Throughout October 2020, the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine extended its traditional Phi Zeta Research Day into four virtual events that celebrated student and faculty research across campus.
“Phi Zeta is something our research community looks forward to every year. It’s great to see the interdepartmental collaboration that can be had, as well as the developing expertise of undergraduate, graduate, and veterinary students,” says Dr. Srinand Sreevatsan, associate dean for the College’s Office of Research and Graduate Studies.
The celebration culminated on October 23 with a keynote presentation by Dr. Marulasiddappa Suresh, John E. Butler Professor of Comparative and Mucosal Immunology at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. The keynote was followed by Dr. Gisella Hussey’s research presentation and the student awards ceremony. This year, one undergraduate, one MS, one PhD, and two DVM students were awarded for their research poster presentations.
Phi Zeta is the honor society of veterinary medicine; it promotes and praises scholarship in the field. First established in 1925 at Cornell University, today, there are 27 chapters established at veterinary schools. To learn more about research and Phi Zeta at the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine, contact the Office of Research and Graduate Studies.
2020 Phi Zeta Winners at the College of Veterinary Medicine
- Zoetis Award for Research Excellence: Dr. Gisella Hussey, associate professor in the College’s Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation, for her work regarding herpesviruses
- Award for Undergraduate Student Research: Philip Calhoun, mentored by Dr. Janani Ravi, “Identifying Diagnostic sRNA Targets in Infected Hosts Using Computational Approaches”
- Award for Resident, Intern, or MS Student Research: Julie Pfeifer, mentored by Dr. Matthew Beal, “Gastric or Duodenal Perforation and Secondary Septic Peritonitis Following NSAID Administration”
- Award for PhD Student Research: Devika Bahal, mentored by Dr. Rupali Das, “2B4: A Novel Checkpoint Receptor for iNKT Cell Functions”
- Award for DVM Student Research: Antonia Langfeldt, mentored by Dr. Jane Manfredi, “Comparing the Effectiveness of Manual Tools to Perform Femoral Head and Neck Excision”
- Award for DVM Student Research: Kaitlyn Bailey, mentored by Dr. Claire Hankenson, “Active Warming and Surgical Draping for Perioperative Thermal Support in Laboratory Mice”
- Runner-up for PhD Student Research: Carsten Walker, mentored by Dr. Lorraine Sordillo, “Endocannabinoid Concentrations and Receptor Expression in Cultured Bovine Endothelial Cells Challenged by Endotoxin”
- Runner-up for DVM Student Research: Shaun Goulet, mentored by Dr. Dalen Agnew, “The Alouatta pigra Diet: The Influence of Age on Diets”
- Runner-up for DVM Student Research: Olivia Child, mentored by Daniel Langlois, “Assessment of Companion Animals for Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) Infection”
- Runner-up for DVM Student Research: Taylr Wells, mentored by Dr. Ronan Eustace, “Assessment of Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin d and Ionized Calcium Concentrations in Two Collections of Captive Magellanic Penguins”
- Runner-up for DVM Student Research: Hannah Hipkiss, mentored by Dr. Jessica Fortin, “Propensity of Serum Amyloid A to Misfold and Aggregate in Zoo, Exotic and Wildlife Animals”