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CVM Postdoctoral Researchers Receive AFS Distinguished Graduate Student Awards

Story by Megan Myers

Two postdoctoral research associates at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM) have been recognized with 2020 Distinguished Graduate Student Awards from the Association of Former Students (AFS).

Dr. Keshav Karki, from Dr. Stephen Safe’s Molecular & Cellular Oncology Laboratory, and Dr. Alyssa Meyers, from the Sarah A. Hamer Laboratory, received awards for their significant research accomplishments and embodiment of Texas A&M’s core values.

Keshav Karki
Dr. Keshav Karki

Dr. Keshav Karki

Karki earned his doctorate in toxicology in 2019 as a graduate student in both the CVM’s Department of Veterinary Physiology & Pharmacology (VTPP) and the Texas A&M Interdisciplinary Faculty of Toxicology.

He has coauthored 10 published manuscripts and presented his research, largely on the development of anticancer agents, at 11 local, regional, and national scientific meetings.

Most recently, Karki has been working with Safe, a Distinguished Professor and Karki’s faculty mentor, to target the NR4A2 and NR4A1 nuclear receptors as a means for treating glioblastomas, breast cancer, and endometriosis.

“Keshav’s Ph.D. research has been outstanding,” Safe said, “and his ongoing research projects, including development of an NR4A2 ligand for targeting PD-L1 (a protein that researchers believe may allow cancers to evade the host immune system) in glioblastomas, are also high impact studies.”

By helping develop a family of pharmaceutical compounds (C-DIMs) that bind and inactivate the NR4A1 and NR4A2 receptors, Karki’s research has been “instrumental in the recent licensing of this technology for future clinical development,” Safe said.

“Keshav has also been a role model for his colleagues in the laboratory in terms of his collaboration and mentorship and his willingness to help keep the laboratory functioning,” Safe said.

Once Karki completes his current research projects in the Safe Lab, he plans to transition into a position in the pharmaceutical industry.

Alyssa Meyers
Dr. Alyssa Meyers

Dr. Alyssa Meyers

Meyers, who earned her doctorate in biomedical sciences in 2019, has received numerous awards for her accomplishments as a researcher and mentor.

Working with Hamer, her faculty mentor, Meyers has contributed to eight peer-reviewed published papers and has presented her research at 23 different regional, state, and national venues.

Meyers’ research in the Hamer Lab has focused on exploring vector-host-parasite interactions in the Chagas disease system. By studying populations of working dogs owned by the U.S. government, she has made great contributions to determining the burden of disease and clinical outcomes of infection.

“Her research has built bridges with government veterinarians, extension entomologists, the Institute for Infectious Animal Diseases (IIAD), the Department of Homeland Security, the Texas Department of State Health Services, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” Hamer said. “She has been a true research leader.”

While working in South Texas, Meyers discovered widespread exposure to Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease, among working dogs. She then did further work to characterize the various cardiac abnormalities in infected dogs, providing useful information for veterinarians and dog owners.

During her time at the CVM, Meyers has also devoted much of her time to mentoring undergraduate and graduate students. She was recently recognized with the 2019 Ethel Ashworth-Tsutsui Memorial Award for Mentoring from the Texas A&M organization Women in Science and Engineering (WISE).

“The positive culture in my lab and many of my team’s successes are directly attributed to Alyssa serving as a model student and setting a high level of productivity,” Hamer said.

Meyers plans to pursue a career in government service working on epidemiology research, outbreak investigations, and enacting public health practices based on science.

CVM alumna Dr. Lauren Lewis also received a 2020 Distinguished Graduate Student Award in the category of research. Lewis works at the Cambridge, Massachusetts, site of Takeda, a global research and development pharmaceutical company based in Japan, conducting research projects and developing models to improve safety evaluations.

The award recipients will each receive a framed certificate and custom gold watch from the AFS.

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For more information about the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, please visit our website at vetmed.tamu.edu or join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Contact Information: Jennifer Gauntt, Director of CVM Communications, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences; jgauntt@cvm.tamu.edu; 979-862-4216

Finding Meaning In Mentorship

Dr. Dana Gaddy has been blessed with the support of many, so now she’s paying it forward by using the lessons she’s learned to build relationships with her own students.

Story by Jennifer Gauntt

Joshua Bertles, Kirby Sherman, and Dr. Dana Gaddy
Joshua Bertles, Kirby Sherman, and Dr. Dana Gaddy

Dr. Dana Gaddy’s mentor Joanne Richards once told her, “People are like plants. You just need to give them a bit of water and let them grow.”

That philosophy is so deeply rooted into Gaddy that she tears up when she speaks of her relationship with Richards and what mentorship now means to her as a professor in Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences’ (CVM) Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences (VIBS).

“Every single person Jo mentored feels that she played a key role in their having a fulfilled life,” Gaddy said, catching herself as her voice softly begins to break. “Just because you have 50 graduate students and postdocs does not mean that you have 50 happy, fulfilled graduate students and postdocs. What was important to her was to build 50 relationships. That’s what it’s about.”

And, indeed, that has been what it’s about for Gaddy; mentorship, she believes, is for life.

Planting The Seeds

She’s been blessed with many mentors throughout her life, starting during her time as a Ph.D. student at Baylor College of Medicine, where Richards was her adviser.

“I was always mystified by her ability to take students who would come into her lab as postdoctoral fellows but really were not on the same wavelength as the rest of the folks and by working elbow-to-elbow with them and through regular conversations, she would figure out what made them tick,” Gaddy said. “Then, she would place opportunities in front of them—some of which were not academic—that would put them in the direction where they’re going to be happiest. She didn’t just mold them after herself.”

This was modeled by another set of influential mentors, Drs. Gideon and Sevgi Rodan.

“I met Gideon when I was a brand-new faculty member and was doing stuff that was really kind of heretical to the bone field at the time,” Gaddy said. (She focused on the importance of the reproductive hormone inhibin in menopause, when the scientific consensus placed the sole significance on estrogen.)

“He and his wife, Sevgi, were like the mom and pop,” she said. “They always did things for their mentees, even those who went off to other companies or would go back to academia. People who left would always come back, and the Rodans kept track of them.”

Her relationship with the Rodans made it particularly poignant when this fall Gaddy received the Gideon A. Rodan Award for Mentorship from the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

“He took lots of people under his wing, even those who didn’t have anything to do with Merck,” Gaddy said. “He would mentor everyone who seemed to want to listen to what he had to say, and his words of wisdom were usually spot on.

“That scientific progeny concept is one that I was steeped in as a young faculty member, as a young scientist, as a graduate student, and it stayed with me,” she said.

Joshua Bertles, Kirby Sherman, and Dr. Dana Gaddy
Joshua Bertles, Kirby Sherman, and Dr. Dana Gaddy

A Winning Combination

Gaddy sees herself as a “different kind of mentor,” in part because her mentee pool has been much smaller than previous Rodan Award winners—who have 10-20 trainees at any given time, compared to the three typically working in Gaddy’s lab—but also because she comprehensively evaluates her students and their potential, understanding that what is best for the student may not be best for her.

“Part of it is paying attention and trying to read people like my Ph.D. adviser did, to try to understand what it is that really is making them tick,” Gaddy said. “If I give them something to do and they hate it or they love something else, I see it as my responsibility to figure out how I can provide them more of that so that then they see the success, they feel the success, and they want to go do more in that direction.”

It’s also included helping students evaluate what their end-goals are earlier in their academic career and encouraging them to pay attention to what’s happening in all job sectors before they start a dissertation and it becomes too late to change their minds.

“Many graduate students coming into my lab initially think that they are going to do what I do, but that ends up not really being their path,” Gaddy said. “My job is to help them find whatever the path is and then help them find a way to get there.”

As a result, some of her graduate students have moved into other CVM faculty members’ labs; in other cases, she has “adopted” trainees working in colleagues’ labs.

She estimates that she is probably actively mentoring six former students, one current doctoral student, and a handful that are affiliated with other CVM laboratories; it is that idea of connecting people across areas, whether it’s for mentorships or just networking, that is important for Gaddy.

“I have done more of that for other people’s students than I have for my own, not even people at my institution,” she said. “I’ve been involved in the Endocrine Society and the Women in Endocrine Society, as well as the Bone Society and other groups, for which we’ve done professional development events about how to choose a mentor, how to set that mentoring conversation and relationship up, and then what to do if it doesn’t go well, or how to launch out of somebody’s lab to gain independence.”

While the connections she’s made, and the award she’s won, have been rewarding, the ultimate reward, in her eyes, is seeing her students succeed in advancing science in their own ways. Among her mentees, Joshua Bertles is her current Ph.D. student in the biomedical sciences graduate program; Kristy Nicks, Ph.D., is a program director at the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases; Tristan Fowler, Ph.D., is a research scientist director at the biotech company Surrozen; and Daniel Perrien, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Emory University.

“That’s what I’m most proud of, because you never know what that student is going to want to do when they first walk in your door,” she said. “I try to spend time programmatically identifying or at least providing exposure to opportunities that will help them learn what it is that floats their boat. And when they find that, there’s no better reward.”

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Note: This story originally appeared in the Spring 2020 edition of CVM Today.

For more information about the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, please visit our website at vetmed.tamu.edu or join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Contact Information: Jennifer Gauntt, Director of Communications, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences; jgauntt@cvm.tamu.edu; 979-862-4216

CVM Faculty Recognized With AFS Distinguished Achievement Awards

Story by Megan Myers

Five faculty members at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM) have been honored with this year’s Distinguished Achievement Awards from the Association of Former Students (AFS).

The university-level awards are presented each year to faculty and staff who exhibit the highest standards of excellence at Texas A&M.

This year, the CVM had the most awardees from any college or division, with recipients honored in more than half of the award categories.

Dr. Kristin Chaney
Dr. Kristin Chaney

Dr. Kristin Chaney

Chaney, a clinical assistant professor in the CVM’s Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences (VIBS), was recognized for teaching.

Chaney contributes to multiple courses within the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) curriculum, often using her experience in equine medicine to teach on a variety of subjects.

“Dr. Chaney’s passion for teaching, her command of her discipline, and her various teaching methodologies is very apparent in the classroom setting,” one nominator said. “In addition to being a knowledgeable and effective teacher, Dr. Chaney also cares greatly for her students.”

As a member of the CVM’s Professional Programs Office (PPO), Chaney helps develop the DVM program curriculum and works to advance veterinary education both within the CVM and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC). She was also recently recognized with a Presidential Award for Meritorious Service from the AAVMC.

“As one of the lucky few who have been able to experience Dr. Chaney’s radiant energy, I can attest to her outstanding ability to accommodate a variety of student performance levels, her genuine care for every student, and her exceptional communication skills,” said another nominator and former student of Chaney’s.

Dr. Brian Porter
Dr. Brian Porter

Dr. Brian Porter

Porter, a clinical professor in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology (VTPB), also was recognized for teaching.

He instructs veterinary students in the areas of pathology and diagnostic medicine and also supervises the veterinary anatomic pathology combined residency-Ph.D. program.

“Dr. Porter is an excellent role model who embodies leadership traits and possesses the unique ability to relay information to students/residents that is easy to understand and retain,” one nominator said. “Dr. Porter has played a critical role in the success of the residency program at Texas A&M University.”

Porter serves as both a teacher and mentor for his students, with many former students saying he inspired them to pursue careers in pathology. He has also been recognized with the Carl J. Norden-Pfizer Distinguished Teaching Award from Zoetis.

“He has taken modern teaching methods in stride and keeps the students’ attention and interest with interactive lectures, gaining excellent student evaluations along the way,” another nominator said.

Dr. Gregory Johnson

Dr. Gregory Johnson
Dr. Gregory Johnson

Johnson, a professor in VIBS, was recognized for research.

His work at the CVM studies the interactions between the embryo/fetus and uterus during pregnancy, with the ultimate goal of reducing pregnancy loss in women, livestock, and companion animals.

“By every measure of excellence and international recognition, Dr. Johnson is a research leader in his field of reproductive biology,” one nominator said. “Dr. Johnson has established himself as a highly accomplished researcher and truly outstanding teacher and mentor.”

Dr. Johnson’s laboratory has studied the unique physiology of pigs and sheep to establish many of the key molecules involved in initial attachment of the placenta to the uterus.

He found that the protein osteopontin (OPN) has diverse roles in mammalian pregnancies, including nutrient transport, homing of immune cells to the uterus during pregnancy, and the genesis of new blood vessels in the uterus and placenta required to support fetal development.

“Dr. Johnson’s pioneering research, contagious enthusiasm, and common sense have thrust him into positions of high professional responsibility,” another nominator said. “He is frequently called upon to review research papers and grant proposals; he has served on the editorial boards of the most prestigious journals in the field of reproductive biology.”

Dr. Jörg M. Steiner
Dr. Jörg M. Steiner

Dr. Jörg M. Steiner

Steiner, a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (VSCS), was recognized for extension, outreach, continuing education, and professional development.

As director of the Gastrointestinal (GI) Laboratory, he oversees a staff of scientists, technicians, and student assistants as they perform testing services to help veterinarians around the world diagnose and treat gastrointestinal diseases in dogs and cats.

“Dr. Steiner collaborated with numerous colleagues not only from veterinary but also from human medicine from all over the world,” one nominator said. “The comparative aspects of his work are of great interest and help to generate funding, demonstrated by the impressive number of his (competitive) research grants.”

Steiner is also a world leader in the study of canine and feline pancreatitis, having devoted much of his research career to developing the first accurate and reliable method to test for these conditions.

“Dr. Steiner’s impact on the practice of small animal veterinary gastroenterology has been profound,” another nominator said. “His research and study of both canine and feline pancreatic diseases over a span of 16 years helped to revolutionize the diagnostic approach to this condition.”

Dr. Stephen Safe

Dr. Stephen Safe
Dr. Stephen Safe

Safe, a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology (VTPP), was recognized for graduate mentoring.

Within the Molecular & Cellular Oncology Laboratory, also known as the Safe Lab, he mentors graduate students as they work to develop anticancer agents and a new class of drugs for treating endometriosis.

“Dr. Safe has been an extraordinarily supportive and highly inspiring mentor to many graduate students, including myself,” said one nominator, who previously worked in the Safe Lab. “He has mentored a plethora of graduate students, the majority of whom have highly productive scientific careers. Most importantly, his guidance lead to the overall development and character of a graduate student to serve and lead in their own professional and personal lives.”

Safe has mentored 97 Ph.D. students, 18 Master of Science graduate students, and more than 20 postdoctoral fellows.

“Dr. Safe is always willing to share his scientific experience, vision, and knowledge to find career-related information and exposure to various professional resources, opportunities, meetings, and networks,” said another nominator and past graduate student in the Safe Lab. “Furthermore, he has provided both emotional and moral support and encouragement through career related counseling and coaching.”

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For more information about the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, please visit our website at vetmed.tamu.edu or join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Contact Information: Jennifer Gauntt, Director of CVM Communications, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences; jgauntt@cvm.tamu.edu; 979-862-4216

Finding the Fusion of Art and Science

Story by Megan Myers

Alex Golden portraitAlex Golden, a December graduate from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences’ (CVM) biomedical sciences (BIMS) master’s program, has always wanted to be a doctor.

While growing up in New Jersey, Golden developed a love for dance, theater, and the arts, and so he decided to combine all of his passions during his undergraduate education at Rutgers University by majoring in Spanish and double minoring in biology and dance.

“I originally got into the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, but after talking to the health professions office, they said, ‘You don’t have to be a science major to go to medical school,’” he recalled. “I wanted to do the dance minor because I have always done artistic endeavors and a lot of theater, so I thought that this would be a good break in between my science classes.”

At Rutgers, the connection between art and medicine was reinforced as Golden participated in a research project on dance therapy and Parkinson’s disease at Rutgers’ Aresty Research Center.

“Parkinson’s disease is a chronic, progressive illness that there’s no cure for and the disease involves a loss of motor function over time,” Golden said. “Some research has shown that if someone with Parkinson’s increases their movement repertoire, it might slow down the progression of the disease.”

Working with certified movement specialists who were trained through the Mark Morris Dance Group in New York, Golden saw first-hand the benefits that the therapy offered.

“Not all of the people who come into these therapy sessions had Parkinson’s disease; their caretaker or their spouse would come with them,” he said. “Everyone danced together and you didn’t even know at that point who had Parkinson’s and who didn’t. It was a good atmosphere, the therapy worked, people were happy, and it improved quality of life.”

After graduating from Rutgers, Golden decided to take a year off from school to gain experience as a medical scribe. When his family moved to Austin, he followed and began working at the Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Round Rock.

“A scribe goes into the clinical appointments with the physician and types the medical note that is going to be kept on file for the patient,” Golden said. “The doctor and the patient can have more one-on-one time and the doctor doesn’t have to really worry about taking the notes.

“I learned everything from the legalities of taking a medical note, to how a physician should interact with a patient, to all the vocabulary and linguistics that are necessary—the specialized language of medicine,” he said.

During his gap year, Golden applied to medical school but didn’t get in, leading him to examine his application for any shortcomings. Deciding that he needed to raise his science GPA, he began looking for a master’s program to help him accomplish that.

“I looked at a lot of programs in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania,” Golden said. “I got into every program I applied to.

“The BIMS program at Texas A&M was the only one I applied to in Texas. I was a little unsure about it, but then after looking into it, that changed,” he said. “After orientation and talking to a couple of people, I knew this program would provide me with the resources I needed to reapply and be successful.”

Luckily, the BIMS master’s program proved to be the perfect fit for Golden.

Alex Golden with stethoscope and white coat“It was really nice to learn about all of the ‘-ologies’ from a broader spectrum,” he said. “There’s a lot of comparative anatomy in this program, since it’s at the veterinary school. You get a more well-rounded view of things that could exist in the animal kingdom and then how you can extrapolate that into human medicine.

“The faculty and staff are amazing; they’re very supportive and helpful,” he said. “They host everything from social to academic to networking events. It really allows you to make of it what you want it to be. You just have to take the initiative, but they supply you with all the tools.”

When it came time to begin applying for medical school again, Golden was pleased to receive an interview invitation for the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio and then an acceptance only three weeks later.

“I think the most important part of applying to a professional school is getting the interview,” Golden said. “Getting the GPA and the admission test score is up to the individual and essentially what admissions committees use to screen applicants, but the interview is what decides if you’re going or not. It’s what sets you apart from other people and I think that this particular master’s program helps you get that interview.”

Golden plans to pursue a career in osteopathic medicine, which he describes as a holistic approach to medicine that focuses on treating the patient rather than the disease.

“I feel like my personality and my belief system align more with an osteopathic physician,” he said. “I’ve always been an artsy person, so I felt like I never really fit in with more of a typical, 100-percent scientific crowd.

“One of the tenants of osteopathic practice is that disease and pathology arise from a musculoskeletal disorder,” he said. “So, they do these adjustments, manipulations, or massages in certain areas of the body to prevent further injury or harm. I grew up doing competitive gymnastics, so I’ve always done a lot of things with my body, in terms of manipulation and exercise and the musculoskeletal system, so I appreciate that aspect of it.”

He ultimately plans to specialize as an obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN), a career he fell in love with after shadowing his cousin and her husband, both OB-GYNs in New Jersey.

“I think a female population is one that I, as a gay male, would be able to interact with and be received well by the patient,” Golden said. “I think women’s health, in general, is a field that lacks male support, so it’d be nice to have another male advocate out there helping women in this.

“Also, I feel like since I’m not going to be able to have kids the traditional way, I’m going to have to look into IVF (in-vitro fertilization) and other non-traditional methods of having children, like surrogacy and adoption.”

Though his path to medical school may not have gone exactly as planned, Golden is thankful for the experiences he has gained along the way and excited to finally begin his medical program.

“I’m ready to start my career,” he said. “I’m just excited to actually begin learning, so I can practice. I’ve been dreaming about being a doctor forever.”

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For more information about the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, please visit our website at vetmed.tamu.edu or join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Contact Information: Jennifer Gauntt, Interim Director of Communications, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Science; jgauntt@cvm.tamu.edu; 979-862-4216