New members (left to right): Drs. Vinay Shivanna, Amanda Trimble and Megan Wilson receive certificates from Drs. Nora Springer and Raelene Wouda.

The annual event is organized by the Sigma Chapter of the Society of Phi Zeta, the professional honor society of veterinary medicine whose name is based on the Latin word philozoi, meaning “love for animals,” and whose mission is to promote scholarship and research to improve the health and welfare of animals.

Held the first Tuesday in March, the day’s events include a keynote address given by an invited speaker, followed by both oral and poster presentations, describing basic or applied science investigations, as well as case reports and case series.

“The Phi Zeta Research Day is a wonderful opportunity for the College of Veterinary Medicine to acknowledge our students’ scholarly and research achievements,” said Dr. Raelene Wouda, president of the Kansas State University Sigma Chapter of the Society of Phi Zeta and assistant professor of oncology. “We received a record number of abstract submissions this year, and the presentations by our students were of outstanding quality and reflected the variety, depth and value of research emerging from the college. Here at K-State, we strongly encourage students to become actively involved in either clinical and/or laboratory research programs, and we hope these opportunities will inspire them to incorporate research in their future veterinary careers. The combination of a veterinary degree and research experience makes our students uniquely qualified to be highly successful scientists, both capable and keen to contribute meaningfully to the continual advancement of veterinary, human and public health.”

This year’s award recipients were announced at a reception and ceremony, as well as several endowed scholarships.

The recipient of the Zoetis Award for Veterinary Research Excellence by an outstanding faculty member was also announced: Dr. Weiping Zhang, professor of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology.

"Dr. Zhang is working at the cutting edge of vaccine technology – developing novel vaccines to combat diarrheal pathogens in both young pigs and children," said Dr. Frank Blecha, associate dean for research. "He has supported his extensive research program at K-State with over $12 million of funding from several agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Zhang’s collaborative vaccine development strategy for enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) holds great promise for a new multiepitope vaccine that will limit diarrheal deaths in animals with high relevance for human health as well."

New members of the Society of Phi Zeta, nominated based on their exceptional academic achievements, are also initiated at this ceremony. Below is a list of the award and scholarship categories and awardees.

Research Posters:

DVM & Undergraduate Student Poster category awardees:

Molly Burton – Prevalence and strain diversity of Anaplasma marginale in Kansas cattle herds

Arashi Nakashima – Parachlorella kessleri-derived extracellular polysaccharides inhibit colon carcinoma growth in mice via an enhancement of host antitumor immune responses

Intern, Resident and MS Poster category awardees:

Sarah Remfry – Prevalence of Top-7 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in wheat grains by culture method

Deepa Upreti – Evaluation of competitive ELISA for detection of antibodies to Rift Valley fever virus in cattle and sheep sera

Ph.D. Poster category awardee:

Ti Lu – Identifying immune-dominant and neutralizing epitopes from K88 fimbriae of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

Oral Presentations:

Applied Sciences category awardees:

1st Place: Katelyn Fentiman – The effect of topical latanoprost on aqueous humor flow rate in normal dogs

2nd Place: Olga Norris – Indicators of persistent hypertonicity in diabetic dogs

3rd Place: Geoffrey Browning – Pharmacokinetics of oral gabapentin in Caribbean flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber ruber)

Basic Sciences category awardees:

1st Place: Krishani Denali Perera – Identification and characterization of protease inhibitors for ferret and mink coronaviruses

2nd Place: Ana Stoian – Important CD163 peptide sequences in resistance to PRRSV-2 infection

2nd Place: Sarah Stuebing – Behavioral and neurobiological assessments of episodic-like memory in aged and young rats

Case Reports and Case Series category awardees:

1st Place: Michael Denk – CT-guided osteological preparation and examination of the skull of a Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)

2nd Place: Anastasia McHaney – Use of ultrasound in the diagnosis of soft tissue foreign bodies

3rd Place: Vinay Shivanna – First report of Parapoxvirus infection in an American bison (Bison bison)

Special Awards and Scholarships:

Christian Cook, Hannah White, MaRyka Smith, President Richard Meyers, Dr. Dana Vanlandingham (associate professor, DMP), Dr. Matthew Olcha, Dr. Rachel Palinski and Victoria Ayers.

fter wrapping up, President Myers was invited to take an impromptu tour of the teaching laboratory, where he met with the Transboundary Animal Disease (TAD) Fellows.

“The TAD program leverages the expertise and resources of the BRI to train next-generation M.S., Ph.D., DVM and post-doctoral researchers to work in high and maximum-containment environments on TADs,” said Dr. Dana Vanlandingham, associate professor of virology in the Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology. “We were very excited to show off some of what our students have been doing at the BRI.”

President Myers and Dr. Vanlandingham were joined by Christian Cook, a Ph.D. student in pathobiology; Hannah White, a master’s degree student in biomedical sciences; MaRyka Smith, a DVM/Ph.D. student in pathobiology; Dr. Matthew Olcha, a 2017 DVM graduate and current Ph.D. student in pathobiology; Dr. Rachel Palinski, a postdoctoral fellow in DMP; and Victoria Ayers, a Ph.D. student in pathobiology.

Some of the classes required for the TAD Fellows include “DMP 690 Essential Practices for BSL-3 Research Settings,” “DMP 895-B Select Agent Studies,” and “DMP 893 Principles of Biosafety and Biocontainment.” The TAD Fellows donned personal protective equipment and simulated BSL-3 laboratory work for President Myers, before taking a break for a group photo.

The experience available through the TAD Fellows could help address the critical need for a skilled workforce that will be required when the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) opens in Manhattan.

The TAD Fellows attended BSL-4 training in the BSL-4 simulator at the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory (NEIDL) in July 2017. Attendees received certificates indicating that they received 32 hours of practical hands-on experience. Above (from left to right) Victoria Ayers, Dr. Rachel Palinski, Laura Constance, Dr. Greg Peterson (instructor not Fellow) and Christian Rittman.

The project, funded by a $1,321,648 grant from the National Institutes of Health's (NIH)_ National Cancer Institute, is expected to lead to a bronchoscopic microwave ablation system for treating lung tumors.

Punit Prakash, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, is principal investigator for the five-year study "Bronchoscope-Guided Microwave Ablation of Early-Stage Lung Tumors," awarded under the NIH Academic-Industrial Partnerships to Translate and Validate in Vivo Cancer Imaging Systems program.

"We will develop flexible, microwave ablation devices with precise control of microwave radiation that can be delivered to lung tumors via a bronchoscope," Prakash said. "These devices will be integrated with a computerized image-guidance, navigation and treatment planning platform to guide physicians in the optimal approach for treating the targeted tumors while preserving healthy tissue.

"We will evaluate the technical feasibility and safety of the proposed technique for treating lung tumors in a pilot clinical study," he said.

Kansas State University co-investigators on the project are from the College of Veterinary Medicine: Drs. Warren Beard and David Biller, both professors of clinical sciences, and Dr. Chanran Ganta, clinical assistant professor in diagnostic medicine and pathobiology.

Yixun Liu, principal imaging research and development engineer with Broncus Medical — a commercial-stage company that delivers navigation, and diagnostic and therapeutic technologies to treat patients with lung disease — represents the industry partnership on the project.

This project will support an interdisciplinary team of faculty, postdoctoral scholars and graduate students conducting cutting-edge research on microwave technology for therapeutic applications and their translation to the clinical setting.

This grant builds upon an earlier project from 2016-17 between Broncus Medical and the electrical and computer engineering department. Prakash was also the principal investigator. Technology products in that study led to novel bronchoscopic deliveries of microwave energy for treating lung tumors, resulting in patent filings by the Kansas State University Research Foundation. The research foundation and the Kansas State University Institute for Commercialization are working with Broncus Medical to develop strategies to further protect and commercialize the intellectual property resulting from the previous project and this new grant.

The event was billed as a fast-paced, informative format featuring several speakers representing different academic colleges and curricula. Each presenter was asked to provide a visual portrayal illustrating their topic which is presented in a very short time frame – similar in style to a TED talk format.

Dr. Kastner’s program was titled, “Biography, the brain and belief,” where he talked about the educational power of stories. He emphasized how he likes to find emotionally compelling stories from art, and uses them in his teaching.

“A particular genre of story has helped me more than any other in my teaching are life stories, like that of Samuel Crumbine, a public health and food safety activist from Kansas,” Dr. Kastner said. “Crumbine pioneered several early-20th-century campaigns, including efforts to curb spitting on the sidewalk. Several of my students crafted life-storynarratives for a pocket park and statue in his honor in Topeka, Kansas.” [Editor’s note: See more about Dr. Kastner’s Pocket Park project in the November 2017 Lifelines]

Dr. Kastner shared another example – the life story of a veterinarian, Dr. William Williams, who was involved in a complicated animal-disease-related trade dispute.

“At the height of international trade tensions, and writing from his veterinary college in Edinburgh, Williams vehemently argued a minority position in the scientific discourse about the disease,” Dr. Kastner said. “The biographies of Williams — and other scientists — form part of my teaching strategy. It really helps!”

SPOTLIGHT is the result of ideas from Mike Wesch, Chad Jackson and Jana Fallin. President Richard Myers sponsors the evening with a reception and free educational book for everyone attending.

“If you are a teacher and need inspiration, I strongly suggest that you attend — and maybe even participate — in this event next year!” recommended Dr. Paige Adams, research assistant professor at K‑State Olathe. “Each speaker, including Dr. Kastner, had a unique way or philosophy for engaging their students with the goal of making a relevant connection to the world around them. I appreciated every speaker sharing their time and obvious enjoyment and love for teaching students!”

Dr. Adams described how each speaker was warmly introduced by a student who had learned from these individuals.

“This made it extra special and an even more meaningful event!” Dr. Adams said. “The reception that followed was a great way to celebrate the importance and accomplishments of these teachers.”

Last year, Dr. Bonnie Rush spoke at this event on the topic of “Promoting the Art of Knowing about Knowing.” Her presentation and those of previous speakers are posted online, along more information on the series at the SPOTLIGHT K-State website. The 2018 presentations should be added soon.

Dr. Kastner explains how marketing takes advantage of stories and characters to build interest in movies. He said stories can be valuable as a teaching tool.

Dr. Kastner (second from left) joins the other faculty members who gave presentations at SPOTLIGHT K-State: Kevin Sauer, College of Human Ecology; Kakali Bhattacharya, College of Education; Todd Easton, College of Engineering; Chris Culbertson, Department of Chemistry; Esther Swilley, College of Business Administration; and Stefan Bossmann, Department of Chemistry.