Southern Ontario Reproductive Biology Conference – Akshu Valecha

Posted August 15, 2019

Through the core program, I had the opportunity on June 7th to attend the 47th annual Southern Ontario Reproductive Biology Conference. Since the conference was held at University of Toronto, other students attending the conference carpooled together. The car ride to the conference gave me the opportunity to meet more new people and chat about their research since some of the students were presenting at the conference as well. I learned a lot about how to get involved in the various research opportunities available on campus.

CPHAZ Symposium - Stephen Miltenburg

Posted August 15, 2019

On May 30th, 2019 I had the opportunity to attend the 2019 Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses Annual Symposium (CPHAZ). This is an event aimed at connecting professionals and researchers from a variety of backgrounds to tackle health challenges under a One Health approach. There are many lessons to be learned from other fields, and exchanging knowledge with public health, food safety, and medical professionals can improve veterinary practice.

Toronto Zoo - Kyra Sykes

Posted August 15, 2019

On July 20th I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Toronto Zoo and receive a behind the scenes tour of the new Wildlife Health Center including a chance to learn more about the conservation the zoo does. A major program I learned about was raising turtles in captivity for a few years until they became bigger in order to increase survival of species that need help, like the wood turtle and the Blanding’s turtle.

ICCI Cancer Research Symposium - Bianca Baldan

Posted August 15, 2019

Attending the ICCI Cancer Research Symposium on May 28 was a fun and exciting way to learn about what is “hot” in oncology research today. Oncology has been an interest of mine for a while, ever since cancer first affected my family. I was especially excited this summer to have the opportunity to do research on canine osteosarcoma and this symposium was a wonderful way for me to get a taste of what my summer would be like.

Toronto Zoo – Connor Bryant

Posted August 15, 2019

This summer the Ontario Veterinary College CORE program provided me the incredible opportunity to go behind-the-scenes at the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Health Centre and spend the morning with a zoo veterinarian. Ever since I was a very young child, I have had an interest in working with zoo animals and this passion has since been fostered into an interest in zoo animal medicine. This Toronto zoo experience through the OVC CORE program provided invaluable experience and insight into this profession and allowed me to hear some fascinating real-life stories.

CPHAZ Symposium - Erika Myler

Posted August 15, 2019

Southern Ontario Reproductive Biology Conference (SORB) - Brenna Hurley

Posted August 15, 2019

This summer the CORE program provided me with the opportunity to attend the Southern Ontario Reproductive Biology Conference (SORB) with other members of the Reproductive Health and Biotechnology lab. SORB was the first academic conference I ever attended, so it was a very eye-opening and educational experience. The conference was one full day at the University of Toronto. We left from Guelph early in the morning so that we could get to the conference and start networking over a light breakfast before the first presentations.

CPHAZ Symposium - Julia Kakish

Posted August 15, 2019

On May 30th, 2019 I had the privilege of attending the Center for Public Health and Zoonoses Symposium hosted at the University of Guelph. The symposium covered topics from Lyme disease to food safety and featured speakers from our university and others. The keynote speaker was Dr. Leifso an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and the Director of the Pediatric Residency Program at Queen’s University. He discussed the increasing prevalence of Lyme disease and his treatment and diagnosis of it in children.

Swine Research Day - Lauren MacNeil

Posted August 15, 2019

This summer I had a fantastic opportunity to work on a project involving dairy goat kids. I knew I was going to learn a lot about goats and other small ruminants, so I decided to pick a conference that was outside the scope of learning I’d be receiving this summer. I decided to attend the Swine Research Day on May 9th, 2019, hosted at Creelman Hall at the University of Guelph.

Toronto Zoo - Harley English-Dixon

Posted August 15, 2019

This July, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a Behind the Scenes Tour of some of the conservation facilities at the Toronto Zoo. Prior to attending OVC, I completed a MSc at Queen’s University in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, where I was surrounded by scientists devoting their careers to environmental and wildlife conservation. Therefore, I was thrilled to have the chance to learn about current conservation efforts in the context of zoo animal medicine.