Record 85 Posters Featured at Cummings School’s 37th Annual Veterinary Research Day

Summer research gives students the opportunity to get exposure to the research side of veterinary medicine and academia.It helps students, especially those interested in specializing—in surgery, ophthalmology, cardiology, internal medicine, neurology, ECC—gain an understanding of the academic pursuits associated with those and a leg up when it comes to internships and residencies.

Dr. Mike Karlin

In the largest showing yet for the Annual Veterinary Research Day at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, 85 students, house officers, and postdoctoral fellows shared their research endeavors this past Friday, September 11, on campus in the Transitional Classroom. The event showcased clinical, translational, basic, conservation medicine, and international research projects, ranging from infectious disease spread in elephants to canine cancer treatments to sustainable vaccine delivery methods abroad.

Student researchers included 51 D.V.M. students, 14 graduate students (including Ph.D. and Master of Public Health candidates), two Tufts undergraduates, and four students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Fourteen interns, residents, and postdoctoral fellows also presented posters on their research at Veterinary Research Day.

Many veterinary students at Cummings School take part in the Student Summer Research Program, run in collaboration with the Division of Comparative Medicine at MIT, co-host of the event. Summer Research Program students gain research training under the mentorship of Cummings School faculty. Students selected for the program are awarded a stipend, attend seminars and chats with veterinarians researching in various fields, and travel to the National Veterinary Scholars Symposium, held this summer at North Carolina State University.

“Summer research gives students the opportunity to get exposure to the research side of veterinary medicine and academia,” says Dr. Mike Karlin (he/him), associate professor in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences at Cummings School and advisor to Summer Research Program students. “It helps students, especially those interested in specializing—in surgery, ophthalmology, cardiology, internal medicine, neurology, ECC—gain an understanding of the academic pursuits associated with those and a leg up when it comes to internships and residencies.” 

The research posters were on display throughout the day for students, faculty, staff, and the larger community to view. The event featured two keynote presentations from highly accomplished researchers in the Agnes Varis Auditorium. Dr. Iris Z. Jaffe, executive director of Tufts University-Tufts Medicine (TU-TM) Research Enterprise, executive director of the Molecular Cardiology Research Institute at Tufts Medical Center, and Elisa Kent Mendelsohn Professor of Molecular Cardiology at Tufts School of Medicine, spoke on “Cardio-Oncology: Improving Human and Canine Cancer Patient Survivorship by Preventing Cancer Therapy-Associated Vascular Toxicity.” Dr. Victoria K. Baxter, assistant professor and host-pathogen interactions assistant director of Rodent Research Resources at Texas Biomedical Research Institute, delivered a presentation on “Matching Mouse to Mission: Smarter Mouse Models for Chikungunya Virus Neuropathogenesis.” 

Dr. Cheryl London, V90, associate dean for research, Anne Engen and Dusty Professor in Comparative Oncology, research professor of immunology, and professor in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences at Cummings School, and Dr. Kelly Metcalfe Pate, director of the Division of Comparative Medicine and professor of biological engineering at MIT spoke in detail about the Student Summer Research Program. London then presented awards for the posters:

Clinical and Translational Research Award Winners 
First Place Award Winners
Farah Farrag, V29
“Identification of Emerging Signatures of Treatment Resistance in Canine Hemangiosarcoma” 
Advisor: Dr. Heather Gardner, VG20 (Ph.D.), Usen Family Career Development Professor and assistant professor in the Departments of Small Animal Clinical Sciences and Comparative Pathobiology 

Jakob Johnson, V28 
“Development and Evaluation of Silicone-Based Canine Eye Models for IOP Measurement Using TonoVet Rebound Tonometry”
Advisor: Dr. Michael Karlin, assistant professor in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences

Renee Semple, V29
“Development and Evaluation of a Scoring System for Lamellar Bodies on Transmission Electron Microscopy”
Advisor: Dr. Lisa Freeman, NG96, V91, A86, professor in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences at Cummings School and at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

Second Place Award Winners
Kenia Castellanos, V29 
“Zoological Companion Animals (ZCA) in Vet Med: Prevalence, Access to Care and the Roles of Emergency Veterinarians”
Advisor: Dr. Kelsea Studer, assistant professor in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences

Elizabeth Kass, Ph.D., V29 
“Efficacy of Oxfendazole Against Gastrointestinal Nematodes in Small Ruminants on New England Farms” 
Advisor: Dr. Isabelle Louge, assistant clinical professor in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences

Julie Vu, V28
“Characterization of Mutational Signatures in Dogs with Splenic Hemangiosarcoma and Non-Malignant Splenic Masses”
Advisor: Dr. Heather Gardner, VG20 (Ph.D.), Usen Family Career Development Professor and assistant professor in the Departments of Small Animal Clinical Sciences and Comparative Pathobiology

International Research and Conservation Medicine Award Winners
Sydney Santo, V28
“LAMP for Detecting EEHV1 in Asian Elephants”
Advisor: Dr. Felicia Nutter, V93, associate professor in the Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health at Cummings School and in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts School of Medicine

Rose Schwantner, V28
“Evaluating Smallholder Willingness to Pay and Sustainable Delivery Models for Newcastle Disease Vaccination in Nyagatare, Rwanda”
Advisor: Dr. Hellen Amuguni, VG11 (Ph.D.), professor in the Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health at Cummings School and associate professor in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts School of Medicine

Basic Research Award Winners
Samantha Fox, V28
“The Effect of Bedding and Enrichment on Activity Assessed by Digital Home Cage Monitoring”
Advisor: Dr. Felicia Boynton, lab animal residency director and assistant professor of Comparative Medicine at the Mayo Clinic

Jessie King, V29
“Dissecting the β-Receptor Pathway in Hemangiosarcoma Cells Treated with Carvedilol”
Advisor: Dr. Vicky Yang, V09, associate professor in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences

Graduate Student Research Award Winners
Cara Martone, Ph.D. Candidate
“Adverse Medical Outcomes in Alpha-gal Syndrome Patients”
Advisors: Dr. Heidi Goethert, A93, assistant research professor, and Dr. Sam Telford, professor, both in the Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health

Victoria Primavera, Ph.D. Candidate
“Immune Response of Mucosal T-Cells Following Combined MA10 SARS CoV-2 Infection and Vaccination”
Advisors: Dr. Amanda Martinot, associate professor in the Departments of Infectious Disease and Global Health and Comparative Pathobiology, and Dr. Saul Tzipori, Distinguished Professor Emeritus and research professor in the Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health

Intern/House Officer/Post-Doctoral Fellow Award Winners
Ananya Mahalingam-Dhingra, D.V.M., Large Animal Internal Medicine Resident, and Ph.D. Candidate
“Clinical and Microbiota Alterations in Performance Horses Undergoing Long-Distance Transport”

Idrissa Nonmon Sanogo, D.V.M., Ph.D., Postdoctoral Scholar
“Comparative Transcriptomic Responses of Primary and Immortalized Coyote Tracheal Epithelial Cells to H5N1 Influenza Virus Infection”

Cummings School Interim Dean Melissa Mazan delivered closing remarks, encouraging students to pursue their research interests, sharing how research has shaped her own career and always keeps her “asking questions.”