Veterinary college's 2025 research symposium highlights science that serves

As a photo of black cattle grazing against a prison fence appeared on screen, Vitor Mercadante implored the audience: “Raise your hand if you’ve been to prison.”

Laughter turned to curiosity as the associate professor of production management medicine explained how Hokie veterinarians and inmates now help run Virginia's largest teaching and research herd — generating  millions to the state and giving students unmatched field training.

Stories like Mercadante's, along with 70 other projects impacting public health, animal welfare, and rural economies, demonstrate that when funding is uncertain, mission-driven science matters even more.

This intersection of veterinary medicine and social impact set the tone for the 34th Annual Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences Research Symposium at The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center. 

Researchers, clinicians, and student scientists gathered to showcase discoveries that go beyond the laboratory — science that directly serves communities, animals, and the people who care for them.

Dan Givens, dean of the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, framed the day's mission in his opening remarks. "The general public truly wants information that is impactful, that is sound, that is applicable," he said. "We must be questioning. We must push things forward so that we can maintain the value and validity of the research." 

His words set the backdrop for a symposium where science doesn't just exist — it serves. 

Serving communities

Sophie Wenzel, assistant professor of practice in the Department of Population Health Sciences, displayed powerful quotes from incarcerated women: "I had no job, nowhere to go" and “When they lock people up, they don’t realize — I mean, the outside world screws with your head, but they don’t realize what this does. They don’t ever need to think this is some type of rehabilitation, it isn't"

"These are not just inmates," Wenzel said. "They are women who have had a lot of really bad stuff happen to them."

Her community-driven research began when women at the New River Valley Regional Jail spontaneously started sharing their stories with health educators, revealing patterns connecting trauma, substance use disorder, and incarceration.

"All of them had this incredible sense of hope," Wenzel said. "This longing for their children — I'm a mom and love my kids. These women had that same longing."

Rather than publishing solely in academic journals, Wenzel's team created an accessible booklet for local reentry councils and other service providers.

Later, Alasdair Cohen, assistant professor of environmental epidemiology, showed how wastewater monitoring uncovers hidden health threats. His maps lit up with hepatitis A clusters detected upstream from treatment plants — infections traditional surveillance may have missed.

"The potential benefits in rural areas are huge," Cohen said. "Local health districts can't address what they don't know exists. "

Serving discovery

Kirsten Nielsen, professor of microbiology and immunology, presented fungal threats with a stark reality: "The World Health Organization has recognized Cryptococcus as the most critical fungal pathogen. We only have five drugs to treat fungal infections, and most don't work against this organism."

Her lab's innovative approach is to repurpose existing livestock medicines using nanoparticle technology to overcome current treatment limitations.

"We're optimizing treatments and exploring other applications for this nanoparticle technology," Nielsen said. "This opens possibilities for multiple fungal pathogens with limited treatment options."

Kaylee Petraccione, a Ph.D. student in the biomedical and veterinary sciences program, described autophagy as "our cellular trash process" being hijacked by viruses like COVID-19 and Rift Valley fever.

"Viruses get inside our bodies and say, 'Stop — you're not going to break me down,'" she said. "They block those cellular trash bags from closing, allowing viruses to keep replicating."

Petraccione said her “absolute dream is going to the places where these viruses actually affect people and working with human samples — to see if what we observe in cells translates to humans."

Serving animal care

Janice O'Brien, also a Ph.D. student in biomedical and veterinary sciences, presented this statistic: Only 6 percent of homemade dog food diets provide complete nutrition.

"These people are intending to do the right thing," O'Brien said. "They're putting in extra effort to feed their pets the best they can. But the recipes available simply aren't correct."

Her guidance was clear: "If you are going to create a home prepared diet, use a recipe from a veterinary nutritionist and add the right vitamins. If your dog has a health condition, get an individual consultation."

Richard Shinn, assistant professor of neurology, demonstrated an algorithm that could transform treatment decisions for paralyzed dogs. Current surgery offers only a 50/50 prognosis, but Shinn's MRI-based tool aims to increase certainty to 95 percent.

"As dogs live longer, they experience more neurologic disease," Shinn said, "including cognitive dysfunction analogous to Alzheimer's in humans."

Later, Mercadante detailed the Veterinary Teaching Hospital's prison farm partnership that generates $3 million annually while providing hands-on training opportunities and vocational skills for inmates.

"It's more than a research resource," Mercadante said. "It's teaching, outreach, and economic development — all at once."

From laboratory to lives

The afternoon poster session showcased more than 70 presentations spanning multiple disciplines. Christina Vezza, chief neurology resident and biomedical and veterinary sciences graduate student, shared her research on histotripsy — a focused ultrasound technique — for canine brain tumors.

"We apply histotripsy to the brain tumor and then measure the immune response," Vezza said. "Our pilot study showed that the application of histotripsy to ablate canine meningiomas was clinically feasible and well tolerated."

The engineers are developing a more user-friendly, handheld probe for the next phase. "If successful, we hope to eventually translate this to human brain tumors," Vezza said.

Gabriela Sousa, a theriogenology resident, investigated molecular changes during canine birth, finding that "parturition is an inflammatory process that triggers pro-inflammatory cytokines," potentially opening new avenues for managing difficult deliveries.

"I get an insight from every question about my poster," Sousa said. "People ask great questions that give me new ideas for my research direction."

Building tomorrow's experts

As awards were presented to top presentations, the day demonstrated a fundamental truth about the veterinary college's approach: discoveries here rarely stay in one lane. They move between laboratory findings and real-world applications, creating knowledge that directly serves animals, people, and the communities they share.

"Research without boundaries is not just a slogan, it's a statement of values," said Audrey Ruple, director of the biomedical and veterinary sciences graduate program. "Today we've seen how science can serve public health, drive laboratory discovery, and improve animal care."

The discoveries showcased didn't end with publication. The following day, faculty and students would gather again, this time with Ph.D. candidates connecting with alumni now shaping biotech, academia, and clinical practice at the first-ever BMVS Professional Development Day.

"From bench to bedside to barn — and back again," Ruple said. "That's the journey of discovery at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine."

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