The Department of Pathobiological Sciences (PBS) is one of the four academic departments in the UW School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM). The department makes significant contributions to the SVM through its many and varied research programs and its teaching programs for professional, graduate, and undergraduate students. Departmental faculty contribute directly to clinical and diagnostic service programs through the UW Veterinary Care Teaching Hospital and indirectly through personnel in the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory that have faculty appointments in the department. Certain faculty in the department also have clinical and diagnostic service responsibilities at the Research Animal Resources Center and the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center.
Research programs in PBS are varied, but they place a major focus on infectious diseases caused by bacteria, parasites, and viruses and immunity to these infectious agents. Faculty publish their research results in many scientific journals and books, and the excellence of this work has been recognized locally, nationally, and internationally for the last 30 years. Many of the department faculty are known nationally and internationally as experts in their specialties.
This research excellence continues to bring funding to the department from multiple public and private sources. Most faculty have maintained funding throughout their careers. Certain projects are continuations of studies that originated with faculty in the Department of Veterinary Science, which was housed on the UW-Madison campus for approximately 70 years prior to the opening of SVM in 1983.
Departmental faculty teach a variety of professional veterinary courses, including
- Bacteriology
- Epidemiology
- Immunology
- Mycology
- Parasitology
- Anatomical and Clinical Pathology
- Veterinary Regulatory Medicine and Public Health
They also teach undergraduate and graduate courses, including
- Careers in Veterinary Medicine
- Immunology
- Molecular Biology Techniques and Parasitology
Departmental faculty serve on numerous school and university committees. They also serve on editorial boards for professional journals, grant review panels, special national and international research committees, and national professional organizations. The department has approximately 175 faculty, professional staff, and graduate students, which includes personnel with primary as well as affiliate and adjunct appointments in the department. The department can be reached by calling (608) 263-9888 or by email.