CMP Faculty and Trainee Accolades
The MU Comparative Medicine Program salutes our faculty and trainees for their many achievements. We take pride in sharing their accomplishments.
Comparative Medicine Trainees celebrate tremendous successes at the 2022 CVM Research Day and Research & Creative Activities Forum competitions
Gabrielle Hofmann (mentors Hasser and Klein): 1st place in Advanced Graduates Students and Postdocs category 2022 CVM Research Day Emily Knebel (mentor Pamela Brown): 1st place in 2nd and 3rd Year Graduate Students category 2022 CVM Research Day James McNew (mentor, Elizabeth Bryda): 2nd place in Staff, Undergrad, Interns, 1st Year Residents and Graduate Students category 2022 CVM Research Day Jessica Cayton (mentor, Timothy Domeier): 1st place in Health Sciences, Medicine, and Veterinary Medicine category 2022 Research & Creative Activities Forum (RCAF) |
Drs. Franklin and Bryda Amongst Praised NIH-T32 Awardees![]() Front row (left to right): Latha Ramchand, Olivia Warner, Kellyn Spychala, Alexandra Diller, Sara Ricardez Hernandez, Elizabeth Bryda Back row (left to right): Susan Renoe, Tom Spencer, Denis McCarthy, Ken Sher, Mark Hannink, Chris Lorson, Craig Franklin, Mun Choi Five University of Missouri professors were honored for their research training programs at a reception May 12 at The Residence on Francis Quadrangle. The professors are current awardees of National Institutes of Health Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Institutional Research Training Grants (T32s). The goal of the T32 program is to prepare qualified predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees for careers that have a significant impact on U.S. health-related research needs. The event also was a networking opportunity for some current students in the program and MU faculty members interested in submitting T32 proposals. The professors and their training program concentrations are:
The event also included some of the professors’ current trainees, including Alexandra Diller, Sara Ricardez Hernandez, Kellyn Spychala and Olivia Warner. There have been 18 funded T32 awards at MU in the program’s history. |
CVM PhD Candidate Among this Year’s Mizzou 18
Dashek was born and raised in Franklin, Wisconsin. He earned a degree in biology at the University of Wisconsin. After graduating, he worked for a couple of years as a research technician in an ophthalmology lab studying glaucoma. It was there that he realized the importance of veterinary medicine in the laboratory setting. He went on to earn his DVM at the University of Wisconsin. He later earned a master’s degree while working in an epigenetics laboratory. During his final year in the veterinary curriculum, Dashek completed a four-week externship in MU’s Comparative Medicine Program and subsequently joined the program at a laboratory animal medicine resident/PhD candidate. Dashek’s mentor is R. Scott Rector, PhD, FTOS, FACSM, an associate professor with co-appointments in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology and Medicine-Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of Missouri-School of Medicine. Rector is also a research health scientist at the Harry S Truman Memorial VA Hospital. Rector has an active research program focused on prevention and treatment of many chronic diseases, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, with Dashek’s dissertation work targeting the latter. |
Fudge Awarded Second Place at National AALAS Meeting
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Paper authored by Chambers et al. selected as one of Immunology & Cell Biology‘s top 10 original research articles 2020–2021![]() Photo courtesy of University of Georgia Office of Research The editorial team of Immunology & Cell Biology (ICB) has selected Katie Chambers’ research paper “Chambers et al.7 Nitric oxide inhibits interleukin-1-mediated protection against Escherichia coli K1-induced sepsis and meningitis in a neonatal murine model” as one of its top research articles accepted between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021. Chambers, DVM, PhD, is a recent alumna of the University of Missouri’s Comparative Medicine Program. Chambers et al.7 investigated nitric oxide (NO) – an important component of innate immunity. The investigators studied the role of possible protective effects of NO in neonates with neonatal-associated Escherichia coli (NMEC) infection. They uncovered a new role for NO in suppressing IL-1 production, thus allowing an enhanced NO response, which may reveal a more general mechanism by which neonates innately respond to infections.
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Hofmann named Research Recognition Award Winner
Her award-winning presentation is titled “Astrocytes and Microglia in the Brainstem Nucleus Tractus Solitarii React to Unilateral Vagotomy.” According to the American Physiological Society’s website, the award recognizes outstanding research by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who present a first-author abstract at the Experimental Biology Meeting. |
Mizzou Researchers Obtain Funding for COVID Related Animal Modeling Projects
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Comparative Medicine Fellows Honored for Research
Bellrichard took first place in the Engineering, Computer and Information Science category with his project, “Genipin Crosslinking to Promote the Attachment and Proliferation of Fibroblasts on a Ligament Scaffold.” Dashek’s project, “Characterization of NipSnap2 as a Potential Mediator of Mitochondrial Permeability Transition,” captured second place honors in the Vet/Biomed category. The MU GPC has hosted the Research and Creative Activities Forum for more than 30 years as a way for students to showcase research and creative activities, while providing valuable experience and feedback. Professors from across the state and within the MU community evaluate presentations, with cash prizes awarded for exceptional presentations. |
Mizzou 18 Recipient |
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Ben Olthoff, DVM, Studies Disease that Hits Close to Home
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Sarah Young
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CVM Residents Join Mizzou 18![]() |
A Triumph Birthed by Tragedy![]() |
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