LSU Vet Med announces Phi Zeta Research Emphasis Day Award Recipients

On February 25, the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine hosted its annual Phi Zeta Research Emphasis Day—a day established to promote research in schools of veterinary medicine, to recognize research conducted by veterinary students, House Officers (residents and interns), graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty, and to encourage veterinary students to pursue research careers.

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 importance of this day to LSU Vet Med 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 a platform for national experts to share insights on research across various fields and present a global perspective on veterinary research. This year’s keynote speaker was Andrew Hoffman, DVM, DSc, DACVIM, Gilbert S. Kahn dean of veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. Prior to becoming dean at Penn Vet in 2018, Dr. Hoffman was faculty at Tufts University for 24 years, where he assumed numerous leadership roles, including Director of Equine Sports Medicine; Director of the Lung Function Testing Laboratory; Director of the Stem Cell Laboratory; and Director of the Regenerative Medicine Laboratory.

Phi Zeta Research Emphasis Day includes a presentation by a biomedical scientist with veterinary experience, and posters are presented by undergraduate, DVM, MS, and Ph.D. students, House Officers, post-doctoral fellows, faculty, and research associates. Posters are judged by a panel of veterinarians and/or scientists for awards in the following categories: (1) post-doctoral researchers, (2) dissertation (PhD) students, (3) House Officers/Residents (non-PhD/non-Master’s), (4) veterinary students, (5) undergraduate/Masters students and (6) case reports.. The growth and quality of the event are a measure of the efforts of the LSU Vet Med community and our commitment to scholarly activity at all levels.

Veterinary students who participate in LSU Vet Med’s Summer Scholars Program enter their research projects for consideration on Phi Zeta Emphasis Day. Each year, veterinary students apply to participate in the Summer Scholars Program, in which they develop research proposals with the guidance of a faculty member and conduct research throughout the summer.

Winners in the Ph.D. Poster Competition:

John Le, Ph.D. student in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences, from Zachary, La., received 1st place in the Ph.D. Poster Competition category for the poster entitled “NLRP10 Inflammasome Regulates Host Defense During Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus-induced Pneumonia through Neutrophil Homeostasis.” His faculty mentor is Samithamby Jeyaseelan, Ph.D., professor.

Caiden Ingram, Ph.D. student in the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, from Hot Springs, Ark., received 2nd place in the Ph.D. Poster Competition category for the poster entitled “IL-10 Deficiency Improves Lung Function in Mouse Offspring Exposed in Utero to E-cigarette Aerosols.” His faculty mentor is Alexandra Nöel, associate professor and director of the inhalation laboratory.

Biplov Sapkota, Ph.D. student in the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, from Chitwan, Nepal, received 3rd place in the Ph.D. Poster Competition category for the poster entitled “Engineered Oncolytic HSV-1 Restrains Tumor Dissemination in a Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer Model.” His faculty mentor is Masami Yoshimura, DSc, associate professor.

Arpan Chowdhury, Ph.D. student in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences, from India, received 4th place in the Ph.D. Poster Competition category for the poster entitled “Rationally Designed Peptidomimetics to inhibit the Orthosteric Interaction of CD2:CD58 in Rheumatoid Arthritis.” His faculty mentor is Seetharama Jois, Ph.D., professor.

Demetrius McAtee, Ph.D. student in the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, from Bossier City, La., received 5th place in the Ph.D. Poster Competition category for the poster entitled “Uncovering the Role of Glucocorticoid Signaling in Arsenic-mediated Stress Behavioral Alterations.” His faculty mentor is Ahmed Abdelmoneim, Ph.D., assistant professor.

Winners in the Case Reports Poster Competition:

Tim Brunner, DVM, zoological medicine resident in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, from Fort Wayne, Ind., received 1st place in the Case Reports Poster Competition category for the poster entitled “Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Two Species of Waterfowl” His faculty mentor was Fabio Del Piero, DVM, Ph.D., DACVP, professor of veterinary pathology, PBS.

Eliana De Luca, DVM, anatomic pathology resident in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences, from Teramo, Italy, received 2nd place in the Case Reports Poster Competition category for the poster entitled “Necrosuppurative Bronchopneumonia with Fusobacterium necrophorum Involvement In Two Macropods Without Oral Disease: Expanding The Role of MPPD-Related Anaerobes.” Her faculty mentor was Jeongha Lee, DVM, DACVP, assistant professor of anatomic pathology.

Winner in the Resident Poster Competition:

Marley McInnis, DVM, dermatology resident in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, from Mandeville, La., received 1st place in the Resident Poster Competition category for the poster entitled “External validation of custom trained artificial intelligence model for canine ear canal disease and comparison with veterinary professionals.” Her faculty mentor is Neoklis Apostolopoulos, DVM, Ph.D., DECVD, assistant professor of veterinary dermatology.

Winners in the Post-doctoral Poster Competition:

Martha Schwall, Ph.D., post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, from Manitou Springs, Colo., received 1st place in the Post-doctoral Poster Competition category for the poster entitled “Heroin causes altered mitochondrial function in the nucleus accumbens shell.” Her faculty mentor is Ethan Anderson, Ph.D., assistant professor.

Shallinie Thangadurai, Ph.D., post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, from Banting, Selangor, Malaysia, received 2nd place in the Post-doctoral Poster Competition category for the poster entitled “Silent Messengers of the Western diet: miRNAs Journey from Somatic Cells to Sperm, and to the Embryo.” Her faculty mentor is Alexander Murashov, MD, Ph.D., professor and head of Comparative Biomedical Sciences.

Winner in the Undergraduate/Master’s Poster Competition:

Aiyanna McGowan, research associate in Veterinary Clinical Sciences, received 1st place in the Undergraduate/Master's Poster Competition category for the poster entitled “Effect of Immunophenotype and Sex on the In Vitro Behavior of Feline Adipose-Derived Multipotent Stem Cells Following Continuous Culture or Cryopreservation.” Her faculty mentor was Mandi Lopez, DVM, Ph.D., DACVS, professor and director of the Laboratory for Equine and Comparative Orthopedic Research.

Winners in the Veterinary Student Poster Competition:

Ambar Bonilla Baez, DVM Class of 2027 student, from Peñuelas, Puerto Rico, received 1st place in the Veterinary Student Poster Competition category for the poster entitled “Determining modes of viral transmission and developing an effective technique for surface sterilization of Acheta domesticus eggs.” Her faculty mentor was Kinberly Boykin, DVM, Ph.D., clinical instructor of wildlife medicine and surgery.

Julia deGeneres, DVM Class of 2028 student, from Prairieville, La., received 2nd place in the Veterinary Student Poster Competition category for the poster entitled “Comparing a novel fecal PCR test for Tritrichomonas blagburni and Giardia in cats with conventional diagnostic approaches.” Her faculty mentor was Adriano Vatta, BVSc, MSc, Ph.D., associate professor.

Nyah Shepherd, DVM Class of 2028 student, from Deer Park, Texas, received 3rd place in the Veterinary Student Poster Competition category for the poster entitled “Maternal Western Diet Impacts Metabolic and Behavioral Traits in Drosophila Offspring.” Her faculty mentor is Alexander Murashov, MD, Ph.D., professor and head of Comparative Biomedical Sciences.

Phi Zeta would like to take this opportunity to thank the poster judges:

Basel Abuaita, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Infectious Diseases, Pathobiological Sciences (PBS)

Frank Andrews, DVM, MS, DACVIM, Professor of Equine Medicine and Director of Equine Health and Sports Performance, Veterinary Clinical Sciences (VCS)

Neoklis Apostolopoulos, DVM, Ph.D., DECVD, Assistant Professor of Dermatology, VCS

Udeni Balasuriya, BVSc, Ph.D., Dr. Robert and Julia Simmons Professor in Pathobiological  Sciences, PBS

Renee Carter, DVM (LSU 2000), DACVO, Professor of Veterinary Ophthalmology, VCS

Gabriel Castro-Cuellar, BSc, DACVAA, Assistant Professor of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia, VCS

Eddie Cramer, DVM, Copper Crowne Equestrian Center

Jeannette Cremer, DVM, Dr.med.vet., DACVAA, Associate Professor of Veterinary Anesthesiology, VCS

Levent Dirikolu, DVM, MVSc, Ph.D., Professor of Pharmacology, Director of the Center for Clinical Innovation, Comparative Biomedical Sciences (CBS)

Antonieta Guerrera-Plata, BSc, MSc, Ph.D., Associate Professor, PBS

Ky Hoang, DVM, Ph.D., Assistant Professor (Research), PBS

Duane Jeansonne, Ph.D., Assistant Professor (Research), PBS

Tomislav Jelesijevic, DVM, MS, Ph.D., DACVP, Assistant Professor of Comparative Biomedical Sciences (CBS)

Seetharama Jois, Ph.D., Professor, PBS

Konstantin G. Kousoulas, Ph.D. Professor and Head of PBS

Charles Lee, Ph.D., Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems, CBS

Britta Leise, MS, DVM (LSU 2002), Ph.D., DACVS, Associate Dean for Student and Faculty Advancement; Associate Professor of Equine Surgery, VCS

Colin Mitchell, BVMS, MS, DACVS, Professor of Equine Surgery and Head of VCS

Nancy Mitropoulou, DVM, Ph.D., DECVECC, Assistant Professor of Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care, VCS

Francisco Morales, DVM, Assistant Professor of Equine Surgery, VCS

Michelle Osborn, Ph.D., Associate Professor, CBS

Patricia Queiroz-Williams, DVM, Professor of Anesthesiology and Chief Veterinary Medical Officer of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, VCS

Jeremy Redmond, DVM, Director of Clinical Skills, Assistant Professor of Equine Medicine, VCS

Laura Riggs, DVM, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Equine Surgery, VCS

Emi Sasaki, DVM, DACVP, Assistant Professor of Veterinary Pathology, PBS 

Ryan Smith, DVM, Assistant Professor of Emergency and Critical Care, VCS

Rhett Stout, DVM, Ph.D. (LSU 1994, 2003), DACLAM, Professor and Director of the Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine, PBS

Shang Su, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology, CBS

Côme Thieulent, BSc, MSc, Ph.D., Assistant Professor (Research), PBS

Gianluca Veggiani, BSc, MSc, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, PBS

Fabio Borges Vigil, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, CBS

Anastasios Vourekas, BSc, MSc, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, LSU College of Science

Shaomian Yao, Ph.D., Associate Professor, CBS

Masami Yoshimura, DSc, Associate Professor, CBS

Tianyi Zhang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor (Research), PBS

This day would not be possible without the support of Fisher Scientific, GemPharmatech, National Veterinary Associates, ThermoFisher Scientific, and the LSU Vet Med Center for Lung Biology and Disease. LSU Vet Med and the Tau Chapter of Phi Zeta are grateful for their generosity.

Phi Zeta Research Emphasis Day is sponsored by the Tau Chapter of the Society of Phi Zeta, which was established on March 30, 1977, with Dr. C.W. Titkemeyer as Chapter President. Phi Zeta is the abbreviation of the Greek word Philozoi, which means “love of animals.” 

The 2026 Phi Zeta Committee members are as follows:

• Mustajab Mirza, DVM, MS, DAVCS, President, Associate Professor of Equine Surgery, VCS
• Mandi Lopez, DVM, Ph.D., DACVS, Treasurer, Professor of Veterinary Surgery, VCS
• Samithamby Jeyaseelan, DVM, Ph.D., Secretary, Professor of Pathobiological Sciences, PBS
• Emi Sasaki, DVM, DACVP, Immediate Past President, Assistant Professor of Veterinary Pathology, PBS
• Oliver A. Garden, BVetMed, Ph.D., FHEA, FCPP, FRCVS, DACVIM, DECVIM-CA, Kenneth Burns Endowed Chair in Veterinary Medicine and Dean
• Bonnie Boudreaux, DVM, Ph.D., Senior Associate Dean for Student Success; Professor of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, VCS
• Tammy Dugas, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education; Professor of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, CBS
• Britta Leise, DVM, MS, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Staff and Faculty Advancement, Associate Professor of Equine Surgery, VCS
• Colin Mitchell, BVMS, MS, DACVS, Head of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, VCS 
• Stephen Costin, Ph.D., Research and Graduate Education Manager
• Alexa Boudreaux, Dean’s Events and Logistics Manager
• Bonnie Brocato, Facilities Manager 
• Dustin Brewster, Dean’s Coordinator 
• Ginger Guttner, APR, Assistant Director of Communications
• Thomas Rooney, Assistant Dean for Strategic Communications
• Alex Sheets, Data Processing Analyst 
• Brooke Rust, Executive Assistant of the Senior Associate Dean for Student Success.

About LSU Vet Med: Bettering lives through education, public service, and discovery

The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine is one of only 33 veterinary schools in the U.S. and the only one in Louisiana. LSU Vet Med is dedicated to improving and protecting the lives of animals and people through superior education, transformational research, and compassionate care. We teach. We heal. We discover. We protect.