February 2025 ABI Student of the Month: Anushka Panjwani

Hi everyone! My name is Anushka and I am a third year animal biology major on the pre-vet track planning to apply to vet school in the next couple of years. I’m also the president of 27 Heartbeats, one of the pre-vet clubs on campus.

When I first joined the ABI major, I wasn’t totally sure if it was the right choice, but now that I’m here, I wouldn’t change a thing! Coming into undergrad, I mostly had clinical experience, but the ABI program really pushed me to get involved in animal research - something I hadn’t thought much about before. Now, I’m working as an undergrad researcher in a lab at the UC Davis VMTH which studies equine neurodegeneration diseases like eNAD. My project focuses on early-onset melanoma in grey horses and I’ve even gotten to work with lab mice, which has been such a cool experience. ABI classes have also helped me feel way more confident with lab skills and scientific writing, so I’m feeling good about tackling my practicum soon!

I also appreciate how flexible the ABI major is since we get to pick upper-division classes that match our interests. Plus, the major is relatively small, so it’s been easy to meet like-minded peers. Overall, being in ABI has been a great experience, and it’s really helped me figure out my interests in vet med while showing me there’s so much more to the field than I originally thought.