Research is Focus of Reading Day for Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine

College Resumes Annual PVM Research Day in Virtual Format to Showcase Faculty and Student Scholarship

A longstanding Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine tradition that annually showcases research by graduate students, interns, residents, veterinary students, and faculty returned to Lynn Hall in April, albeit in a virtual format, after a one year hiatus induced by the pandemic. Normally held as an in-person program the PVM Research Day features a day-long focus on basic science and clinical/applied research in veterinary and comparative medicine. 

Typically held in April, the event had to be cancelled last year as the pandemic shuttered college campuses and students were sent home as classes were transitioned to virtual settings. A year later, the stage was set for the College of Veterinary Medicine to offer the PVM Research Day Tuesday, April 13, as a combination of live virtual presentations on the Zoom platform and pre-recorded lectures and research posters accessible via a website.  That particular day was one of three “reading days” scheduled as part of a modified academic calendar to help offset the loss of a spring break, which was cancelled to minimize mass travel to and from campus. 

Affiliated with the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Omicron Chapter of the Society of Phi Zeta, which is the honor society of veterinary medicine in the U.S., the research day is designed to spotlight scientific discovery in the college that enhances the well-being of animals and people.  After a welcome by Purdue Veterinary Medicine Dean Willie Reed, the program began with a virtual keynote presentation featuring Dr. Paul Plummer, professor and Anderson Endowed Chair of Veterinary Sciences at Iowa State University, and the executive director of the National Institute of Microbial Resistance Research and Education. Dr. Plummer also is a member of the Presidential Advisory Council for Combating Antimicrobial Resistant Bacteria, which is responsible for providing advice, information, and recommendations to the federal government regarding programs and policies intended to support and evaluate the implementation of U.S. government activities related to combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Dr. Plummer’s talk entitled “Lessons from the One Health Interface” was viewed by more than 70 virtual attendees.

Other elements of the event included virtual poster presentations that covered three dozen different research projects in three categories:  Basic Science Research, Clinical and Applied Research, and Research by DVM Students, who participated in scholarship with faculty mentors through the Veterinary Research Scholars Summer Program.  Additionally, lecture presentations were given by a number of graduate students, residents, and faculty, including Associate Professor of Basic Medical Sciences Marxa Figueiredo who gave a talk as the recipient of the 2020 Zoetis Award for Veterinary Research Excellence on the topic, “Osteo-Immune Therapeutics for Metastatic Prostate Tumors and Bone.”  The day concluded with the announcement of a number of awards for meritorious research accomplishments, including the best poster presentations and scholarly lectures. 

Congratulations to the following 2021 PVM Research Day award winners:

Phi Zeta Manuscript Award ($250)

Basic Research: Dr. Ana Aghili – Emergency and Critical Care Resident, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, “Assessment of Physical Compatibility of Injectable Enrofloxacin with Commonly Used Intravenous Fluids and Drugs During Simulated Y-Port Administration”

Clinical/Applied Research: Dr. Nelly Elshafie – Graduate Student, Department of Comparative Pathobiology, “MicroRNA Biomarkers in Canine Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma”

Phi Zeta Omicron Chapter Graduate Student Research Award

1^st place ($250) – Dr. Carla Olave, Large Animal Medicine Resident, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, “Effects of Low-Dust Forages on Racehorses’ Dust Exposure, Airway Cytology, and Plasma Omega-3 Concentrations: A Randomized Clinical Trial”

2^nd place ($100) – Dr. Marejka Shaevitz, Medical Oncology Resident, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, “Early Caregiver Burden in Owners of Pets with Suspected Cancer: Owner Psychosocial Outcomes, Communication Behavior, and Treatment Factors”

PVM Graduate Student Research Award

1^st place ($250) – Juan Hernandez, Graduate Student, Immunology, Department of Comparative Pathobiology, “Enhanced Vaccine Efficacy Following Intradermal Immunization with a Novel Dinucleotide/ Nanoparticle Combination Adjuvant”

2^nd place ($100) – Dr. Priscila da Silva Serpa, Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Comparative Pathobiology, “Reactive Oxygen Species, Glutathione, and Vitamin E Concentrations in Dogs with Hemolytic or Nonhemolytic Anemia”

Osborne Award Finalists

1^st place ($250) – Dr. Garrett Oetelaar, Diagnostic Imaging Resident, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, “Magnetic Resonance Imaging Features of Bromethalin Toxicosis in a Cat”

2^nd place ($200) – Dr. Ana Aghili, Emergency and Critical Care Resident, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, “The First Case Report of Pleural Sporotrichosis in a Cat in the United States”

3^rd place ($150) – Dr. Beatriz Lopez, Small Animal Surgery Resident, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, “Massive Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor in the Absence of Clinical Signs a Dog”

Poster Awards

Basic Science Research:

1^st place ($200) – Shawna Cook, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, “Identification of a Genetic Variant Associated with Juvenile-Onset Motor Polyneuropathy in a Family of Siberian Forest Cats”

2^nd place ($100) – Edmond Rogers, Graduate Student, Lab of Translational Neuroscience, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, “TBI-on-a-Chip: Linking Physical Impact to Neurodegeneration by Decoding Primary and Secondary Injury Mechanisms”

Clinical and Applied Research:

1^st place ($200) – Dr. Luis Lembcke, Oncology Resident, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, “Pharmacokinetics and Toxicity of a Commercially Available Cannabidiol Oil Formulation in Laboratory Dogs”

2^nd place ($100) – Prabha Bista, Graduate Research Assistant, Pathology, Department of Comparative Pathobiology, “Outer Membrane Proteins of Fusobacterium Necrophorum: Potential Vaccine Candidates”

DVM Student:

1^st place ($200) – Adrianne Glaser, DVM Class of 2022, “Pathologic Changes in Vocal Fold Mucosal Proteins Following Systemic Dehydration in Rats”

2^nd place ($100) – Asia Fernandes, DVM Class of 2021, “Hemotropic Mycoplasmas in Wild Boars, Hunting Dogs, and Hunters in Brazil”

Congratulations also are in order for the following veterinary students, residents, and faculty members who were initiated as new members of the Omicron Chapter of Phi Zeta.

New Veterinary Student Initiates:

Seniors (DVM Class of 2021): 

Kevin J. Bersch

Madeleine O. Bryan

Julianna K. Dimichele

Laura M. Brink

Julia R. O’Rourke

Jonathan M. Richardson

Taylor N. Baird

Ethan Fultz

Katelin V. Dark

Sarah A. Wunderlich

Monica L. Vogel

Anna L. Adams

Brent A. Bales

Lydia M. Hall

Jeffrey R. Helfrich

Lauren R. Kerestes

Evan C. Carter Taylor

Chad W. Coakley

Brittany Campbell

Michaela M. Helm

Sarah A. Pound

Juniors (DVM Class of 2022): 

Emily K. Hess

Adrianne R. Glaser

Aislinn L. Latham

Jaime E. Uren

Natalia P. Amaral Marrero

Allison N. Valentijn

Levi B. Brock

Charles C. Peacock

Benjamin R. Fields

New Faculty and Resident Initiates: 

Drs. Natalie Bullard; Bethany Funnell; Masahiro Murakami; Suma Rao; Jose Goni; Sara Ostenkamp; Meera Ramesh; Wendy Beauvais; Geoffrey Lossie; Nobuko Wakamatsu-Utsuki; Malathi Raghavan; Emily Curry; Caroline Gillespie-Harmon; Rafael Neves; Ahmed Khairoun; Jennifer Peterson; Janet Roque-Torres; Sriveny Dangoudoubiyam; Carrie Fulkerson; Sun Young Kim; Shin Ae Park; Luis Lembcke; Ana Pinto; Bushra Zaidi; Steve Hooser; Suresh Mittal; and Rebecca Wilkes.

“This was a wonderful day,” said Dr. Harm HogenEsch, PVM associate dean for research, who thanked the Phi Zeta officers for their work organizing and helping with the event, as well as several staff members, including Susan Xioufaridou, director of alumni relations and special events, for moderating the sessions; Wright Frazier, director of web communications, for putting everything on the website for the event; and Erin Lane, administrative assistant for the PVM Office of Research, for all of her efforts helping to coordinate the day.

The Omicron Chapter President, Dr. Janice Kritchevsky, professor of large animal internal medicine, concluded the day by explaining how the PVM Research Day was a reflection of where we are with COVID-19. She said after the event had to be cancelled last year, “… here 12 months later, we have adapted and could do it all online. I think it came together really well.  Next year, hopefully, we will be able to meet in person again.”