Insight: Research Edition

Fall 2006

CVMBS Faculty Receive Prestigious Honors and Awards

Dr. Herbert Schweizer Elected to Fellowship in the American Academy of Microbiology

Dr. Herbert Schweizer, a Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, has been elected to Fellowship in the American Academy of Microbiology. As a newly elected fellow, he was recognized at the Academy Fellows Luncheon and Meeting during the 106th American Society for Microbiology’s General Meeting in Orlando, Fla., held in May. During the luncheon, the American Academy of Microbiology welcomed 54 new Fellows, elected through a highly selective, peer-reviewed process in recognition of their scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology.

Dr. Schweizer, who joined Colorado State University in 1995, focuses his research on new drug targets and mechanisms underlying drug resistance, and understanding resistance mechanisms, most notably efflux pumps. Clinical bacterial isolates often are characterized by their resistance to established antibiotics, Dr. Schweizer noted, and an under-standing of the underlying resistance mechanisms has important implications for therapy and the drug discovery process.

Dr. Schweizer’s research team is working to define specific metabolic pathways, the key enzymes involved and their regulation at the molecular level. Biochemical and genetic studies are being employed to study the molecular architecture and regulation of efflux pumps in P. aeruginosa and related bacteria. To support these studies, the research team is developing new genetic tools for pathogenic bacteria, especially those of interest because of their potential use as biowarfare agents, including Burkholderia pseudomallei and B. mallei, which cause the diseases melioidosis and glanders, respectively.

Dr. Joel Bedford Receives Excellence in Mentoring Award

Dr. Joel Bedford, a Professor in the Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, has been selected by the Radiation Research Society to receive the organization’s Excellence in Mentoring Award. Dr. Bedford is the fourth recipient of the award, which was established in 2002. The Radiation Research Society (RRS) requested letters of nomination for the award, which were reviewed by a 10-member panel charged with selecting the recipient. Dr. Bedford will receive the Excellence in Mentoring Award at the business meeting of the RRS in Philadelphia, Penn, at the organization’s 53rd Annual Meeting to be held jointly Nov. 5-8 with the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

Dr. Bedford became interested in radiological sciences after graduating from the University of Colorado with a degree in chemistry. He then worked in the Biochemistry Department at the University of Colorado’s Health Sciences Center and eventually enrolled in the master’s program in radiology. After completing his master’s degree, he went to Oxford where he completed his PhD degree in 1966, studying radiation effect.

Dr. Bedford then returned to the United States where he joined the faculty at Vanderbilt University as an instructor, earning tenure in 1971 as an Associate Professor. In 1975, Dr. Bedford gave up his tenured position for what seemed to be a good opportunity at Colorado State University, a chance to join an entire department devoted to his field of study, the Department of Radiology and Radiation Biology.

Through the years, Dr. Bedford has found his work in radiation sciences challenging and rewarding, but he says that what really keeps him going is his students.“

In my mind, the best part of this work is having students who get really interested in the scientific aspects, and they come up with their own ideas that we can discuss and explore,” said Dr. Bedford. “Helping our students and our postdoctoral fellows is the most rewarding aspect of this entire enterprise.”

Epidemiology Professor Selected to Serve on Advisory Panel

Dr. Mo Salman, a Professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences and Director of the Animal Population Health Institute (APHI) at Colorado State University, has been selected to serve on a panel of scientific advisors to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Dr. Salman began his three-year tenure June 1 as a member of the Panel on Animal Health and Welfare. The EFSA provides objective scientific advice on all matters with a direct or indirect impact on food and feed safety. It is an agency of the European Union, established in 2002 following a series of food-related crises including an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy and concerns of dioxin contamination in the food supply. The authority has a Scientific Committee and nine scientific Panels which advise the EFSA.

Dr. Salman is the only North American among the 191 scientists who are serving on the panels. A rigorous selection procedure was coordinated by EFSA scientists and reviewed by an external Evaluation Committee.

“I am very pleased that EFSA has been able to attract such highly qualified scientific experts for its Scientific Committee and Panels, which form the back-bone of its work in providing scientific opinions and advice on matters related to food and feed safety,” said Stuart Slorach, Chairman of the Board.

CVMBS Dean Installed as 41st President of AAVMC

Dr. Lance Perryman, Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, became the 41st president of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) on March 13. Dr. Perryman’s installation as president was the culmination of the AAVMC’s annual meeting held in Washington, D.C.

”I am very proud to have the honor to provide leadership and work with such well respected experts and leaders in the field of veterinary medical education,” said Dr. Perryman. “The AAVMC has an aggressive agenda of issues that are important not only to veterinarians and veterinary students, but to society as a whole. As educators we must step up to the plate and provide leadership and set examples for our colleagues and veterinary students.”

As president, Dr. Perryman is carrying out an aggressive agenda including the DiVersity Matters Initiative which focuses on the importance to the profession and society of having veterinarians in communities reflect the people they serve; passage of the Veterinary Work-force Expansion Act to alleviate the short-age of veterinarians working in public health, public practice and research; and development of a long-range plan that will shape veterinary medical education to meet the demands and challenges of a changing society.

Dr. Perryman has a distinguished career in academic veterinary medicine. He received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Washington State University (WSU) and is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists. He served as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology at WSU, and also as Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies. He received a MS degree from The Ohio State University and a PhD from WSU. He served as Department Head for seven years at the Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, at North Carolina State University before taking over as Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University in 2001.