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 [email protected].
2026 STAR Student Projects:
| Student Name | Class | Mentor/s | Project Title |
| Kimberly Alca | 2029 | David Sanchez-Migallon Guzman/Matthias Jan Hilde Rosseel | Development of a body surface area to weigh equation using CT-guided modeling in Amazon Parrots |
| Miya Babchuk | 2029 | Natalia Vapniarsky-Arzi | Optimization of Antibody Panels for Flow Cytometry Leukocyte Phenotyping and Oxidative Burst Assay for Canine Samples for Invasive Mold Infections Study |
| Alexandra Baeckler | 2029 | Rachel Brady | Impact of siRNA PI3Kγ knockdown on canine macrophage phenotype |
| Maxwell Bales | 2029 | Rebecca M. Calisi-Rodríguez | Low-Cost, Species-Specific Enrichment as a Bidirectional One Health Intervention for Animal Welfare and Human Wellbeing |
| Briana Brown | 2029 | Carrie Finno | Equine Juvenile Spinocerebellar Ataxia – Effects on Mitochondrial Function |
| Yeji Cho | 2028 | Xiao-Jing Wang | Losartan in combination immunotherapy with PD-1/PD-L1 blockade to target oligometastatic head and neck cancer |
| Winnie Diep | 2029 | Ilana Michal Halperin | Dental recommendations: 4th year veterinary student self-assessment vs. client experience |
| Hayden Dillon | 2029 | Esteban Soto Martinez | Evaluation of live attenuated vaccines against piscine edwardsiellosis in tilapia |
| Payton Eldridge | 2028 | Munashe Chigerwe | Continuous fluid infusion via rectum compared with intravenous fluid infusion in pigs with castor oil induced diarrhea |
| Noelle Frasher | 2028 | Austin Viall | Investigating the role of TSP-1 in the activation and generation of pro-coagulant state in canine platelets |
| Coinne Gao | 2029 | James Angelastro | Profiling Survivin Isoforms During Drug Treatment of Glioblastomas |
| Monty Goh | 2028 | Grace Van Hoy | Establishing Reference Intervals for Venous Blood Gas and Coagulation Assays in Miniature Pigs |
| Kalena Gottwald | 2028 | Fumika Hamada | Investigating the mechanisms underlying body temperature rhythm–dependent longevity in Drosophila melanogaster |
| Henry Guo | 2029 | Jennifer Larsen | Analysis of amino acids in commercial feline diets with a focus on hydroxyproline as a risk factor for calcium oxalate urolithiasis |
| Sarah Hackney | 2028 | Jennifer Cassano | Insulin, Glucose, and ACTH Parameters in Mares during Breeding Management and Early Pregnancy |
| Cat Hesse | 2028 | Karl Jandrey | Comparison of Thromboelastography to Viscoelastic Coagulation Monitor measures in Cats with and without Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy |
| Yeram Hong | 2029 | Danika Bannasch | Quantifying LINE-1 hypomethylation can identify the presence of canine Osteosarcoma tissues |
| Bryan Huseman | 2028 | Jessica Lawrence | Atlas-Based Auto-Contouring for Radiation Therapy Planning in Canine Head and Neck Tumors |
| Hailey Johnson | 2029 | Terza Brostoff | Quantifying feline coronavirus-specific lymphocyte responses in vaccinated and unvaccinated cats |
| Miki Kono | 2029 | Stan Marks | Pharmacodynamic Effects of Vonoprazan and Omeprazole on Intragastric pH in Healthy Dogs: A Randomized Crossover Study |
| Elsie Lin | 2028 | Sabrina Hoehne | Training-dependent Effectiveness of an Electronic Cognitive Aid on Simulated Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Performance in Non–RECOVER-Certified Veterinary Professionals |
| Anthony Magana | 2029 | Heidi Reesink | Mechanical Investigation of Equine Flexor Tendon Core Lesions and Quantitation of Lubricin |
| Emeline McMann-Chapman | 2029 | Eileen Henderson | Prevalence of respiratory disease in small ruminants submitted to the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory (2010-2025) |
| Thu Nguyen | 2029 | Erin Lashnits | The Association between Bartonella Infection and Hematologic Findings and Clinical Response to Immunosuppressive Therapy in Cats |
| Amaya Pelayo | 2029 | Adrien Dupanloup | Correlating Lesion Volume and CSF Cytokine Analysis with Outcomes in Dogs with Stroke |
| Jennifer Price | 2028 | Eileen Henderson | Development and sensitivity/specificity validation for an in situ hybridization assay for the diagnosis of Cyprinid herpesvirus-1 |
| Kristen Reyes | 2029 | Michael Ziccardi | Unseen Victims: The Impact of Wildfires on California Wildlife |
| Brooke Seelenbinder | 2029 | Kyle Fink (SOM) | Assessing the efficacy and safety of a novel AAV-delivered CDKL5 epigenetic therapy in a murine model of CDKL5 deficiency disorder |
| Sidney Steiner | 2028 | Christina Sigurdson (San Diego) | Identifying neuroprotective residues in the polybasic domain of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) |
| Jillyan Tang | 2028 | Rebecca Bellone/Sara Thomasy | The Role of MITF in the Ocular and Pigmentation Phenotypes of Italian Greyhounds |
| Or Taylor | 2029 | Crystal Rogers | Establishment of the corneal endothelial barrier and ionic pump function during chick development |
| Anthony Tran | 2029 | Rachel Brady | Blood-Based Biomarkers as Indicators of Metastatic Potential in Canine Cancers |
| Leah Urrutia | 2028 | Simon Anthony | Filovirus Surveillance in Puerto Rican Bats and the Development of Host Prediction Tools |
| Amber Van Hecke | 2029 | Thomas Ambrosi | The role of an age-specific bile acid pool for skeletal stem cell activity |
| Elise Wacha | 2029 | Fabio Lima | Impact of maternal bovine appeasing substance on stress physiology and fertility in dairy cows: interactions with estrus expression and genomic prediction of daughter pregnancy rate |
| Karen Wong | 2028 | Tessa LeCuyer | Identification and Prevalence of Trichophyton benhamiae in small exotic mammals |
| Jalena Wouters | 2028 | Randy Carney | Investigation of circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs) as candidate biomarkers for canine gliomas |
2025 STAR Student Projects:
2024 STAR Student Projects: