As summer winds down at the UF College of Veterinary Medicine, 11 rising second-year Gator Vet students in the DVM Class of 2028 capped off the Linda F. Hayward Florida Veterinary Scholars Program, or FVSP, and CVM’s VEM 5991 Individualized Investigation course by presenting their project findings with faculty, staff and peers at CVM’s Veterinary Education Center on July 31.
The research program, housed in the Office of Veterinary Research and Graduate Studies, annually provides an opportunity for veterinary students to engage in hypothesis-driven, mentored research over a 10-12 week period between their first and second years of veterinary school, with a main mission of exposing veterinary students to careers in biomedical research. This may include industry, government and academia-based paths.
Chris Martyniuk, Ph.D., UF Vet Med toxicology expert and associate chair and professor in the Department of Physiological Sciences, served as this year’s program director, while Apichai Tuanyok, Ph.D., Heather Walden, Ph.D., Domenico Santoro, D.V.M. and Ramiro Isaza, D.V.M., M.P.H., were the 2024-25 FVSP board members.
Thanks to support from Boehringer Ingelheim, the Morris Animal Foundation and the Florida Veterinary Medical Association, the 2025 cohort of FVSP students studied and presented findings on a wide range of research topics and projects alongside their CVM mentors and research teams.
2025 Linda F. Hayward FVSP & VEM 5991 Individualized Investigation Mentors and Projects
- Breona Green (Mentor: Dr. Heather Walden): Surveillance of vector-borne disease among free-roaming cats in northcentral and South Florida
- Lily Gumbinner (Mentor: Dr. Maria Cadario): Evaluation of a Sedimentation-Based Method for Preparing Large Volumes of Platelet-Rich Plasma for Treatment of Persistent Breeding-Induced Endometritis in Mares
- Fiona Hecker (Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth Maxwell): The Influence of Gabapentin and Amantadine on Altering Sensory Thresholds in Dogs
- Savannah Kane (Mentor: Dr. Nancy Denslow): Identifying metabolic biomarkers as indices of negative energy balance in Trichechus manatus latirostris
- Allison Kenawell (Mentor: Dr. Helena Zomer): Determining if Human Placental Matrix Wound Healing Effects are Mediated by Annexin A1 In Vitro: A Mechanistic Study
- Renata Roy (Mentor: Dr. Luis de Aguiar): Alternative Maturation Media Can Improve Oocyte Maturation in Canine In Vitro Fertilization
- Emilee Pierce (Mentor: Dr. Heather Walden): Validation of a diagnostic approach using EDTA to increase the volume of Dirofilaria immitis-positive canine serum
- Abigail Smith (Mentor: Dr. Chris Martyniuk): Biological effects of perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS) in developing zebrafish (Danio rerio)
- Hannah Virgin (Mentor: Dr. Heather Walden): Investigation and characterization of avian air sac trematodiasis
- Adrienna Van Soelen (Mentor: Dr. Rafael Bisinotto): Efficacy of wearable devices for diagnosis of metritis and performance of lactating dairy cows with metritis not detected by automated systems
- Daniela Vassolo (Mentor: Dr. Rowan Milner & Dr. Kelly Deabold): Expression of Pluripotency-Associated Transcription Factors in Canine Osteosarcoma Cell Lines