DVM and Pre-Veterinary Students Experience Scientific Discovery through Summer Research Program

June 29, 2018

Dr. Andrea Santos pictured with Caitlyn Ridenour

Purdue Veterinary Medicine’s 2018 Veterinary Scholars Summer Research Program (SRP) is giving 21 DVM and pre-veterinary students first-hand experience in the realm of scientific discovery. The program provides the students with the opportunity to work on independent research projects and explore non-practice careers by being partnered with faculty members who share mutual areas of interest. The SRP involves 11 weeks (May 21 – August 5) of focused research as well as seminars, field trips, and symposia. The program has been held annually since 1991.

This year the program is hosting 15 Purdue DVM students and six pre-veterinary students from Purdue, Prairie View A&M University, Agnes Scott College, Grambling State University, and North Carolina A&T University. Dr. Harm HogenEsch, Purdue Veterinary Medicine associate dean for research and professor of immunopathology, and Dr. Eli Asem, professor of physiology in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences, organize the program by matching students and faculty.

The goal of the program is to make DVM and undergraduate students aware of the opportunities to pursue research and research-related careers, and to increase the number of students that are interested in advanced training following graduation. To do this, students participate in weekly seminars on a variety of topics including: careers in academia, industry and government, lab animal medicine, ethics, scientific writing, research funding, and how to balance a career and personal life. They also have the opportunity to visit Covance Laboratories in Greenfield, Ind., and attend a joint symposium with the University of Illinois Summer Research Fellows.  The SRP kicks-off with a traditional Indiana picnic at the start of the program in May. The veterinary students will also travel to a national Boehringer Ingelheim/NIH symposium at Texas A&M University on August 2-5.

PVM faculty, staff, and students will have a chance to learn about the research conducted by the SRP participants at the conclusion of the program.  Each of the Summer Research Fellows will prepare an abstract and poster about their research to present at a special poster presentation August 1 in Lynn G119/155.

The 2018 Summer Research Program participants are as follows:

DVM Students and Faculty Mentors

  • Claudine Auld – Dr. Gert Breur
  • Kevin Bersch – Dr. Russell Main
  • Eric Boone – Dr. Deborah Knapp
  • Sara Canada – Dr. Kari Ekenstedt
  • Christa Cheatham – Dr. Tiffany Lyle
  • Chad Coakley – Dr. Arun Bhunia
  • Jonathon Daniel – Dr. Riyi Shi
  • Carly Gundlach – Dr. Maggie O’Haire
  • Blair Hooser – Dr. Kari Ekenstedt
  • Ashley Hopkins – Dr. Lynn Guptill
  • Jessica Linder – Dr. Melissa Lewis
  • Chris Mapes – Dr. Abby Durkes
  • Caitlyn Ridenour – Dr. Andrea Pires dos Santos
  • Caitlin Smith – Dr. Grant Burcham and Dr. Nancy Boedeker
  • Levi Smith – Dr. Audrey Ruple

Undergraduate Pre-veterinary Students and Faculty Mentors

  • Praise Benson – Dr. Laurent Couëtil
  • Aishwarya Chitnis – Dr. Stephen Hooser
  • Krista Huff – Dr. Marxa Figueiredo
  • Alina Ibrahim – Dr. Sandra Taylor
  • Dhara Richardson – Dr. Malathi Raghavan and Dr. Hsin-Yi Weng
  • Lauren Thompson – Dr. Dianne Little

Writer(s): Rachel Nellett, PVM Communications Intern | pvmnews@purdue.edu

Recent Stories

“Paws Up” – brought to you by the PVM Wellness Committee

This week, sincere gratitude is shared with Abby Props who is the Pathology Laboratory Supervisor in the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory.

Student Landscape Project Benefits Animals at Purdue Veterinary Hospital

A student-led landscape redesign project has taken root at Purdue University, in the form of outdoor upgrades at the Purdue University Veterinary Hospital. Originally developed by Mary Schultz, a graduating senior in the College of Agriculture’s Horticulture and Landscape Architecture program, the project reimagined outdoor spaces used for animal recovery, training, and enrichment. This summer, the hospital implemented one of the recommendations, which involved replacing natural turf in an outdoor dog run with a new synthetic material.

Purdue Veterinary Medicine Welcomes New Students

As the heat and long days of summer subsided and the start of a new school year approached, the sense of excitement and new beginnings pervaded Lynn Hall over the last couple of weeks with the arrival of Purdue Veterinary Medicine’s new DVM and Veterinary Technology students. The DVM students in the Class of 2029 participated in a week-long onboarding program that started Monday, August 18, while the Veterinary Technology students in the first and second years of the program were welcomed with an Ice Cream Social and orientation program at the start of the fall semester.

Approaching Purdue Veterinary Conference Mixes CE and Celebration in September

The start of a new academic year signals the approach of the annual Purdue Veterinary Conference and the last chance to get an early-bird discount on registration. The conference is scheduled for September 16-20 on Purdue University’s West Lafayette campus, and features a variety of specialized tracks as well as special events. Early bird registration ends September 1, and late fees will apply as of September 2.

Purdue College of Veterinary Medicine Names New Senior Director of Admissions and Student Success

A key Purdue Veterinary Medicine staff member who has played a vital role in admissions and recruitment will now serve as the new senior director of admissions and student success. Lori Stout has been promoted to the position and Dean Bret Marsh announced the appointment Tuesday, August 26.

Lecture Hall Murals by Acclaimed Artist Continue to Inspire Lynn Hall Visitors

Two murals by artist Harry Boone have been part of Lynn Hall’s large lecture hall for more than 20 years. Commissioned in 1998, the works continue to leave a lasting impression, and Boone recently returned to campus to see them again.