Each year, the college sets aside a day to celebrate our diverse research activities and to build our research community.
RESEARCH DAY – OCTOBER 28, 2026
Research Day features formal presentations as well as afternoon poster session, where college researchers including veterinary students, graduate students, trainees, staff, and faculty members present their research progress. A keynote speaker from outside of the college, whose work broadly addresses college research efforts, is selected.
The Pensinger Lecture in Comparative Medicine; Keynote Address
After completing his DVM at the University of Illinois in 1960, Dr. Robert Pensinger studied at the University of Pennsylvania under David K. Detweiler, who has been called the “Father of Veterinary Cardiology.” Dr. Pensinger went on to practice as a veterinary cardiologist in Santa Cruz, Calif. In 2003, he and his wife established the Dr. Robert and Cynthia Pensinger Fund to support an annual lecture in comparative medicine.
The 2026 Pensinger Lecturer
Harm HogenEsch is a Distinguished Professor of Immunopathology in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University. He grew up in the Netherlands and received his DVM degree from the University of Utrecht. He conducted training in veterinary pathology and received a PhD in immunology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He worked for four years at a biomedical research institute in Leiden, the Netherlands, before joining Purdue University as a faculty member.
The HogenEsch research lab works on vaccine development and vaccine adjuvants with a major focus on immunocontraception for wildlife population control in recent years. He has published 170 peer-reviewed journal articles and 22 book chapters. Dr. HogenEsch has served as major professor for 14 graduate students and 13 postdoctoral trainees. He teaches immunology to first year veterinary students and co-authored a textbook on veterinary immunology (Day’s Veterinary Immunology).
Invited Faculty Talk
Tony Goldberg is Professor of Epidemiology and John D. MacArthur Research Chair at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his B.A. from Amherst College in 1990 in Biology and English, his PhD from Harvard University in 1996 in Biological Anthropology, and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and MS in Epidemiology in 2000 from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Dr. Goldberg’s research combines epidemiology and social science with molecular biology to infer patterns of disease transmission and to identify causes of disease of unknown etiology. Dr. Goldberg focuses on emerging zoonoses, as well as on non-zoonotic diseases that threaten wildlife and imperil ecosystem services. His overarching goal is to improve the health and wellbeing of animals and people while helping to conserve the rapidly changing ecosystems we share.
Schedule of Events
LAC 100, Veterinary Teaching Hospital Large Animal Clinic
9 a.m.
Welcome and State of Research in the College
Peter Constable
Dean
Gireesh Rajashekara
Associate Dean for Research and Advanced Studies
Podium Abstracts I (Trainee Competition)
- A Novel Function of Bucky Ball in Regulating Oocyte-Specific Alternative Splicing in Zebrafish
Meng Ma - Promoting Neuroregeneration and Functional Recovery in a Multiple Sclerosis Model by Targeting the Notch Pathway
Joshua Saylor - TMEM45B Ameliorates MASH-Associated Liver Fibrosis by Uncoupling mTORC1–TFEB/TFE3 Signaling to Regulate Autophagy and Mitochondrial Homeostasis
Zhiming Zhao
Break
10:15 a.m.
Pensinger Lecture in Comparative Medicine; Keynote
Development of Immunocontraception for Wildlife Population Control
Harm HogenEsch
Distinguished Professor of Immunopathology in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology
College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University
Break
Atrium, Veterinary Medicine Basic Sciences Building
11:30 a.m.
Poster Session I (including Trainee Competition and DVM Student Competition)
Odd numbered posters will be presented from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
12:30 p.m.
Lunch
1 p.m.
Poster Session II (including Trainee Competition and DVM Student Competition)
Even numbered posters will be presented from 1-2 p.m.
2258 BSB, Veterinary Medicine Basic Sciences Building
2:10 p.m.
Podium Abstracts II (Trainee Competition)
- Evaluation of Synovial Fluid pH in Non-Septic Inflammatory Joint Disease
Rachel Butler - Biased Allelic Expression of Monoamine Synthesis Genes Influences Maternal Care in a Parent-of-origin Dependent Manner
Erin O’Leary - Repurposing Bioactive Small Molecules Reveals New Antimicrobial Scaffolds Against ESKAPE Pathogens
Prajjwal Shrestha
Faculty Spotlight Talks
- Matthew Berry
Assistant Professor, Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine - Paul Bonthuis
Assistant Professor, Department of Comparative Biosciences - Masa Matsumoto
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathobiology
Break
3:55 p.m.
Invited Faculty Talk
Infectious Disease in Chimpanzees in Africa: Case Studies of One Health in Action
Tony Goldberg
Professor of Epidemiology and John D. MacArthur Research Chair
University of Wisconsin-Madison
4:40 p.m.
Podium and Poster Student Awards
Annette McCoy
Associate Professor
DVM Student Awards
Megan Mahoney
Associate Professor
Closing Remarks
Julie Nguyen-Edquilang
Research Program Coordinator
Atrium, Veterinary Medicine Basic Sciences Building
5 p.m.
Reception and Award Winner Photos
Sponsors
Research Day activities are co-sponsored by Agilent, Bio-Techne, Corning, Cytiva, Fisher Scientific, Sartorius, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and the College of Veterinary Medicine Office of Research and Advanced Studies.