The UW School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) was well represented at the 2019 National Veterinary Scholars Symposium in Worcester, Massachusetts in July. Twenty-two doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) students from UW participated in the symposium and presented research posters.
Also at the symposium, UW SVM alumna Jessica Quimby DVM’03 received the American Veterinary Medical Foundation/Winn Feline Foundation Research Award for work titled “Feline Clinical Pharmacology: Making Every Pill Count.” Quimby is an associate professor of small animal internal medicine at The Ohio State University.
The annual scientific symposium showcases research accomplishments by veterinary students completing summer research internships. The event highlights the ways veterinary scientists advance basic and applied research to support global health and enables participants to gain insights into careers in biomedical research.
The SVM Summer Scholars Program provides an opportunity for current veterinary medicine students to work with mentors on a wide variety of research projects. In addition to providing research training experience, the program offers weekly seminars and discussion groups on topics such as ethics in science, career opportunities, writing grant proposals and articles for publication in scientific journals, and how to give oral and poster presentations. 2019 marks the 27th year of the program.
The following students presented their research at the National Veterinary Scholars Symposium (mentor name in parenthesis):
- Taylor Apfelbeck (Jacques Galipeau), The Immunosuppressive Properties of Washed Equine Platelet Extract (WEPLEX) on T-Cell Proliferation
- Clara Cole (Chad Vezina, Hannah Ruetten), A Histologic Atlas of Normal Canine Prostate
- Preston Cernek (Dorte Dopfer), Computer Vision Models to Detect Lameness Associated Digital Dermatitis Lesions on Commercial Dairy Farms
- Dana Dai (Jyoti Watters), Probing the Immunoregulatory Role of MicroRNA-146 in Microglia From Offspring Exposed to a Model of Maternal Sleep Disordered Breathing
- Zachary De Moulin (Kurt Sladky, Steve Johnson), Pain-Induced Alterations in Corn Snake (Pantherophis Guttatus) Behavior: Developing a Clinically Relevant Model of Pain in Snakes
- Abigail Engel (Kristen Bernard), Characterizing Zika Virus Mutations in Cell Culture and in Mice
- Kelsea Hill (Tracy Baker), Gestational Intermittent Hypoxia Increases HIF-1a in Female, but Not Male, Offspring
- Monica (Jiwon) Kim (Gillian McLellan), Advanced Imaging of Outflow Pathways in Felines With Primary Congenital Glaucoma (PCG)
- Brooke Lee (Peter Muir), Multivariate Genome-Wide Association of Cruciate Ligament Rupture and Coat Color in the Labrador Retriever
- Adam Lepold (Michael Wood), The Role of Urine Fibrinogen in the Development of Enterococcus spp. Urinary Tract Infection in At-Risk Dogs
- Kevin Malott (Lauren Trepanier), Role of Glutathione S-Transferases in the Response to Azathioprine in Dogs
- Colette Manley (Jessica Pritchard), Evaluation of Metronidazole-Induced Genotoxicity in Healthy Canines
- Susan Payne (Laura Knoll), Using Antimicrobial Immunotherapeutic Agents Against Kras and TP53 Mutant Pancreatic Cancers
- Cheyenne Pearson (Leticia Reyes), Deciphering the Immune Cell Dynamics of Zika Virus Induced Villitis
- Zoie Schaefer (Laurie Larson), Comparative Efficacy of Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxide and Sodium Hypochlorite Against Canine Parvovirus
- Melissa Shear (Erik Hofmeister), Genetic Sequencing of Attwater’s Prairie-Chicken Avian Poxvirus and Evaluation of Its Potential Role in Reticuloendotheliosis Virus Outbreaks
- Adriana Sanchez (Lisa Arendt), Determining Obese-Associated Interactions Between Immune Cells and Breast Cancer Micrometastases Within the Lungs
- Vanessa Santana Miranda (Laurie Larson), Determination of Risk Factors for Lack of Anitbody Protection Against Canine Parvovirus-2 and Distemper Virus
- Leah Statz (JP Martins), The Effects of Inducing a New Follicular Wave and an Accessory Corpus Luteum at Day 7 of the Estrous Cycle on Physiological Parameters of the Estrous Cycle of Lactating Dairy Cows
- Emma Sweet (Robert Lipinski), Defining Tamoxifen’s Teratogenicity to Investigate a Novel Mechanism of Action
- Taylor Weary (Tony Goldberg), Transmission and Environmental Persistence of Human Pediatric Respiratory Viruses Threatening Eastern Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes Schweinfurthii) in Kibale National Park, Uganda
- Marlyse Wehber (Chad Vezina, Hannah Ruetten), Aging- and Castration-Related Changes in Canine Prostate Stromal Cell Composition
Three students received prestigious fellowship funds to participate in the program: Melissa Shear, Morris Animal Foundation; Zoie Schaefer, Maddie’s Idea Lab; and Preston Cernek, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research Veterinary Student Research Fellowship.
In addition, two dual-degree trainees from the SVM, Hannah Ruetten and Taylor Weary (who was also a summer scholar) attended the third annual National Colloquium for Combined DVM/PhD Biomedical Scientists. This one-day pre-conference for dual-degree trainees and trainers provides a forum for the exchange of best practices for training veterinary scientists and the presentation of scientific findings.