STAR Student Project Titles
As part of the STAR program students must submit a one page summary and present a poster of their research findings at the end of the summer STAR TG.
Below are the titles of the most recent summer STAR projects. Click on the title of a project below to view the poster (.pdf). Posters may not be available for all participants.
For more information, please contact us at svmstarprogram@ucdavis.edu.
2021 STAR Student Projects:
2020 STAR Student Projects:
| Student Name | Class | Mentor/s | Remote Project Title |
| Levi, Amit | 2022 | Xinbin Chen | p53 Mutations in Canine Cancers - A Review Study |
| Makda Asrat | 2023 | Kirsten Gilardi | A 14-year retrospective epidemiological and ecological analysis of data from California bat carcasses |
| Julie A Baldassano | 2023 | Lark Coffey | Influenza A virus subtype distribution in California waterfowl from 2007-2018 |
| Ashley N. Caron-Brummel | 2023 | Dr. Noelia Silva-Del-Rio | Massage Therapy as a Recovery Aid for Animal and Human Patients Following Respiratory Disease: a Protocol for a Systematic Review |
| Maggie Buktenica | 2023 | Dr. Meera Heller | Survey of Within-Herd Prevalence of Coronavirus in Goats in Northern California and Oregon During 2018 and 2020 |
| Erica K Chang | 2022 | Drs. Esteban Soto-Martinez & Michael Ziccardi | Histopathological changes associated with novel etiologies in cultured and wild fish |
| Julia R Cohen | 2023 | Karen Vernau | The effects of weaning stress and maternal presence on kitten personality, health, and behavior |
| Olivia Cords | 2023 | Beatriz Martinez Lopez | Modeling the Potential Spread of African Swine Fever in North Macedonia |
| Prathima A Garudadri | 2023 | Jenessa Gjeltema | Comparative Analysis of Microplastics in Marine Mammals - Literature Review and Modified Fecal Sample Analysis |
| Christine J E Haake | 2022 | Brian Murphy | Coronavirus Infections in Companion Animals |
| Erin Hisey | 2023 | Stuart Meyers | Gene Editing in Equine Embryos: A Model for Gene Therapy to Reduce Burden of Genetic Diseases |
| Amy (Huong) Huynh | 2022 | Kent Pinkerton | Deposition, translocation, localization and microglial activation of inhaled silver silicate in the rodent nose and brain following acute inhalation exposure |
| Maya L Iyer | 2022 | Tierra Smiley Evans | Diagnosis and treatment of clinical elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus 1A (EEHV1A) infection in a captive juvenile Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) |
| Nadia Javeed | 2023 | Jonathan D. Dear | Disease epidemiology and clinical outcomes of domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) infected with Babesia conradae |
| Laila M Joseph | 2022 | Christine M Toedebusch | Determination of the effect of microglia-derived olfactomedin-like 3 on mouse brain endothelial cell angiogenesis |
| Tiffany Kim | 2022 | Ingrid Balsa | A cohort study of canine patients with migrating plant awn-associated disease: geographical distribution of plant awn species and identity of bacterial isolates |
| Davia C Kot | 2022 | Elizabeth Stelow | Effect of human socialization and training on Hispaniolan Amazon Parrots neophilia |
| Vivia Liang | 2023 | Joanne Paul-Murphy | Changes in personality assessments as a result of human socialization and training of Hispaniolan Amazon Parrots |
| Joie Lin | 2022 | Christina Sigurdson | Mechanisms of Demyelination in Prion Disease |
| Sara T. Lo | 2023 | Joshua Stern and Ronald Li | Effects of dual antithrombotic therapy using rivaroxaban and clopidogrel on platelet function and coagulation parameters in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. |
| Kurt Miura | 2023 | Stan Marks | Videofluoroscopic and Manometric Assessment of the Effects of Sildenafil on Esophageal Transit and Lower Esophageal Sphincter Tone in Dogs with Congenital and Acquired Megaesophagus |
| Marissa Rae Monopoli | 2023 | Dr. David Sanchez-Migallon Guzman & Dr. Amir Kol | Hematologic Reference Intervals in Cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus): Manual Techniques and Blood Cell Library Development for Future Automation |
| Hannah E Neer | 2023 | Anna Denicol | Seasonal impact on bovine embryo production |
| Tracy Trang Nguyen | 2022 | Sara Thomasy | OPA1 Mutation and Gender-Dependent Differences in Circumpapillary Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness in Rhesus macques (Macaca mulatta) |
| Jordan V Nunes | 2022 | Laurel Gershwin, Gerald Barry | Understanding variation in the Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus population in Ireland and its potential impact on vaccination efficacy |
| Eleanor M Pressman | 2023 | Frank Mitloehner | Using alternative greenhouse gas metrics to assess warming effects and dynamics of methane emissions from dairy cattle |
| Aryana Razmara | 2023 | Dr. Luke Wittenburg & Dr. Christine Toedebusch | The role of microglia-derived olfactomedin-like 3 in the growth of malignant glioma |
| Riley Ellis-Reis | 2022 | Lance Visser | Evaluation of regurgitant fraction in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease |
| Eliza Richartz | 2023 | Nicole Baumgarth | Antibody-FcyRIIb interactions and effects on phagocytosis during B burgdorferi infection of mice |
| Siobhan Scott Rickert | 2022 | Frank J M Verstraete | The Temporomandibular Joint Pathology of Wild Carnivora (foxes) |
| Megan J Rivera | 2023 | Carrie Finno | Effects of Sex and Vitamin E Status on RORa and LXR Expression in Spinal Cord and Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons of Young Mice |
| Maya Schlesinger | 2022 | Patricia Pesavento | Multi-regional phylogenetic characterization of Skunk Amdoparvovirus ** needs remote proposal |
| Allison H Shannon | 2023 | Brian Leonard | Modulation of antimicrobial peptide expression as a novel approach to treating infectious keratitis. |
| Kassidy Shelly | 2022 | Susan Stover | Fetlock injury prevention in horses |
| Brianna Stoyle | 2023 | Dr. Janet Foley (UC Davis Dr. Eranda Rajapaksha (University of Peradeniya) | Vectors and Reservoir Hosts for Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia |
| Kristen R Stucker | 2023 | Dr. Heather Knych | Pharmacokinetics, adverse effects, and effect on thermal nociception of codeine following administration of 3 doses to horses |
| Anett A Szczepanek | 2023 | Emmanuel Okello | 1. Antimicrobial Drug Use & Resistance Surveillance on California Dairies 2. Antimicrobial Resistance in Calves treated for Bovine Respiratory Disease |
| Rebecca F Terrett | 2022 | Dr. Woolard | Canine Glioma: Primary Literature Review and Manuscript Preparation |
| Victoria R Tobin | 2023 | Dr. Luke Wittenburg, Dr. Ellen Rothenberg | Modeling developmental progression speed of early T cells |
| Alexander R True | 2023 | Monica Aleman | Evaluating the Ototoxicity of Aminoglycosides in Neonatal Foals |
| Scarlett L Varney | 2023 | Dr. Danika Bannasch | The Role of Selected Genetic Variants in Canine Morphology |
| Ad Yael | 2023 | Dr. Ramsey | The impact of a ketogenic diet on cognitive and motor function in female mice |
| Nicole M Yost | 2022 | James Angelastro | Evaluating novel therapeutics for the treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme |
| Yafen Zhen | 2023 | Swee Teh | Effects of Copper, Organophosphate, and Pyrethroid Pesticides on the Growth and Survival of Copepods Eurytemora affinis and Pseudodiaptomus forbesi |
| Emma T Zhang | 2022 | Karen Shapiro | Spatial modeling of microplastics and zoonotic parasites along coastlines from North America: Implications for human and wildlife health |