Dr. Erica Secor, Research Mentor at Inspira Advantage

Dr. Secor is a DVM/PhD scientist and board-certified large animal surgeon. She earned a DVM from Cornell University and completed large animal surgical training at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where she also earned a Master’s degree in veterinary clinical medicine. Dr. Secor returned to Cornell University to pursue a PhD in biomedical and biological sciences, where she is currently a postdoctoral associate in the Wagner Laboratory.

Across her training and career, Dr. Secor has built a wide-ranging research portfolio grounded in equine immunology and sports medicine. Before attending vet school, Dr. Secor earned a Bachelor's degree from Cornell University, graduating magna cum laude with distinction in research. During her undergraduate studies, Dr. Secor focused on equine neonatal immunology and successfully published a first-author paper describing the transfer of immune cytokines by colostrum to equine neonates.

Dr. Secor explored other research areas in vet school through several internship periods spent working with Nutramax Laboratories, exploring inflammatory markers in chondrocyte cultures and the effects of nutraceuticals and therapeutics on their production. During residency. She completed a Master's degree, shifting to clinical research through her study of an alternative technique for prosthetic laryngoplasty in the horse. During her PhD training, Dr. Secor combined her passion for immunology and brought it into equine sports medicine. Through her thesis entitled "Investigating Joint Pathophysiology Through Synovial Fluid Proteomics, Immune Cell Profiling, and Therapeutic Approaches in Equine Osteoarthritis," Dr. Secor discovered several promising diagnostic biomarkers, implicated several immune cell types in disease pathogenesis, and explored the effects of current and novel therapeutics.

Dr. Secor's work has been published in highly competitive journals, including the Equine Veterinary Journal, American Journal of Veterinary Research, and Veterinary Surgery. She has presented her work at many national and international professional conferences, including meetings of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, North American Veterinary Regenerative Medicine Association, and Veterinary Comparative Research Society. Dr. Secor has won two separate awards for her outstanding poster presentations. Additionally, she was selected as the 2025 Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation Storm Cat Research Career Advancement Award Recipient.

Dr. Secor loves mentoring students and veterinary house officers, taking tremendous joy in watching them progress and succeed. She has served as an undergraduate and veterinary student research mentor at Cornell University, as well as a mentor and Principal Investigator through the Harvard University Undergraduate OpenBio Laboratory program. Dr. Secor has guided undergraduate and veterinary students through study design, data analysis, and scientific communication, and her mentees have gone on to programs including the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, and Kansas State University.

Dr. Secor understands the complexities of navigating professional school applications alongside conducting high-quality research and can offer firsthand experience in balancing research, clinical aspirations, and making career shifts.

Get Started With a Free Consultation

Your first conversation will be with an Enrollment Specialist who will take the time to understand your background, goals, and timeline. They’ll help assess where you are in the prep process, answer initial questions, and determine which type of support and which expert would be the best fit for your personal needs.