On July 16, trainees from the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) took center stage at the second annual Research, Innovation, Discovery, and Education (RIDE) Summit.

Designed to foster cross-disciplinary connections and celebrate the breadth of discovery happening at CVM, the daylong event brought together students, residents, postdocs, faculty, staff, and alums for a full schedule of talks, panels, and poster sessions. For trainees, the Summit offered a unique opportunity to share their work, hone their communication skills, and learn from one another in a vibrant, collaborative setting.

The first trainee-focused event of the day was the CVM Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, where participants were challenged to distill their research into a compelling, three-minute presentation using only one static slide—no jargon, no props. Students from both the Comparative and Molecular Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine graduate programs competed for a chance to represent CVM at the Saint Paul campus-wide Science in Seconds competition this fall. That event serves as a semifinal for the University-wide 3MT competition hosted each spring by the Graduate School.

This year’s first-place winner was Jason Hatfield (advisor: Sagar Goyal), with Emma Kozurek (advisor: Thomas Griffith) earning second place. Hatfield, along with Natalie Cmejla (advisor: Declan Schroeder), will advance to the Science in Seconds competition.

Later in the day, residents participated in an oral presentation contest, in which Joe Herbert (advisor: Allison Masters) earned top honors. And attendees mingled during the trainee poster session as judges determined the winners of that contest. 

In the Clinical Research category, Guillermo Arcega Castillo (advisor: Sol Perez) won first place, with second place awarded to Rachael Schulte (advisor: Sol Perez). In the Basic Science category, judges named two first-place winners: Erica Schmidt (advisor: Whitney Knauer) and Jared Young (advisor: Noelle Noyes). Second place went to Ashton Amann (advisor: Casey Johnson).

Trainees enjoyed refreshments with the 2025 Distinguished Alum Joe Bartges after the awards ceremony, which recognized winners from the day’s competitions and celebrated students who received scholarships and fellowships totaling more than $350,000 this year.

• Darrell Bigalke QualiTru Food Safety and Food Quality Award: Emily Leonard (advisor: Luciano Caixeta)
• Pritchard Fellowship: Emily Leonard (advisor: Luciano Caixeta)
• AI Weber DVM/PhD Scholarship: Jared Young (advisor: Noelle Noyes)
• WTS Thorp Memorial Scholarship: Jared Young (advisor: Noelle Noyes)
• Maheswaran Graduate Fellowship: Jared Young (advisor: Noelle Noyes)
  PIC USA Fellowship: Gerardo Diaz Ortiz (advisor: Noelle Noyes)
• Dr. Mike Murtaugh Graduate Science Fellowship: Gerardo Diaz Ortiz (advisor: Noelle Noyes)
• Fang Li Research Award in Basic Veterinary Science: Gerardo Diaz Ortiz (advisor: Noelle Noyes)
• Fang Li Research Award in Clinical Veterinary Science: Sydney Phu (advisor: Melanie Graham)
• Bee Hanlon/JoAnne Schmidt O’Brien Fellowship: Freya Stein and Jillian Marlowe (advisor: Sian Durward-Akhurst)
• Moe Fellowship: Jacob Jensen (advisor: Branden Moriarty)
  Carlos Pijoan Fellowship: Lucas Ferreira (advisor: Cesar Corzo)
• RK Anderson Fellowship: Erica Schmidt (advisor: Whitney Knauer)
• Don Hunter Memorial Fund: Erika Mueller (TRC Residency)
• Vaughn Larson Memorial Scholarship: Kendra Pachniak (advisor: Whitney Knauer)
• Bob Morrison Graduate Student Fellowship: Rafael Medeiros (advisor: Igor Paploski)

Across all sessions, the Summit reflected the depth and diversity of student-led research at CVM, and the community’s shared commitment to advancing science with purpose.

Find more coverage of the 2025 RIDE Summit, including more photos, here.