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VMBS, VERO Bring Home Awards From Annual Research Conference

Story by Megan Bennett, VMBS Marketing & Communications

Student and faculty researchers from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) presented their work, brought home awards, and networked with fellow researchers at the 105th Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases (CRWAD).

Thirty-eight VMBS representatives shared their research with an audience of nearly 600 scientists from around the world at CRWAD 2025, which was held from Jan. 18-21 in Chicago.

All five of the VMBS academic departments, including scientists from the Veterinary Education, Research, & Outreach (VERO) program in Canyon, were represented in strength at the annual conference, according to Dr. Paul Morley, VERO director of research.

“Our researchers continue to make a tremendous impression on scientists from the U.S. and around the world with their excellent, innovative work,” Morley said. “We are all extremely proud of everyone from the VMBS who participated in CRWAD 2025.”

VMBS team members delivered 39 presentations at the conference, including 27 by VERO representatives and 31 by students and post-doctoral researchers. Five of these trainees also brought home prestigious awards for their research presentations.

  • Bradley Ramirez, a Ph.D. student advised by Dr. Matthew Scott, received first place in the CRWAD Three-Minute Thesis Competition for his presentation on “Host-environment omics and interactions for health prediction and outcomes.”
  • Kayla Hazlett, a Ph.D. student advised by Morley and Dr. Lee Pinnell, received the Association for Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine’s (AVEPM) First Place Poster Award for her poster on “Development of baits and a variant classification system for target-enriched metagenomic mapping of prevalent liver abscess taxa in the bovine gut.”
  • Stephenie Bradley, a Ph.D. student advised by Dr. H. Morgan Scott, received the American College of Veterinary Microbiology’s Second Place Oral Presentation Award for her presentation on “Using fluorescent Salmonella serovars to evaluate trafficking and tissue preference in orally challenged calves.”
  • Valeria Lugo-Mesa, a Ph.D. student advised by Morley and Pinnell, received the Enteric Diseases of Food Animals’ Second Place Oral Presentation Award for her presentation on “Linking Salmonella populations in feedlot holding ponds to cattle feces and the overall microbial community.”
  • Claudia Ossa-Trujillo, a Ph.D. student advised by Dr. Keri Norman, received the AVEPM’s Third Place Oral Presentation Award for her presentation on “Rapid chute-side antibiotic resistance detection tool to improve antimicrobial stewardship and optimize risk management while controlling bovine respiratory disease.”

To learn more about research at the VMBS, visit vetmed.tamu.edu/research, and to learn more about research at VERO, visit vetmed.tamu.edu/vero/research.

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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 VMBS Communications, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, jgauntt@cvm.tamu.edu, 979-862-4216

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