[March 26, 2018; Philadelphia, PA] – Forty-five students presented their research, conducted over the course of one year, during last week’s Student Research Day held at the Vernon and Shirley Hill Pavilion at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet). Dr. Patricia Conrad, from the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California at Davis, delivered the keynote lecture.
Penn Vet, the nation’s only veterinary school developed in association with a medical school, offers the Veterinariae Medicinae Doctoris, or VMD degree. The VMD-PhD dual degree prepares students for a variety of career paths in fields such as biomedical research, pharmaceutical research, human and animal health, public health, as well as in academe.
“Our primary goal is to engender the spirit of research within the School and across the University. Student Research Day provides a forum for students to showcase their scientific pursuits,” said Dr. Phillip Scott, professor of microbiology and immunology and vice dean for research and academic resources. “The day offers them the opportunity to share their work with their colleagues and our faculty, to engage in discussion and to solicit feedback.”
The awards were divided into two categories: oral presentation and poster illustration.
VMD student winners for oral presentations were:
Anna Martin, first place, “Atypical Xist RNA Localization to the Inactive X in a Female-biased Murine Model of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.”
Megan McGeehan, second place, “The Meningeal Compartment Supports Tertiary Lymphoid Organogenesis in a Natural Model of Multiple Sclerosis.”
Alexandra Sanz, third place, “Quantifying the Use and Mechanism of Defective Viral Genome Oligonucleotides as a Preventative Antiviral.”
VMD-PhD student winners for oral presentations were:
Bailey Baumann, first place, “Retinal Iron Accumulation and Degradation in Liver-specific Hepcidin Knockout Mice.”
Gregory Sousa, second place, “Role of a C-type Lectin Heterodimer in Mosquito Complement-mediated Antimicrobial Defense in the Malaria Vector Anopheles gambiae.”
Amanda Samuels, third place, “SOS Response and its Impact on Bacterial Colonization.”
Winners for the poster category were:
Sabina Hlavaty, first place, “Phenotypic and Transcriptomic Characterization of Canine Myeloid-derived Suppressor Cells.”
Mary Jane Drake, second place, “Validation and Application of Accelerometers to Sow Behavior and Management.”
Alycia Frampton, third place, “Selective Intestinal Cobalamin Malabsorption in Komondor Dogs: Clinical to Molecular Genetic Characterization and Ancestry Traced to Hungary.”
“The talent and research of our students are impressive,” said Scott. “And I look forward to their future, professional achievements.”