Source: Elizabeth Davis, 785-532-4188, edavis@vet.k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Tyler Sharp, 785-532-2535, media@k-state.edu

Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2010

VETERINARY RESEARCH PROGRAM PROVIDES EXPERIENCE, OPPORTUNITIES

MANHATTAN -- Fourteen students from the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine have completed the 2010 Veterinary Research Scholars Program.

The selective and research-intensive program runs from mid-May to mid-August. Students are paired with faculty mentors and conduct research projects. The National Institutes of Health and Merial, a worldwide animal health company, fund the program with grants. Students receive a monthly stipend for their work, which concludes with attendance and participation at the National Veterinary Scholars Symposium.

Elizabeth Davis, associate professor of clinical sciences-equine and co-director of the Veterinary Research Scholars Program at K-State, said selecting the right students for the program is important.

"We look for students who want employment for the summer, and who want to be challenged and work in a research setting," she said.

Students are eligible for the program after completing their first or second year in the College of Veterinary Medicine. The program usually selects around 13 students each year. That number is based on funding sources and the number of investigators who have appropriate research for the program. Research projects vary from clinical to biological.

During the summer there are frequent meetings with the program directors and fellow scholars. This year group activities were organized with scholars from the University of Missouri and Oklahoma State University in Kansas City. The activities included a visit to Boehringer Ingelheim, an international pharmaceutical company, and a variety of evening event to foster interaction among the scholars.

"We try to have good collaboration and have the students learn how to network a little bit," Davis said. "Then when we go to the symposium, they see familiar faces they have met throughout the summer."

The 2010 National Veterinary Scholars Symposium was at the University of Georgia, Aug. 5-8. The symposium's theme was One Health and Beyond. One Health is a movement to create collaboration among all scientific-health and environmentally oriented disciplines.

The 2010 Veterinary Research Scholars, their projects and faculty mentors include:

Jessica Oquist, second-year veterinary medicine student, Junction City, "Characterization of Fusobacterium Necrophorum Isolates from Llama and Alpaca," with Sanjeev Narayanan, assistant professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology.

Brooks Butler, second-year veterinary medicine student, Manhattan, "A commercially available sidephore-receptor and porin-based vaccine reduced the prevalence of E. coliO157:H7 in the feces of beef cattle under field conditions in 10 commercial feedlots," with Dan Thomson, associate professor of production medicine and epidemiology.

Krystal Kidder, second-year veterinary medicine student, Manhattan, "Analysis of Serum Neutralizing Activity During Reactivation of Virus Replication Following Infection with PRRS Virus," with Bob Rowland, professor of virology.

Karen Lee, third-year veterinary medicine student, Manhattan, "Survey: Knowledge of Dog Bites in Children for Health Professionals, Support Staff, Animal Control Officers and Animal Shelter Personnel," with Jodi Freifeld, veterinarian and curriculum coordinator for One Health Kansas; Beth Montelone, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of biology; and Lisa Freeman, adjunct professor with the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Clayton Thorson, third-year student in veterinary medicine, Manhattan, "Evaluation of Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus Detection Strategy in Cow-Calf Operations," with Brad White, associate professor of production medicine, and Robert Larson, professor of production medicine.

Chris George, second-year student in veterinary medicine, Overland Park, "Development of an Isoform-Specific Method for PCR Detection of Canine Hepatic Glucokinase," with Tom Schermerhorn, associate professor of small animal internal medicine.

Caitlin Brown, second-year veterinary student, Prairie Village, "Resident Cats in Small Animal Veterinary Clinics are Carriers of a Multi-Drug Resistant Enterococcal Community," with Kate KuKanich, assistant professor of small animal internal medicine, and Ludek Zurek, associate professor of entomology and microbiology.

Caroline Gillespie, third-year veterinary student, Wichita, "The effect of locally administered LPS and systemically administered meloxicam on mRNA and protein expression of Cox-2 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells," with James Lillich, associate professor of equine surgery.

Michelle Hubin Meyer, third-year veterinary medicine student, Wichita, "Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Modeling of Oral Meloxicam in Healthy Adult Horses," Elizabeth Davis, associate professor of equine, and Butch KuKanich, associate professor of anatomy and physiology. Meyer, who was a 2009 Veterinary Research Scholar, served as a senior scholar for 2010 and helped with the program.

Laura Koslosky, third-year veterinary medicine student, Canton, Mich., "Pharmacokinetics of Oral Meloxicam in Pre-Ruminant and Ruminant Calves," with Hans Coetzee, associate professor of clinical pharmacology, and Luciana Bergamasco, research associate professor of electrophysiology.

Allison Jordan Bryan, second-year veterinary medicine student, Greenfield, Mo., "Characterization of Equine Regulatory T-Cells by In Vitro Stimulation," with Melinda Wilkerson, associate professor of immunology and clinical pathology.

Amy Lorch, third-year veterinary medicine student, Liverpool, N.Y., "The Effect of Progesterone and Beta-Estradiol on P-Glycoprotein and Breast Cancer Resistance Protein Expression in Cultured (BME-UV) Bovine Mammary Epithelial Cells," with Bruce Schultz, professor of anatomy and physiology, and Ronette Gehring, assistant professor of production medicine and clinical pharmacology.

Julie Bernzweig, second-year veterinary medicine student, Chagrin Falls, Ohio, "Anti-Cancer Effect of Gap Junction Enhancers in T47D Breast Cancer Cells: A Third Generation of Substituted Quinolines," with Annelise Nguyen, assistant professor of toxicology.

Lauren Bodenhamer, second-year veterinary medicine student, Edmond, Okla., "Risk Assessment for Vector-Borne Disease in North-Central Kansas Based on Mosquito Distribution," with Samantha Wisely, associate professor of biology.