Yesterday, the School of Veterinary Medicine celebrated its 125th anniversary with the third-annual Phi Zeta Student Research Day at Hill Pavilion.
The event highlighted student research and included a keynote speech and the induction of new members into the Phi Zeta Veterinary Honor Society. Thirty-eight students presented abstracts on topics like zebrafish euthanasia, the effects of lead and mercury on birds and respiratory disease in horses.
Organizers said the goal of the event was to recognize student research and showcase students' academic achievements.
"[Students] can put their ideas out there and have them critically reviewed, and it helps them think critically," said David Holt of the Department of Clinical Studies. "Generating real knowledge is very important."
Holt also emphasized the importance of students learning from the surprising nature of research.
"Usually, when people don't get the result they expected, they've found something," he said. "You're trying to make nature give up a little bit of one of her secrets."
Michael Kotlikoff, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University, gave the event's keynote address. He spoke about his research on adult stem-cell transdifferentiation - the interconversion of stem cells - in the hearts of mice, calling heart repair "a very active and somewhat controversial area."
While Kotlikoff's research indicates possibilities for the future of stem cells in heart repair, he emphasized the importance of careful research, citing "be critical and go slowly" as his tag line for the future.
Kotlikoff's research is relevant not only to veterinary medicine, but to human medicine as well.
Ashleigh Walker, a third-year Vet student who presented her research on animal blood banks, emphasized that veterinary studies can be integral in human medical advancements.
"A mouse heart is not that different from a human heart, so this research could possibly regenerate damaged heart tissue," Walker said.
Phil Scott, the associate dean for research at the Vet School, agreed.
"A lot of people don't realize the connection between the vet schools and medicine," he said, adding that many animals contract diseases similar to some human illnesses.
