Insight

Fall 2004

Message from the Dean

Dear Friends,

In this special edition of Insight, we invite you to learn more about some of the many different research projects ongoing at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. I’m sure you will be surprised by the diversity of subjects represented here and by the intriguing nature of the work of so many of our faculty members.

In past issues of the research edition of Insight, we have focused on our larger and more well-known research and teaching programs, including the Mycobacterium Research Laboratories, the Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, the Flint Animal Cancer Center, the Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology Laboratory, and the Orthopaedic Research Center. These are but a part of the overall research picture here at the College, research that is evolving to meet the new needs of society as well as continuing to work on problems that have been around for a long time.

Dr. Sandra Quackenbush, a newcomer to CSU, is doing innovative work on a recurring fish tumor that may provide some answers to natural tumor regression. Dr. Dean Hendrickson continues to improve on equine surgical techniques, conducting studies that show how minimally invasive surgery can improve surgical outcomes. Dr. Janice Bright has been working with Children’s Hospital in Denver on innovative heart surgeries that will help children with congenital heart defects live longer and healthier lives. These are just a few of the many research projects here at the College, and our programs continue to grow.

I’m very proud to report that 2003/2004 represented a phenomenal year in research for the College, including a $17 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to build a Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, a $9.7 million NASA grant for our Cancer Biology Group, new grants for our Mycobacterium Research Laboratories, and much more. This was the College’s all-time best year for research grants. We lead all other schools and colleges at Colorado State University in terms of extramurally funded research, and we lead all other veterinary schools in the nation in research funding from the National Institutes of Health. This year, extramural research funding was $50,413,371, constituting 52 percent of our total budget and representing a 13 percent increase over research funding in the previous year.

This investment in research will help us advance animal care, cure animal and human diseases, and protect public health. In addition, research funding helps pay for buildings, new equipment, staff and faculty salaries, and overhead costs associated with our teaching, research, and outreach missions. Research funding provides unsurpassed learning opportunities for our graduate and undergraduate students who are able to work and learn in the laboratories of some of the world’s leading scientific experts. Research funding helps us develop new knowledge that will benefit society as a whole.

I am very proud of our faculty members who work so hard to develop innovative and cooperative research programs at the cutting edge of their fields of study. In the year to come, we will continue to look at ways we can support our faculty, with particular attention to the upgrading of facilities to support our robust research mission. I hope you enjoy this edition of Insight and look forward to hearing your comments.

Best Regards,

Lance Perryman, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences