2008 VRSP Mentors

Click on the mentor’s name for a description of their research.

Dr. Yuksel Agca
Research area(s): Gamete and embryo cryobiology; rat transgenics
Possible projects: 1) Rat sperm cryobiology; 2) Gonadal tissue transplantation

Dr. Robert Backus
Research area(s): Nutrition-related health problems of domestic cats and dogs
Possible projects: 1) Comparison of dietary lipid patterns in domestic and feral cats; 2) Use of estrogen replacement for weight loss treatment in cats

Dr. Charles Brown
Research area(s): inflammation; Lyme arthritis
Possible projects: 1) Role of outer surface protein C of Borrelia burgdorferi in establishing infection in mice; 2) In vitro responses of macrophages and neutrophils to Borrelia with specific outer surface protein mutations; 3) Infectivity of Borrelia burgdorferi expressing mammalian chemokines

Dr. Elizabeth Bryda
Research area(s): Molecular genetic studies of human disease using animal models
Possible projects: 1) Characterization of new mouse models of deafness and polycystic kidney disease; 2) Study of interactions of proteins important in polycystic kidney disease; 3) Mutational analysis of a mouse model of male infertility

Dr. Mike Calcutt
Research area(s): Molecular genetics of animal pathogens
Possible projects: 1) Adherence genes of ruminant mycoplasmas; 2) Hemolysins of Moraxella species; 3) Mobile DNA in mycoplasmas

Dr. Jimi Cook
Research area(s): Comparative orthopaedic research with an emphasis on osteoarthritis and tissue engineering of cartilage
Possible projects: 1) Articular cartilage regeneration, 2) Meniscal tissue engineering, 3) Biomarkers for osteoarthritis

Dr. Amy DeClue
Research area(s): Sepsis and sepsis induced pulmonary inflammation
Possible projects: Investigations of the pathophysiology and potential novel treatments for sepsis using a feline model

Dr. Tim Evans
Research area(s): Reproductive toxicology
Possible projects: 1) Effects of boar age on development of porcine-to-murine testicular xenografts; 2) The effects of subchronic exposure to vinclozolin on postpubertal boars; 3) Effects of xenoestrogens on reproductive tract morphology in prepubertal gilts

Dr. Craig Franklin
Research area(s): Inflammatory bowel disease
Possible projects: 1) Comparison of intestinal biofilms in IBD susceptible and resistant mouse strains; 2) Estrogen modulation of intestinal epithelial responses to pathogens; 3) biomarkers for colon cancer in a mouse model

Dr. V.K. Ganjam
Research area(s): Testicular steroidogenesis; sperm maturation

Dr. Marc Hamilton
Research area(s): Influence of activity (sitting vs. standing vs. lying down) on metabolic processes
Possible projects: 1) Molecular and cellular mechanisms which explain why sitting too much is a common cause for obesity, heart disease, and diabetes in humans; and profound metabolic and cardiovascular dysfunction in animals; 2) Utilize and improve wearable devices for quantifying human or animal sitting and lying down; 3) Develop pragmatic behavioral strategies aimed at improving metabolic and cardiovascular health

Dr. Eileen Hasser
Research area(s): Neurohumoral regulation of the circulation

Dr. Philip Johnson
Research area(s): Equine laminitis (“founder”)

Dr. Rebecca Johnson
Research area(s):  Health effects of human-companion animal interaction
Possible Projects:  1) Owner visitation and clinical outcomes in dogs hospitalized in the VMTH ICU; 2) Owner responses to visiting their hospitalized dogs in the VMTH ICU; 3) Community dog walking and physical activity among people and shelter dogs

Dr. Kevin Keegan
Research areas(s) Lameness in horses
Possible Projects: 1) Reliability of wireless, inertial sensor-based motion analysis system in lunging horses. 2) Effect of a palmar digital nerve block on sound horses using a wireless, inertial sensor-based motion analysis system in horses.

Dr. David Kline
Research area(s): Neurohumoral control of the cardiovascular and respiratory system
Possible Projects: 1) Examine the effects of serotonin on calcium fluorescence in cardiorespiratory sensory neurons; 2) Distribution and their alteration of serotonin receptors (mRNA or protein) in the brainstem following intermittent hypoxia; 3) Phenotypic identification of brainstem neurons that project from the NTS of the brainstem to other cardiorespiratory regions.

Dr. Cathleen Kovarik
Research area(s): Neuroendocrinology; neural control of reproduction
Possible projects: 1) Effect of age and estradiol on regulation of GnRH neuron mRNA; 2) Effect of time of day on regulation of GnRH neuron mRNA; 3) Expression of estrogen receptors in GnRH neurons

Dr. Harold Laughlin and Dr. Jim Turk
Research area(s): Vascular biology; vascular disease; exercise adaptations
Possible projects: 1) Examine effects of exercise on inflammation in vascular system; 2) Examine effects of exercise on oxidative stress in arteries; 3) Examine effects of exercise on development of atherosclerosis in arteries; 4) Examine the effects of high fat and cholesterol diet and exercise on myocardial capillarity

Dr. Bob Livingston
Research area(s): Diagnostic test development and pathogen characterization
Possible projects: 1) Develop PCR assays for detection of pathogens in laboratory mice or rats; 2) Develop serologic assays for detection of pathogens in laboratory mice or rats Characterization of murine norovirus infections in mice; 3) Characterization of murine norovirus infections in mice

Dr. Chris Lorson
Research area(s): Neurodegeneration; spinal muscular atrophy; gene therapy
Possible projects: 1) Development of novel animals models of SMA; 2) Gene therapy and oligonucleotide correction of splicing defects in SMA; 3) Drug development and analysis for SMN inducers

Dr. Tony Mann
Research area(s): Small animal emergency and critical care; small animal soft tissue surgery
Possible projects: 1) retrospective analysis of clinical conditions or techniques; 2) prospective clinical data collection

Dr. John Middleton
Research area(s): Dairy cattle mastitis; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Possible projects: 1) Coagulase negative staphylococcal mastitis in dairy cows; 2) Epidemiology of mastitis pathogens on grazing dairies in southern Missouri; 3) Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in people and animals

Dr. Rajiv Mohan
Research area(s): Cornea wound healing; gene transfer and nanomedicine
Possible projects: 1) Role of cytokines, growth factors and their receptors in corneal wound healing; 2) Gene therapy approaches to treat corneal scarring and angiogenesis; 3) Nanoparticle-based nonviral gene transfer approaches for the cornea

Dr. Matt Myles
Research area(s) Inflammatory bowel disease / infectious disease
Possible projects: 1) biomarkers for intestinal inflammation; 2) role of intestinal epithelial cells in IBD; 3) characterization of novel rodent viruses

Dr. Carol Reinero
Research area(s):  Feline allergic asthma
Possible projects: 1) Biomarkers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and cellular supernatant; 2) Alterations in serum allergen-specific IgE with immunotherapy; 3) Regulatory T cells in healthy versus asthmatic cats

Dr. Lela Riley
Research area(s): Infectious disease and molecular diagnostics
Possible projects: 1) Development of novel PCR assays for detection of pathogens; 2) Molecular characterization of a newly-recognized pathogen; 3) Development of a swine model for urinary tract infections

Dr. Leona Rubin
Research area(s): Cardiovascular disease
Possible projects: 1) Assess effect of AMPK KO on exercise tolerance and cardiac hypertrophy in mice; 2) Assess intrinsic cardiac myocyte hypertrophy using neonatal mouse hearts; 3) Evaluate contractility of adult AMPK KO mouse isolated cardiac myocytes

Dr. Kim Selting
Research area(s): Cancer
Possible projects: 1) Clinical trials; 2) In vitro assessment of satraplatin; 3) Retrospective studies including thyroid cancer treatment with I131; 4) Collaborative studies with Drs. Dhand and Vamsi of the VA hospital investigating imaging and therapy of lung cancer using aerosol/inhalant technology

Dr. George Stewart
Research area(s):  Virulence factors of staphylococci; spore production by Bacillus anthracis
Possible projects: 1) Definition of the secreted proteome of the canine pathogen Staphylococcus pseudintermedius; 2) Characterization of anthrax spore proteins; 3) Defining cell division genes of Bacillus anthracis

Dr. Bill Stich
Research area(s): Transmission and pathogenesis of tick-borne diseases
Possible projects: 1) Interference with tick transmission of Ehrlichia canis; 2) Interference with tick acquisition of E. canis, as determined by quantitative real time PCR; 3) Isolation of Ehrlichia spp. from naturally infected canine blood; 4) ELISA development for serodiagnosis of exposure to E. chaffeensis or E. canis

Dr. Aaron Stoker
Research area(s): Osteoarthritis
Possible projects: 1) Analysis of gene expression changes between in vitro models of OA; 2) Analysis of metabolic markers between normal and osteoarthritic tissue in vitro

Dr. Chuck Wiedmeyer
Research area(s):  Rodent clinical pathology, polycystic kidney disease
Possible projects: 1) Organ weights related to clinical chemistry changes; 2) Protein expression in polycystic kidney disease

Dr. Guoquan Zhang
Research area(s): Vaccine development against Q fever
Possible projects: 1) Identify protective antigens; 2) Mechanisms of antibody-mediated immunity against Q fever; 3) Role of T cells in vaccine-induced protective immunity against Q fever

MENTORS BASED IN ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI
 
Dr. Tim LaBranche, Pfizer, Inc.
Research area(s): Immunobiology; pathology
Possible projects: 1) Infiltration and activation of inflammatory cells in rheumatoid arthritis. Put me down as an available mentor, with the same information used in last year’s advertisement; 2) Animal modeling of hepatic steatosis and the metabolic syndrome

Dr. Mike Talcott, Washington University
Research area(s): Surgical animal models. For the titles, you could put down:
Possible projects: 1) Comparative Cardiac Electrophysiology; 2) Inanimate models for interventional cardiology; 3) Cervical and lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration and repair; 4) Assessment of biomaterials for vascular repair