Finding Purpose: Aggie Vet Student Turns Personal Hardship Into Meaningful Research

Michaela Stavropoulos’s project proved that safety measures she observed when her mother was seeking medical treatment should probably also be observed in dogs undergoing a common procedure.

For Michaela Stavropoulos, a fourth-year veterinary student at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, research has taken on a new meaning. 

Just weeks before starting veterinary school, Stavropoulos lost her mother to complications of liver disease. Soon after, she found herself drawn to research as a way to explore the medical questions she encountered during her mother’s illness.

Even though it was a long and difficult process, the project helped Stavropoulos find a sense of direction and a way to navigate her grief, allowing her to honor her mother while contributing to advances in veterinary medicine.

Finding Her Path 

Growing up in Flower Mound, Texas, as the child of immigrants from South Africa, Stavropoulos developed a deep appreciation for hard work and determination. Inspired by her parents’ journey to the United States, she cultivated a strong sense of ambition that guided her early interest in caring for animals.

“I initially chose Texas A&M over other schools because of the veterinary medicine program here,” Stavropoulos said. “I have always loved animals and I knew I wanted experience with a veterinary team and the teaching hospitals.” 

While earning her undergraduate degree in animal science, she sought out practical experience, participating in the Undergraduate Research Scholars program, a year-long, research-intensive opportunity open to students across all fields.

“I joined research on animal behavior and had a project where I was looking at feedlot steer behavior as a result of social mixing. This was my first experience with cows and with research,” Stavropoulos said. “At the time, I wasn’t sure research was for me, but it was something I did because I knew that it could make me stand out on my vet school application.”

Eager to gain hands-on clinical experience, she applied to every department at the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital and was thrilled to be offered a student technician position with the Small Animal Emergency & Critical Care (ECC) Service.

“I knew it was a fast way to become immersed,” Stavropoulos said. “The whole array of different disease processes that I saw through the emergency room is what set me up to be a very successful student throughout vet school. The culture of the ER is truly exposure therapy — you have to think on your feet and you overcome fears by seeing difficult cases you’ve never imagined.” 

Even as she grew more confident in the ER, her path to veterinary school was not easy. 

“I didn’t get accepted the first time I applied,” Stavropoulos said. “So, when that acceptance email finally came through, I dropped my phone and cried.

“Calling my parents to tell them was one of the most emotional moments of my life,” she said. “It’s a manifestation of the American dream because I’ll be the first doctor in my family. I take a lot of pride in this profession.”

A Personal Loss

Shortly after being accepted to the VMBS’ Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program, Stavropoulos learned that her mother had become critically ill with late-stage liver cirrhosis. 

She developed severe ascites, a condition in which fluid builds up in the abdomen and causes significant discomfort and pressure. Her doctors had to continually remove large amounts of fluid to keep her comfortable, leading Stavropoulos to begin noticing how the body adapted to such dramatic shifts in fluid volume, such as with a sudden decrease in blood pressure. 

Later in the same year that she found out her mother was ill, only two weeks before starting veterinary school, Stavropoulos experienced the heartbreak of losing her mother, a loss that stayed with her as she prepared to begin her new chapter. 

“I was asking myself, ‘Am I even in a space to be able to go to class? Am I even in a space to be in front of people?’” Stavropoulos said.

Although she could have deferred a year, she chose to start school as planned, supported by her professors, counselors, classmates, and family. 

“I really can’t imagine my life if I had taken the year off,” Stavropoulos said. “I try not to live with regrets like that. I thought that I would regret it more if I didn’t try.”

Meaningful Work

Throughout her first year, Stavropoulos often thought about the details of her mother’s illness as she tried to settle into the rhythm of veterinary school.

Because of her time working in the ECC Service, she noticed that fluid-draining procedures similar to the ones her mother went through were common in dogs, yet unlike in human medicine, little research existed on how canine blood pressure is affected by these procedures.

“When my mom passed, I held on to the question of, ‘Why isn’t what I’ve seen in human medicine reflected in veterinary medicine?’” Stavropoulos said.

When she learned about the Veterinary Medical Scientist Research Training Program, she realized she had found an opportunity to explore that question.

With mentorship from her faculty adviser — Dr. Christine Rutter, a VMBS clinical associate professor — and support from ECC technicians, she designed a study to look at whether draining abdominal fluid in dogs causes unsafe drops in blood pressure.

“When I first started enrolling patients, it was really encouraging; it gave me a lot of validation that what I was pursuing was worthwhile,” Stavropoulos said. “We were able to prove that the blood pressure does change and that it’s a statistically and clinically significant amount of decrease.” 

Low blood pressure is dangerous because blood flow is needed to deliver oxygen and nutrients to every organ in the body. When blood pressure drops too low, vital organs such as the brain, heart, and kidneys cannot function properly and may become damaged. This is true for all living things, as adequate blood flow is essential for life.

“This means that we really should pay attention to blood pressure during fluid drains so that we don’t let some patients fall through the cracks and have dangerously low blood pressures after the procedure,” Stavropoulos said.

Her work took her to several major conferences, including the National Veterinary Scholars Symposium in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the International Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care Symposium (IVECCS) in San Diego.

“The IVECCS judges did not realize that I wasn’t a veterinary resident because, traditionally, it’s residents and interns who are there with their posters,” Stavropoulos said. “They were really impressed, and they made a new honorable mention category just for me.”

Looking Forward

Now a fourth-year veterinary student, Stavropoulos plans to apply for the Veterinary Internship and Residency Matching Program in hopes of eventually pursuing a residency in emergency and critical care.

“I have so many ideas jumping off this one project that I want to pursue,” Stavropoulos said. “Eventually, I hope to return to a teaching hospital, ideally one like A&M, to continue clinical work and research.”

For Stavropoulos, the project will always be more than a study; it became a way to process her grief, find purpose, and turn a personal loss into something meaningful.

“This is a project that was born from a very dark time, but it’s important to know that even in dark times, you can still find a light and something to grow from,” Stavropoulos said. “I know that my mom’s very proud. That was always the goal.”