A lot of veterinary students spend the summer after their first or second year in the DVM program gaining experience in a veterinary clinic. Some, however, devote their summer break to exploring a lesser-traveled veterinary career path: research.
“The Summer Research Training Program (SRTP) is a fantastic opportunity for students to learn what it takes to become a veterinary scientist and to discover research careers available to veterinarians,” says Dr. Megan Mahoney, a professor in the Department of Comparative Biosciences who directs the program.
For more than 20 years, the College of Veterinary Medicine has offered the program, which lasts 10 weeks and matches each trainee with a faculty mentor who shares similar research interests. This summer, 21 veterinary students took part, working in fields ranging from infectious diseases and reproduction to neurology, oncology, and nutrition.
“Our students studied behavior in fishes and foxes, mechanisms of parasitic infection, new therapies for cancer treatment, the impact of environmental chemicals on reproductive and digestive physiology, the development of antibodies against avian influenza, diagnostics for osteoarthritis in horses, and regulation of brown fat, among many other projects,” reports Dr. Mahoney.
In collaboration with their faculty mentor, trainees formulated a testable hypothesis, designed experiments, collected and analyzed experimental data, and presented their conclusions in an abstract and poster.
‘A Broader Perspective’
Helen Zhang, Class of 2029, worked in the laboratory of Dr. Alison Bell, a professor in the School of Integrative Biology, studying how hormones influence mating and parental behaviors in stickleback fish.
“I gained hands-on experience with fish husbandry, hormone extraction, ELISA, and dissection,” says Zhang. “The Bell lab was incredibly supportive lab, helping me develop my research skills.”
Through seminars and field trips to companies that hire veterinarians, the student trainees learned about research careers available to veterinarians.
“Visits to Lilly and Labcorp gave me a broader perspective on both academic and industry careers in biomedical research and the many ways animals contribute to scientific discovery and healthcare,” notes Zhang.
Making Connections
Each year, the SRTP trainees from the University of Illinois and from Purdue University spend one day together, alternating which campus plays host. Students and faculty alike enjoy networking and learning from one another.
As the 10 weeks wrap up, the trainees present their findings at a poster session at the college where faculty and others mingle and ask questions. The program culminates with a national symposium uniting SRTP trainees from participating accredited veterinary colleges. In 2026, North Carolina State University hosted the symposium, which is presented by the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges with support from Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health.
This year, stipends for the Illinois student participants were funded by Boehringer Ingelheim and the National Institutes of Health as well as by the college and its Center for Zoonoses Research.
