- Dr. Nikolaos Dervisis, Associate Professor of Oncology
- Dr. Lisa Hepworth, Lecturer
- Dr. Morgan Johnson, Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
- Dr. Shawna Klahn, Associate Professor of Oncology
- Dr. Ilya Slizovskiy, Assistant Professor of Antimicrobial Resistance/Farm Animal Medicine
- Dr. Jurica Tršan, Visiting Assistant Professor of Large Animal Medicine and Emergency & Critical Care
Residents & Graduate Students
- Dr. Makensie Anderson (Resident, Small Animal Surgery)
- Dr. Lisa Avila Granados (Graduate Student)
- Dr. Leah Douglas (Resident, Ophthalmology)
- Dr. Catherine Fiset (Resident, Small Animal Internal Medicine)
- Dr. Olivia Geels (Resident, Medical Oncology)
- Dr. Zineb Kotbi (Resident, Large Animal Medicine)
- Dr. Joanna Lum (Resident, Emergency & Critical Care)
- Dr. Laura Machado Ribas (Graduate Student)
- Dr. David Moses (Resident, Cardiology)
- Dr. Tai Li Nelson, (Resident, Small Animal Surgery)
- Hyerim (Liz) Ra, (Graduate Student)
- Dr. Alexandra Usimaki (Resident, Large Animal Surgery)
Comparative Pathobiology Department
Faculty
- Dr. Viju Pillai, Assistant Professor of Anatomic Pathology
Resident/Graduate Students
- Dr. Cassandra Powers (Resident, Anatomic Pathology)
- Dr. Tsukasa Sakashita (Resident, Anatomic Pathology)
- Dr. Maria Buman (Resident, Anatomic Pathology)
The morning portion of the Research Day program continued with multiple oral presentations given during parallel panel sessions covering the topics of Musculoskeletal Biology and Orthopedics, Cancer/Neurology, and Infectious Diseases and Immunology. Attendees were able to choose from a total of 12 talks given by faculty from each of the college’s three academic departments – Basic Medical Science, Veterinary Clinical Sciences, and Comparative Pathobiology.
A Poster Session followed during the lunch break, when research posters created by veterinary student scholars and graduate student researchers were displayed throughout one of the college’s teaching laboratories. Faculty, staff and students were able to peruse the posters and talk to the researchers. The posters also were evaluated by judges who awarded prizes for the best Basic Science, Clinical/Applied Science, DVM student posters.
Congratulations to the following first and second place prize winners in each category:
Basic Science:
1st Place – Jeanna Blake, Graduate Research Assistant, Basic Medical Sciences
2nd Place – (3-way-tie) – Madeline Coffey, Graduate Research Assistant, Basic Medical Sciences; Niloufar Ghahari, Graduate Research Assistant, Comparative Pathobiology; and T.S. Shyamkumar, Graduate Research Assistant, Comparative Pathobiology
Clinical/Applied Science:
1st place – Giovana Vinci Roberto, Graduate Research Assistant, Comparative Pathobiology
2nd place – Alexandre Cavalca, Visiting Scholar, Basic Medical Sciences
Veterinary Students:
1st place – Madelynn Luebcke, DVM Class of 2027
2nd place – Mollie Madigan, DVM Class of 2026
During the afternoon, the PVM Research Program featured special lectures by residents and graduate students. Highlights included case reports by Dr. Hilary Lakin, resident in anatomic pathology, and Dr. Anna Reuter, resident in cardiology; the 2025 Osborne Award presentation by Dr. Alexandra Frankovich, a graduate research assistant who completed a Purdue residency in anatomic pathology; and a presentation by the recipient of the 2025 Phi Zeta Omicron Chapter Graduate Student Research Award, who is Marwa Ali, graduate research assistant in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology.
Rounding out the schedule of scholarly presentations were a series of talks by award recipients: the 2025 PVM Graduate Student Research Award winner, Annapoorani Jegatheesan; the 2025 Phi Zeta Manuscript Award for Clinical/Applied Research recipient, Dr. Wen-Chien Wang, graduate student in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology; and, in the case of the winner of the 2024 Zoetis Award for Veterinary Research Excellence, Dr. Uma Aryal, research associate professor in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology, his graduate student, Punyatoya Panda, gave the presentation on his behalf.
The PVM Research Day concluded with a reception and awards ceremony in the Veterinary Medical Library. During the ceremony, each of the award winners was called forward and recognized. Additionally, the recipient of the 2024 Boehringer Ingelheim Best Mentor Award was announced. The award, which recognizes a faculty member for exceptional participation in the Purdue Veterinary Medicine Summer Research Program, was given to Dr. Abigail Cox, the William Iverson Associate Professor of Comparative Pathology, director of the Histology Research Laboratory and Pathology Section Head.
Congratulations to all the awardees and presenters honored as part of the 2025 PVM Research Day!
