VOLVet Discovery in Action - Summer Scholar Research Program

Veterinary students who participate in UTCVM Summer Scholar Research Program.

Summer is always a busy time for veterinary students who participate in the UTCVM Summer Scholar Research Program. During the program, students work with faculty mentors to engage in research projects that suit their interests. In addition, students attend seminars throughout the program that focus on a variety of topics including how to perform a literature search, animal welfare, ethics, how researchers influence industry, how to prepare a research presentation, and how to prepare a research poster.

Gabrielle Sammy Mould during the Summer Scholar Research Program.

Sydney Craig during the Summer Scholar Research Program.

This summer, twenty-two veterinary students participated in the ten-week program. Rather than presenting talks on their summer research, students presented posters in the UTCVM Teaching and Learning Center concourse where they were able to engage with faculty, staff, and other students one-on-one about their projects.Six UTCVM students supported by Boehringer-Ingelheim presented their summer research at the Veterinary Scholar Symposium held at St. Paul, Minnesota in early August. The symposium brought together more than 600 veterinary students from US Veterinary colleges who shared their summer research activities.

Research Day 2024

In addition to the Veterinary Scholars Symposium, students also had the opportunity to present their research at the college’s annual Research Day. This event is designed to serve as a venue for students and new investigators to gain experience in showcasing their research while also providing potential collaboration and networking opportunities. Twenty-one of the college’s Comparative and Experimental Medicine (CEM) graduate students and 23 of the college’s professional veterinary students delivered oral presentations. College post-docs delivered three presentations. The top post-doc presentation was given by Dr. Prachi Namjoshi. Other Post-doc presenters included, Dr. Mahesh Puthiyottu Poyil and Dr. Biswajit Bhowmick. Residents presented three presentations. The top resident presentation was given by Dr. Lily Davis. Other resident presenters included Dr. Connor Hayes and Dr. Mayzie Miller.

Student presentations were scored based on their performance, and six Summer Veterinary Research Program participants took home awards on Research Day for their research conducted throughout the program. In the veterinary student presenter category, MaCayla Clements (Class of 2027) was awarded 1st place; Selina Boone (Class of 2026), Haley Richardson (Class of 2027), and Micah Roberts (Class of 2026) tied for 2nd place; Annalisa Wager (Class of 2026) and Evie Yazbec (Class of 2027) tied for 3rd place. In the Dual DVM-CEM student category Grace Malla (DVM-MS Class of 2026) was awarded 1st place with the Phi Zeta Award for Excellence in Animal Health Research, Lindsey Rice (DVM-MS Class of 2026) was awarded 2nd place, and Olivia Escher-Price (DVM-PhD Class of 2028) was awarded 3rd place. Many presenters also expressed interest in presenting their work at more national venues in the future.

Dr. David Anderson (Left) presents Dr. Sree Rajeev, professor of microbiology, the UTCVM Boehringer Ingelheim Faculty Research Mentoring Award at the 2024 Research Day awards ceremony. The Boehringer Ingelheim Faculty Research Mentoring Award is awarded annually to a faculty member who excels in teaching, training, and sharing their knowledge with students pursuing advanced degrees in research at UTCVM.
Dr. Joe Smith, assistant professor of Farm Animal Medicine, with Dr. David Anderson (Left). Smith received the 2024 UTCVM Zoetis Award for Veterinary Research Excellence which recognizes outstanding research eff ort, productivity, and the advancement of knowledge in areas relevant to veterinary medicine.