The Master of Science Seminar and Examination of Alejandra Tellez Silva

Biography

I obtained my veterinary degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in 2019. Completed a rotating internship at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, Canada and afterwards, a specialized internship in Medical Oncology and Internal Medicine at Mississippi State University. In 2021 I started a residency in Medical Oncology at the Animal Cancer Care and Research Center- Virginia Tech which completed in June 2024. I will be moving to Gainesville, Florida to start a residency in Radiation Oncology at the University of Florida. 

Funded by

National Institute of Health R01CA240476
Veterinary Memorial Fund
Veterinary Cancer Society 
Grayton Friedlander Fund

Lay Language Abstract 

High-frequency irreversible electroporation (H-FIRE) is a new method to destroy cancer cells without using heat. It's being tested for treating liver cancer in dogs. Previous lab studies suggest H-FIRE might affect the release of small structures known as extracellular vesicles (EVs).

This study aims to see how H-FIRE affects EVs in the blood of dogs with liver cancer. Understanding these changes could help develop new ways to diagnose and treat the disease in dogs and humans.

Dogs with liver cancer were part of a study. They received H-FIRE treatment followed by surgery, and blood samples were taken before and right after treatment. The plasma was separated and stored. EVs were collected from plasma using special methods, including Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA) to help measure the number and size of EVs.

Presentations

Interim Analysis of a Novel Chemotherapy Protocol THOP (Temozolomide, Doxorubicin, Vincristine, Prednisone) for the Treatment of naive B-cell Lymphoma in Dogs

-       Veterinary Cancer Society, 2023 Annual Conference. Oral presentation, Reno, NV

-       33^rd Annual BMVS Graduate Research Symposium. Poster presentation. Virginia Tech, March 2024, Blacksburg, VA

High Frequency Irreversible Electroporation (H-FIRE) of Canine Hepatocellular Carcinoma Results in Immediate Quantitative and Qualitative Changes in Peripheral Blood Circulating Extracellular Vesicles.

-       32^nd Annual BMVS Graduate Research Symposium. Oral Presentation. Virginia Tech, March 2023. Blacksburg, VA

-       Veterinary Cancer Society, 2022 Annual Conference. Poster presentation. Norfolk, VA

Examination Graduate Committee

Major Advisor/Chair:

Nick Dervisis, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (Oncology)
Medical Oncology
Associate Professor, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences
Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences

Graduate Advising Committee Members:

Shawna Klahn DVM, Diplomate ACVIM (Oncology)
Associate Professor
Integrated Translational Health Research Institute of Virginia (iTHRIV) Scholar
Program Director, ACVIM Medical Oncology Residency Training Program

Rafael V. Davalos
Margaret P. and John H. Weitnauer Jr. Chaired Professor, ASME, BMES, NAI & AIMBE Fellow
Georgia Institute of Technology