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College of Veterinary Medicine

Annual Research Forum and Litwack Lecture

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2025

The Annual CVM Research Forum sponsored by the Research Office is scheduled for Wednesday, December 3 at the CVM. The forum will be followed by an awards ceremony.

The forum includes the Litwack Lecture, given annually in honor of the late Dr. Martin Litwack, a Raleigh veterinarian and an early advocate of the College of Veterinary Medicine. This year’s lecture will be presented by Dr. Jonna Mazet.

The Research Forum will include three levels of participation:

  • A poster session, open to DVM students, graduate students, undergraduate students, house officers, and staff.
  • Oral presentations by DVM students, graduate students/house officers, and staff.
  • Fourth Annual Research Image Competition – Do you have a scientific image that is beautiful enough to share? Enter your science images in the Research Image Competition at the CVM Litwack Research Day! Images will be enlarged and displayed on Research Day, and winners will be selected by popular vote (fan favorites). The rules are simple:
    – All types of images are welcome – microscopy, protein structure predictions, western blots, clinical photos – anything that you think is visually appealing and is/was part of a research study
    – Everyone is eligible to submit – students, house officers, post docs, staff, faculty
    – The only restriction is that the image must be yours and associated with a past or present research study

CVM faculty will judge poster & oral presentation sessions. Prizes for oral and poster categories will be awarded as follows:

  • The top 2 posters, oral presentations will receive a Top Honor award – $150 each.
  • The next 2 posters and oral presentations will receive an Honorable Mention award – $75 each.

Oral presentations will be limited to 10 minutes (eight minutes for presentation and two minutes for questions). Presentations will be strictly timed to ensure that all are completed in a reasonable time frame. Poster presentations will be on display all day at the Research Forum. Poster presentations must be set up by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 2nd. All CVM faculty are asked to attend.

The abstract deadline is 5:00 pm, Friday November 7. Each participant has the option of requesting either an oral or poster presentation.

Abstracts must be submitted by email to [email protected] and should indicate the preference for oral, poster, or either oral or poster presentation. Instructions on how to submit and what to include: Litwack Research Forum Abstract Constraints 2025.

Jonna Mazet, DVM, MPVM, PhD

Dr. Jonna Mazet is the Vice Provost – Grand Challenges at the University of California, Davis. She is Chancellor’s Leadership Professor of Epidemiology and Disease Ecology and founded the One Health Institute in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, where she focused on global health problem solving, especially for emerging infectious disease and conservation challenges. Dr. Mazet is active in international One Health education, service, and research programs, most notably in relation to disease transmission among wildlife, domestic animals, and people and the ecological drivers of novel disease dynamics. Over the past decade, she was the Global Director of a greater than $200 million viral emergence early warning project, named PREDICT, that was developed with the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Emerging Pandemic Threats Program. She was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2013 in recognition of her successful and innovative approach to emerging environmental and global health threats and serves on the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s Forum on Microbial Threats and the Academies’ One Health Action Collaborative. She was appointed to the National Academies Standing Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases and 21st Century Health Threats, which was created to assist the federal government with critical science and policy issues related to the COVID-19 crisis and other emerging health threats. 

Director of the One Health Institute stands for a portrait on September 14, 2018. This year’s annual external research funding has set a new record, at $847 million. The PREDICT program was the #1 award, coming in at $17.1 million.

Previous Litwack Lecture Distinguished Speakers

2025 Poster Presentations with abstracts

2025 Oral Presentation Schedule with abstracts

Schedule of Events

TimeEventLocation
8:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.Coffee & PastriesCVM Lobby
8:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.Oral PresentationsNorth Theater
8:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.Oral PresentationsSouth Theater
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.CVM Research Image CompetitionCVM Lobby
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.House Officer/Graduate Student/Undergrad/Post Doc/Staff Posters JudgedCVM Main Building 1st and 2nd Floors
11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.DVM Student Posters JudgedCVM Main Building 1st and 2nd Floors
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.Oral PresentationsNorth Theater
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.Oral PresentationsSouth Theater
3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.Litwack Lecture – Dr. Jonna MazetSouth Theater
4:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.Awards CeremonySouth Theater
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.Social (Hors d’oeuvres & Beverages)Wolves Den

History of the Litwack Lecture 

A Legacy of Leadership in Veterinary Medicine

The Litwack Lectures are supported by the Martin Litwack Fund, an endowment created by family and friends as a living memorial to Dr. Litwack, who was an acknowledged leader in establishing the College of Veterinary Medicine at NC State University. Dr. Litwack was a charter member of the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Foundation and was active in many professional organizations including the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association, the American Animal Hospital Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association. He served as president of the Triangle, Eastern North Carolina and North Carolina Veterinary Medical Associations. Dr. Litwack was also very active in community affairs and received many awards in recognition of his service and leadership, including the North Carolina Association of the Professions Special Recognition Award. Dr. Litwack is perhaps best remembered for his love of his family and profession, his deep commitment to education and to North Carolina State University, and his strong sense of obligation to the North Carolina livestock industry and to the general public.

Martin Litwack