The objective of the summer research program at the College of Veterinary Medicine is to provide an opportunity for veterinary students to have a faculty-guided, positive, and rewarding research experience in the basic or clinical sciences. In addition, the program provides an introduction to research issues, facilities, opportunities, and current research topics. The actual research experience occurs in the summer, but students have been busy since the beginning of the year with literature searches, proposal writing, and project planning.
The program started in 2001 and has seen continuous growth. It has received generous extramural support through the Merck-Merial Veterinary Scholars Program (MMVSP) 2001-2009, and the Merial Veterinary Scholars Program (MVSP) since 2010 with matching funds provided by the College of Veterinary Medicine. Now in its ninth year at OSU, the MMVSP/MVSP has allowed 47 students to go through a summer filled with research activities, seminars and field trips. In addition, internal funding from the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the CVM has supported the summer research projects of 59 veterinary students. This means that over 100 veterinary students had the opportunity to explore problems in basic and clinical sciences and to increase their awareness of the excitement and challenges of the research process. The program is expanding this year to include student research projects funded by the Department of Clinical Sciences and an international outreach program sponsored by the Department of Biomedical Sciences.
The summer research program is competitive and the selection process rigorous. Preparation of applications requires close collaboration between scholars and faculty mentors. Applications are reviewed by an ad hoc committee including the program director, Dr. Christiane Löhr, and members of the research committee.
The CVM is proud to announce this year’s awardees:
Merial Veterinary Scholars Program
With Dr. Debbie Mustacich as mentor, class of 2013 Maya Bellapianta’s project is “Neuroprotection by Omega-3 Fatty Acids and α-Tocopherol following Spinal Cord Injury.” Anna Hinshaw’s project is “Establishing a distribution of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in Oregon Elk (Cervus elaphus spp.).” Anna is from North Carolina State and her mentor is Dr. Rob Bildfell.
Biomedical Sciences Summer Research Program
Dr. Anna Jolles is mentor to class of 2012 Heather Broughton, Katie Doepker from Colorado State, and Kim-Khanh Tran from Tufts University. Broughton’s project is “Feline immunodeficiency virus in African Lions”; Doepker’s is “Effects of intensive forest management on zoonotic disease dynamics in wild deer mice”; and Tran’s is “Effects of intensive forest management on zoonotic disease dynamics in wild deer mice.”
Andrew McDade, class of 2013, and Erin Pugh, class of 2014, are being mentored by Dr. Luiz Bermudez. McDade’s project is “Pathogenicity of Mycobacteria in ornamental fish.” Pugh’s project is “Salmonella colonization and mechanisms that trigger post-op diarrhea.”
Dr. Kathy Magnusson is mentoring class of 2014 Laura Niman whose project is “Potential benefits of increased expression of the ε2 subunit in the aged brain” and Erika Villedieu from France whose project is “Memory.”
Bitton Nixon’s project is “Potential loss of selenium during transportation of lambs.” She is in the class of 2014 and her mentor is Dr. Jean Hall. Dr. Susan Tornquist is mentor to Alina Soderholm, class of 2014, whose project is “Study of camelid anemia.” Dr. Ling Jin is mentoring Xinyan Leng who is from China. Her project is “Investigation of the KHV latent infection and latency reactivation in Koi.” Dr. Dan Rockey is mentor to Hideko Okuda from Japan, whose project is “Experimental model of gene transfection in mammalian cells.”
Department of Clinical Sciences Summer Research Program
From the class of 2013, Dustin Galbraith’s project is “Effects of transfusion technique on erythrocyte survival in alpacas.” His mentor is Dr. Chris Cebra. Brandon Heikes, also of the class of 2013, is mentored by Dr. Craig Ruaux. His project is “Effects of transfusion technique on erythrocyte survival in cats.” Both Dustin and Brandon are funded by the Morris Animal Foundation Summer Research Program. Dr. Katja Zellmer is mentor to Lindsey Moneta who’s in the class of 2013. Her project title is “Is it safe to inject 10 mg of tiludronate into a moderately sized joint in horses.”
Summer Seminars
The core program will be kicked off by a series of seminars on research-related topics delivered by CVM faculty in mid-June. Throughout the summer, students will interact at regular meetings in the form of faculty-guided discussion about the individual research projects and related subjects such as career options for veterinarians in research. A highlight will be a field trip to a local biotech company and the NIH Zebrafish repository in Eugene and, for MVSP scholars, attendance of the MVSP-NIH National Symposium in Orlando, Fla. The program will culminate in research day, at which scholars will present final reports on their research activities.
