Graduate Training and Research Affiliations
Veterinary student training: I serve as course director and principle lecturer in Veterinary General Pathology (Pathobiological Sciences 559) for students in the professional veterinary program. Veterinary General Pathology introduces second year veterinary students to the principals of disease. Students are expected to use information taught in first year courses on anatomy, histology, physiology, and biochemistry as a basis for understanding how the body responds to injury. I organize my presentation around the concept of homeostasis. Organisms exist within an environment they do not control, and must respond to changes in that environment in a way that maintains a functioning internal steady state. Responses to changes that do not damage the organism constitute physiological adaptations. However, once a threshold is crossed, and the organism experiences damage, we enter the subject of pathology. Specific units include cell injury and death, disorders of blood flow and circulation, the inflammatory response, disorders of growth including neoplasia, and genetic pathology.
Research training: I accept Ph.D. trainees into my laboratory from the Cellular and Molecular Biology, Environmental Toxicology, Oncology, and Veterinary Sciences graduate programs. Because the studies in our laboratory are designed to assess the consequences of genetic alterations at the organismal level, students receive training in diverse subjects, ranging from molecular biology to histology and pathology. Therefore, students participate in traditional classroom courses, but supplement this training in several ways. In particular, students spend time in the animal colony, conducting pre- and post-mortem animal examinations, and at the microscope, assessing the appearance of experimental animal tissue sections. We have weekly laboratory meetings to discuss molecular and tissue-based research data, and how this data can be interpreted. Students also are expected to present several formal seminars during laboratory meetings, and at departmental and graduate program seminars. Several students have given invited presentations at other institutions. Writing also is an important component of training. All trainees must prepare the first drafts of each of their manuscripts, and most have been able to write a review article relevant to their research.
Two trainees who received veterinary degrees before entering my laboratory also have been awarded KO1 Special Emphasis Research Career Awards (SERCA) from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), NIH. These are awarded to veterinarians wishing to obtain research training in the development and analysis of animal models of human diseases. Since 1983, only 50 individuals nationally have received this award.
The experimental approaches that we employ in our laboratory typically use novel methods or design, and therefore can be high-risk. Furthermore, studies involving genetic manipulation of mice often require several years to complete. As a result, I encourage trainees to establish a research plan that includes several independent but related lines of investigation. I also like to provide enough flexibility so that promising but unexpected findings can be explored further. My first 4 trainees received their PhD degrees within 5 to 6 years after entering the laboratory.
Finally, we have been delighted to participate in the training of veterinary, undergraduate, and high school students, many of whom will be authors on publications in recognition of their contributions.
Program affiliations:
Cellular and Molecular Biology Molecular Biosciences Training Grant
(Application Information) Environmental Toxicology Training Grant