Womble participates in Research Training Program

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Billy Womble spent 12 weeks this summer participating in a research training program at Oklahoma State University’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences. Mentored by Drs. Andrew Hanzlicek and João Brandão, Womble studied clotting times in rabbits and the influence of how the blood sample was handled.

“Throughout our curriculum we’ve learned several times about clotting disorders and how they can be diagnosed using tests,” said Womble. “It was really neat to have a project where I not only got to apply that knowledge but got to work with instructors on the more fundamental question of what conditions would produce a good sample for such a test. I not only came away with knowledge on how to use a specific instrument, but with a mindset of how to think critically about diagnostics and the importance of evidence in that process.”

This program gives first and second year veterinary students an opportunity to conduct a mentored research project. Mentors guide students through all project aspects including experimental design, methodology, data collection and analysis, and drawing conclusions.

“Clotting disorders are a common condition, however, the diagnosis can be difficult either due to variability among the species or due to limited knowledge on the diagnostic tests itself,” said Brandao. “Billy’s study had two purposes. First, since rabbit studies are limited, his project will provide useful information that will help veterinarians assess coagulation problems in rabbits. In addition, we looked at variables that can influence the results of the tests that we ran. This can be very helpful for not only rabbits, but also small animals and humans.”   

The results of Womble’s study were presented at the 2019 National Veterinary Scholars Symposium hosted by the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, in Worcester, MA. The poster can be found at the Summer Research Training Program website.

The Joan Kirkpatrick Endowed Chair in Small Animal Internal Medicine and the Dr. Kristie Plunkett Exotic Animal Fund provided funding to support this research project.

MEDIA CONTACT: Taylor Bacon | Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator | 405-744-6728 | taylor.bacon@okstate.edu