The College of Veterinary Medicine is pleased to welcome you and Dr. Kathryn Dalton to the 32^nd Annual Phi Zeta Research Day at Michigan State University. The College sponsors this colloquium to foster interactions in research and scholarship between students and faculty within the College, as well as with other colleges and departments on the MSU campus.

The program this year features poster and oral presentations, as well as an address from Dr. Kathryn Dalton, who is the intramural research training award postdoctoral fellow for the Genetics, Environment and Respiratory Disease group of the Epidemiology Branch of Environmental Health Sciences at the National Institutes of Health. Dalton is today’s Jaqua Foundation Symposium keynote speaker.

Dalton graduated from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Department of Environmental Health and Engineering with a PhD in exposure science and environmental epidemiology. Additionally, she holds an MPH with a concentration in infectious disease and food safety, also from the Bloomberg School, and a VMD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. Dalton studies how environmental exposures impact both human and animal health through the mechanism of the microbiome or different microbial communities including the unique microbial communities of animals. Specifically, Dalton wants to determine how those different exposures impact health outcomes. The MSU College of Veterinary Medicine realizes the importance of biomedical research for the advancement of science, animal and public health, and the veterinary profession. In this spirt, the College invites you to explore some of its current affiliated research at Phi Zeta Research Day.

This year's keynote speaker is sponsored by the Jaqua Foundation Symposium in Memory of Dr. Samuel Pollock, which honors the name and career of an esteemed alumnus of Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Samuel Pollock, DVM.

In 1996, MSU conferred the Distinguished Veterinary Alumnus Award upon Pollock, citing his remarkably productive career.

Upon graduation in 1941, Pollock served with the Bureau of Animal Industry as a cattle tester. After spending nearly 4 years stationed in the desert region of Ahwaz during World War II, he returned home and established the South Orange Animal Hospital in South Orange, New Jersey. He practiced there for more than 40 years, ably assisted by his beloved wife, Madalyn.

In 1950, he and a group of like-minded individuals established the Metropolitan New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association, which eventually became the largest active group in the state. Pollock was a strong advocate of continuing education, attending hundreds of such courses himself and developing new and exciting programs for other veterinarians. Among other things, he became keenly interested in molecular genetics.

The monthly meetings of the veterinary association provided him with the stimulus for documenting challenging cases, and he eventually published 35 papers. One such paper led to his appointment as veterinary consultant for research facilities at the Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, a relationship that lasted for 20 years.

Pollock’s activities also earned him the 1972 Practitioner of the Year Award from the New Jersey State Veterinary Medical Association and the 1973 AVMA Practitioner’s Research Award. A photographic essay he published won a medal at the XXI World Veterinary Congress in 1979.

His interest in the humane care of research animals attracted the attention of the Jaqua Foundation, a philanthropic organization, which named him as a trustee in 1982. From this position, he helped carry out the founder’s wishes to benefit the veterinary profession and animals.

To honor his memory, the Jaqua Foundation established an endowment at MSU to sponsor symposia that feature leaders, scientists, and scholars from the veterinary profession and the biomedical community. Kathryn Dalton, PhD, MPH, VMD, and intramural research training award postdoctoral fellow for the Genetics, Environment and Respiratory Disease group of the Epidemiology Branch of Environmental Health Sciences at the National Institutes of Health, will present as the Jaqua Foundation Symposium Speaker in Memory of Dr. Samuel Pollock.

The following individuals have contributed their time and effort to ensure the success of our forum:

Dorrian Baber, Caitlyn Clover, Kelsie Donaldson, Colleen Hegg, Kathryn Kutil, Emily Lenhard, Dimity Palazzola, Paula Palmiter, Ashley Russell, Srinand Sreevatsan, Anthony Valli, Arun Varde, and Colette Zulu

We are grateful to the support given by all of the College of Veterinary Medicine’s departments and units. We also acknowledge all of our volunteer judges and moderators. Thank you!