The University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine hosted its annual Research Day celebration on April 22. Drs. Annette McCoy, associate professor of equine surgery, and Julie Nguyen-Edquilang, coordinator of research programs, organized the event. (See photos from the event.)
The day began with a welcome message from Peter Constable, dean of the college, and comments on the state of research at the university by Susan Martinis, senior vice chancellor for research and innovation at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Next, assistant professors representing each of the college’s three academic departments gave brief overviews of their areas of study.
- Dr. Wenyan Mei, Department of Comparative Biosciences
- Dr. Patrick Barko, Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine
- Dr. Nidia Sequeira Trovao, Department of Pathobiology
Pensinger Lecture
Dr. Tony Buffington delivered the Pensinger Lecture, an annual keynote address in comparative medicine supported by the Dr. Robert and Cynthia Pensinger Fund. Dr. Buffington is an emeritus professor of veterinary clinical sciences at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine and retired clinical professor from University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Department of Medicine and Epidemiology. His talk described his studies of feline idiopathic cystitis and how the condition relates to chronic pain originating in the central nervous system in human beings, and key lessons he has learned along the way.
In the photo at the top of the page, Dr. Buffington poses with (from left) Dr. Nguyen-Edquilang, Dr. McCoy, and Dean Constable. (See photos from the event.)
Podium and Poster Presentations
Campus researchers, including undergraduates, veterinary students, graduate students, veterinary college faculty and staff, post-doctoral researchers, and research associates from across campus, submitted more than 115 abstracts for inclusion in the day’s event. From these, six abstracts submitted by trainees at the college were selected for an oral presentation competition. These included:
- Animal Contact-Related Nontyphoidal Salmonella Enterica Outbreaks in Humans in the U.S. (2009–2022), by Hammad Bajwa
- Randomized Double-blinded Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial of Metronidazole for Managing Chemotherapy-induced Diarrhea in Dogs, by Marissa Goodwin
- Role of WNT6 in the Pathogenesis of Oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (OAT), by Shivi Khurana
- Chronic Exposure of Mice to Propylparaben Disrupts Hormone Signaling and Promotes Fibrosis in the Uterus, by Pranav Volety
- PTBP1 Controls Intestinal Immune Tolerance by Regulating Endocytosis, by Yuexi Wang
- SEC16B Regulates Sex-dependent Thermogenesis and Brown Adipocyte Differentiation, by Tiantian Yang
Marissa Goodwin, Shivi Khurana, and Pranav Volety received awards for their presentations.
The remaining abstracts were presented during two consecutive hour-long poster sessions. Separate poster competitions were held for Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students presenting posters and for fifteen selected posters from all other presenters.
The winners of the graduate student poster competition were Mary Bunnell, Nagabhushan Chandrashekar, and Cassandra Rodenbaugh. The winners of the veterinary student poster competition were Jessica Alonso, Heather McDavid, and Riley Dunwoody.
Invited Faculty Speaker
After the poster session, the 2025 recipient of the college’s Zoetis Research Award Dr. Weiping Zhang, the H.J. Detmers Chair in Veterinary Microbiology and a professor in the Department of Pathobiology, gave an invited talk about his research, entitled “Development of Multivalent Precision Vaccines for Pigs to Humans Against Diarrheal Bacteria.”
His lab innovated a vaccine platform that can combine antigens against various strains of bacterial pathogens into a single vaccine. Diarrheal diseases are a significant public health issue globally, each year killing 1.2 million people, and a leading cause of death for children under five years of age. They also cause tremendous losses to the pork industry worldwide.
Additional Student Recognition
Following Dr. Zhang’s talk, three graduate students were recognized. Nitish Kulkarni earned the Joseph O. Alberts Award, which recognizes an outstanding graduate student. Junyu (Nora) Tang was honored with the Paul B. Doby Award, going to an outstanding graduate student conducting infectious disease research applicable to food animals. Jenny Li was the recipient of the Dr. Victor E. O. (Ted) and Carroll J. Valli Award, which recognizes an outstanding graduate student in pathology or clinical pathology.
Phi Zeta is the veterinary honor society. The University of Illinois is home to the Mu Chapter of this national organization. Each year literary awards are bestowed for scientific manuscripts in two categories. This year the recipients of the literary awards were Kristi Smiley for Clinical or Applied Research and Nitish Kulkarni for Basic Research.
Members of the DVM classes of 2026 and 2027 were also inducted into the Mu Chapter of Phi Zeta based on their academic standing.
Research Day wrapped up with a reception in the atrium of the Basic Sciences Building.
