This year, 48 students participated in the Undergraduate Student Research Poster Days on Sept. 13 and 14, displaying a total of 38 posters.
Students prepare research posters based on their work conducted during the summer break. Students who participated in the Global Vets and Veterinarians Without Borders-Vétérinaires sans frontières programs also presented posters this year.
In addition to a team of judges made up of faculty members and graduate students, the undergraduate students also had a chance to practise their judging skills on the second day of the poster competition.
This year, judges awarded the top three posters in three categories. First place winners received $125 bursaries, second place winners received $100 and third place received $75.
Biomedical Sciences Category
First prize: Sean Lipsit (supervisor: Dr. Adelaine Leung). Poster title: “Complex formation through co-expression of psychiatric risk protein, DISC1, and its binding partner, GSK3b.”
Second prize: Alix Nelson (supervisor: Dr. Jaswant Singh). Poster title: “Ovulatory and luteal response in three-month old calves after kisspeptin-10 and GnRH treatment.”
Third prize: Esther Derksen (supervisor: Dr. Elemir Simko). Poster title: “In hive LD50 of thiamethoxam toxicity on developing honey bees (Apis mellifera).”
Clinical Sciences Category
First prize: Alexandra Focken (supervisor: Dr. Kevin Cosford). Poster title: “The effect of dexmedetomidine on glucoregulatory hormones in healthy cats.”
Second prize: Nicole Sereda (supervisor: Dr. Julia Montgomery). Poster title: “A comparison of the stability of blood D-lactate in sodium fluoride and serum blood tubes.”
Third prize (tie): Antonietta Moritz (supervisor Dr. Karen Machin). Poster title: “The effect of limited food access on lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) feather and serum corticosterone.”
Nicola Shaefer (supervisor: Dr. Yolande Seddon). Poster title: “Promoting play behaviour in piglets in a standard production environment.”
Microbiology Category
First prize: Sarah Vancuren (supervisor Dr. Janet Hill). Poster title: “A comparative genomic approach to explaining the enigmatic role of Gardnerella vaginalis in the vaginal microbiome.”
Second prize: Sasha Ross (supervisor Dr. Emily Jenkins). Poster title: “Wolverines as sentinels for parasites in the Arctic.”
Third prize: Jane Westendorf (supervisor Dr. Bruce Wobeser). Poster title: “Prevalence of papillomavirus in a unique feral horse herd.”