TEAM MEMBERS
Principle Investigator
Heidi Reesink, VMD, PhD, DACVS-LA
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Associate Professor of Large Animal Surgery
Heidi is an Associate Professor of Large Animal Surgery at Cornell University with clinical interests in orthopedic surgery and sports medicine. She received her veterinary degree (VMD) from the University of Pennsylvania in 2007, followed by residency and PhD training at Cornell prior to joining the faculty in 2016. She is board-certified in large animal surgery by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS).
Heidi is interested in understanding the pathophysiology of joint disease and advancing 'One Health' therapeutic design and interventional strategies aimed at restoring cartilage health, improving comfort, and prolonging joint longevity and patient mobility. She also investigates the pathophysiology of fetlock fractures in racehorses with the goal of identifying risk factors for injury.

Current Lab Members
Matthew Thomas, BS, Research Support Specialist
Matthew received his B.S. in Integrative Neuroscience from Binghamton University in 2019. While there, he served as an undergraduate assistant on multiple research projects, ranging from microbial biofilms to alcohol related brain damage. He joined the College of Veterinary Medicine as a laboratory manager for the Delco lab in the fall of 2019 and led a research project investigating mitochondrial content in extracellular vesicles. Matthew joined the Reesink lab as a technician and research support specialist in the fall of 2023.

PhD Students
Erica Secor, DVM, MS, DACVS-LA, PhD Candidate
Erica is a PhD Candidate in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) graduate group. She earned her undergraduate ('09) and DVM ('13) degrees from Cornell before leaving Ithaca for an equine internship, followed by an equine surgery residency and master's degree. Erica spent 4 years working as an equine surgeon in private practice prior to returning to her alma mater in 2021 to pursue PhD training. Erica is investigating the role of the immune system in the development and progression of equine osteoarthritis (OA) and exploring diagnostic techniques and therapeutic interventions for early OA.
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Outside of the lab, Erica enjoys trail running, horseback riding, and cooking.

Sydney Womack, BS, DVM/PhD Combined Degree Candidate
Sydney is a Combined DVM/PhD Degree Student in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) PhD program and DVM programat Cornell University. She earned her BS in Biomedical Engineering at the University of South Carolina in May of 2021, prior to starting vet school in the fall. She joined Dr. Reesink's lab as a PhD student in 2023. She is working on pain measurement in rodent models of osteoarthritis, mechanisms of fibrosis in post-traumatic osteoarthritis, and joint sepsis. She is particularly interested in translational/comparative research and is interested in pursuing laboratory animal medicine post-graduation.
Outside of lab, Sydney enjoys hiking, rock-climbing, and playing her bassoon.

DVM Research Fellows & Surgery Residents
Cecilia Calestani, DVM, Research Fellow
Thomas Ratcliffe, DVM, Surgery Resident
DVM Students
Collin Gier
Allison Dwinnell
Undergraduates
Isabella Cervero
Ashley Schiller
Lab Alumni
Postdocs & DVM Research Fellows
Matthew Woodman, DVM
Matt joined the Reesink lab from 2023-24, investigating proteoglycan 4 (PRG4) and lubricin expression in equine tenosynovial structures in health and disease. He is currently pursuing a rotating small animal internship at The Animal Medical Center in New York City.
Marshall Colville, PhD
Machiel Ysebaert, DVM
McKenna Caspers, DVM
Kira Noordwijk, BVSc
Amanda Watkins, VMD, DACVS-LA
Erin Cresswell, PhD
Bridgette Peal, DVM, DACVS-LA
Surgery Residents
Garett Pearson, DVM
Garett's resident research projects focused on equine synovial sepsis diagnostics and antimicrobial resistance. He is currently pursuing a Large Animal Emergency & Critical Care Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center.


Lauren Luedke, DVM, DACVS-LA
Lauren's resident research project investigated bone microdamage and fracture toughness in horses sustaining proximal sesamoid bone fracture. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Equine Surgery & Lameness at Colorado State University.
PhD Students
Yuyan Wang, PhD
Yuyan received her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Cornell University in 2023 for her thesis work, "Lubricin in post-traumatic osteoarthritis, from naturally occurring disease to recombinant therapeutics." Yuan is currently pursuing postdoctoral research in pharmacology at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.