LSU Veterinary School announces Phi Zeta Award Recipients

The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine held its annual Phi Zeta Research Emphasis Day on September 26.  Phi Zeta is the national veterinary honor society, which recognizes and furthers scholarship and research in matters pertaining to the welfare and diseases of animals. The Phi Zeta Research day is held annually at the School of Veterinary Medicine to recognize research conducted by veterinary students, interns and residents, graduate students and faculty, and to highlight the many career paths available in veterinary medicine. The importance of this day to the SVM is underlined by the fact that the Veterinary Teaching Hospital is closed except for emergencies to allow all students and house officers to participate.

Phi Zeta Day provides an opportunity for national experts to present current research in various scientific disciplines and to present a picture of global veterinary research. This year’s speakers were Richard A. Lecouter, BVSc, PhD, DACVIM (Neurology), DECVN, professor of neurology and neurosurgery at the University of California, Davis; and Peter Hanson, DVM, PhD, DACVS, head of project and portfolio management for Merial. Dr. Lecouter discussed One Health: The Intersection between Human, Animal and Ecohealth and Dr. Hanson’s presentation was entitled A World of Opportunity: Research Careers in Veterinary Medicine.

Students (including interns and residents), faculty and staff presented current biomedical research in poster format. There was a student poster competition with three categories:  1) Doctoral; 2) Basic research (undergraduates, Master’s students, and interns and residents); and 3) Clinical research (undergraduates, Master’s students, and interns and residents).  There were 18 entries in the doctoral competition, 12 in the basic research competition and 18 in the clinical research competition. Twelve faculty members and post-doctoral fellows also presented non-competing research posters.

Winners in the Basic Research student competition, including Master’s, undergraduate, veterinary students, and interns and residents were as follows.

There was a tie for first place, Sarah Frischhertz, a second-year medical student at the LSU Health Sciences Center, for her project entitled, “Primate Femur Histomorphometry and Gene Expression: Effects of Chronic Alcohol Abuse on Bone”, and Reanna Simcoe, second-year medical student at the LSU Health Sciences Center, for her project entitled, Localization and Enumeration of Progenitor Cell Surface Markers and Primordial Keratins in the Laminitic Equine Hoof.” The faculty mentor for both Frischhertz and Simcoe is Mandi Lopez, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVS, associate professor and director of the Laboratory for Equine and Comparative Orthopedic Research in Veterinary Clinical Sciences.

The second place winner was Bailey Herring, member of the LSU SVM Class of 2015 from Sarasota, Fla. Her project was entitled, “Activation of Adenosine Monophosphate-activated Protein Kinase Improves Learning in Aged Mice,” and her mentor was Donald Ingram, PhD, professor and director of the Animal Metabolism and Behavior Core, Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

Third place went to Misagh Naderi, MS student in the LSU SVM Department of Pathobiological Sciences, for his/her project entitled, “Paclitaxel Enhances Oncolytic Herpes Simplex Virus Type-1 Destruction of Breast Cancer Cells.” Naderi’s faculty mentor is Konstantin G. Kousoulas, MS, PhD, professor of veterinary virology in Pathobiological Sciences.                

Fourth place went to Sara Lynch, member of the LSU SVM Class of 2014 from Covington, La., for her project entitled, A Serological Survey of Wild Rodents for Evidence of Endemic B. Turicatae in Texas.” Her faculty mentor was

Winners in the Clinical Research student competition, including Master’s, undergraduate, veterinary students, and interns and residents were as follows.

There was a tie for first place, which went to Jorge Vila, DVM (LSU SVM 2007), MS, LSU SVM cardiology resident from Alto Puerto Rico, for his project entitled, “Structural and Molecular Pathology of the Atrium in Boxer Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy”; and Kaitlin Kasparek, member of the LSU SVM Class of 2015 from New Orleans, La., for her project led, “Pentoxifylline Inhibits IgE-Mediated Cutaneous Late-phase but not Immediate Reactions in Normal Dogs.” Vila’s faculty mentor is Romain Pariaut, DVM, DACVIM, DECVIM, assistant professor of veterinary cardiology in Veterinary Clinical Sciences, and Kasparek’s faculty mentor was Cherie Pucheu-Haston, DVM (LSU SVM 1992), PhD, DACVD, assistant professor of veterinary dermatology.

There was a tie for second place, which went to Robert Blair, DVM (LSU SVM 2010), pathology resident from Miami, Fla., for his project entitled, Thrombotic Microangiopathic Glomerular Necrosis in a Dog”; and Lauren Peterson, member of the LSU SVM Class of 2014 from Phoenix, Md., for her project entitled, “Effects of Various Prokinetics Administered Intravenously on Gastric and Duodenal Motility in Healthy Dogs.” Dr. Blair’s faculty mentor was Leslie McLaughlin, DVM, PhD (LSU SVM 1998, 2005), assistant professor in Pathobiological Sciences, and Peterson’s mentor was Frédéric Gaschen, Dr.Med.Vet., Dr.habil., DACVIM, DECVIM, professor of companion animal medicine in Veterinary Clinical Sciences.

Third place went to Daniel Cutler, member of the LSU SVM Class of 2014 from Alexandria, La., for his project entitled, Comparison of Calculated Radiation Delivery vs. Actual Radiation Delivery in Military Macaws.” Cutler’s faculty mentor was Javier Nevarez, DVM (LSU SVM 2001), PhD (LSU SVM 2007), DACZM, DECZM.

Winners in the PhD category were as follows.

First place went to Theivanthiran Balamayooran, PhD student in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences, for his project entitled, Critical Role of RIP-2 in Polymicrobial Sepsis.” His faculty mentor is Samithamby Jeyaseelan, DVM, PhD, associate professor in Pathobiological Sciences.

The second place winner was Natthida Petchampai, PhD student in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences, for her project entitled, “Signal Transduction Events Involved in Rickettsial Invasion of Tick Cells. Her faculty mentor is Kevin Macaluso, MS, PhD, associate professor in Pathobiological Sciences.

Third place went to Emma Harris, PhD student in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences, for her project entitled, Development of a Quantitative PCR assay to Describe the Growth Kinetics of Rickettsia parkeri and Rickettsia amblyommii in Arthropod and Mammalian Cell lines. Her faculty mentor is Kevin Macaluso, MS, PhD, associate professor in Pathobiological Sciences.

Fourth place went to Rahul Dange, PhD student in the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, for his project entitled, “Central Blockade of TLR4 Improves Cardiac Function and Attenuates Pro-inflammatory Cytokines and Oxidative Stress in Hypertensive Rats. Dange’s faculty mentor is Joseph Francis, BVSc, MVSc, PhD, professor.

Phi Zeta would like to take this opportunity to thank the poster judges: Les Butler, PhD, professor, LSU Department  of Chemistry; Carrie Castille, PhD, associate commissioner, public policy and governmental affairs, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry; Vinod Dasa, MD, assistant professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, LSU Health Sciences Center (New Orleans); Jeanne Davis, PhD, JD, attorney, Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips LLP; Ram Devireddy, PhD, associate professor, LSU Department of Mechanical Engineering; Jason Dufour, DVM, assistant professor, Tulane National Primate Research Center; Ken Eilertson, PhD, associate professor, Nuclear Reprogramming and Epigenetics Lab, Pennington Biomedical Research Center; Craig Greene, MD, orthopedic surgeon, Traumatology & Sports Medicine; Daniel Hayes, assistant professor, LSU Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering; Jeff Hobden, PhD, associate professor, Microbiology, Immunology & Parasitology, LSU Health Sciences Center (New Orleans); Jan M. Hondzinski, PhD, associate professor, LSU Department of Kinesiology; Pete Kelleher, PhD, associate vice chancellor, LSU Office of Research & Economic Development; Indu Kheterpal (Gilman), PhD, analytical specialist, Albemarle Corp., PDC; W. Todd Monroe, PhD, PE, designated professor, LSU Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering; Mike Murphy, PhD, designated professor, LSU Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering; Barry Robert, DVM, PhD, director, Comparative Biology Core, Pennington Biomedical Research Center; Jennifer Rood, PhD, professor and chief, Clinical Research Laboratory, and chief, Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Pennington Biomedical Research Center; and Jeffrey Thompson, PT, DPT, OCS, Cert. MDT, assistant professor of clinical physical therapy, LSU Health Science Center (New Orleans), School of Allied Health Professions.

Special thanks also go to the event sponsors: Abbott Animal Health, Bayer Animal Health, Boehringer Ingelheim, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Merck Animal Health, Merial, Nestlé-Purina, Novartis Animal Health, and Pfizer Animal Health.

Photo: Winners of awards at the Phi Zeta Research Emphasis Day are (from left to right) Theivanthiran Balamayooran, Rahul Dange, Blaire Herring, Reanna Simcoe, Natthida Petchampai, Dr. Jorge Vila, Emma Harris, Daniel Cutler, Lauren Peterson, Misagh Naderi, and Sara Lynch. Not pictured are Sarah Frischhertz and Kaitlin Kasparek.

Media Contact:

Ginger Guttner     

Director of Public Relations

LSU School of Veterinary Medicine

225-578-9922 or gguttner@lsu.edu

Mission:

The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine is a dynamic community dedicated to saving lives, finding cures, and changing lives through outstanding clinical and community service, groundbreaking research, and educational excellence.