Prior STAR Student Project Titles
As a requirement of the STAR program, students must submit a one page summary and present a poster of their research findings at the end of summer STARS in Science Poster Presentation. Below are the titles of recent summer STAR projects. Click on a project title to view posters presented in prior years.
For more information, please contact us at svmstarprogram@ucdavis.edu.
2025 STAR Student Projects:
| Student Name | Class | Mentor/s | Project Title |
| Caitlyn Anderson | 2027 | Christina Sigurdson | Investigating neuronal disheveled-2(Dvl2) in a mouse model of prion-induced neurodegeneration |
| Olivia Bodner | 2028 | Jessica Morgan | Evaluation of the feasibility of a cardiorespiratory screening protocol in the Thoroughbred racehorse |
| Andrea Burgos | 2028 | Fauna Smith | Discordance of diagnostic test for Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in subclinical sheep |
| Dylan Caro | 2027 | Kent Leach | Influence of vehicle degradation rate on mesenchymal stem cell osteogenic differentiation |
| Isabella Cervero | 2028 | Heather Knych | Assessment of the Gastrointestinal Safety of Oral Morphine in Horses |
| Joyce Chen | 2028 | Terza Brostoff | Development of an ELISA to test for paroxysmal gluten-sensitive dyskinesia in dogs |
| Emiliana Eugene Chi | 2028 | Clare Yellowley | Ezrin Expression and Function in Osteocytes |
| Yeji Cho | 2028 | Robert Canter | Interleukin 15 stimulation augments myeloid-derived suppressor cell immunosuppression in cross-species models of sarcoma |
| Tony Chung | 2027 | Adrien Doupanloup | Diffusion-Weighted Imaging in Canine Epilepsy |
| Dana Dalrymple | 2027 | Karen Shapiro | Environmental detection of Toxoplasma gondii and Sarcocystis neurona in mussels from coastal California |
| Mollie Davies | 2027 | Melanie Ammersbach | Development of a protocol for manual leukocyte counts of formalin-fixed blood from birds and reptiles |
| Emily Eddy | 2027 | Bethany Cummings | Effects of β-cell 14-3-3-zeta Ablation on Pancreatic Islet Morphology and α-cell GLP-1 Production |
| Yucong Geng | 2028 | Ching-Hsien Chen | Therapeutic Targeting of PIM2 Attenuates Fibroblast Activation and Pulmonary Fibrosis |
| Jagveer Gill | 2028 | Bethany Cummings | The role of dietary fiber in regulating the 7-α-dehydroxylation pathway |
| Kalena Gottwald | 2028 | Lisa Miller | Effects of early-life wildfire smoke exposure on PBMC-derived IL-8 in rhesus macaques |
| Christian Guerzon | 2027 | Krista Keller | Assessment of GI Sounds in Lagomorphs |
| Abigail Hsu | 2027 | Tierra Smiley Evans | Characterization and Seroprevalence of elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) and African elephants (Loxodonta spp.) in human care |
| Bryan Huseman | 2028 | Jessica Lawrence | CT volumetric analysis quantifies canine oral melanoma size and bone involvement to aid in prognostication |
| Jennifer Huynh | 2027 | Sara Thomasy | Evaluating corneal endothelial cell health in dogs undergoing cataract surgery in the absence and presence of diabetes mellitus and corneal endothelial dystrophy |
| Cailin Karotkin | 2028 | Esteban Soto Martinez | Crossprotection conferred by Lactococcus garvieae and L. formosensis against L. petauri infection in Rainbow trout (Onchorhyncus mykiss) |
| Matt Kramer | 2027 | Janine LaSalle | The epigenetic link between prenatal wildfire exposure and autism spectrum disorder |
| Albert Lam | 2027 | Eleonora Grandi | Computational modeling of atrial fibrillation–associated Ca2+ (dys)regulation in human atrial fibroblasts |
| Phoebe Lawton | 2027 | Sharif Aly | Passive Transfer of HPAI Virus and Antibodies Through Maternal Colostrum Fed to Newborn Dairy Calves |
| Lauren Lee | 2028 | Soohyun Kim | Sex-Based Disparities in Canine Anterior Chamber Dimensions and Their Potential Implications for Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma: A Cross-institutional Study |
| Alexander Luu | 2028 | Melanie Gareau | Renal Consequences of Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Infection in a Mouse Model |
| Tyler Misraje | 2028 | Denis Marcellin-Little | Effects of Cementless Stem Type and Stem Orientation on Femoral Cortical Strain in Canine Total Hip Replacement |
| Arely Navarro | 2028 | Brian Leonard | Determining the Tolerability and Anti-inflammatory Effect of Andrographolide in a Mouse Model of Dry Eye Disease |
| Hannah Riley | 2028 | Heather Knych | Assessment of Pharmacokinetic Parameters, Oral Bioavailability, and Physiological Effects of Amantadine in Horses |
| Griselda Rodriguez | 2028 | Crystal Rogers | The role of SOX10 in neural crest migration and cranial PNS morphogenesis in axolotls |
| Noelle Shaw | 2028 | Hugues Beaufrère | Optimizing 18F-NaF Positron Emission Tomography Imaging for Atherosclerosis Diagnosis in Orange-Winged Amazon parrots (Amazona amazonica) |
| Alexandra Stone | 2028 | Brian Bird | Hidden Embers - Investigations of Sin Nombre hantavirus Persistence in the Reproductive Tract of Peromyscus maniculatus Rodents |
| Jillyan Tang | 2028 | Rebecca Bellone/Sara Thomasy | The Role of MITF and ZIC4 in the Ocular and Pigmentation Phenotypes of Italian Greyhounds |
| Anayra Tirado | 2028 | Munashe Chigerwe | Evaluation of a continuous glucose monitoring system in sick adult goats and sheep |
| Karolyn Topacio | 2028 | Stan Marks | Feasibility and Utility of Sedated Transnasal Endoscopy (TNE) in Dogs with Gastrointestinal Disease |
| Charissa Tseng | 2028 | Munashe Chigerwe | Evaluating the lifespan of transfused RBCs in healthy goats receiving allogenic whole blood |
| Jalena Wouters | 2028 | Randy Carney | Evaluating the Oncogenicity of Engineered EVs Through Novel Functional Assays |
| Cathy Zhong | 2028 | James Angelastro | Salmeterol Xinafolate as a Novel Repurposed Cancer Drug to Downregulate Survivin |
| Raymond Zurich | 2027 | Carrie Finno | Assessing Niemann Pick C1-like 1 (NPC1L1) as a Candidate Gene for Equine Neuroaxonal Dystrophy (eNAD) |
2024 STAR Student Projects:
2023 STAR Student Projects: