Student Defenses

Summer 2025

The Master of Science Seminar and Examination of Emilee Kate Lacey
Thursday, June 12, 2025, 8:00 am
Vet Med Phase 1 Room 121
"Regulation and Pharmaceutical Intervention of Appetite in South American Camelids"

The Master of Science Seminar and Examination of Katie Gottleib
Wednesday July 2, 2025, 8:00 am
121 Vet Med Phase 2
"Comparison of Gait Characteristics for Horses"

The Master of Science Seminar and Examination of Mahfuzul Islam
Thursday July 10, 2025, 11:00 am
Vet Med Classroom 102 Phase 4B
"Early Growth Response Protein 2 (EGR2) regulation of B cell differentiation in lupus-prone mice"

The Master of Science Seminar and Examination of Sierrah Travis
Friday July 11, 2025, 9:00 am
VMIA Classroom 220
"Plasma ADAMTS13 activity in dogs with severe thrombocytopenia and presumed immune thrombocytopenia"

The Doctor of Philosophy Seminar and Examination of Christina Pacholec
Friday, April 25, 2025, 11:00 am
125 Vet Med Phase 2
"Advancing Veterinary Cytology with Deep Learning: Development, Validation, and Best Practices"

The Doctor of Philosophy Seminar and Examination of Morgen VanderGiessen
Wednesday, April 30, 2025, 2:00 pm
Integrated Life Sciences Bldg (ILSB) 1040
"Neurological Consequences of Viral Encephalitis: Behavioral Deficits, Neuronal Restructuring, and Therapeutic Interventions"

The Doctor of Philosophy Seminar and Examination of Jing Ju
Tuesday, September 3rd, 2024, 1:00 p.m.
101 Life Sciences 1 Facility
"Unraveling the Role of EphA4 in Immune-Mediated Arteriogenesis After Ischemic Stroke."

The Doctor of Philosophy Seminar and Examination of Charlotte Nyblade
Wednesday, October 9th, 2024, 2:00 p.m.
Classroom 125
"Gnotobiotic Pig Models for the Study of Enteric Pathogen Replication and Pathogenesis"

The Doctor of Philosophy Seminar and Examination of Yehia Elgammal
Thursday, December 5, 2024, 1:00 pm
VetMed Classroom 220
"Discovery and development of novel antifungal agents for the treatment of Candida auris infections"

The Doctor of Philosophy Seminar and Examination of Josefa K. Garcia-Mora
Tuesday, December 17, 2024, 8:00 am
VetMed Classroom 121
"Exploring radiomics and unveiling novel qualitative imaging biomarkers for glioma diagnosis in dogs"

The Doctor of Philosophy Seminar and Examination of Kelsey Murphy
Monday, June 24, 2024, 10:00 a.m.
VMIA 220
"Exploring Interactions Between Malignant Brain Cancer Cells and the Tumor Microenvironment Following High-Frequency Irreversible Electroporation."

The Doctor of Philosophy Seminar and Examination of Jatia Mills
Thursday, June 27, 2024, 10:00 a.m.
101 Life Sciences 1 Facility
"Influence of Peripheral immune-derived EphA4 on Microglial dynamics following Traumatic Brain Injury."

The Doctor of Philosophy Seminar and Examination of Xiaoran Wei
Tuesday, July 9, 2024, 9:00 a.m.
101 Life Sciences 1 Facility
"Mechanism and Function of TrkB.T1 Astrocyte Expression."

The Master of Science Seminar and Examination of Camille Brassard
Friday, July 12, 2024, 10:00 a.m.
VMIA 220
"Evaluation of a feline-optimized TSH Assay in cats with hyperthyroidism and with non-thyroidal illness."

The Master of Science Seminar and Examination of Sai Navya Vadlamudi
Friday, July 12, 2024, 11:00 a.m.
Vet Med Classroom 102
"Detection of Cell-free Tumor DNA in Liquid Biopsies of Dogs with B cell Lymphoma: A Biomarker Discovery."

The Master of Science Seminar and Examination of Alejandra Tellez Silva
Friday, July 12, 2024, 2:00 p.m.
ACCRC Conference Room
"High Frequency Irreversible Electroporation (H-FIRE) as a Therapeutic Modality for Liver Cancer Treatment and Its Effect on the systemic Extracellular Vesicle Population."

The Master of Science Seminar and Examination of Catherine Jula
Wednesday, July 31st, 2024, 8:00 a.m.
VMIA 220
"Single Dose Pharmacokinetics of Pimobendan in Healthy Horses."

The Master of Science Seminar and Examination of Babatomiwa Kikiowo
Wednesday, August 14th, 2024, 10:00 a.m.
Classroom 121
"Exploring a Novel Anti-Gonococcal Compound for Combatting Drug-Resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae."

The Doctor of Philosophy Seminar and Examination of Jus Tupik
Monday, August 19, 2024, 1:00 p.m.
VMIA 220
"Battling Bacteria: Characterizing the NOD-Like Receptor (NLR) Immune Response to Brucella abortus and Borrelia burgdorferi in Host-pathogen Interactions."

The Master of Science Seminar and Examination of Nicole Sugai
Monday, March 11, 2024, 1:00 p.m.
Vet Med Classroom 100
"Defining an optimal range of centrifugation and concentration parameters for canine semen processing."

The Doctor of Philosophy Seminar and Examination of Brie Trusiano
Monday, April 8, 2024, 12:00 p.m.
Building 146 Phase 4C, Classroom 129
"NF-kB Inducing Kinase (NIK) influences eosinophil development, survival, and plasticity."

The Doctor of Philosophy Seminar and Examination of Lauren Helber
Wednesday, April 24, 2024, 12:00 p.m.
VMIA 220
"Improving the Knowledge of EPM."

The Doctor of Philosophy Seminar and Examination of Dao Xu
Thursday, April 25, 2024, 9:00 a.m.
Classroom 100
"HDAC6 Deletion Decreases Pristane-Induced Inflammation and Lupus."

The Master of Science Seminar and Examination of Jennifer Carroll
Thursday, April 25, 2024, 2:30 p.m.
Classroom 100, VTH phase 4B
"HIFU and HFIRE for Canine Solid Tumors."

The Doctor of Philosophy Seminar and Examination of Pallavi Rai
Monday, April 29, 2024, 9:30 a.m.
Fralin Hall Auditorium (Room #102)
"Intersecting threats: Exploring obesity’s impact on viral pathogenesis and transmission."