Hospital residents, interns, faculty and alumni gathered to learn and share at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine’s (CVM) Clinical Investigators’ Day this year on March 15.

The event allows interns and residents to showcase their clinical research to peers, mentors and the public, and features a keynote talk—this year given by Dr. Mariana Diel de Amorim, Assistant Professor of Theriogenology in the Department of Clinical Sciences, titled, “Equine endometritis: diagnostic challenges and journey to biomarker discovery.”

After the keynote presentation, house officers gave presentations of their clinical research. Twelve residents and interns presented this year, with four presentations selected for awards:

• Best overall presentation: Shanna Wong, Anesthesiology and Pain Management resident, “Ambulatory sacrococcygeal epidural injection provides superior post-operative analgesia after feline ovariohysterectomy.”
• Best scientific content: Elizabeth Lavin, D.V.M. ’21, Laboratory Animal Medicine resident, “Venipuncture site influences blood drop volume in C57BL/6 mice.”
• Best presentation style: Emilia Chrostek, Dentistry and Oral Surgery resident, “Morphological study of pulp cavity anatomy of canine teeth in domestic cats using micro-computed tomography,” and Corene Bruhns, D.V.M. ’21, Medical Oncology resident, “Characterization and assessment of biologic behavior of canine splenic stromal sarcomas.”
• Best research proposal: Victoria Albano ’15, D.V.M. ’21, Anesthesiology and Pain Management resident, “Refinement of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy in dogs.”

Practice makes perfect, as many of these winners had presented and or received awards at the 2023 event; Albano presented for her second time, while Wong and Lavin presented for their third time.

Awards were determined by a dedicated group of faculty judges, including:

• Dr. Doug Antczak ’69, Dorothy Havemeyer McConville Professor of Equine Medicine, at the Baker Institute for Animal Health and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology
• Dr. Galina Hayes, associate professor of Small Animal Surgery, Department of Clinical Sciences
• Margaret McEntee, D.V.M. ’86, professor of medical and radiation oncology, Department of Clinical Sciences
• Peter Scrivani ’89, D.V.M. ’93, professor and section chief of diagnostic imaging, Department of Clinical Sciences

Also instrumental to the event were the three moderators, including D.V.M./Ph.D. students Kimaya Bakhle and Megan Fahey, and Dr. Stephanie Hon, Assistant Professor of Anesthesia and Pain Management, in the Department of Clinical Sciences.

Awards were funded by corporate partners Nestle Purina, Morris Animal Foundation and Boehringer Ingelheim, as well as many internal sponsors at CVM, including the Office for Graduate and Research Education, several departments, the Riney Canine Health Center, the Feline Health Center, and the Animal Health Diagnostic Center.

The event was organized by Drs. Robert Goggs, Kelly Hume, Elizabeth Moore, D.V.M. ’12, Ph.D. ’19, and Tracy Stokol, and Doug Fink and was also facilitated by Drew Kirby, Drs. Manuel Martin-Flores and John Parker. Dean Lorin Warnick, D.V.M., Ph.D. ’94 attended the presentations and gave the awards to the residents. The organizers congratulate all residents for excellent presentations on their completed and proposed research.

Written by Lauren Cahoon Roberts