Students Engaged Globally

When Amber’s initial plans of traveling to Australia to conduct research on Thoroughbred racehorses had to be adjusted, she shifted focus to gaining hands-on clinical experience at Steinbeck Peninsula Equine Clinic in Monterey County and Loomis Basin Equine Medical Center in Penryn. She was also able to conduct research in Dr. Sue Stover’s lab at UC Davis, which remains ongoing. She gained valuable experience both in clinical and research settings that will help in her future career as an equine veterinarian.   

Samantha’s original plan to visit Madagascar shifted focus to building a website to educate students around the world on lemur history and biology, conservation issues and solutions, and human impacts on the environment. She also visited Clover Valley Ranch in the Northern Sierra Nevada to document landscape changes and evidence of healing throughout the meadow. Her experiences allowed her to explore the intersection of her creative and veterinary interests, investigate unfamiliar topics, and collaborate with experts specializing in various areas of study. 

Anett shifted her initial plan of investigating the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in Malawi chickens to working on two projects centered around antimicrobial resistance in dairy calves at the school’s Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center. The first project focused on quantifying antimicrobial drug usage from pre-weaned dairy calves; the other aimed to identify the antimicrobial resistance of Staphylococcus and Streptococcus species in bulk tank milk samples from various herds across California.  

Canna studied the relationship between children diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and their pet cats in Japan. She met politicians, pediatricians, caretakers, parents, board members of non-profit animal rescue organizations, and individuals with all sorts of backgrounds. Not only was she able to improve her communication skills, but many of the people she and colleagues met with were willing to share their own perspective of special education in Japan and animal therapy.

Sophie conducted her research to identify environmental or habitat risk factors for maternal exposure to Toxoplasma gondii in Brazil remotely. She coordinated with researchers in Rio de Janeiro to collect and map elevation, temperature, vegetation, and human population density data in the first part of the summer while also learning Portuguese in her free time. The opportunity allowed her to explore human and environmental epidemiology, advance her dissertation research, and build international research relationships.  

Jamie Sebastian traveled to Tanzania where she conducted research on the primary mosquito vector for Rift Valley fever that affects both humans and animals. Not only was Jamie able to perform fieldwork, she also had the opportunity to learn about mosquito larvae collection.

Alexandra Grillos traveled to England where she conducted research at the Royal Veterinary College’s Equine Pregnancy Laboratory. She studied the genetics of early pregnancy loss in thoroughbred mares.

Claire Stuhlmann spent her summer on Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, researching intestinal parasites and volunteering at the Te Are Manu Veterinary Clinic. She was able to complete her own research project investigating the prevalence and distribution of intestinal parasites in dogs on the island.

Saba Zewdie traveled to Tanzania to analyze the Rift Valley Fever Virus (RVFV) with a One Health approach. During the first half of the summer, Saba analyzed seroprevalence and risk factors, such as age or location, for RVFV exposure in livestock, humans and mosquitoes. During the second half, she participated in the Rx One Health course.

Tanner Talan traveled to Thailand to work with the faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Kasetsart University, studying elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus 1 (EEHV1) and performing treatments with the exotic animal veterinarians. Tanner’s research project aimed to analyze the genetic diversity of EEHV1 in six fatal cases from elephants in Thailand.

Cara Newberry traveled to Tanzania where she developed a research project with the Health for Animals and Livelihood Improvement (HALI) team to complement the Rx One Health course. Cara attended local government meetings and worked with the TVLA laboratory to isolate E. coli from samples where she was able to test it for susceptibility to seven commonly used antibiotics.

Stacey Kim traveled to Indonesia to conduct research in aquaculture. Her main objective was to test Trichodina, a type of protozoal parasite that has the potential to reduce the respiratory capacity of fish and lead to disease. Stacey focused her research on testing different treatment methods that would be cost effective and easy to implement.

Jill Huynh traveled to Otijiwarongo, Namibia as a veterinary intern at the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF). Jill helped veterinarian Dr. Robin Gieling administer rabies vaccines to the cats and dogs of the Eastern Communal Conservancies while camping in the African bush. Additionally, Jill spoke to local famers about wildlife conservation and the importance of their role in saving species from extinction.

Tracy Hayward traveled to Thailand to conduct research on the effects of quality of life on the human-animal bond in Thai elephant keepers and tiger caretakers. Tracy also participated in an Asian elephant blood cross match research for plasma transfusion.

Amanda Garrick traveled to Australia where she spent her summer in Sydney at the Avian, Reptile and Exotic Pet Hospital. Amanda learned about emergency wildlife care of birds and animals that are unique to Australia. and new species. While abroad, Amanda also had the opportunity to work remotely on a feline research project based in Sri Lanka.

Anna Duh traveled to Taiwan this summer to learn more about green sea turtles and their nesting sites on the islands off Taiwan’s coast. During the first half of the summer, Anna shadowed Professor I-Jiunn Cheng from the National Taiwan Ocean University in Keelung to learn about how his lab operates. During the second half, she researched Green Sea Turtle mothers and their nesting patterns at night.

Ashley Birakos traveled to Tanzania where she worked at Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro to improve poultry health. She worked with the team to collect cloacal and oropharyngeal swabs from sick chickens at the two live bird markets in Morogoro to detect Newcastle Disease Virus.