Phi Zeta Day highlights best of science at UFCVM

Research excellence among faculty, residents, graduate students, postdoctoral associates and D.V.M. students was highlighted in a series of competitions held April 19-20 at the UF College of Veterinary Medicine during traditional Phi Zeta Day activities.

Dr. Amanda Martinot provided the keynote address.

Dr. Amanda Martinot provided the keynote address, with a presentation on “Developing TB vaccines: Pitfalls and Progress.” Martinot, a 2003 graduate of the UF CVM’s D.V.M. program, also holds M.P.H. and Ph.D. degrees and is a board-certified veterinary pathologist. She currently is an instructor in medicine at Harvard, and a researcher at the Dan Barouch Laboratory and the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

In addition to the poster competition and the oral research presentations, which focused on specific projects, awards were given for overall excellence to several faculty and graduate students. Photos of all of our winners are available on Facebook for viewing here. And the winners were:

Overall Excellence:

Zoetis Animal Health Award for Research Excellence: Dr. Jose Ignacio Aguirre
FVMA Clinical Investigator Award: Dr. Caryn Plummer
C.E. Cornelius Young Investigator Award: Dr. Jasenka Zubcevic
Excellence in Clinical Science Research: Dhani Prakaso (major professor Dr. Maureen Long)
Excellence in Basic Science Research: Rola Zeidan (major professor Dr. Chris Vulpe)
Excellence in Masters Studies: Valentine Verpaalen (major professor Dr. Brad Case)
Excellence in Doctoral Studies: M. (Nick) Musselwhite (major professor Dr. Don Bolser)
Charles F. Simpson Memorial Scholarship: Anje Bauck (major professor Dr. David Freeman)

Dr. Stacey Fox, Molly Martony and Dr. Ruth Francis-Floyd are shown discussing Dr. Fox’s poster during the Phi Zeta Day poster competition. (Photo by Sarah Carey)

Poster Competition & Categories:

DVM Students

1^st Place: Corey Fisher
2^nd Place: Catherine Seeds
3^rd Place: Darby Toth

Graduate Students/Residents

1^st Place: C. Montalbano
2^nd Place: Molly Martony
3^rdPlace: Bradley Bishop

Postdoctoral Associates

1^st Place: Thais Rodrigues
2^nd Place: Mohammad Shamin Ahasan
3^rd Place: Galaxia Cortes-Hinojosa

Oral Research Presentation Competition: Graduate Student “Best in Show”

1^st Place: Erika Schwarz (major professor Dr. Maureen Long)
2^nd Place: George Elane (major professor Dr. Adam Biedrzycki)
Department Winner, Physiological Sciences: Maite De Maria Mulet (major professor Dr. Nancy Denslow)
Department Winner, Small Animal Clinical Sciences: Christina de Armond (major professor Dr. Stan Kim)
Department Winner, Infectious Diseases and Immunology: Minghao Gong (major professor Dr. Mansour Mohamadzadeh)

Oral Research Presentation Competition: D.V.M. Student “Top Dog”