July 2007
PBS Assistant
Professor Appointed an Associate Editor
Dr. Samithamby
Jeyaseelan (Jey), Assistant Professor of Pathobiological Sciences (PBS),
was appointed as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Immunology
beginning July 01, 2007. Dr. Jeyaseelan will focus on lung inflammation
and host defense for this prestigious journal which is subscribed by more
than 6500 scientists from all over the world. Dr. Jeyaseelan has obtained
his DVM degree from Sri Lanka and his PhD degree from the University of
Minnesota. His research focuses on pulmonary inflammation and
antibacterial host defense and is funded by the American Lung Association,
Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute, and NIH COBRE program. More
information about Dr. Jeyaseelan’s research can be found at
http://www.vetmed.lsu.edu/pbs/jeyaseelan.htm.
March 2006
LSU School of
Veterinary Medicine Conducts Cancer Research with Potential Human
Applications
When you think of a veterinary school, you
usually do not think about human medicine. However, veterinary schools
contribute a great deal to the study of human medicine and disease.
The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine has researchers that are working on
such diseases as brain tumors, herpes viruses, cardiovascular disease,
Lyme disease, cystic fibrosis, and cancer. Dr. Shulin Li, an associate
professor in the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences at the LSU
School of Veterinary Medicine, is conducting research on a combination of
chemo- and cytokine gene therapies that could reduce cancerous tumors and
make patients immune to a tumor recurrence. The treatment has been
successful in pre-clinical trials with mice and ultimately can be used to
treat cancer in humans.
Read full article at
http://www.lsu.edu/highlights/061/Li.html
May 2005
LSU Researcher Studies
Neural Mechanisms of AIDS Wasting
Dr. Marlene
Orandle, assistant professor of Pathobiological Sciences in the LSU School
of Veterinary Medicine, is researching neural mechanisms of AIDS wasting.
Specifically, she is looking at the potential role of the nervous system
in the “gut” of nonhuman primates and how disruption of that nervous
system contributes to diarrhea and wasting (i.e., a serious loss in body
weight).
 “The
autonomic nervous system controls the gut,” said Dr. Orandle. “I’m
researching how inflammation in that system causes changes in function.”
Dr. Orandle is using archival tissue at the Tulane National Primate
Research Center to characterize inflammatory cells in the enteric nervous
system of SIV infected macaques with AIDS. This is the basis of her
prospective work that will be conducted from COBRE funds. In 2004, the
School received a $9.9 million grant from the
Center of
Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE). The COBRE grant was awarded to
establish a Center for Experimental Infectious Disease Research.
Dr. Orandle
and her research technician identify inflammatory cell types in the
enteric nervous system and see how the cells affect the
health of neurons. They can then study how “normal” neurons differ from
those that are within the inflamed gut.
Dr. Orandle
is studying monocytes, which are derived from bone marrow. Monocytes
circulate in the blood for about 24 hours before migrating to tissues
(such as in the lung or the liver), where they develop into macrophages.
Macrophages secrete cytokines that can be toxic to neurons. When
macrophages enter the enteric nervous system, they secrete toxins and
cause neurons to malfunction and eventually die. Dr. Orandle’s research
has shown a 50% reduction in neurons in the enteric nervous system in
monkeys with AIDS. This reduction in neurons likely contributes to
dysfunction of the enteric nervous system, resulting in diarrhea and
wasting.
“Ultimately, I want to get into therapeutics,” said Dr. Orandle. “The goal
is to understand how inflammation affects the enteric nervous system and
then how to treat it with drugs. Potentially, this research could help
humans suffering from AIDS, as well as inflammatory diseases such as
Crohn’s disease and irritable bowel syndrome.”
* * * * *
NIH Grant Awarded to
PBS Researcher
Dr. Kevin Macaluso,
assistant professor of Pathobiological Sciences, received a National
Institutes of Health K22 award of $249,994 for his project entitled,
“Molecular dynamics of rickettsial infection in ticks” for the period of
March 1, 2005, through February 28, 2007.
* * * * *
SVM Graduate Receives
Distinguished Dissertation Award
 Dr. Jeff Melancon,
who received his Ph.D. from the Department of Pathobiological Sciences in
November 2004, received the LSU Alumni Association Distinguished
Dissertation Award in Science, Engineering & Technology at a reception on
May 18. His dissertation was entitled, “Genetics and Functions of Herpes
Simplex Virus Type 1 Membrane Proteins in Virus-Induced Cell Fusion,
Virion Morphogenesis and Egress.” Dr. Melancon’s major advisor was Dr.
Konstantin G. Kousoulas, professor of veterinary virology and director of
BIOMMED. According to Dr. Kousoulas, Dr. Melancon’s work is “highly
significant because it provides a unique explanation for the involvement
of multiple viral proteins in virusassociated membrane fusion phenomena
and virus assembly that previously remained unanswered for more than 20
years, despite intense investigations by many laboratories worldwide.” Dr.
Melancon will soon begin pursuing a degree at the LSU School of Medicine
in New Orleans.
This is the second time in three years that a graduate of the School of
Veterinary Medicine has received this award. In 2001, Dr. Joanne Tetens
received the Distinguished Dissertation Award in Science, Engineering &
Technology for her dissertation entitled, “Systemic and Colonic
Hemodynamic and Vasometer Responses to Adenosine Triphosphate in Horses.”
Dr. Tetens received her Ph.D. from the Department of Veterinary Clinical
Sciences.
April 2005
LSU Receives $9.9 Million
Grant for New Center
The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine has received a $9.9 million grant to
establish a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE). This Center
grant from the National Center for Research Resources provides substantial
funds into developing faculty for independent funding by the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) traditional mechanisms. The grant will last for
five years and it can be competitively renewed for five or more years.
The School’s grant will allow it to create a Center for Experimental
Infectious Disease Research (CEIDR). “This Center constitutes a strategic
alliance between the School of Veterinary Medicine, the LSU College of
Basic Sciences, and the Tulane National Primate Research Center,” said Dr.
Konstantin G. Kousoulas, the administrator of the COBRE program at the LSU
School of Veterinary Medicine. Currently, a total of five assistant
professors have research projects in the grant, representing the
Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine; the
Department of Biological Sciences, College of Basic Sciences; and the
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Tulane National Primate Center
(TNPRC). A number of other faculty and staff will participate in research
cores in the School and the TNPRC.
The COBRE grant provides funding and research capabilities that will give
assistant and associate professors the opportunity to establish research
programs that will effectively compete for independent funding by NIH.
Once a faculty member receives his or her own NIH funding for a particular
research program, he or she will be rotated out of COBRE and replaced by
other eligible faculty.
The five initial research projects are as follows: “New measles vaccine
strategy using VSV vectors,” Cristian Apetrei, Ph.D., Tulane National
Primate Research Center; “Early RSV exposure leads to adult airways
disease,” Stephania A. Cormier, Ph.D., Department of Biological Sciences,
LSU College of Basic Sciences; “Host response in HIV-1 and microsporidia
co-infection,” Hollie Hale-Donze, Ph.D., Department of Biological
Sciences, LSU College of Basic Sciences; “Monocyte infection in SIV
neuropathogenesis,” Marlene Orandle, DVM, Ph.D., Department of
Pathobiological Sciences, LSU School of Veterinary Medicine; and
“Contribution of TNF and MCP-1 to retrovirus-induced neurological
disease,” Karin E. Peterson, Ph.D., Department of Pathobiological
Sciences, LSU School of Veterinary Medicine.
The COBRE program will be administered by the Division of Biotechnology
and Molecular Medicine (BIOMMED; http://biommed.lsu.edu) of the LSU School
of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Konstantin G. Kousoulas, director of BIOMMED
and a professor of veterinary virology at the School of Veterinary
Medicine, serves as the principal investigator of the Center. He will work
closely with Dr. Andrew Lackner, director of the TNPRC in administering
the Center. “Participants in the COBRE program will have access to
specialized core facilities at both the TNPRC and BIOMMED,” said Dr.
Kousoulas.
An external advisory committee will visit LSU and the TNPRC twice a year
to review all aspects of the COBRE program. The committee members are
Edward A. Hoover, DVM, Ph.D., a University Distinguished Professor of
Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University;
Ronald C. Montelaro, Ph.D., professor of virology in the Department of
Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry in the University of Pittsburgh
College of Medicine; Barry Rouse, DVM, Ph.D., an international authority
on viral immunology and the Lindsay Young Distinguished Professor of
Microbiology in the Department of Microbiology in the College of
Veterinary Medicine at the University of Tennessee; David G. Russell,
Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Microbiology and
Immunology in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University;
and Tilahun Yilma, DVM, Ph.D., an international expert on molecular
virology and viral vaccines and professor of virology in the Department of
Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology in the College of Veterinary Medicine
at the University of California at Davis. Dr. Yilma was recently elected
to the National Academy of Sciences.
“What makes this grant so important is that it brings national recognition
to LSU and allows us to expand our research program in infectious disease
as it relates to human health and comparative medicine,” said Dr. Thomas
Klei, associate dean for research and advanced studies at the School of
Veterinary Medicine. “This is the largest grant the School has ever
gotten, and it’s the only grant like this currently at LSU,” said Dr.
Klei. “The ultimate goal is to have a center for comparative medicine, and
this grant is the first step towards that goal,” said Dr. Kousoulas.
March 2005
PBS Professor Appointed to
Editorship
Dr. Philip H. Elzer, professor
of veterinary science and professor of microbiology and parasitology, was
recently appointed assistant editor to the Journal of Wildlife Diseases.
Dr. Elzer will focus on immunology, bacterial pathogenesis, bacteriology
and vaccines for the Journal. Dr. Elzer also recently returned from team
teaching a USDA/APHIS/ Veterinary Services sponsored Basic Brucellosis
Epidemiology course at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University
of California, Davis. His lectures focused on the bacteriology,
immunopathogenesis, zoonotic potential, and vaccine development of
Brucella species.
* * * * *
LSU
SVM Researcher Strives to Unravel the Mystery of Chemokines in the Central
Nervous System
Dr. Karin Peterson, assistant professor of Pathobiological Sciences at the
LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, is studying how chemokines contribute
to neurological disease induced by retrovirus infection of the brain.
Chemokines are molecules that recruit cells of the immune system to the
sites of infection or damage in the body.
“In addition to recruiting immune cells, chemokines may also play an
important role in regulating the responses of the different cell types in
the brain to virus infection,” said Dr. Peterson. Increased chemokine
expression in the central nervous system is associated with several
neurological disorders in humans including HIV-associated dementia,
Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis.
“Understanding if and how these chemokines contribute neurological disease
development may provide new pathways for therapeutic treatment of these
diseases,” said Dr. Peterson.
 Dr. Peterson is using two different mouse models to analyze the role of
chemokines in neurological disease. One model uses a retrovirus that
induces neurological disease in mice. “Knockout” mice, which are not able
to produce specific chemokines, are infected with the retrovirus to
determine if they still develop neurological disease. This establishes
whether that specific chemokine contributes to disease development. “We
can then study how the lack of a specific chemokine affects the response
of brain cells to the virus infection to determine how the chemokines
contribute to disease,” said Dr. Peterson The second system involves
over-expressing specific chemokines in the brain using neural stem cells
as a expression system. “This allows us to see how expression of
individual chemokines can influence the activation state of different cell
types in the brain as well as the recruitment of immune cells to the
brain,” said Dr. Peterson.
Dr. Peterson is also working on a collaborative study with Dr. Joseph
Francis, an assistant professor in the School’s Department of Comparative
Biomedical Sciences. This project studies the contribution of chemokines
to retrovirus-induced cardiomyopathy.
Dr. Peterson’s research is funded by two sources: a K22 award, which is a
career transition award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that
is meant to help post-doctoral fellows transition from the NIH to faculty
status; and the School’s $9.9 million Center of Biomedical Research
Excellence (COBRE) grant. The COBRE grant was awarded to establish a
Center for Experimental Infectious Disease Research.
Dr. Peterson came to the School from the Rocky Mountain Laboratories in
Hamilton, Montana; part of the National Institute of Allergies and
Infectious Disease. She was there from 1998 until coming to the School in
January 2004.
February 2005
Exchange
Program with Thai University Benefits Aquaculture Research Around the
World
 Dr.
Ronald L. Thune, professor of aquatic animal health and head of the
Department of Pathobiological Sciences at the LSU School of Veterinary
Medicine, recently returned from Thailand, where he lectured at Prince of
Songkla University. The title of Dr. Thune’s lecture was “Molecular
approaches to the study of bacterial pathogens of fish.”
The Thai government contacted Dr. Thune about creating a research exchange
program so that their students can learn molecular techniques. Dr. Thune
is co-chair of a dissertation committee for a student at Songkla
University. The other co-chair is Dr. Kidchakan Supamattaya, assistant
professor of aquatic animal diseases. Dr. Supamattaya was awarded a grant
that enabled him invite Dr. Thune to lecture in Thailand and arrange for a
Thai student to study in the United States. The student, Naraid Suanyuk,
will come to the School of Veterinary Medicine in the fall of 2005 to
study here for one year. When it is time for him to defend his thesis, Dr.
Thune will return to Thailand.
Dr. Thune will meet with Dr. Supatra Davison when she visits the United
States. Dr. Davison is an assistant professor of aquatic ecology at
Songkla University. She is coming here to discuss a memo of agreement that
will set up the research exchange program. The program will arrange a
research exchange between Songkla University’s departments of aquatic
science and natural resources and Louisiana State University.
Dr. Thune has always liked working with fish. “My family spent two weeks
in Wisconsin every year, and I enjoyed fishing. Then, when I went to
Colorado State [University] to study microbiology, I put the two things
together,” said Dr. Thune.
Dr. Thune’s research covers economically important species, specifically
farmed channel catfish and marine fish species like hybrid striped bass.
His research focuses on disease prevention in commercial aquaculture, and
he has already patented two vaccines. However, he is trying to build
better vaccines by improving the delivery system. Currently, the vaccines
are delivered via the water in which the fish live. The hope is to find a
way to deliver a vaccine orally when the fish are in ponds.
Dr. Thune is primarily studying two bacteria: Edwardsiella ictaluri,
which causes enteric septicemia (ESC) in catfish, and Photobacterium
damselae subsp. piscicida, which affects marine fish species in
the Mediterranean, Japan, and the U.S. Gulf Coast. ESC is spread by
infected fish via water contamination or by cannibalism of dead or
infected fish. Birds can also pick up infected fish from one pond and drop
them into another. According to the United States Department of
Agriculture, in 2003, 60% of breeding operations in the United States
reported losses due to ESC, which is the leading cause of mortality in
channel catfish culture in the U.S.
These bacteria are virulent and spread quickly. Dr. Thune is trying to
create better vaccines for these bacteria by studying their pathogenesis
and how they cause disease.
December 2004
SVM
Pathologist Collaborates on Local Cancer Research Project
 Larry Lomax, DVM,
Ph.D., a professor of veterinary pathology in the Department of
Pathobiological Sciences at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, has a
goal for veterinary pathology. “My goal is to try and show biomedical
researchers and veterinary students how veterinary pathologists can be an
integral part of a multidisciplinary research team that solves complex
biomedical problems,” said Dr. Lomax.
Dr. Lomax is part of a research team at the Elliott-Hailey-Head Breast
Cancer Research and Treatment Center in Baton Rouge, La. Specifically, he
is working with physicians at the Center to find ways to fight breast
cancer. Dr. Lomax is collaborating with Dr. Jonathan Head, Director of
Research at the Center; and Dr. Xianpeng Jiang, a principal scientist
there. They are assisted by Dr. Anna Israyelyan, a graduate student at the
School of Veterinary Medicine.
The project encompasses two types of breast cancer therapy: immunotherapy
and gene therapy. Dr. Lomax participates in the animal model aspect of the
research by setting up experiments and overseeing the pathology. Pathology
is the branch of veterinary medicine that studies the essential nature of
disease, especially the changes in body tissues and organs which cause or
are caused by disease.
Animal models in cancer research are necessary because they are part of
research’s natural progression. Researchers take an idea and put it in a
cell culture system to see how cells will respond to a particular
treatment. Once something is successful in cell culture, the next step is
to try it in an animal model. “Just because something works in a cell
culture system doesn’t mean that we can make the leap from cells to
humans,” said Dr. Lomax. “We have to go to an animal model to see how the
biological process will work in a complex whole animal system.” Since the
use of primate models can be prohibitively expensive, rodent models are
often used in cancer research.
The gene therapy project with the Elliott-Hailey-Head Breast Cancer
Research and Treatment Center is just getting off the ground, but the
immunotherapy project has had promising results. One way that
immunotherapy works is by the animal making antibodies against angiogenic
factors in cancer. Angiogenesis is the development of blood vessels;
cancer cells require blood vessels to grow and to metastasize. The animal
with breast cancer is vaccinated against angiogenic factors that the
cancer needs. The animal then produces antibodies that help impede new
blood vessel formation in the cancer. Collaboration between veterinary
pathologists and biomedical researchers can help find treatments for
cancer and other biomedical problems.
October 2004
LSU SVM Researcher Uses Gene Therapy to
Battle Cystic Fibrosis
 Dr.
Jeffrey Sirninger, assistant professor of veterinary clinical medicine in
the Department of Pathobiological Sciences, is researching how gene
therapy can be used to treat cystic fibrosis.
“Cystic fibrosis is the most common, fatal, heritable disease in the
U.S.,” said Dr. Sirninger. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited disorder
of the cells that secrete mucus, sweat, saliva and digestive juices.
Fluids made in a variety of organs are affected, including the lung,
pancreas, liver, sexual organs, and skin, but pathology in the airways is
responsible for most of the life threatening problems in CF patients.
Most people with CF used to die during childhood. Now, with improved
supportive therapy, it has become more of a chronic disease, with people
able to live into their 30s and longer. People with CF have a
malfunctioning CFTR gene. CFTR stands for the cystic fibrosis
transmembrane conductance regulator protein. The CFTR protein is itself a
chloride channel, but it also regulates the function of other membrane
salt channels; as such, a defect in this gene can have a large impact on
the salt concentration in various body fluids. In the lungs, abnormal salt
concentrations can lead to thickened secretions that are ineffective at
clearing infections, thereby leading to chronic inflammatory tissue
damage. Additionally, affected cells may produce less effective
antimicrobial factors and may actually inappropriately enhance the
inflammatory response. Over time, the delicate lung tissue is destroyed
and the body tries to heal by scarring. This results in hardened abscessed
lungs that are ineffective at supplying oxygen to and removing waste gases
from the body.
“The problem is more than just with CFTR itself,” said Dr. Sirninger. CFTR
regulates other channels. A defect in the CFTR gene has global
repercussions because it controls ion flow in other tissues.
Dr. Sirninger’s research involves developing viral vectors to correct the
malfunctioning CFTR gene. Therapeutic viral vectors are engineered to
carry genetic material that can benefit the patient. Dr. Sirninger works
with adeno-associated virus (AAV) and simian virus 40 (SV-40). He cuts up
the viruses with enzymes, removes potentially harmful viral DNA, and
replaces them with genes that are made into therapeutic proteins once the
modified virus has entered the patients’ cells. Evolutionarily viruses
have developed to efficiently trick infected cells into making viral
proteins. In this case, Dr. Sirninger tricks the virus by substituting a
functional CFTR gene in place of the viral ones, resulting in correction
of the patients’ malfunctioning CFTR protein.
There are pros and cons to using these particular viral vectors. “AAV and
SV40 can cause long-term, stable transduction of cells, which is something
you want,” said Dr. Sirninger. They also have a low immunogenicity and
multiple serotypes, and they are non-pathogenic. Immunogenicity is the
ability of a substance to provoke an immune response (i.e., a virus with a
low immunogenicity will go virtually undetected by the body and will be
less likely to be attacked by the body’s immune system). Having multiple
serotypes (i.e., a group of unique viral proteins that can be detected by
the immune system over time) allows for the clinician to change to a virus
type that has not yet been detected and continue treatment. As such, more
serotypes translate into more effective treatment options throughout the
patients’ lives.
“The downside is that these vectors are small, so it is difficult to put
in big genes,” said Dr. Sirninger. In initial trials, the full CFTR gene
was put in, but there was no room for promoters. “Promoters are to genes
as the ignition is to a motor,” said Dr. Sirninger. You need promoters to
turn on these genes and thus make their corresponding proteins. In
previous trials, when the full length CFTR gene was put in, the gene did
not work effectively; there were no long-term benefits. Another group that
was working with Dr. Sirninger’s research group found that when you cut
parts out of the CFTR gene, it is still functional. This significantly
shortens the gene, and thus extra DNA can be inserted, specifically,
promoters and enhancers (they enhance the expression of the associated
gene).
Ideally, one utilizes the viruses’ intrinsic ability to efficiently
deliver genetic material into cells, removes any potentially harmful viral
proteins rendering it non-pathogenic, and then inserts therapeutic genes
in their place, hopefully delivering enough functioning protein to affect
a cure.
Dr. Sirninger started with cell culture and then mouse models and
demonstrated significant findings. Now, he is working with the Powell Gene
Therapy Center at the University of Florida and Johns Hopkins University
on Phase 1 human trials. “Ideally, we could treat children before they
develop the disease because it is more difficult to treat once the lung is
significantly damaged,” said Dr. Sirninger. “Will it cure the disease? We
can’t know that, but it would be cool if it could, we’ll have to see.”
Dr. Sirninger’s latest CF work is detailed in the September 2004 issue of
Human Gene Therapy entitled, “Functional Characterization of a Recombinant
Adeno-Associated Virus 5-Pseudotyped Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane
Conductance Regulator Vector.”
July 2004
LSU Receives $9.9 Million Grant for New Center
The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine has
received a $9.9 million grant to establish a Center of Biomedical Research
Excellence (COBRE). This Center grant from the National Center for
Research Resources provides substantial funds into developing faculty for
independent funding by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) traditional
mechanisms. The grant will last for five years and it can be
competitively renewed for five or more years.
The School’s grant will allow it to create
a Center for Experimental Infectious Disease Research (CEIDR). “This
Center constitutes a strategic alliance between the School of Veterinary
Medicine, the LSU College of Basic Sciences, and the Tulane National
Primate Research Center,” said Dr. Konstantin G. Kousoulas, the
administrator of the COBRE program at the LSU School of Veterinary
Medicine. Currently, a total of five assistant professors have research
projects in the grant, representing the Department of Pathobiological
Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine; the Department of Biological
Sciences, College of Basic Sciences; and the Department of Microbiology
and Immunology, Tulane National Primate Center (TNPRC). A number of other
faculty and staff will participate in research cores in the School and the
TNPRC.
The COBRE grant provides funding and
research capabilities that will give assistant and associate professors
the opportunity to establish research programs that will effectively
compete for independent funding by NIH. Once a faculty member receives
his or her own NIH funding for a particular research program, he or she
will be rotated out of COBRE and replaced by other eligible faculty.
The five initial research projects are as
follows: “New measles vaccine strategy using VSV vectors,” Cristian
Apetrei, Ph.D., Tulane National Primate Research Center; “Early RSV
exposure leads to adult airways disease,” Stephania A. Cormier, Ph.D.,
Department of Biological Sciences, LSU College of Basic Sciences; “Host
response in HIV-1 and microsporidia co-infection,” Hollie Hale-Donze,
Ph.D., Department of Biological Sciences, LSU College of Basic Sciences;
“Monocyte infection in SIV neuropathogenesis,” Marlene Orandle, DVM,
Ph.D., Department of Pathobiological Sciences, LSU School of Veterinary
Medicine; and “Contribution of TNF and MCP-1 to retrovirus-induced
neurological disease,” Karin E. Peterson, Ph.D., Department of
Pathobiological Sciences, LSU School of Veterinary Medicine.
The COBRE program will be administered by
the Division of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine (BIOMMED; http://biommed.lsu.edu)
of the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Konstantin G. Kousoulas,
director of BIOMMED and a professor of veterinary virology at the School
of Veterinary Medicine, serves as the principal investigator of the
Center. He will work closely with Dr. Andrew Lackner, director of the
TNPRC in administering the Center. “Participants in the COBRE program
will have access to specialized core facilities at both the TNPRC and
BIOMMED,” said Dr. Kousoulas.
An external advisory committee will visit
LSU and the TNPRC twice a year to review all aspects of the COBRE
program. The committee members are Edward A. Hoover, DVM, Ph.D., a
University Distinguished Professor of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical
Sciences at Colorado State University; Ronald C. Montelaro, Ph.D.,
professor of virology in the Department of Molecular Genetics and
Biochemistry in the University of Pittsburgh College of Medicine; Barry
Rouse, DVM, Ph.D., an international authority on viral immunology and the
Lindsay Young Distinguished Professor of Microbiology in the Department of
Microbiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of
Tennessee; David G. Russell, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department
of Microbiology and Immunology in the College of Veterinary Medicine at
Cornell University; and Tilahun Yilma, DVM, Ph.D., an international expert
on molecular virology and viral vaccines and professor of virology in the
Department of Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology in the College of
Veterinary Medicine at the University of California at Davis. Dr. Yilma
was recently elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
“What makes this grant so important is that
it brings national recognition to LSU and allows us to expand our research
program in infectious disease as it relates to human health and
comparative medicine,” said Dr. Thomas Klei, associate dean for research
and advanced studies at the School of Veterinary Medicine. “This is the
largest grant the School has ever gotten, and it’s the only grant like
this currently at LSU,” said Dr. Klei. “The ultimate goal is to have a
center for comparative medicine, and this grant is the first step towards
that goal,” said Dr. Kousoulas. |
