Training Programs

Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI

General Training Objectives

1. To provide a three-year, comprehensive veterinary residency training program in either anatomic or clinical pathology with the goal of ACVP board certification.
2. To provide broad training which will prepare residents for employment in academia, industry, or private diagnostic laboratory settings, or for entry into graduate (MS or PhD) training programs.

Programs Offered
The three-year pathology residency program fulfills the training requirements for ACVP board certification.  The department offers a specialized 3¼-year toxicologic pathology residency training in partnership with MPI Research, which offers unique opportunities for residents to work under GLP conditions with laboratory animals in drug safety evaluation studies.  This provides valuable experience for those interested in careers in the pharmaceutical industry.

We also offer a 5-year combined pathology residency with PhD training at one of the various NIH units in Bethesda, Maryland, which results in the trainee becoming a board-certified Veterinary Pathologist with state-of-the-art molecular research background.

Qualifications
Candidates must have a DVM or equivalent veterinary degree.  Candidates are required to submit a letter stating career goals, along with curriculum vitae, veterinary school transcript including GPA, and three letters of reference.  Postgraduate experience and GRE scores are desirable but are not required.

Facilities
A state-of-the-art diagnostic laboratory is in operation at Michigan State University.  This 152,000 gross sq ft facility includes separate BSL-2 and BSL-3 necropsy areas, avian necropsy, wildlife necropsy, complete laboratory facilities for endocrinology, histopathology, immunohistochemistry, microbiology, nutrition, parasitology, and toxicology sections; the clinical pathology laboratory is located at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.  In addition to diagnostic laboratory personnel, the facility includes offices and laboratories for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (Wildlife Disease Laboratory) and the Michigan Department of Agriculture, which will facilitate ongoing cooperative disease surveillance programs with these agencies.  This diagnostic laboratory is the largest and most biosecure state diagnostic laboratory in the United States.

Staff
Faculty members available as mentors for graduate training are:

• Laura Jill McCutcheon, DVM, PhD, Professor, PDI Department Chair                                    
  Equine muscle physiology in response to exercise and metabolic conditions.  Also, interested in international development and outreach.          
• Carole Bolin, DVM, PhD, Professor, Director of DCPAH
  Zoonotic disease; pathogenesis, vaccine development and evaluation, epidemiology, and diagnosis.  Particular areas of expertise/interest include leptospirosis, paratuberculosis, and tuberculosis.
• Dalen Agnew, DVM, PhD, DACVP, Assistant Professor
  Comparative pathology of zoo and wildlife species, reproductive pathology, infectious disease of the bovine reproductive tract including Tritrichomonas, conservation biology, and international development and livestock diseases.
• Allison Bauer, DVM, PhD, Assistant Professor                                                                   
  Role of the innate immune system in mouse and human pulmonary inflammation and tumorigenesis; mechanisms of environamental lung carcinogenesis; chemoprevention of lung carcinogenesis; ozone-induced lung injury and inflammation.
• Steven Bolin, DVM, PhD, Professor
  General research interest:  viral diseases of animals.  Specific research interests vary with the disease but include host/virus interactions that range in level from population to molecular, diagnostic methods, and strategies for disease control.
• Robert Bowker, VMD, PhD, Professor
  Enteric nervous system in normal cows and those with displaced abomasum; functional anatomy of pain mechanism; organization of descending pathways to spinal cord; transmitters and inflammation within synovial membrane, lungs, and skin; equine foot, navicular disease.
• Mohamed Faisal, DVM, PhD, Professor
  Primary focus:  pathogenesis of diseases of aquatic animals.  This includes the basic molecular, cellular, and immunological aspects of disease pathogenesis.  Knowledge is applied to develop intervention strategies for infectious diseases threatening aquatic animals, including fish, shellfish, and coral organisms.
• Scott Fitzgerald, DVM, PhD, DACVP, Professor, Residency Training Program Coordinator
  Comparative pathology of avian, aquatic, domestic, and wildlife species; pathogenesis of infectious diseases, including bovine tuberculosis in domestic and wildlife species, and other zoonotic and emerging diseases; pathology of the lymphoid, urinary, endocrine, and gastrointestinal systems.  Also interested in wildlife population medicine, health and disease surveillance, and environmental contaminants.
• Richard Fulton, DVM, PhD, DACPV, Associate Professor
  Pathogenesis and prevention of infectious diseases of birds, including but not limited to infectious bronchitis, infectious laryngotracheitis, colibacillosis, and salmonellosis.  Also interested in international outreach and extension.
• Jack Harkema, DVM, PhD, DACVP, Professor
  Respiratory pathology; inhalation toxicology; mechanisms of airway epithelial injury, adaptation, and repair after exposure to air pollutants; toxicologic pathology; image analysis; morphometry; immunohistochemistry; upper airway toxicology and pathology; comparative pathology; airway inflammation; scientific and medical illustration.
• Matti Kiupel, DVM, PhD, DACVP, Associate Professor                                           
  Comparative and diagnostic molecular pathology, including immunohistochemistry, in-situ hybridization, laser capture microdissection, electron microscopy, confocal microscopy, image analysis. Diagnostic and prognostic classification of neoplastic diseases of animals (e.g. canine cutaneous mast cell tumors, transitional cell carcinomas, canine melanomas and canine and feline lymphomas) as well as the development of animal models for human cancer and the pathogenesis of viral diseases of animals (e.g. ferret rota- and coronaviruses, canine and feline papillomaviruses, and feline herpesvirus), also interested in zoonotic and emerging diseases and ferret diseases.
• Ingeborg Langohr, DVM, PhD, DACVP, Assistant Professor                                    
  Comparative pathology, dermatopathology, ocular pathology, pathogenesis of infectious diseases, and international development and outreach.
• Charles Mackenzie, DVM, PhD, Professor
  Immunopathology; ontogeny of immune systems in animals; eosinophils; tropical pathology; parasitology; histological, immunological, and molecular techniques; joint pathology; breast cancer; international programs.
• Katheryn Meek, DVM, Professor
  Molecular immunology, specifically how DNA double stranded breaks are repaired by DNA dependent protein kinase.
• P. S. MohanKumar, BVSc, PhD, Associate Professor
  Neuroendocrinology of reproductive aging; neuroimmune interactions.
• Thomas Mullaney, DVM, PhD, DACVP, Professor
  Liver and gastrointestinal pathology; diagnostic veterinary pathology.
• Jon Patterson, DVM, PhD, DACVP, Professor
  General pathology and neuropathology, especially diseases of the equine nervous system.  Current:  collaborating pathologist on research projects on equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction, equine motor neuron disease, and the interaction of microbial flora and gastrointestinal immunology.
• Mary Rheuben, PhD, Professor
  Development and function of neuromuscular synapses using normal and mutant Drosophila to analyze these processes at the cellular and molecular levels.  Mathematical modeling of muscle fibers and dendrites receiving multiple synchronous synaptic inputs.  We are particularly interested in understanding the interactions between the pre- and postsynaptic cells that give rise to the specific physiological capabilities of a synapse. 
• Wilson Rumbeiha, DVM, PhD, DABVT, Associate Professor
  Veterinary clinical and diagnostic toxicology; renal toxicology, neurotoxicology; xenobiotic-induced inflammation; cytokines and growth factors in renal toxicology.
• Patricia Schenck, DVM, PhD, Assistant Professor                                                    
  Endocrinology including calcium disorders, impact of nutrition in disease development and treatment, lipid metabolic disorders, and associations between adipokines, obesity, and insulin resistance.
• Michael Scott, DVM, PhD, DACVP, Associate Professor
  Immune-mediated platelet destruction and other aspects of platelet pathophysiology; development and application of immunodiagnostic tests; investigation of spontaneous disease.
• Rebecca Smedley, DVM, MS, DACVP, Academic Specialist                                                 
  Comparative pathology, tumor pathology especially  mast cell tumors, endocrine neoplasms. Bone tumors, and feline intestinal lymphomas; and musculoskeletal pathology.
• Barbara Steficek, DVM, PhD, DACVP, Academic Specialist
  Dermatopathology, ocular pathology, and platelet disorders.
• Julia Stickle, DVM, PhD, DACVP, Associate Professor
  Clinical pathology and pedagogy.
• Cheryl Swenson, DVM, PhD, DACVP, Associate Professor
  Clinical pathology.
• Jennifer Thomas, DVM, PhD, DACVP, Associate Professor, Graduate Studies Coordinator
  Clinical pathology and bleeding disorders.
• James Wagner, MBA, PhD, Assistant Professor
  Pathotoxicology of inflammation:  mechanisms of cardiovascular, hepatic, and pulmonary toxicoses.  To develop a research program which integrates molecular, cellular, and physiologic systems and techniques to study inflammatory responses of both humans and animals to pathogen and toxicant exposures.
• Kurt Williams, DVM, PhD, DACVP, Associate Professor
  Veterinary and comparative pathology; pulmonary cell biology; comparative respiratory pathology and experimental lung injury and repair; immunocytochemistry; molecular biology; feline idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, equine multi-nodular fibrosis.

Departmental Strengths
The department has a diverse faculty composed of scientists in the areas of anatomy, immunology, microbiology, neuroscience, and toxicology, in addition to anatomic and clinical pathology.  Departmental research focuses include infectious diseases, neuroscience and anatomy, toxicology, and molecular biology/immunology.  In addition, some faculty have joint appointments in the National Food Safety and Toxicology Center, Center for Integrative Toxicology, Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, etc.  The department also has active collaborative training and research agreements with private industry partners, including MPI Research, and government partners including the National Cancer Institute, NIH.  External grant funding for faculty members comes from numerous sources, including NIH, USDA, Morris Animal Foundation, Canine Health Foundation, and many more public and private funding agencies.

Applications
New residents are generally appointed on July 1, so candidates should apply by November 15 of the year prior to the desired start date.  Applicants should state whether they are interested in anatomic, clinical, or toxicologic pathology residency positions.  Applications will be evaluated in November by the Residency Coordinator and resident advisors, with offers to selected applicants generally extended by early December.
For more information, contact:

Jill McCutcheon, DVM, PhD, Chairperson
Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation,                                        
F130G Veterinary Medical Center
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824                                                                                            
Phone:  517-353-3145
Email:  mccutc12@msu.edu

Scott Fitzgerald, DVM, PhD, DACVP
Residency Training Coordinator
Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health
Michigan State University
4125 Beaumont Road
Lansing, MI 48910-8104
Phone:  517-353-1774
Email:  fitzgerald@dcpah.msu.edu