Aside from hurricanes, baseball curses being reversed and presidential elections, there were some really exciting headlines in 2004. Here's a few of them:

1. MIP researchers drew the attention of the anti-deforestation establishment by publishing 123 papers in 2004. Eleven MIP faculty published 5 or more journal articles annotated in Pub Med in 2004!
2. MIP increased the national debt by bringing in $20,383,111 in extramural research funding in fiscal year '04. In addition, MIP played a large role in securing $16,624,325 for construction of the Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL). This brings total MIP research and facilities extramural funding for the fiscal year to $37,007,436!
3. Rest assured, the future of our profession appears to be very secure as MIP undergraduates received 10 of the 16 top honors at the annual CSU research and creativity showcase! In addition, Toni Nagy and Becky Kruchten won awards for their posters at the Rocky Mountain Branch of the American Society for Microbiology and Starsa Duskin presented her work at the national ASM meeting this year.
4. Beef. It's what for dinner..after, of course, our Diagnostic lab checks it out. The Dlab was chosen as 1 of 7 national centers for BSE testing.
5. Local Roofers complain that MIP Department is causing a shingle-shortage. Hard working MIP students were awarded ~50 BS, 5 MS and 6 PhD degrees in 2004.
6. After making the government an offer it couldn't refuse, the MIP Mycobacteria Research Laboratories was awarded a $25,167,768 Vaccine Testing and Research Materials contract.
7. MIP Population Explosion - Brian, Sandy, Alan, Katy and Joel joined the faculty and 5 babies were born to MIP staff.
8. Seven people made a really bad choice MIP enrolled an impressive 19 graduate applicants (out of 26 offers) in 2004.
9. Proving that one can perform at the peak of one's game without steroids, we congratulate Gary Mason, Randy Basaraba, Ken Olson, Julie Inamine, Bill Black, Terry Spraker and Hana Van Campen on your successful promotion & or tenure decisions in 2004.
10. Diplomate-ically speaking, 5 of our trainees (Debra Kamstock, Oliver Turner, Jeremy Johnson, Linda Vap and Karen Zaks) passed their Pathology boards.
11. Bling-Bling: Grad student awards included Kim Keene (Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene), Jim Perry (ACVP student poster award), Scott Irwin (Kirke L. Martin Award for outstanding graduate student for 2004), Michele Dennis (ACVP Scholarship Award) and Karen Zaks (ACVP Young Investigator Award) plus numerous awards at local meetings; Staff Awards included Esta Saffer receiving the CVMBS Outstanding Employee Service Award for Biomedical Sciences; Faculty Awards/Honors included Ian Orme (CSU Scholarship Impact Award), Pat Brennan (named a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology), John Belisle (Glover Gallery Inductee), Erica Suchman (Glover Gallery Inductee), Dan Gould (Glover Gallery Inductee) and Ramesh Akkina (named study section chair) were among some of the many awards received this leap year.
12. Long Live MIP! MIP led all CSU Departments with a whopping 51 participants in the 'Staying Alive' exercise Program.