Research touches every corner of the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, and making it easier for students and trainees to participate in life-changing projects with world-class faculty mentors is a major part of the mission.

This week, the college put the contributions of more than 130 students and house officers from the past year on display as part of its annual Research Forum. The daylong event included 87 posters and 46 10-minute oral presentations from which faculty members chose winners. The event also included a research image competition, voted on by the CVM community.

The winners and honorable mentions were recognized after the annual Litwack Lecture, given in honor of the late Dr. Martin Litwack, a Raleigh veterinarian and an early advocate of the CVM. 

The lecturer for 2025 was Dr. Jonna Mazet, vice provost of grand challenges at the University of California, Davis, who founded the One Health Institute at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. She focuses on global health problem-solving, especially for emerging infectious disease and conservation challenges.

Here is a list of the 2025 Research Forum winners and honorable mentions:

Oral Presentation Winners 

TOP HONORS

• Emma Atwood: DETERMINATION OF THE FIRST HIGH-RESOLUTION STRUCTURE OF HIV-1 ENVELOPE IN COMPLEX WITH MACAQUE CD4
• Kimberly Hallowell: PREVALENCE OF INSULIN DYSREGULATION IN SPORT HORSES AS DETERMINED BY STALL-SIDE AND TRADITIONAL TESTING

HONORABLE MENTIONS

• Lydia Poisson: LUMINAL PRESERVATION MODULATES INTESTINAL INJURY IN A BRAIN-DEAD PORCINE MODEL
• Aslin Almeda-Castro: ESTABLISHMENT OF IMMUNE BIOBANK FOR VACCINE IMMUNOGENICITY PREDICTION AGAINST PRRSV

Poster Presentation Winners

TOP HONORS

• Morgan Ferrans: EXPLORING AN ADAPTED PAIN CATASTROPHIZING PARADIGM FOR USE IN THE NATURALLY OCCURRING CANINE MODEL OF OSTEOARTHRITIS. 
• Carrisa Gaghan: IN VITRO CHARACTERIZATION OF TURKEY LACTOBACILLUS STRAINS POSSESSING IMMUNOMODULATORY AND ANTI-CLOSTRIDUM SEPTICUM PROPERTIES 
• Curtis Greene: PRELIMINARY QUANTIFICATION OF FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH IN NON-FRAIL DOGS

HONORABLE MENTION

• Tyneisha Bradley: GENETIC ANALYSES OF CYTOCHROME P450 AND IMMUNE-RELATED GENES TO UNDERSTAND VARIABILITY IN METABOLIC FUNCTION AND ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE IN AFRICAN AMERICANS 

Image Competition Winner

TOP HONOR

• Josh Carrillo: The Research Rainbow

HONORABLE MENTION

• Danielle Mzyk: Advancing Science One Bleat at a Time

See a complete list of poster presentation abstracts 

See a complete list of oral presentation abstracts