PVM Cares! Mission Accomplished!

August 9, 2024

Miller Elementary School students and families were excited to see backpacks filled with study supplies awaiting them at the start of the new school year.

The inaugural mission of PVM Cares! was to provide homework supplies to students at Miller Elementary School – Purdue Veterinary Medicine’s community partner. Miller students receive classroom school supplies at no cost; however, they do not receive supplies that enable them to complete homework and other projects at home. Thanks to many contributors of supplies and time, a total of 500 backpacks were filled at Lynn Hall with pencils, erasers, colored pencils, crayons, safe scissors, notebooks, rulers, highlighters, glue sticks, and a Vet Adventures SuperPower Pack! Then the backpacks were delivered to the school before the students returned to the classroom. As a result, every Miller student received a Purdue Veterinary Medicine League of VetaHumanz-Miller Elementary School backpack. The Students found the backpacks at their desks when they met their teachers this week on Monday, August 5.

Many Thanks to the Suppliers, Assemblers, and Field Agents who contributed to our success in accomplishing our mission!

• Kara Burns
• Grace Craig
• Kevin Doerr
• Holly Englert
• Lisa Greenberg
• Shelley Harmon
• Andrea Kellogg
• Dr. Ellen Lowery
• Dr. Colleen Maguire Jackson
• Dr. Anna McManamey
• Tom Mauch
• Dr. Susan Prieto-Welch
• Dr. Willie Reed
• Dr. Sandy San Miguel
• Jennifer Smith
• Sheila Stingle
• Eva Tatman
• Susan Xioufaridou

Volunteers participating in PVM Cares! filled 500 backpacks with homework supplies – enough for every Miller Elementary student to receive one. — Volunteers participating in PVM Cares! filled 500 backpacks with homework supplies for students at Miller Elementary School.

Even if it didn’t work out for you to help with the backpack project, you still can join PVM Cares!, which provides opportunities for everyone in our college to engage with our community as we join superpowers with Thomas Miller Elementary School for mutual transformation! Together, we support students in their quest for scientific knowledge and STEM career exploration. Visit https://vet.purdue.edu/vetahumanz/pvm-cares/ to learn more and sign up.

Consider joining PVM Cares! today.

During volunteer works sessions in Lynn Hall, a total of 500 backpacks were prepared so they could be delivered to Miller Elementary School – enough for every Miller Elementary student to receive one. — During volunteer work sessions in Lynn Hall, enough backpacks were prepared for every Miller Elementary student received one.

PVM Cares is part of The League of VetaHumanz, supported by the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The League is committed to engaging with under-resourced communities to provide access and support for youth who aspire to careers in the veterinary profession.

Writer(s): Dr. Sandra San Miguel, Kevin Doerr | pvmnews@purdue.edu

Recent Stories

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

This week we express our gratitude to Jennifer Danaher, who is department secretary for Veterinary Clinical Sciences.

‘Purdue Pursuits’: A PVM angle on Purdue’s teaching and learning reading groups

Crafting meaningful and engaging course experiences has been at the top of Dielson Vieira’s mind ever since he joined the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s faculty in 2024. As a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Vieira is already adept at applying innovative teaching practices to classroom environments, but that doesn’t stop him from seeking out new ideas, approaches and perspectives — insights he gains through outlets like Purdue’s teaching and learning reading groups.

Top tier biology journal publishes PVM study that unlocks secrets of a drug-resistant fungal pathogen, which causes serious infections in humans

Though the name “Candida auris” is far from a household term, public health experts know it well because the multi-drug-resistant fungal pathogen, which causes serious human infections, has been classified as an urgent threat by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Antibiotic Threats Report (2019). Dr. Shankar Thangamani, Associate Professor of Microbiology and University Faculty Scholar in the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Comparative Pathobiology, is researching C. auris, aided by a 2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). New research findings, just published in Nature Microbiology, show how C. auris adapts and evades the immune system.

In Print: ‘Translational Research Methods for Tauopathies’

A just-published 300-page volume edited by Jessica Fortin, Purdue assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Basic Medical Sciences, provides a significant new resource for researchers studying a group of neurodegenerative diseases known as tauopathies. “Translational Research Methods for Tauopathies” provides detailed protocols intentionally selected to serve as a basis for research laboratories seeking to further treatments for such debilitating neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer’s and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

It’s Almost Here!

Though the annual Purdue Veterinary Conference is almost upon us, there’s still time to register and take advantage of this time-honored College of Veterinary Medicine fall tradition that combines excellent continuing education with fun opportunities for reconnecting with colleagues and classmates, networking, and learning about the latest veterinary trends and products. The 2026 Purdue Veterinary Conference takes place September 23–26 on the Purdue University campus. The annual event has something for everyone, from veterinarians to veterinary technicians, faculty, staff and students.