Programs Offered
The Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology offers programs with combined PhD and disciplinary training in veterinary anatomic pathology or veterinary microbiology. The programs are designed to be completed in four years. Completion of the program qualifies graduate students for eligibility for examination for certification by the American College of Veterinary Pathologists or the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists. The areas of research emphasis are in the broad areas of infectious diseases, immunology, and host-parasite interactions. The PhD degree is a rigorous hypothesis-based research degree which incorporates the dissertation proposal defense as the preliminary examination. Departmental faculty maintain state-of-the-art research laboratories and programs with major extramural research support. Centralized equipment and facilities are available for Departmental personnel on a shared basis.

Types and Numbers of Appointments
The department has ten full-time departmentally-funded stipended post-DVM graduate student positions. An additional seven positions are available for post-DVM graduate students on extramurally-funded institutional training grants directed by departmental faculty. Post-DVM graduate students have been very successful at securing NIH Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Awards.

Facilities
The Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology shares space in the Bustad Veterinary Science Building with the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, the USDA-Agricultural Research Service-Animal Disease Research Unit (USDA-ARS-ADRU) and the College of Veterinary Medicine administrative offices. Graduate students receive their disciplinary training in veterinary anatomic pathology or veterinary microbiology within the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. Faculty in the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory have their academic appointments in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology. USDA-ARS-ADRU scientists collaborate productively with departmental faculty.

Approximately 24,000 net square feet in Bustad Hall are assigned to the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology and the USDA-ARS-ADRU. An additional 21,000 net square feet of laboratory and office space is available in the Animal Disease Biotechnology Facility, a new facility attached directly to Bustad Hall. A veterinary medical library is located in the College of Veterinary Medicine in Wegner Hall, a nearby building, and the Owen Science and Engineering Library is located approximately two blocks from Bustad Hall. The requisite modern equipment, including real time PCR and microarray analysis instrumentation, for the performance of the state-of-the-art investigations in biomedicine, biotechnology, and veterinary science are available within the department. Departmental faculty enjoy an outstanding reputation for their major contributions to their respective areas of science and biomedicine. The department and individual faculty collaborate and cooperate with other college and university departments, personnel, veterinary colleges and research laboratories on a national and international basis.

Community
Washington State University is located in Pullman, Washington, a small community of approximately 24,000 residents located in eastern Washington. Washington State University enrolls approximately 17,000 students. Many cultural events are held on campus and many opportunities for outdoor recreation are available in the surrounding areas. Washington State University is a member of the PAC-10 Athletic Conference and numerous athletic events are held on campus.

Faculty

• Timothy V. Baszler, Associate Professor, DVM, PhD; Immunology of neosporosis; improved diagnosis of infectious diseases in domestic animals; spongiform encephalopathies.
• Thomas E. Besser, Professor, DVM, PhD; Food safety microbiology; E. coli O157:H7; neonatal enteric disease.
• Kelly A. Brayton, Assistant Professor, PhD; Microbial genomics and mechanisms of antigenic variation of vector-borne pathogens.
• Wendy C. Brown, Professor, MPH, PhD; Cellular and molecular mechanisms of immunity to infectious diseases; strategies to develop vaccines that induce protective T-cell dependent immunity; comparative analysis of cellular immune responses and immunomodulatory cytokines of domestic animals.
• Douglas R. Call, Assistant Professor, PhD; Evolutionary ecology of antibiotic resistance, detection and characterization of food-borne pathogens, and development and application of microarrays for genotyping and expression analyses.
• William P. Cheevers, Professor, PhD; Molecular pathogenesis and diagnosis of caprine arthritis-encephalitis.
• Timothy B. Crawford, DVM, PhD; Virology; herpes viruses; herpes and retroviral diseases of livestock and wildlife.
• Christopher J. Davies, PhD; Structure and function of the major histocompatibility complex; genetic basis of disease susceptibility; reproductive immunology.
• William C. Davis, PhD; Comparative analysis of the immune systems in food and companion animals; the role of cytokines in regulation of the immune response to pathogens and derived subunit vaccines; genetic basis of disease susceptibility.
• Singh Dhillon, DVM, PhD; Salmonella; infectious laryngotracheitis virus; Newcastle disease virus.
• William J. Foreyt, PhD; Veterinary and wildlife parasitology; epizootiology; parasitic and disease interactions among domestic livestock, wildlife and humans.
• John R. Gorham, DVM, PhD; Slow-virus diseases of domestic animals.
• Stephen A. Hines, DVM, PhD; Immunology and molecular pathogenesis of intracellular pathogens; molecular approaches to prevention and diagnosis of hemoparasitic diseases of domestic animals; equine pulmonary immunology.
• Douglas P. Jasmer, PhD. Molecular parasitology; host-parasite interactions; nematode parasites.
• Donald P. Knowles, DVM, PhD; Virology; immunology and host-parasite interactions.
• Charles W. Leathers, DVM, PhD; Laboratory animal pathology; diagnostic applications of electron microscopy.
• Terry F. McElwain, DVM, PhD; Molecular basis of host-parasite interaction and development of protective immunity in vector-borne diseases.
• Travis C. McGuire, DVM, PhD; Immune responses to infectious diseases that result in either protection or tissue destruction.
• Robert H. Mealey, DVM, PhD; Protective cellular immune responses to infectious diseases of the horse.
• J. Lindsay Oaks, DVM, PhD; Pathogenesis of viral infections and mechanisms of viral persistence. Current focus is on, subclinical equine infectious anemia virus infection and the in vivo and cellular mechanisms that down regulate viral replication and allow avoidance of immunologic detection. Secondary interest in infectious diseases of raptors.
• Guy H. Palmer, DVM, PhD; Molecular basis of transmission and development of protective immunity in vector-borne diseases.
• Kathleen A. Potter, DVM, PhD; Eosinophil biology and function. Bovine Marfan syndrome.
• David J. Prieur, DVM, PhD, Chair; Animal models of human genetic diseases; inherited disease of animals.
• Fred R. Rurangirwa, BVSc, MS, PhD; Molecular basis of immunity, diagnosis and vaccine development against infectious diseases of domestic ruminants; Rickettsia-vector interaction.
• Diana M. Stone, MPH, DVM, PhD; Pathogenesis of oncogenic retroviruses; animal models of lymphomagenesis.

Application
Candidates must have a DVM (or equivalent) degree, an interest in earning a PhD degree in the broad areas of veterinary pathology or microbiology, and a desire to obtain disciplinary training in either anatomic veterinary pathology or veterinary microbiology.

Address inquiries to:

Graduate Coordinator
Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-7040
Phone: (509) 335-6030
Fax: (509) 335-8529
Email: dprieur@vetmed.wsu.edu

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