Latest Accolades for Our Problem-Solvers, Innovators and Life-Changers

Recognitions

• Researchers Dr. Brian Gilger and Dr. Mike Sano were honored as NC State University Chancellor’s Innovation Fund recipients. Gilger, a professor of ophthalmology, was recognized for advancing ways to make eye surgeries safer. Sano, an associate professor of biomedical engineering, is enhancing a cutting-edge gene-editing technique that uses electrical pulses to deliver DNA into cells. 
• Dr. Melissa Srougi, an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, was a co-winner with Dr. Audrey Fikes of the NC State Department of Chemistry of the Warwick A. Arden Interdisciplinary Teaching Excellence Award for their Cancer Drug Discovery and Development class. The class offers students an intensive, interdisciplinary research experience focused on identifying novel therapies for triple-negative breast cancer. 
• Dr. Gahee Kim, a second-year clinical behavior resident, won the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists Resident Research Award for her research abstract investigating the Cozy Cat Wrap. She will receive her official award in June when she presents the abstract at ACVB’s annual conference. The title of her presentation is “Evaluating the Effect of the Calm & Cozy Cat Wrap on the Behavior of Cats During Veterinary Exams.”
• Dr. Ashley Souza, third-year zoological medicine resident, won the best house officer poster competition at the annual International Association for Aquatic Animal Medicine conference in Biloxi, Mississippi. The title of her poster was Transorbital Cerebrospinal Fluid Tap in Green Sea Turtles, Chelonia mydas (Proof of Concept).
• Dr. Ale Mondino, a first-year neurology resident, received the 2025 ACVIM Holliday Resident Research Award, which provides funds to support a resident project. She also received the 2025 Knecht Travel Award from ACVIM, which is a travel stipend to attend the ACVIM forum for neurology residents in training who will be presenting a research abstract.
• Dr. Petra Bizikova, professor of dermatology, received a Coat of Excellence from Chip and Sara Mims for her persistence and expertise in treating the couple’s Springer spaniels over well more than a decade.
• Dr. Lydia Love, clinical associate professor of anesthesiology, was one of two lead authors of new national guidelines for monitoring small animals during sedation and anesthesia. Dr. Lysa Posner, professor of anesthesiology, Dr. Jessica Briley, clinical assistant professor of anesthesia and analgesia, and Dr. Kate Bailey, adjunct faculty member, were co-authors. 
• A research paper titled “Feasibility of Near-Infrared Image Guided Vascular Identification and Access in Dogs” by Dr. Seth Bowden, a third-year cardiology resident, and Dr. Jake Johnson, small animal intern and soon-to-be first-year cardiology resident, was published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. 

Grants and Awards

• Dr. Caroline Laplante, an associate professor in the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, has received an Outstanding Investigator Award grant from the National Institutes of Health. The award provides long-term support to an experienced investigator with an outstanding record of research productivity. The support is intended to encourage investigators to embark on long-term projects of unusual potential. Dr. Laplante’s research focuses on mechanisms of force production in cytokinesis, the final step on cell division. 
• A project by Dr. Erika Gruber, an assistant professor of clinical pathology, has been funded by the Veterinary Comparative and Clinical Immunology Society and MG Biologics. The project is titled “Evaluating the Anti-Tumor Effects of Cytokines and TLR Agonists in Canine Osteosarcoma.”

April 2025 CVM Accolades

Recognitions

• Dr. Brian Gilger, a professor of ophthalmology, won the highest academic honor that NC State University presents to faculty members: the Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence. “If I have any particular talent, it’s the ability to surround myself with  wonderful individuals,” Gilger says. “I have prided myself on conducting research in ophthalmology that would directly benefit my patients and their caregivers, and I hope I have improved their lives.”
• Dr. Oscar Fletcher, dean emeritus, received the Billy E. Hooper Award for Distinguished Service for 2025 from the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges. The award recognizes an individual whose leadership and vision made a significant contribution to academic veterinary medicine and the veterinary profession. Fletcher served as dean from 1992 to 2004 and then as a professor in the Department of Population Health and Pathobiology until his retirement in 2018. 
• Dr. Devorah Stowe, associate clinical professor of clinical pathology, was selected as a winner of the NC State University Outstanding Teacher Award for 2024-25. She has taught the intricate subject of clinical pathology to hundreds of second- and fourth-year veterinary students and hospital residents since she joined the College of Veterinary Medicine in 2016.
• Dr. Mark Papich, professor of pharmacology, was named a 2024 Highly Ranked Scholar by ScholarGPS. He is ranked in the top 0.05% of all scholars worldwide, according to the most recent 2024 ScholarGPS rankings. He also was appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria for a two-year term, representing the American Veterinary Medical Association.  
• Ashley Cave, a fourth-year DVM/Ph.D. student in the Comparative Biomedical Sciences program, has been selected for the 2025-26 cohort of the Global One Health Fellows from a pool of 60 applications from across seven academic colleges at NC State University. Cave is researching exposures to environmental and anthropogenic contaminants in domestic animals and wildlife. Through this research and her clinical veterinary training, Cave seeks to enhance our understanding of the scope of anthropogenic pollution in our environment and the harmful effects that these chemicals may have on all species.
• Registered veterinary technician Monica Henderson, a behavior specialist, has been chosen to present her scientific paper titled “Phenylpropanolamine Use In A Dog With Suspected Hyperkinesis” as a poster at the national Veterinary Behavior Symposium in June.  
• A podcast with Dr. Erin O’Neil and Dr. Callie Fogle was the top-trending podcast for the AVMA in 2024. The veterinarians discussed their study about how clients perceive the professionalism of equine veterinarians based on what they’re wearing. Listen here.
• The Today show featured the work of NC State College of Veterinary Medicine faculty and the students of the Carnivore Conservation Crew to help save the red wolf, the world’s most critically endangered canid. The segment was in honor of Earth Week. Watch it here.
• The NC State College of Veterinary Medicine also recently recognized faculty, staff and students with internal awards including Dr. Michael Nolan with the Zoetis Research Award, Dr. Lauren Schnabel with the Ruth L. and Ned E. Huffman Leadership Award and Meagan Smith and Brooke Bush with the Linda Manning Memorial Award for Veterinary Technicians. Find a list of all winners here. 

GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

• Dr. Tal Ben-Horin, an assistant clinical professor and an aquatic pathologist, has received a grant from the NC Department of Environmental Quality to develop genetic resources for North Carolina’s oyster aquaculture industry, which contributes over $27 million to the state’s economy and supports over 500 jobs. The goal is to improve the resilience of farmed oysters. 
• Dr. Mike Sano, associate professor of biomedical engineering, has received a grant from the NC State University Chancellor’s Innovation Fund to continue his research on “Rapid Manufacturing of Next Generation Biologics using Pulsed Electric Fields.” Read more about his ground-breaking research here.
• Gabriella Kabakchieva, rising second-year veterinary student, has been chosen for a $5,000 AKC Vet Student Scholarship. Gabriella competes in AKC Agility with her Mudi.  

March 2025 CVM Accolades

Recognitions

• Dr. Megan Dillon, Ph.D., was honored with the 2025 William R. Atchley Research Award at the 2025 annual Genetics, Genomics, & Bioinformatics Graduate Student Research Symposium. This award recognizes excellence in research, particularly as evidenced by notable first-author publications, but also through other student-led activities enhancing research progress through community or resource building. Isabella Livingston was the recipient of the Golden Microscope Award for the best fourth-year presentation at the same symposium.
• Alexandra Dwulit, who is pursuing her Ph.D. in comparative biomedical sciences, was selected as a recipient of a 2025 TriCEM Graduate Student Award for her research project investigating the comparative genomics of human and dog anxiety. TriCEM is the Triangle Center for Evolutionary Medicine.
• Dr. Elizabeth Kawecki-Wright, a clinical research intern in Dr. Duncan Lascelles’ lab, had a co-first author paper published this month. The paper details research on “Factors influencing, and associated with, physical activity patterns in dogs with osteoarthritis-associated pain.”
• Dr. Anthony Blikslager, professor of equine surgery and the associate dean and director of Veterinary Medical Services, has been selected to present the Frank J. Milne State-of-the-Art Lecture at the 72nd AAEP Annual Convention of the American Association of Equine Practitioners in 2026. The Milne Lecture was created in 1997 to recognize an individual with a distinguished career in research and discovery who has presented and published their findings in a specific area of equine health. The lecture is intended to honor the accomplishments of the individual and provide a meaningful learning experience for the AAEP membership.
• Dr. David C. Dorman, professor of toxicology in the Department of Molecular Biosciences, has received the 2025 Society of Toxicology Arnold J. Lehman Award, which recognizes major contributions to risk assessment and/or the regulation of chemical agents, including pharmaceuticals. Dr. Dorman is a diplomate of both the American Board of Veterinary Toxicology and the American Board of Toxicology. 
• At the same Society of Toxicology annual meeting, two NC State College of Veterinary Medicine senior Ph.D. students and a post-doctoral fellow were recognized. Ph.D. student Rahul Kumar received the Comparative Toxicology, Pathology and Veterinary Specialty Section STP Student Award. Ph.D. student Richa Lamichhane received the prestigious Roger O. McClellan Award for individuals trained in veterinary medicine who pursue careers in biomedical research and the Mitzi and Prakash Nagarkatti Research Excellence in Immunotoxicology Award, which helps graduate students or postdoctoral scholars attend the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting and present their research. Dr. Ishita Choudhary, a postdoctoral fellow, was recognized with the Best Publication Award.
• A paper by Dr. Jess Briley, an assistant clinical professor, and Dr. Hans Westermeyer, associate professor of ophthalmology, was one of the top 10 most-cited papers in the Veterinary Ophthalmology journal in 2023. The paper was titled “Comparison of a blind and an ultrasound-guided technique for Retrobulbar anesthesia in dogs undergoing unilateral subconjunctival enucleation.”

Grants and Scholarships

• The American Association of Swine Veterinarians-Zoetis Foundation Student Debt Relief Grants, funded by the Zoetis Foundation, are awarded to veterinarians working in hog health who are two to 10 years post-graduation. This year’s recipients include NC State College of Veterinary Medicine alums Dr. Daniel Boykin, Class of 2016, Dr. Daniel Carreno, Class of 2017, and Dr. Kayla Castevens, Class of 2020.
• The American Association of Swine Veterinarians also awarded scholarships to 15 veterinary students who participated in the AASV Student Seminar at the association’s annual meeting in March. From the College of Veterinary Medicine, Lindsey Britton, Class of 2028, received a $1,500 scholarship, and Daisy Cagle, Class of 2027, received $500. In addition, Molly Jones, Class of 2027, was awarded $400 in the association’s poster competition.

February 2025 CVM Accolades

Recognitions

• Dr. Kelly Meiklejohn, associate professor, and Dr. Yogesh Saini, professor, both of the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, have been named University Faculty Scholars for 2025. Dr. Meiklejohn has won multiple grants to support her innovative and crime-fighting DNA work in forensic biology. Dr. Saini, who researches the respiratory tract and liver, has four active grants from the National Institutes of Health that are focused on understanding deadly diseases including asthma, COPD and hepatocellular carcinoma. 
• Three members of Dr. Ravi Kulkarni’s lab have won highly competitive American Association of Avian Pathology annual student awards. Carissa Gaghan, Ph.D. student, won the Richard B. Rimler Memorial Paper award, which recognizes excellence in poultry disease research by a graduate student. Matthew Browning, Ph.D. student, won the Reed Rumsey award (Basic Research Category), a student award program for the advancement of avian medicine. And Becky Tran, DVM student intern, received the Merck Animal Health Scholarship, a scholarship program awarded annually to five second- and third-year students. 
• Online instructional designer Tiffany Shin and registered veterinary technicians Kobi Derks, Stefanie LaJuett, VTS (ECC), ACE (DE) and Anna McClour, VTS (Anesthesia & Analgesia) published a research article titled “Development of a Workplace Training for Veterinary Hospital Technicians and Assistants Following the ADDIE Model” in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education.
• Dr. Rachel McKay, a small animal surgery resident, won first place for her poster presentation at the Veterinary Orthopedic Society meeting in Breckenridge, Colorado. Her poster title was “Influence of material on accuracy of novel custom 3D-printed cutting guide in canine segmental mandibulectomy: a cadaveric study.”
• Jennifer Irwin, DVM Class of 2026, is the recipient of the AAAP Kenneth H. Eskelund Scholarship and the Merck Animal Health Scholarship.
• Briana Blackwelder, Class of 2025, won second place in the 2024 Merck Animal Health Veterinary Student Innovation Award competition. Blackwelder started a business called “Equine Muscle Works” and hopes to develop an affordable diagnostic tool for equine lameness. Her business has three employees and clients across several states.
• Dr. Kursten Pierce, assistant professor, completed advanced training in interventional cardiology and is now Kursten Pierce, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology), FACVIM (Interventional Cardiology). 

Grants

• Dr. Cody Atkinson, a small animal internal medicine resident, was awarded a travel grant to present his residency research at the Comparative Gastroenterology Society Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The title of his project is “Utility of bile copper quantification for diagnosis of copper storage hepatopathy in dogs.”
  

January 2025 CVM Accolades

Recognitions

• Jacky Heffler and Alison Hunt received promotions from Journey Vet Assistant to Advanced Vet Assistant in the Large Animal Hospital.
• Dr. Rocio Crespo, professor in the Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, and Dr. Gustavo Machado, associate professor of emerging and transboundary diseases, have been chosen to be platform directors at the Food Animal Initiative. Crespo has been selected as the Food Animal Initiative Platform Director for the Integrated Systems for Food Animal Health and Food Safety. Dr. Gustavo has been selected as the Food Animal Initiative Platform Director for Digital Animal Agriculture.
• Dr. Elizabeth Rose, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Population Health and Pathobiology and the co-coordinator of the CVM’s Anatomic Pathology Residency, is the first author on the paper: “Single-cell transcriptomics predict novel potential regulators of acute epithelial restitution in the ischemia-injured intestine.” The studies validated an approach to inform potential novel therapeutic targets, such as CSF-1, to improve outcomes in neonates with intestinal injury in a unique pig model.
• Dr. Ankita Gupta, Ph.D. and DVM candidate, received an educational veterinary fellowship from the Westie Foundation of America for 2024. 

December 2024 CVM Accolades

Recognitions

• Dr. Lydia Love, an associate clinical professor in the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, was one of five editors in the recent publication of the sixth edition of Lumb and Jones’ Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia textbook. The 1,400-page book is the primary reference book for veterinary anesthesia.
• Schnabel Lab graduate student Shannon Connard received the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ prestigious Past Presidents Award for her research on tendon healing.
• Dr. Caroline McKinney-Aguirre, a research assistant professor in the Department of Clinics Sciences, was recognized with the EQUUS Foundation Research Award at the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ annual conference in December. She received the award for her research on evaluating novel therapeutics for equine intestinal healing.
• Dr. Nora Gardner, an anatomic pathology resident at the Veterinary Hospital, received the Pathology Oral Presentation award at the 67th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians for her talk titled “Pathological Diagnoses of Equine Gastrointestinal Inflammation at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine Pathology Service from January 2019-November 2023.”

November 2024 CVM Accolades

Recognitions

• Nicole Adams, a graduate student in the Peng Lab, won first place in NC State University’s Three Minute Thesis competition on Nov. 11. The annual competition challenges graduate students to present their research to a non-specialist audience in three minutes to develop skills for teaching, pitching an idea to business investors or communicating research to the media and policymakers. Adams’ first-place finish earned her a $1,000 prize. Watch her presentation on YouTube.
• Anna McClour, the lead anesthesia veterinary technician in the NC State Veterinary Hospital’s anesthesia department, obtained her veterinary technical specialist certification in anesthesia and analgesia. After two years of training in the VTS program, the certification prepared McClour with specialized expertise in managing complex anesthesia scenarios and advanced medical procedures.
• Third-year clinical pathology resident Dr. Sydney Hastian received the American Society of Veterinary Clinical Pathology’s Young Investigator Award. The annual honor recognizes outstanding oral presentations given by residents or graduate students in the field of veterinary clinical pathology. 
• Ravi Kulkarni of the college’s Department of Population Health and Pathobiology and Christophe Guilluy of the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences have been named to the most recent class of the Goodnight Early Career Innovators. The NC State award honors faculty for their early productivity in STEM research and innovation. Faculty members selected as Goodnight Early Career Innovators received $22,000 annually for three years to support their scholarship and research endeavors.
• Dr. Anna Tauro, a clinical instructor in veterinary neurology and neurosurgery in the Department of Clinical Sciences, was recently named a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons for Meritorious Contributions to Clinical Practice. The fellowship is awarded by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in recognition of outstanding contributions to the veterinary profession.

Grants

• Dr. Leo Ragazzo, a cardiology resident and member of the college’s inaugural Veterinary Academic Leaders Program, has received a two-year grant from the EveryCat Health Foundation to identify populations of cats at high risk of heart disease. Identifying cats at high risk of developing arterial thromboembolism, Ragazzo said, could allow veterinarians to start prophylactic treatment sooner or be more aggressive with treatment. Ragazzo will be working with the college’s Dr. Terri DeFrancesco, Dr. Ronald Li and Dr. Alex Lynch, as well as Dr. Robert Groggs from Cornell University. The project is also being supported by the Veterinary Academic Leaders Program and the Feline Health Center.