E-Insight

November 2005

Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology Welcomes New Faculty Members

The Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology is welcoming five new faculty members. We’d like to welcome each of these individuals to the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University and the Fort Collins community and wish them the best of luck in all their endeavors.

Dr. Michio Kurosu
Dr. Kurosu comes to Colorado State University from Harvard University where he was a Research Fellow in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.

Originally from Japan, Dr. Kurosu received his bachelor’s degree from the Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Science in Organic and BioOrganic Chemistry/Pharmacy. He went on to earn a master’s degree from Osaka University in Organic Chemistry/Pharmacy in 1992, and also his doctorate’s degree in 1995. His thesis focused on the synthesis and structure-activity relationship of bioactive sphingoglycolipids. Dr. Kurosu then relocated to the United States where he was a research fellow at Harvard University in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, completing his postdoctoral work in 1999.

In 1999, he joined Florida State University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. In 2002, he went to work for Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in the Chemical Technology Group. In 2003, he returned to Harvard University as a research fellow. Dr. Kurosu is a member of the American Chemical Society, Pharmaceutical Society of Japan, and the Chemical Society of Japan. He is the recipient of the First Year Assistant Professor Award from Florida State University.

Dr. Kristy Pabilonia
Dr. Pabilonia has worked at Colorado State University since 2004 as the coordinator of the Colorado Avian Disease Surveillance Program. She is now as Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and pathology.

She received her bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Colorado in 1996, and her DVM from Colorado State University in 2002. Dr. Pabilonia began her master’s program in Microbiology in 2002, completing her degree in 2005. She is board-eligible for the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists.

Dr. Pabilonia began her career as a veterinary technician at the Alpine Hospital for Animals. She also volunteered at the Colorado State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory where she helped run diagnostic tests and developed PCR tests as part of an independent study program. She was the student representative for the Iams Company, and also worked as director for a summer camp program. Since 2002, she has volunteered as the staff veterinarian for Sky High Ranch, providing year-round care to animals used in the camp’s programs. She is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, and the American Society for Microbiology – Rocky Mountain Branch.

Dr. Linda M. Vap
Dr. Vap has worked for the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology as the Clinical Pathology Coordinator since 1988 and is now an Instructor in the Department. She began her career as a medical technologist, working at Saint Joseph’s Hospital, Phoenix, Ariz., then Mercy Medical Center in Durango, Colo., and then McKee Medical Center in Loveland, Colo., until 1987.

Dr. Vap received her bachelor’s degree in 1977 from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She worked as a medical technologist before and during her years in veterinary school, graduating from the PVM program at Colorado State in 1988 when she joined Colorado State University as the Clinical Pathology Coordinator. In 1995, Dr. Vap received her Residency Certificate in Clinical Pathology and was accepted as a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists in 2004. She also has worked as an instructor at Front Range Community College and for the Department.

Dr. Vap is a member of the American Society of Veterinary Clinical Pathology, American Veterinary Medical Association and the American College of Veterinary Pathologists.

Dr. Tian (Tina) Wang
Dr. Wang, originally from China, comes to Colorado State University from the Department of Internal Medicine at Yale University where she was an Associate Research Scientist. She joins MIP as an Assistant Professor.

Dr. Wang received her bachelor’s degree in microbiology from the Department of Biology, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui, in the People’s Republic of China in 1992. In 2000 she completed her PhD in Cellular Immunology at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in Texas. Following graduation she was a postdoctoral fellow for four years in the Department of Internal Medicine at Yale University.

Dr. Wang is a member of the American Association of Immunologists, the American Society for Virology, and Sigma Xi. She has received numerous awards and fellowships, including the Kempner Postdoctoral Fellowship and James W. McLaughlin Predoctoral Fellowship. Dr. Wang also holds a United States Patent for “Compositions and Methods Comprising West Nile Virus Polypeptides.”

Dr. Mark Zabel
Dr. Zabel has joined Colorado State University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology. He comes to MIP from the Neuropathology Institute, University Hospital of Zurich, Switzerland, where he was a Postdoctoral Fellow.

Dr. Zabel began his education at Loyola University of Chicago where he received a bachelor’s degree in history. He then attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, where he completed a second undergraduate degree in Microbiology. In 2001, he received his PhD in Experimental Pathology from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, where his thesis was “Cell Specific Expression of the Murine CD21 Gene.” In 2000, Dr. Zabel began work as a consulting scientist for Ingenuity Systems. After completing a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Utah in 2002, he relocated to Zurich.

Dr. Zabel has received numerous awards including the Human Frontiers in Science Program long-term fellowship, Désirée and Niels Yde Foundation Award, a Roche Research Foundation fellowship and others.