The Linda F. Hayward Florida Veterinary Scholars Program (for DVM students)
Summer 2025

The Linda F. Hayward Florida Veterinary Scholars Program (previously the Florida Veterinary Scholars Program) provides an opportunity for veterinary students to engage in hypothesis-driven research over a 10-12 week period. For UF students, this happens between the 1st and 2nd years.  The mission is to expose veterinary students to career opportunities in biomedical research.  This may include Industry (drug development, testing, marketing), Government (CDC, NIH, USDA) and Academia-based paths.

Apply now for the 2025 symposium! See links and due dates below.

Program Dates: May 26, 2025 to August 1, 2025
National Symposium: Spokane, Washington: August 7-9, 2025

This year’s faculty mentors and their research interests:

• Amara Estrada
  Key words: heart disease, feline, cell culture
  Project: Generation of feline fibroblasts into functional cardiomyocytes by small molecules
• Amara Estrada
  Key words: cancer immunology, tumor microenvironment
  Project: Generation of feline induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) using a synthetic self-replicative RNA for efficient reprogramming
• Valentina Stevenson
  Key words: cancer immunology, tumor microenvironment 
  Project: Identification of Prognostic features in canine oral melanoma using HALO AI on WSI
• Adam Stern
  Key Words: mortality, feline, disease
  Project: Mortality of free roaming cats in Florida 258-1203
• Adam Stern
  Key Words: forensics, feline, vitreous
  Project: Feline vitreous chemistry and estimation of time of death 
• Heather Walden, Julie Levy, Jeff Gruntmeir
  Key Words: vectors, feline, disease
  Project: Vector borne disease surveillance among free roaming cats in northcentral and South Florida
• Heather Walden, Samantha Wisely
  Key Words: parasites, turkeys
  Project: Identifying endo- and ectoparasites in hunter harvested wild turkeys in Florida 
• Heather Walden, Ken Conley
  Key Words: trematodes, birds
  Project: Elucidating the life cycles and understanding intermediate hosts of air sac trematodes in birds  
• Helena Zomer
  Keywords: regenerative medicine, skin wound healing, aging, stem cells
  Project: Annexin A1’s Role in the Effects of Human Placental Matrix on Tissue Stem
• Cleve DeSouza
  Keywords: lymphoid leukemia, myeloid leukemia, machine learning, canine leukemia, phenotyping
  Project: Phenotyping lymphoid vs. myeloid leukemias in dogs using machine learning approaches.
• Rachel Williams
  Keywords: minimally invasive surgery, gastropexy, soft tissue surgery, surgical education
  Project 1:
  Learning curve assessment for veterinary surgery residents in laparoscopic gastroplexy in dogs
  Project 2:
  Use of near-infrared fluorescent (NIRF) imaging for visualization of the ureter during
  laparoscopic nephroureterectomy
• Chris Martyniuk
  Biological effects of perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) in developing zebrafish
• Chris Martyniuk
  Assessing the efficiency of the KKH enzyme in modifying the canine pyruvate
• Chris Martyniuk, Chris Vulpe, Amara Estrada
  Keywords: gene editing, CRISPR, canine, dilated cardiomyopathy
• Nancy Denslow
  Project: Biomarkers of malnutrition for Florida manatee Trichechus manatus latirostris
• Banikalyan Swain
  Project: Investigating the impact of gut microbiome on immune response triggered by recombinant attenuated Edwardsiella Vaccine (RAEV) in catfish

2025 Program Director:

• Chris Martyniuk, PhD (Physiological Sciences): Director

2024-2025 FVSP Board Members:

• Apichai Tuanyok, PhD (Infectious Diseases and Immunology)
• Heather Walden, PhD (Comparative, Diagnostic & Population Medicine)
• Domenico Santoro, DVM (Small Animal Clinical Sciences)
• Ramiro Isaza, DVM (Large Animal Clinical Sciences)

With thanks to our sponsors:

• Boehringer Ingelheim
• Morris Animal Foundation
• Florida Veterinary Medical Association

2024 Highlights