Current News & Events
Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases 2026
CORE members participated in the Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases (CRWAD) 2026 held January 17-20, 2026.
Dr. Natalia Cernicchiaro delivered a keynote presentation at the Association for Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine (AVEPM) 2026 Schwabe Symposium, titled “Evidence with a purpose: stakeholder-driven research and preparedness for Japanese encephalitis and other emerging threats.” The 2026 Calvin Schwabe award winner was Dr. Stuart Reid, Principal, CEO and Chief Accountable Officer of the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, England. Additional keynote speakers included Drs. H. Morgan Scott and Dan O’Neill.
CORE leadership and students were very active throughout the meeting. Dr. Mike Sanderson, Associate Director of CORE, and graduate students Taylor McAtee, Dr. MaRyka Smith, and Dr. Stephen Edache, as well as research associate Dr. David Kiiza, contributed oral presentations. Dr. Smith also presented at CRWAD’s Three Minute Thesis competition.
In recognition of her presentation, Taylor McAtee received 2nd place in the AVEPM graduate student award competition for her presentation, “Role of control and detection strategies for bovine respiratory disease on feedlot cattle performance and emissions.”
22nd NAPRRS/NC229 International Conference of Swine Viral Diseases
At the 22nd NAPRRS/NC229 International Conference of Swine Viral Diseases, held January 16-17, 2026, Dr. Natalia Cernicchiaro served as a session moderator and presenter, delivering an oral presentation. During the meeting, Dr. Stephen Edache, doctoral student at CORE, presented his poster, “First investigation of feeding patterns and habitat preferences of mosquito vectors on U.S. commercial swine farms”. His work was recognized with the David Benfield 1st place award for his poster, along with a competitive travel award.
Past News
2025 USAHA-AAVLD Annual meeting
Dr. Mike Sanderson, Dr. MaRyka Smith, and Torre Dunlea all presented at the 2025 United States Animal Health Association (USAHA) and American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) annual meeting in Aurora, Colorado.
CORE PhD students presents research
Congratulations to Dr. Vanessa Horton, PhD candidate in Dr. Natalia Cernicchiaro’s group and valued member of the CORE team, on the successful defense of her dissertation: “Evidence-based Approaches to Health Risk Mitigation and Value Creation in U.S. Livestock Production Systems.” This is a very well-deserved achievement. Congratulations, Vanessa!
Members of CORE present research at K-State’s “Posters, Pinot, and Partnerships” Event
Christy Hanthorn, Natalia Cernicchiaro, and Ashley Thackrah presented their poster, “Barrier or Breach? Assessing Swine Housing Features for Mosquito Threats,” at the Posters, Pinot, and Partnerships event held on October 9, 2025, at Hale Library. Conducted in collaboration with researchers from the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), the study explores how swine housing design affects mosquito abundance and disease risk—advancing efforts to strengthen biosecurity in livestock production systems.
Sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research and K-State Libraries, the Posters, Pinot, and Partnerships series fosters collaboration and knowledge exchange among K-State scholars. The October session highlighted research in Enabling Technologies and Global Food Security and Biosecurity.
Research Update: Dr. David Renter
Dr. David Renter presented “Making Treatment Choices for Reducing BRD and Death Loss” at the 2025 K-State Beef Stocker Field Day on September 25th. High Plains Journal highlighted this presentation and the complexities of treating bovine respiratory disease in the article “K-State research underscores complexity of treating bovine respiratory disease.”
2025 American Association of Bovine Practitioners Annual Conference
The American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) Annual Conference took place September 11-13, 2025, in Omaha, Nebraska. CORE members Dr. Mike Sanderson, Dr. Vanessa Horton, and Torre Dunlea presented oral presentations, and Brittany Hirsch, KSU DVM student, presented a poster.
Torre Dunlea was awarded 3rd place in the Graduate Student Competition for her presentation entitled “A quantitative model of the risk of FMD transmission following cattle movements during an outbreak.”
Dr. Vanessa Horton presented “Understanding metaphylaxis practices for cattle at uncertain risk for bovine respiratory disease across U.S. feedlots: a survey of veterinary consultants and feedlot managers.”
Dr. Mike Sanderson presented on Dr. MaRyka Smith’s work, “Model-based impacts of improved traceability of cattle in Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks in the United States.” 
Brittany Hirsch presented a poster titled “On-farm guidance for preventing cattle death loss due to nitrate poisoning from contaminated water sources.” 
2025 Academy of Veterinary Consultants Summer Conference
CORE members, Drs. Vanessa Horton, Christy Hanthorn, and Natalia Cernicchiaro attended the 2025 Academy of Veterinary Consultants (AVC) Summer Conference from August 7-9, 2025 in Norman, Oklahoma. Dr. Horton, PhD candidate, presented findings from our nationwide survey on metaphylaxis practices for cattle at uncertain risk of bovine respiratory disease, offering valuable insights to support evidence-based decisions in U.S. feedlots. This invitation reflects CORE’s continued engagement with industry stakeholders and commitment to providing research that supports evidence-based management decisions in cattle production systems.
2025 BRSP Student
KSU DVM student Brittany Hirsch participated in the Veterinary Research Scholars Program (VRSP) this summer and presented her research poster, “On-farm guidance for preventing cattle death loss due to nitrate poisoning from contaminated water sources” at the 2025 KSU VRSP poster session. Brittany was mentored by Drs. Scott Fritz, Christy Hanthorn, and Mike Sanderson.
Undergraduate Research Symposium
Developing Scholar Alyssa Boudreau presented her research poster, “Unmasking the Bite: Tracing Host DNA from Mosquito Blood Meals in Swine Operations,” at the Undergraduate Research Symposium on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in the K-State Student Union Ballroom, at Kansas State University. Alyssa was mentored by Drs. Stephen Edache and Natalia Cernicchiaro from the Center for Outcomes Research and Epidemiology (CORE) in the College of Veterinary Medicine.
2025 Plains Nutrition Council Spring Conference
CORE members attended the 2025 Plains Nutrition Council Spring Conference last week in San Antonio, Texas. Dr. Lucas Horton, research associate with CORE, presented “Extending days on feed of feedlot steers – economic considerations” at the Pre-Conference Symposium sponsored by Merck Animal Health.
Symposium on Foot and Mouth Disease
The Center for Outcomes Research and Epidemiology (CORE) partnered in the Symposium on Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), organized by the USDA National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) and the Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases (CEID) at the University of Georgia. The symposium was held in Manhattan, Kansas, from March 10–13, 2025, and several CORE members participated in the event.
Dr. Natalia Cernicchiaro presented “Overview of Kansas State CORE’s Research and Impact,” highlighting the center’s contributions to epidemiological research and transboundary animal disease preparedness.
Dr. Mike Sanderson discussed “Modeling Risks, Impacts, and Interventions in an FMD Outbreak in the U.S.,” emphasizing the application of disease modeling to inform outbreak response.
CORE researchers, including Dr. Karla Moreno-Torres (left) and PhD students Dr. MaRyka Smith (center) and Torre Dunlea (right), presented findings from their FMD projects that advanced risk assessment and mitigation strategies.
Phi Zeta Research Day 2025
Phi Zeta Research Day took place on March 11, 2025, at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University. Dr. Stephen Edache, PhD student, and Lauryn Mauler, 2024 VRSP student, both mentored by Dr. Natalia Cernicchiaro, presented posters on their work investigating the abundance and species diversity of competent mosquito disease vectors in and around swine facilities.
Taylor McAtee received the A.S.R. Ganta Graduate Award, and Dr. Christy Hanthorn was inducted as a new faculty member of the Phi Zeta Sigma Chapter.
Cattle Con 2025
CORE members attended the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) CattleCon 2025 last week in San Antonio. Torre Dunlea presented “Infection risk associated with cattle movements during an FMD outbreak" to the Cattle Health and Welfare Committee.
Dr. Mike Sanderson and Torre did interviews with NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen and RFD TV.
Conference of Research Workers in Animal Disease 2025
CORE members participated in the Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases (CRWAD) 2025 held in Chicago, Illinois. Taylor McAtee, Torre Dunlea, Dr. MaRyka Smith, and Dr. Lucas Horton presented oral presentations, and Dr. Stephen Edache presented a poster.
Dr. Lucas Horton was selected as the 2025 recipient of the Mark Gearhart Memorial Graduate Student Award presented by the Association for Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine (AVEPM). This prestigious annual award recognizes a graduate student completing advanced academic or professional training in veterinary epidemiology, public health, or preventive medicine. He presented “Stochastic Modelling of Economic Risk and Net Return Distributions for Feedlot Steers Marketed at Alternative Endpoints” at CRWAD 2025.
Taylor McAtee was awarded 2nd place in The Association of Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine (AVEPM) graduate student award competition for her presentation entitled “Associations between estimated greenhouse gas emissions in feedlot cattle cohorts and their health and performance.”
Dr. MaRyka Smith was awarded 4th place in the AVEPM graduate student award competition for her presentation entitled “A scoping review of Foot-and-Mouth Disease biosecurity practices and farm-level risk factors.”
Torre Dunlea presented “A quantitative model of the risk of FMD transmission following cattle movements during an outbreak.”
Dr. Stephen Edache presented a poster titled “Do swine farms have a mosquito problem? Assessing mosquito abundance and diversity in US commercial swine farms.”
Lucas Horton presented his PhD defense titled "Evaluations of Extended Finishing in Feedlot Cattle and Frameworks for Economic Assessments of Controlled Trials" on November 1, 2024, and he successfully defended his dissertation. Congratulations, Lucas!
Seminars – Dr. Randall Singer
The Center for Outcomes Research and Epidemiology (CORE), along with the Departments of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology and Anatomy and Physiology at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, hosted Dr. Randall Singer, Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Minnesota's College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Singer delivered two insightful presentations: 'Antimicrobial Use in Poultry Production and Its Relationship to Antimicrobial Resistance' on October 15, 2024, and 'Controlling Salmonella in Poultry Production: Challenges and Misperceptions' on October 17, 2024.
2024 USAHA and AAVLD Annual Meeting
Torre Dunlea (left) and MaRyka Smith (right), PhD students advised by Dr. Michael Sanderson, both presented at the 2024 United States Animal Health Association (USAHA) and American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee.
Torre’s presentation was “A quantitative model of the risk of FMD transmission following cattle movements during an outbreak.”
MaRyka presented “Modeled impacts of improved cattle traceability and size of control areas and surveillance zones on business continuity and Foot-and-Mouth Disease outbreak size.”
MaRyka was awarded 2nd place for her scientific session oral presentation.
2024 VRSP Student
Lauryn Mauler and Dr. Natalia Cernicchiaro at the K-State VRSP poster session
Lauryn Mauler presenting her poster at the 2024 National Veterinary Scholars Symposium
This summer, CORE hosted one veterinary student participating in the Veterinary Research Scholars Program (VRSP). This 3-month research program allows students to work with a faculty mentor on a summer research project. Lauryn Mauler, worked with Dr. Natalia Cernicchiaro, Associate Director of Research for CORE, on the project, “Do swine farms have a mosquito problem? Assessing mosquito vectors in U.S. commercial swine operations”. During the program, she had the opportunity to learn mosquito collection techniques, and she traveled and collected mosquitoes at different pig farms in Iowa. Lauryn presented her work at the 2024 National Veterinary Scholars Symposium (August 8-11, 2024) in St. Paul, Minnesota.
2024 Bovine Respiratory Disease Symposium and Academy of Veterinary Consultants Summer Meeting
CORE faculty and students attended the Bovine Respiratory Disease Symposium (BRDS) August 7-8, and the Academy of Veterinary Consultants (AVC) Summer meeting, August 8-10 in Denver, Colorado. Taylor McAtee, PhD candidate advised by Dr. David Renter, presented “Treating BRD: Comparing three BRD treatment options in feedlot calves that received tulathromycin metaphylaxis on-arrival" hosted by Merck Animal Health. Dr. David Renter gave a talk on BRD in the context of the sustainability domains and participated in a panel discussion. Dr. Vanessa Horton, PhD candidate advised by Dr. Natalia Cernicchiaro, presented her poster titled “Understanding bovine respiratory disease (BRD) metaphylaxis practice across U.S. feedlots: a survey of veterinary consultants’ perspectives.” Vanessa won a poster award in the EPSCOR states poster competition.
Taylor McAtee presented “Treating BRD: Comparing three BRD treatment options in feedlot calves that received tulathromycin metaphylaxis on-arrival"
In the picture with Vanessa from left to right - Drs. Natalia Cernicchiaro, Vanessa Horton, and Christy Hanthorn
Both Taylor and Vanessa gave oral presentations at the AVC meeting. Taylor presented "Quantifying associations between cattle health and performance metrics with estimated greenhouse gas emissions in U.S. feedlots." Vanessa presented "Fostering antimicrobial stewardship: a survey of veterinary perspectives on bovine respiratory disease risk and metaphylaxis use in U.S. feedlots.”
Vanessa and Taylor at the AVC
Taylor presenting at AVC
Vanessa presenting at AVC
2024 Plains Nutrition Council Spring Conference
Taylor McAtee, PhD student with Dr. Renter, attended the 2024 Plains Nutrition Council Spring Conference in San Antonio, Texas, April 10-12, 2024. She presented her poster titled "Growth performance, carcass characteristics, health, and mobility scores of finishing steers fed Experior (Lubabegron) or Optaflexx (Ractopamine Hydrochloride), and she won an award in the highly competitive poster competition.
Beef Industry Safety Summit 2024
Dr. Stephen Edache, doctoral student under Dr. Natalia Cernicchiaro’s supervision, was the recipient of a 2024 Beef Industry Food Safety Council (BIFSCo) travel scholarship and presented his MS thesis work entitled “Evaluation of a postbiotic on Salmonella enterica prevalence, serotype diversity, and antimicrobial resistance in subiliac lymph nodes of cull dairy” in Denver, Colorado.
Dr. Brandon Depenbusch, Vice-President of cattle feeding at Irsik & Doll Feed Services, Inc., and a member of CORE’s Advisory Council, represented the cattle feeding industry as a panelist, addressing the topic “Challenges Across the Beef Supply Chain” at the BIFSCo meeting 2024.
Phi Zeta Research Day 2024
Phi Zeta Research Day 2024 took place on March 5, 2024, and CORE students participated in the event. Stephen Edache, Vanessa Horton, and Taylor McAtee, PhD students for CORE, presented oral presentations. Stephen’s presentation was titled “Assessing the impact of a postbiotic on Salmonella enterica prevalence, serotype diversity, and antimicrobial resistance in subiliac lymph nodes of cull dairy cattle.” Vanessa’s presentation was titled, “Japanese encephalitis virus transmission in swine populations: A rapid systematic review of the literature.”
Taylor’s presentation was titled “Quantifying associations between cattle health and performance metrics with estimated greenhouse gas emissions in U.S. feedlots.” Deanna Gennett, third-year veterinary student, gave a poster presentation titled “Evaluating estimated carbon emissions and feedlot production data to address beef sustainability.”
Taylor McAtee was awarded 1st place for the Applied/Clinical Science Oral Presentations (Large Animal) category. MaRyka Smith, fourth year veterinary student, was selected as a Student Initiate of Phi Zeta, as she is in the top 25% of her class. Deanna Gennett, third year veterinary student, was selected as a Student Initiate of Phi Zeta, as she is in the top 10% of her class. Vanessa Horton, graduate veterinarian and PhD student, was inducted into Phi Zeta, as she has displayed ability of a high order in veterinary medicine. 
Cattleman's Day 2024
Taylor McAtee, PhD student for CORE, presented on Friday, March 1, 2024, at the 111th Cattlemen's Day. Her poster was titled "Growth performance, carcass characteristics, health, and mobility scores of finishing steers fed Experior (Lubabegron) or Optaflexx (Ractopamine Hydrochloride)."
Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases 2024
CORE members participated in the Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases (CRWAD) 2024 held in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. David Renter, Dr. Mike Sanderson, Lucas Horton, Taylor McAtee, Dr. Vanessa Horton, Dr. Stephen Edache, and Dr. Deana Hardee presented oral presentations, and Dr. David Edache and Deanna Gennett both gave poster presentations.
Taylor and Lucas also presented at CRWAD’s first ever Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.
This year CORE was a sponsor of CRWAD.
Dr. David Renter was a keynote speaker for The Association for Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine (AVEPM) Schwabe Symposium where he presented “Aligning valid research outcomes with stakeholder values.” The honoree this year was Jan Sargeant, DVM MSc PhD FCAHS, Professor Emerita, University of Guelph. Additional keynote speakers included Drs. Annette O’Connor and Audrey Ruple.
Dr. Natalia Cernicchiaro was elected to the CRWAD Council, the governing body of the Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases.
Both Taylor McAtee and Lucas Horton earned awards for their oral presentations. Taylor McAtee, PhD candidate at CORE, was awarded 2nd place in the AVEPM graduate student award competition for her presentation entitled “Comprehensive outcomes from a feedlot trial comparing ractopamine hydrochloride and lubabegron feed additives.” Lucas Horton, PhD candidate at CORE, was awarded 4th place in the AVEPM graduate student award competition for his presentation entitled “Economic considerations for extended feedlot heifer days-on-feed – sensitivity analyses from pooled clinical trials.”
Grant awarded to Dr. Cernicchiaro and Dr. Renter
The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) awarded Dr. Cernicchiaro and Dr. Renter a grant through the International Consortium for Antimicrobial Stewardship in Agriculture (ICASA) to better understand the data that are used to make decisions regarding metaphylaxis use for Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD), particularly in cattle where the metaphylaxis decision is most challenging.
CORE graduate student defends MS thesis
Dr. Stephen Edache presented his MS thesis defense titled "Assessing Salmonella enterica burden and control measures in dairy cattle" on November 1, 2023. Dr. Edache successfully defended his thesis, and he plans to stay at Kansas State University to continue a PhD program working with Dr. Natalia Cernicchiaro. Congratulations Stephen!
Renewal of the Dr. Robert MacDonald Professorship for Dr. David Renter
Dr. David Renter was awarded a 5-year renewal for the Dr. Robert MacDonald Professorship. This appointment is given to a faculty member based on professionalism, character and achievements in the field of safe food production for livestock to honor Dr. MacDonald.
Research Update: Dr. Natalia Cernicchario
Dr. Natalia Cernicchiaro was featured in the article “SHIC: Review reveals Japanese encephalitis virus knowledge gaps” by National Hog Farmer.
2023 VRSP Students
This summer, CORE had the opportunity to host two veterinary students participating in the Veterinary Research Scholars Program, a summer research program that gives veterinary students the opportunity to work with a faculty mentor on a summer research project. Abdulafees Hamzat, Class of 2024, worked on the project, “Assessing the risk of introduction, transmission, and establishment of the Japanese Encephalitis Virus in the United States” under the mentorship of Dr. Natalia Cernicchiaro. Deanna Gennett, Class of 2025, worked on the project, “Incorporating sustainability metrics in beef industry research” under the mentorship of Dr. David Renter. Deanna received a Veterinary Student Research Fellowship from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges for her project. Both Abdulafees and Deanna presented in San Juan, Puerto Rico at the 2023 National Veterinary Scholars Symposium.
Cattlemen's Day 2023
Three CORE graduate students, Vanessa de Aguiar Veloso, Stephen Edache, and Taylor McAtee, presented posters at the 110th Cattlemen’s Day. Vanessa presented her poster titled “Effects of combining value-added programs on premiums for calves sold through the Superior Livestock Auction.” Stephen presented his poster titled “Evaluating the effectiveness of a postbiotic product to reduce Salmonella prevalence in the subiliac lymph nodes of cull dairy cattle.” Taylor presented her poster titled “Comprehensive assessment of feedlot health interventions using outcomes research in a sustainability context.”
Phi Zeta Research Day 2023
Phi Zeta Research Day 2023 was March 7, 2023, and three CORE graduate students participated in the event. Lucas Horton gave an oral presentation titled “Pooled Analyses of Three Randomized Controlled Trials Comparing Effects of Two Hormonal Implant Programs and Differing Days-On-Feed on Carcass Characteristics and Feedlot Performance of Beef Heifers.” Taylor McAtee presented her poster, “Sustainability and Outcomes Research Approaches to Comprehensively Assess Interventions in Feedlots.” Stephen Edache presented his poster, “Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Postbiotic Product in Reducing Salmonella Prevalence in the Subiliac Lymph Nodes of Culled Dairy Cattle.” Stephen received the Dr. Harish C. and Ved K. Minocha Scholarship at the event.
CORE members participate at CRWAD; Dr. David Renter selected as Fellow
CORE members participated in the Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases (CRWAD) 2023 held in Chicago, Illinois, with scientists and graduate students providing scientific presentations including Dr. Karla Moreno, Dr. Stephen Edache, Lucas Horton, and Taylor McAtee.
Taylor McAtee gives a presentation in Chicago
Lucas Horton, PhD candidate at CORE was awarded first place in The Association of Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine (AVEPM) graduate student award competition for his presentation entitled “Outcomes affected by metaphylaxis from a clinical trial of feedlot calves at medium-risk for respiratory disease.
Congratulations to Lucas Horton on earning a first-place award
Dr. David Renter was elected as a CRWAD Fellow. He was one of nine international scientists recognized as a Fellow at the 2023 Annual Conference. Fellows of the Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases represent an eminent cadre of scientists from all types of research careers, including academia, industry, and government. Election as a CRWAD Fellow is a lifetime honor and all Fellows meet the highest standards of professional ethics and scientific integrity. Scientists recognized as CRWAD Fellows have distinguished research careers evidenced by the outstanding impact and importance of their work, and their ability to communicate and interpret science to stakeholders and the public. Fellows have made significant contributions to scientific literature reflecting fundamental discoveries and/or innovative applied research in animal health and disease, population health, and translational medicine. Reflecting the tradition and spirit of CRWAD, mentoring of young research scientists in furthering their careers is an important contribution of CRWAD Fellows. CRWAD Fellows are scientists who have made sustained and notable contributions to CRWAD through service or participation in the CRWAD organization and annual meetings.
Dr. David Renter is elected as a CRWAD Fellow for 2023
This year, CORE helped sponsor the AVEPM Calvin Schwabe symposium entitled “Veterinary epidemiology and animal health economics: the way we were”. The honoree this year was Dr. Tim Carpenter, PhD MS, University of California, Davis. Additional keynote speakers included Drs. Karl Rich, Michael Ward, and Mark Stevenson.