Each year, the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine presents a colloquium in conjunction with the veterinary honor society, Phi Zeta, that showcases the research and scholarship of students and faculty from across campus. Veterinary students, master and doctoral students, residents, interns, undergraduates, and faculty present current research across the biomedical sciences, and awards are given for specific categories.
Below are the honorees of the 2026 Phi Zeta Research Day.
Dr. John Buchweitz, associate professor and Section Chief of Nutrition and Toxicology in the Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation: Zoetis Award for Veterinary Research Excellence
Jaime Brooks, DVM Class of 2029 (mentored by Dr. Beth Ventura): Outstanding Oral Presentation for How do small ruminant veterinarians approach disbudding and pain mitigation in goat kids? Preliminary insights from a qualitative interview study.
Sofie Cannon, Association of Public Health Laboratories Laboratory Fellow (mentored by Dr. John Buchweitz): Outstanding Poster Presentation for Extraction of Fat-Soluble Vitamins A and E and Their Corresponding Esters in Animal Feed/Food Followed by Quantitation with Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry.
Sydney Fish, research assistant in the department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (mentored by Drs. Andras Komaromy and Jane Manfredi): Outstanding Poster Presentation for Congenital Caudal Vertebral Anomalies in a Beagle-Derived Colony.
Mohamed Khalifa, PhD student in Fisheries and Wildlife (mentored by Dr. Thomas Loch): Outstanding Poster Presentation for An Outbreak of Enteric Redmouth Disease in Juvenile Lake Sturgeon (Aceripenser fulvescens) Reared Under Quarantine Conditions.
Caroline Lane, PhD student in Epidemiology (mentored by Dr. Cataline Picasso): Outstanding Oral Presentation for Estimating the Diagnostic Accuracy of Molecular and Serologic Assays for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) in Naturally Infected Dairy Cattle Using Bayesian Latent Class Models.
John Liddle, DVM Class of 2029 (mentored by Drs. Jonathan Decker and Patrick Lester): Outstanding Poster Presentation for Efficacy and Pharmacokinetics of Buprenorphine Extended Release in African Spiny Mice (Acomys spp.).
Lucia Martinez Penedo, MS student in Comparative Medicine and Integrative Biology (mentored by Dr. Zelmar Rodriguez): Outstanding Oral Presentation for Longitudinal Antibody Dynamics Following Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Outbreaks in Dairy Cattle.
Keya Mohanto, MS student in Comparative Medicine and Integrative Biology (mentored by Dr. Zelmar Rodriguez): Outstanding Poster Presentation for Development of a Biosecurity Index and Identification of Biosecurity Practice Profiles Among Michigan Dairy Producers.
Nisha Shrestha, PhD student in Fisheries and Wildlife (mentored by Dr. Thomas Loch): Outstanding Oral Presentation for Evaluating the Protective Efficacy of Four Experimental Whole-Cell Vaccine Preparations Against Bacterial Coldwater Disease in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).
Srijana Shrestha, PhD student in Genetics and Genome Sciences/Environmental and Integrative Toxicological Sciences (mentored by Dr. Rance Nault): Outstanding Oral Presentation for Deciphering Hepatic Zone-Selective Steatosis Using Spatial Transcriptomics.