Texas A&M VERO Student Selected for Exclusive Fellowship

By Courtney Price

A Texas A&M veterinary student who is studying Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) with researchers at the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences’ (VMBS) Veterinary Education, Research, & Outreach (VERO) program in Canyon was among the 13 students from around the world to be selected for a Veterinary Student Research Fellowship (FFAR Vet Fellows).

Ali Olsen-Gerlach is a second-year veterinary student from Wichita Falls in the VMBS’ 2+2 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program, through which a small cohort of students spend the first two years of their veterinary educations at VERO, which housed on the West Texas A&M University campus in Canyon.

The 2023 FFAR Vet Fellows program, issued by the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) and the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), was developed to address the global need for research that tackles how population growth, climate change, emerging infectious diseases, and antimicrobial resistance threaten sustainable livestock production.

The awarding organizations seek to promote veterinary training that includes muti-species medicine, animal science, and public health.

Since funding opportunities for veterinary student research are rare, the three-month summer fellowship provides a unique experience not offered many other places. Fellows also receive access to mentorship and hands-on research experience as well as scientific communication and critical review of primary scientific literature through Texas A&M’s summer Veterinary Medical Scientist Research Training Program.

Olsen-Gerlach is conducting research on BRD with Dr. Robert Valeris-Chacin, assistant professor at VERO, and Dr. Paul Morley, professor and director of food animal research at VERO.

BRD is the most common illness in beef cattle and a major problem for the industry that requires treatment with antibiotics.

Her research evaluates how these commonly used antibiotics impact bacteria in healthy cattle — beyond preventing BRD — to provide producers with new information that can increase their antibiotic stewardship efforts.

“Ali has been a great contributor in the VERO lab this summer, where she worked hard on her assigned research as well as helping with other projects being conducted by our team,” Morley said. “We are hoping that she is able to continue as part of our research team after this project is completed.”

A second Texas A&M student, Madison Rowe from Fort Worth, was also selected for the FFAR Vet Fellows. Rowe is a second-year veterinary student conducting research on infections in honey bees with Dr. Juliana Rangel, associate professor of apiculture in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Department of Entomology.

Photo: Ali Olsen-Gerlach, center, a second-year veterinary student from Wichita Falls, is conducting research at Veterinary Education, Research, & Outreach at West Texas A&M University and has been selected for a Veerinary Student Research Fellowship. She is shown with Dr. Robert Valeris-Chacin, assistant professor at VERO, and Dr. Paul Morley, professor and director of food animal research at VERO, with whom she is conducting the research.

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