Washington State University

08/14/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 08/14/2025 07:44

WSU students present research on a national stage at Veterinary Scholars Symposium

Seven Washington State University veterinary students presented their summer research projects at the national Veterinary Scholars Symposium held over the weekend in Spokane. Their work focused on advancing both animal and human health.

The three-day event, which drew hundreds, marked the culmination of the Veterinary Scholars Summer Research Program - a 10- to 12-weekinitiative that introduces veterinary students to biomedical research. Throughout the program, participants from their respective universities work closely with faculty mentors to explore topics at the intersection of science, medicine, and innovation.

Rachel Buzzelle

Third-year veterinary student

  • Research project: Just as in humans, mice experience puberty, and the process is characterized by physical, emotional, and social changes linked to hormonal changes. This summer, Buzzelle examined how these hormonal changes affect certain components of executive function in mice. The research could provide information not just on mice, but other species of mammals as well.
  • Area of Interest: Small- or mixed-animal practice
  • Hometown: Mukilteo, Washington

Allison Lind

Third-year veterinary student

  • Research project: Micro RNA in cats are tiny bits of genetic material that can point to cancers when their levels are increased or decreased. In an effort to use these micro RNA to protect animal health, Lind studied micro RNA and searched for a way to use these bits of genetic materials to create diagnostic and prognostic tests for different feline cancers, such as pituitary adenomas, a common brain tumor in cats.
  • Area of interest: Veterinary clinical pathology
  • Hometown: Corvallis, Oregon

Al-Amin Olojede

Visiting veterinary student, University of Ibadan

  • Research project: The 2022 monkeypox outbreak highlighted significant lapses in the current double-dose vaccine regimen that raised concerns about its durability and effectiveness in outbreak preparedness. Collaborating with mentor Heather Koehler and GeoVax Inc., Olojede's work examines the effectiveness of the current monkeypox vaccine with a novel single-dose vaccine candidate.
  • Area of interest: Zoonotic disease/virology
  • Hometown: Igboora, Oyo, Nigeria

Tunde Olowu

PhD student in immunology and infectious diseases

  • Research project: Looking at the tick-born disease bovine anaplasmosis, with a specific emphasis on Nigerian indigenous cattle, Olowu's research cross-referenced the strains of the bacteria Anaplasma marginale in Nigeria to those found in the United States and around the world. His research aims to determine whether the vaccine developed locally can be globally applicable to cattle in Nigeria.
  • Area of interest: Immunology of infectious diseases/molecular epidemiology and parasitology/arthropod-borne pathogens
  • Hometown: Shomolu, Lagos, Nigeria

McKenna Quirk

Second-year veterinary student

  • Research project: Mesomycoplasma ovipneumoniae is a small bacterial pathogen that causes chronic pneumonia in domestic sheep and fatal pneumonia in bighorn sheep. With no commercially available vaccines or effective antibiotic treatments, Quirk's summer research project, under the mentorship of Montana State University researcher Diane Bimczok, focused on preventing M. ovipneumoniae infection. Quirk assisted in a vaccine trial that tested the safety and efficacy of novel M. ovipneumoniae vaccine formulations.
  • Area of interest: Rural medicine/large animal medicine
  • Hometown: Missoula, Montana

Lindsey Richmond

PhD/third-year veterinary student

  • Research project: Having already earned her Master of Public Health from Oregon State University, Richmond's summer research examined the cumulative impacts of inflammatory disease events in Holstein dairy cattle. By understanding how early life disease events, such as bovine respiratory disease, impacts future health outcomes and disease susceptibility; Richmond's research looks to improve the health and welfare of Holstein dairy cattle.
  • Area of interest: Veterinary epidemiology/population health/regulatory medicine
  • Hometown: Mukilteo, Washington

Emma Schneider

Second-year veterinary student

  • Research project: Dairy youngstock management practices and health outcomes are essential industry components; however, literature is lacking in this realm regarding organic dairies. With updates to the United States Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program's regulations, there is a renewed focus on youngstock oversight. Schneider's research focuses on transfer of passive immunity, respiratory disease, and parasitism in organic dairy youngstock in the state of Washington as well as management practices that affect these key components of youngstock rearing.
  • Area of interest: Mixed-animal practice with a dairy cattle focus
  • Hometown: Meridian, Idaho
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