Media and Lab Updates

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2025 was a landmark year for the Li Comparative Platelet & Neutrophil Physiology Laboratory. Our work continued to advance the understanding of platelet biology, immunothrombosis, and feline cardiovascular disease, with a strong emphasis on translational relevance and collaborative science.

Celebrating Trainee Achievement

We are proud to celebrate the successful completion of the PhD of Dr. Meg Shaverdian in June 2025. Meg’s doctoral work made foundational contributions to our understanding of procoagulant platelet biology and its role in feline cardiogenic arterial thromboembolism. She has since joined the Kornblith Lab at UCSF as a postdoctoral fellow, where she continues her work in thrombosis and hemostasis.

Dr. Maria Guzman, our senior Emergency and Critical Care resident, won the Small Animal Abstract Award at this year’s International Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Symposium. Dr. Guzman presented her work on the Effects of non-anticoagulant heparin on leukocyte-platelet interactions and neutrophil extracellular trap formation in an in vitro model of canine whole blood. Congratulations!

We were proud to host participants in the NC State Summer Veterinary Scholar Program, including Reagan Glass, Jasmine He, and Kylee Long, providing early exposure to hypothesis-driven and translational research.

Career Achievement in Feline Research

In 2025, Dr. Ronald H. L. Li was honored with the American Veterinary Medical Foundation Career Achievement in Feline Research Award. This national recognition highlights sustained contributions to feline health through research focused on platelet and neutrophil biology, mechanisms of hypercoagulability, and clinically impactful translational science.

Looking Ahead to 2026

In 2026, we are excited to welcome new trainees including graduate students, Dr. Devansh Fumali and Connor Fleck, as well as first-year Emergency and Critical Care resident, Dr. Leia Yoon. We look forward to continued growth, mentorship, and collaborative discovery.

Research output in 2025

Our laboratory published multiple peer-reviewed manuscripts in 2025 spanning mechanistic platelet biology, immunothrombosis, and clinical outcomes research in feline cardiovascular disease.

Li RHL, Shaverdian M, Chen C, Stuhlmann C, Stern JA, Nguyen N. Functional Toll-like receptor 4 links endotoxin sensing to platelet priming in feline platelets. Front Vet Sci. 2025.
Shaverdian M, Viall A, Li RHL. Are Procoagulant Platelets an Emerging Therapeutic Target? A General Review with an Emphasis on Their Clinical Significance in Companion Animals. Int J Mol Sci. 2025;26(18):8776.
Yoon I, Li RHL. Evaluation of neutrophil:lymphocyte and platelet:neutrophil ratios and their prognostic utility in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and cardiogenic arterial thromboembolism. J Feline Med Surg. 2025.
Yeh NS, Shaverdian M, Li RHL. Evolving FATE: A New Lens on the Pathogenesis and Management of Feline Cardiogenic Arterial Thromboembolism. Animals (Basel). 2025;15(11):1630.
Rivas V, Goldsmith DA, Vandewege MW, Li RHL, Losa SM, Leber M, Sitthicharoenchai P, Hawkes K, Davies JL, Legge C, Revell S, Stern JA. Novel Cardiac Troponin-I Missense Variant (c.593C>T) Is Associated With Familial Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in Golden Retrievers. Circulation Genomic and Precision Medicine. 2025; 18(5)
Farrell K, Epsetein SE, Nguyen N., Li RHL. Assessment of platelet storage lesions, viability, and function in canine platelet concentrate units stored at 4C for 14 days. J Vet Emerg Crit Care. 2025 (in press)

Congratulations to Dr. Meg Shaverdian! We want to wish Dr. Meg Shaverdian all the best as she joined the Kornblith Lab at University of California, San Francisco as a post-doc. Meg will continue her work exploring procoagulant platelets in trauma and critical illness. Congratulations to Meg!