Prior Degrees: DVM University of Belgrade, Serbia 2000

Mentor: Thomas Whittam

Research Interests: Currently, I have begun to investigate the bacterial factors involved in the variation in host specificity and ability to cause disease of EHEC serotypes O157:H7, O26:H11 and O111:H8. Strains of these serotypes are associated with hemorrhagic colitis (HC) and HUS in humans and bloody diarrhea in cattle. O157:H7 is most commonly associated with HC and HUS in humans, but only O26:H11 and O111:H8 can cause bloody diarrhea in cattle, which is an interesting phenomena because they have similar virulence factors. I am using DNA micro array analysis to compare the unsequenced genome content of serotypes O26:H11 and O111:H8 to the sequenced genome of O157:H7. The aim is to determine the divergence in genome content with the intent to elucidate differences in regulation of shared genes that contribute to the observed variation in host and tissue specificity, as well as ability to cause disease. This will be followed by investigating gene expression of these serotypes under varying conditions, such as cell and in vitro organ culture assay, rabbit and/or cattle ileal loop assay.

Career Goals: Theory is a trap set in hope that reality will be naïve enough to fall into it.

Hobbies/Interests: big movie-fan, amateur chess and backgammon, like to sleep in and do nothing the whole day, etc.

Prior Degrees: BS Zoology, Michigan State University, 2006

Mentor: Dr. John Kaneene

Research Interests: I am currently working on a research project studying the development and application of molecular techniques for the detection of M. bovis in environmental samples collected in Michigan. These molecular detection techniques should improve our ability to identify M. bovis in soil, hay, water and similar substrates and enable an accurate characterization of the persistence and distribution of M. bovis in farm environments.

Career Goals: Ultimately, I want to obtain a DVM degree. Veterinarians are trained to address a variety of issues affecting our society and this, along with my MS in CMIB will open the door for an increasing number of opportunities. I'm not quite sure where I want to go, but the more I experience through my educational training, the better equipped I'll be to make the best decision.

Hobbies/Interests: I love reading, going to church, international travel, good food, roller skating, bowling, and playing laser tag. Things I haven't done but am interested in doing include taking a ride in a hot air balloon, swimming with dolphins, and jet skiing!

Prior Degrees: DVM University of Nigeria 2002

Mentor: J.J. Pestka

Research Interests: It is intriguing that there could be 1,000 fold difference in xenobiotic response between various individuals of the same species, and closely tied to this is various idiosyncratic behaviors to therapeutic agents.This is of great interest to me, at the moment, I am looking at a model with modest inflammation induced by Reovirus.I am looking at how this double stranded RNA virus can change xenobiotic response in infected organisms.After looking at some drugs and toxins, a pertinent question would be what critical events are responsible for this change in response.

Career Goals: I am simply interested in contributing my quota to international development, I feel especially obliged to third world countries. At the moment, I volunteer for African Education Initiative (www.nef3.org) where I serve on the mentoring committee. I also volunteer for Partnership to Cut Hunger in Africa(www.africahunger.org) where I serve with the capacity building for science and technology working group.In the future, I hope to use my toxicology knowledge to contribute to sustainable development in a more peaceful world. I love travelling to new places and understanding other cultures. I like to spend time hanging out with friends, and they recently won me over to the world of basketball madness.

Hobbies/Interests: traveling and sight seeing

Prior Degrees: DVM University of Leipzig, Germany 2003

Mentor: Frederik J. Derksen

Current Lab: http://www.cvm.msu.edu/RESEARCH/PULMON/index.htm

Research Interests: My long-term goal is to understand the mechanisms leading to non-infectious lower airway disease in horses. Specifically, with my research projects I investigate cellular mechanisms of mucus accumulation within the airways of horses affected by recurrent airway obstruction (RAO). RAO is characterized by chronic mucus accumulation and neutrophilic airway inflammation induced by hay feeding. In RAO-affected horses, there are increased levels of mRNA of eqMUC5AC, the principal equine airway muin gene. Transcription factors that can activate mucin gene (MUC) expression include NF-kB, which has increased binding activity in airway epithelial cells in horses with RAO. Several signaling pathways culminate in a stimulation of the NF-kB translocation from the cytoplasm into the nucleus. My research includes the determination of NF-kB binding sites within the promoter region of eqMUC5AC and the quantitative determination of its mRNA due to NF-kB binding. I am also very interested in the evaluation of signal transducing receptors within the airway epithelium, such as Toll-like receptors, which can become activated due to endotoxin that is common in stables.

Career Goals: Concerning my subsequent plans, I prepare for a research career within cellular, molecular and integrative biology. My education in basic cellular and molecular biology as well as the intensive laboratory training at Michigan State University in combination with my medical understanding provide me with the background needed to acquire an academic position within the biomedical society. With my deep interests, specifically in pulmonary medicine, I also prepare for a representative position within the American Thoracic Society (ATS) in future.

Hobbies/Interests: Beside my professional goals, I enjoy practicing different sport activities. For example, I am a member of the MSU Tae Kwon Do club as well as the MSU Sailing club.

Prior Degrees:
DVM University of Wisconsin-Madisin 2000
Residency- Small Animal Internal Medicine MSU 2004

Mentor: Jack Harkema

Research Interests: Our laboratory's research is designed to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of airway injury caused by the inhalation of airborne pollutants. Of particular importance in this pursuit is investigation into mechanisms of airway epithelial injury, adaptation, and repair after exposure to air pollutants. My current research is aimed at understanding the effects of ambient ozone, the principal oxidant pollutant in photochemical smog, on postnatal development in the infant and juvenile lung and nasal cavity. I am also utilizing image analysis, morphometric techniques, and computational biological methods to compare the relative susceptibility of different animal models and age groups to ozone-induced nasal injury. By investigating the differences in airway geometry, nasal histopathology, and molecular status of the nasal epithelium (pro-inflammatory cytokines, antioxidant capacity, mucus secretagogues), I hope to further characterize the nasal and pulmonary response to ozone exposure during postnatal development, and provide insight to species differences that may affect data extrapolation for human risk assessment.

Career Goals: My clinical interests in veterinary medicine include canine and feline small airway disease, chronic (non-neoplastic) nasal disease, and the role of the environment in the pathogenesis of respiratory diseases.

Prior Degrees: BS Biology Worcester Polytechnic Institute 2001

Mentor: Katheryn Meek

Research Interests: I am currently studying DNA repair mechanisms, specifically repair of DNA double strand breaks. My two projects center on DNA-PKcs, a large protein that plays a pivitol role in non-homologous end joining repair. I am studying its role in regulating alternate repair pathways. I am also working with a canine model of Severe Combined Immunodeficiency as a result of a mutation in DNA-PKcs in the hopes of designing a model of SCID that can be used in biomedical research.

Career Goals: I am currently in the third year of my DVM and hope to stay in an academic setting followig the completion of my degrees.

Prior Degrees: BS Animal Science/Biotechnology from University of Massachusetts at Amherst

Mentor: Jose Cibelli

Current Lab: http://www.crl.msu.edu/

Research Interests: KC has extensive experience in creating transgenic and knockout mice, animal reproductive cloning, primate embryology, and stem cell research. She has worked for GTC Biotherapeutics, in Dr. Stuart Orkin's lab at Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Children's Hospital in Boston, at Advanced Cell Technology, and at Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Her main project currently is culturing primate stem cells as part of her PhD research.

Jenna Denhouter
denhoute@msu.edu

Prior Degrees: BS Zoology from MSU, 2004

Mentor: Simon Petersen-Jones

Research Interests: I am intrigued by the potentials of gene therapy. I am currently working with Corgis that are affected by Progressive Retinal Atrophy, an autosomal recessive disease, by attempting to use gene therapy to restore vision to affected puppies.

Career Goals: My goals include delving into the world of clinical research using viral vectors to create a physiologically normal environment for animals and humans that are affected by inherited diseases. I hope to eventually both practice as a veterinary clinician and pursue clinical research.

Hobbies/Interests: In my free time, I enjoy playing the piano and guitar, painting, cooking, and backpacking.

Prior Degrees: BS Animal Science Univ.of Wisconsin 1988

Mentor: Steven Arnoczky

Current Lab: www.cvm.msu.edu/lcor

Research Interests: Extracellular matrix may be involved in overuse injury in sports. Different integrins may function to attach cells to the matrix and a study of the integrins and their functions is my interest.

Career Goals: Laboratory Manager University or Industry

Hobbies/Interests: 4H-chickens, scrapbooking

Elizabeth Hamilton
hameliz@msu.edu

Prior Degrees:
B.S from MSU: Lyman Briggs Microbiology
B.S. from MSU: Medical Technology
M.P.H. in Epidemiology from Emory University

Mentor: John B. Kaneene

Research Interests: Currently working with antimicrobial resistance and how companion animals play a role in passage of these infections.

Career Goals: Allowing myself to be inspired. I would love to teach or possibly work for the FDA.

Hobbies/Interests: I currently work full-time for the Michigan Department of Communicy Health, HIV Survellance. In my spare time I enjoy snowboarding, playing with my dogs, cooking (I work part-time at Williams-Sonoma), hiking, going to the beach, watching movies, & organizing.

Prior Degrees: BS Zoology, Michigan State University
Currently in DVM/PhD Program

Mentor: John B. Kaneene

Research Interests: My primary research interest is the epidemiology of infectious diseases at the livestock/wildlife interface.

Career Goals: I want to combine my DVM and PhD training to pursue a career studying infectious diseases of wildlife and livestock.

Hobbies/Interests: Hiking, photography, ultimate frisbee

Prior Degrees:
B.V.Sc Veterinary medicine and Animal scinces Madras Veterinary College, India 2002
M.V.Sc Veterinary Microbiology Madras Veterinary College, India 2004

Mentor: Linda S. Mansfield

Research Interests: My research interest centers on the host-pathogen interface of Campylobacter jejuni pathogenesis in murine model. C. jejuni is the most common cause of food borne gastroenteritis of humans worldwide. Many facets of C. jejuni pathogenesis and host immune response remain unraveled due to lack of suitable animal model. The preliminary findings of our lab suggested that mice with IL-10-/- genetic background could serve as a model for C. jejuni colonization and enteritis. I am more interested in exploring C. jejuni-macrophage interaction and the dynamics of pro-inflammatory cytokine (TNFa; IFN?; IL-8; IL-12) and anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-4; IL-5; IL-10) response in C. jejuni infection in this animal model. Additional interests include elucidating the role(s) of potential cytotoxins of C. jejuni such as TlyA and PldA in eliciting acute intestinal inflammation and cytokine response.

Career Goals: Future / Long term goals: To address the question of why some bacterial pathogens like C. jejuni cause diseases in humans while remaining as commensals in animals in detail at molecular level.

Hobbies/ Interests: Music, movies, cricket and tennis

Prior Degrees: BS - Animal Science, DVM - in progress

Mentor: Dr. Mohamed Faisal

Research Interests: The expansion and host range of Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Virus in the Great Lakes.

Career Goals: Pursue Pathology training, focusing on fish pathology and eventually create vaccines and medications with regard to fish on a global scale (ornamental, aquaculture etc.).

Hobbies/Interests: Fishing, SCUBA, Running

Prior Degrees: BS Biology Eastern MI University 1999

Mentor: Simon Petersen-Jones

Research Interests: Under the supervision of Simon Petersen-Jones, I am studying the condition known as Ocular Melanosis in the Cairn Terrier breed of dog. Awareness of this condition in the United States is a fairly recent thing, as the first known cases were diagnosed in 1984. It is an inherited condition that occurs predominantly in this breed. The hallmark of this disease is a bilateral hyper-pigmentation, which occurs in the front portion of each eye. This pigment accumulates and decreases the eyes' ability to drain fluid out of the anterior chamber, which eventually leads to an increase in pressure in the eye known as secondary glaucoma. An increased pressure in the eye can be very painful, which usually necessitates the removal of the eye. If caught early, the damage that glaucoma causes can be slowed, and vision maintained longer by use of medications. I am studying the molecular and genetic basis behind this increase in pigment, and the mode of inheritance of this disease, which we hope will lead to an increase in our knowledge of this and other ocular melanocyte related conditions.

Career Goals: I would like to practice small animal medicine, with an emphasis on clinical ophthalmology.

Prior Degrees: B.V.Sc. & A.H. Tribhuwan University, Nepal 2001

Mentor: Vilma Yuzbasiyan-Gurkan

Research Interests: Stem cells are a subject of increasing interest owing to their biological properties and potential therapeutic implications. Their capacity for self-renewal and multilineage differentiation make them uniquely suitable to treat a broad spectrum of diseases. I am primarily interested in animal stem cells research. It will be aimed on finding novel approaches to the regenerative/reparative treatment of intriguing diseases that are ineffectively treated by traditional approaches (including musculoskeletal diseases, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, cancer etc). My specific research interests include optimization of isolation and characterization methodologies for animal stem cells, dissecting the associated signaling pathways to optimize the proliferation and differentiation potential of those stem cells, molecular view of stemness, reprogramming, and homing mechanism. In the long run, I am interested to work on host-cell interaction and in vivo differentiation with therapeutic perspectives.

Career Goals: In the long run, I will be working in the field of translational medicine, applying the potential novel findings of bench to the pragmatic reality of bedside, which seems to have virtually endless possibilities. I will harness my knowledge and skills to dissect the intractable diseases and to find out promising solutions. My long-term goal focuses on making contribution to the field of medicine through the rational use of molecular and cellular insights. I want to develop animal models for cell-based therapy, which will have potential implications for animal health as well as its human counterpart. It is obvious that integrative medicine promises to be the future of diagnostics and therapeutics. Besides providing know-how for disease prevention and health maintenance, it is the driving force for drug discovery and patient-tailored therapy. My goal will be to delve into this field and make informed decision in the choice of best possible therapy for animals and human.

Hobbies/ Interests: Music, literature and sports

Tiffiany Joy Onifade

Prior Degrees:
BS Chemistry, University of South Carolina, 2002 MS Environmental Health Science, University of Georgia, 2005

Mentor: John Kaneene

Research Interests: I am interested in zoonotic diesase transmission and rates as influenced by environmental factors. I am looking to model rates of transmission in certain geographic areas then prospectively link the cases in humans to their environment in those geographic areas where the model is valid. This is in the hopes to contribute to the field of zoonotic diseases (campylobacter, salmonella) which are often considered primarilly food borne, that the environmental aspect may explain a significant portion of the variability in rates of these diseases.

Career Goals: In the long term I plan to continue doing research in an academic setting.

Prior Degrees:
DVM UFPR 1998
MS Veterinary Sciences UFPR 2000

Mentor: Donna Koslowsky

Research Interests: My general professional interest is parasitology. I have worked with heartworm during my master's and I am currently studying the mechanisms of RNA editing in the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei. I am interested in all of the pathogenic kinetoplastid parasites that undergo RNA editing. These trypanosomatids cause a number of important diseases, like sleeping sickness and Nagana (caused by subspecies of Trypanosoma brucei), Chaga's disease (caused by Trypanosoma cruzi) and leishmaniasis (caused by Leishmania spp). See relevant information on trypanosomatid genome and biology on Science magazine, 15 July, 2005 issue.

Career Goals: Upon completion of PhD program, I want to get a post-doctoral and faculty position in the parasitology field, to continue working with parasites at the molecular level. My goal is to bring health/research innovation to my country and contribute to combat the kinetoplastid parasites, which cause devastating neglected diseases in underdeveloped and developing countries.

Hobbies/ Interests: medicine of wild/exotic animals and ultrasound, my favorite extracurricular activities.

Prior Degrees:
BA Biology Kalamazoo College 2001

Mentor: Simon Petersen-Jones

Research Interests: I am just a fledgling graduate student and am just beginning to develop a taste for graduate work and research. Having said that, my current research interests include retinopathies especially my personal favorite the retinopathy, globe enlarged (rge) chicken. My favorite techniques include electroretinography, histopathology, immunohistochemistry and positional candidate gene hunting.

Career Goals: My career goals at this point are up in the air. I hope to finish my DVM training as planned and earn a Master's degree and then see where the wind takes me next (possibly a residency in veterinary pathology, possibly a PhD program somewhere).

Hobbies/ Interests: My hobbies include underwater gardening in my two freshwater aquariums (and fish care of course), knitting, learning how to rabbit-proof my house to protect it and my two house rabbits from being hurt/damaged, and memorizing every episode of the greatest show on earth, The X-files.

Prior degrees:
DVM, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand, 2000
MS (Veterinary Pathology), Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand, 2002

Mentor: Jose B. Cibelli

Prior Degrees: B.V.Sc Madras Veterinary College, Chennai. India 2004

Mentor: P.S MohanKumar and Sheba MohanKumar

Current Lab: http://cvm.msu.edu/vetpath/neuro/neuro.htm

Research Interests & Career Goals: Understanding neuroendocrine interactions form the core to unravel complex crosstalk between the brain and periphery. Signals from the periphery influence the neuroendocrine axis by influencing both at the level of brain stem and hypothalamus. During development, uterine environment can have lasting effects on the neuroendocrine axis and this is refered to as Fetal programming. This disruption of neuroendocrine axis is believed to be the underlying feature of many adult onset disorders like Obesity, Type II diabetes, Hypertension and Polycystic ovarian syndrome etc. My areas of research would be broadly in the lines of programming of neuroendocrine circuitry by endocrine disruptors like exogenous steroids. Prenatal exposure to testosterone has been shown to result in fetal growth retardation and this can lead to a number of disorders. But the mechanisms of this "programming" have not been understood. Steroids can influence catecholaminergic neurons which arise from brainstem and terminate in specific nuclei of hypothalamus. I would like to investigate the expression of Tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate limiting enzyme in catecholamine synthesis in the brain stem as well as direct quantification of neurotransmitter concentrations from specific nuclei of hypothalamus in these "programmed" animals using state-of-the-art techniques like Push-pull perfusion and HPLC-EC. I believe that this elucidation of mechanisms of neuroendocrine disruption can help both public and policymakers.

Hobbies/ Interests: Parallel cinema, Photography, Painting and Poetry

Prior Degrees: B.V.Sc (Equivalent to DVM) Madras Veterinary
College, 2005, India.

Lab: Rotation

Research Interests: Pathogens are adept at evading host immune response and I am interested in knowing various strategies employed by pathogenic microbes to colonize successfully and cause disease.

Career Goals: I look forward to be a teacher with research responsibilities.

Hobbies/Interests: Reading, Movies and Music.

Prior degrees:
BVM National Taiwan University 2002

Mentor: Roger K. Maes

Research interests: My current research focuses on the molecular
pathogenesis mechanisms of feline herpesvirus type 1.

Tuddow Thaiwong
thaiwong@msu.edu
355-6463 x1551

Prior Degrees: DVM, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, 2004

Mentor: Matti Kiupel and Vilma Yuzbasiyan Gurkan

Current Lab: Laboratory of Canine Genetics

Research Interests: Molecular Pathobiology

Career Goals: My career goal is to employ knowledge including research skills and experiences to promote academic advances in both undergraduate and graduate levels in the veterinary pathology field.

Hobbies/Interests: Music & watching movies