Left to right: Mary Jane Drake, Dr. Patricia Conrad, Alycia Frampton, Sabina Hlavaty, Anna Martin, Alexandria Sanz, Megan McGeehan,
Bailey Baumann, Gregory Sousa, and Amanda Samuels.
In March, students, faculty, and special guests participated in oral presentations and a competitive poster session at the School’s annual Student Research Day.
During the daylong event, 45 VMD and VMD-PhD students shared their laboratory, clinical, or field studies research with attendees, showcasing innovation, creativity, and academic achievement. Six students gave oral presentations and 39 students presented posters. A panel of faculty judges selected outstanding abstracts for awards of excellence.
Keynote speaker and global health expert Dr. Patricia Conrad, DVM, PhD, from the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, delivered an inspiring address entitled “Challenge the Dogma and Be Amazed by Your Discoveries.”
DUAL DEGREE VMD-PHD AWARDS
1st Place: Bailey Baumann
Retinal Iron Accumulation and Degradation in Liver-specific Hepcidin Knockout Mice
(Mentor: Dr. Joshua Dunaief, Perelman School of Medicine)
2nd Place: Greg Sousa
Role of a C-type Lectin Heterodimer in Mosquito Complement-mediated Antimicrobial
Defense in the Malaria Vector Anopheles gambiae
(Mentor: Dr. Michael Povelones, Penn Vet)
3rd Place: Amanda Samuels
SOS Response and Its Impact on Bacterial Colonization
(Mentor: Dr. Rahul Kohli, Perelman School of Medicine)
VETERINARY STUDENT VMD AWARDS
1st Place: Anna Martin
Atypical Xist RNA Localization to the Inactive X in a Female-biased Murine Model of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
(Co-mentors: Dr. Michael Atchison and Dr. Montserrat C. Anguera, Penn Vet)
2nd Place: Megan McGeehan
The Meningeal Compartment Supports Tertiary Lymphoid Organo-genesis in a Natural Model of Multiple Sclerosis
(Mentor: Dr. Jorge Alvarez, Penn Vet)
3rd Place: Alexandra Sanz
Quantifying the Use and Mechanism of Defective Viral Genome Oligonucleotides as a
Preventative Antiviral
(Mentor: Dr. Carolina López, Penn Vet)
BEST POSTER AWARDS
1st Place: Sabina Hlavaty
Association of Long-term RPE65 Expression and Photoreceptor Preservation in RPE65-
Gene Therapy-treated Canines
(Mentor: Dr. Oliver Garden, Penn Vet)
2nd Place: Mary Jane Drake
AAV-mediated Expression of X-linked Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protects Photoreceptors in Two Canine Models of Early Onset RP
(Mentor: Dr. Thomas Parsons, Penn Vet)
3rd Place: Alycia Frampton
Selective Intestinal Cobalamin Malabsorption in Komondor Dogs: Clinical to Molecular Genetic Characterization and Ancestry Traced to Hungary
(Mentor: Dr. Urs Giger, Penn Vet)