NEWSLETTER
Volume 3, Issue 7
July 2006
  On July 1, the State of Colorado provided $3.5 million towards the construction of a new $35 million Veterinary Diagnostic Medicine Center that will house our Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory personnel, the Clinical Pathology Laboratory, the Office of the State Veterinarian, and other south campus programs. This initial 10% allocation will allow us to hire an architectural firm to complete the design phase of the project. Thanks to Governor Owens and the State Legislature for this badly needed allocation. 
After hearing the news about the funding for the new Dlab Building, many pathologists were overheard saying, 'the news can't get much better than this'. Well a close runner-up happened a few days later. Teaming with the Dlab (who is generously providing 50% of the salary), CSU and the college recently awarded MIP a new tenure-track position in surgical pathology to help address service workload issues. Funds for the position will be effective July 1, 2007. ......Rumor has it that several Dlab staff are hastily planning a trip to Vegas hoping to cash in on this recent stretch of good luck   The grant numbers are in for fiscal year 2006 (which ended June 30). MIP researchers received 134 grant awards in FY '06, breaking the $34 million dollar mark with an impressive total of $34,705,349 of total costs. Furthermore the overall value of all 222 active extramural grants in the department now totals nearly $122 (yes $122) million dollars! Congratulations and thanks to all for your hard work, creativity and resourcefulness in these tough times for federal funding. Keep swinging for the fences!   The MIP Staff has worked long and hard over the last several weeks wrapping things up for fiscal year end and getting the department ready for FY '07 (which began on July 1). Before we all embrace the new year as a new start of our old habits, take some time to stop by your facility office and thank your staff for their efforts in making MIP truly work. Check out the Latest Diagnostic Laboratory Publication
 Click on the image above to read publication.
Student Study Addition
to the Micro Facility Update The timetable for completion of the Microbiology Student Study Addition (profiled in the Nov 2005 edition of MIP News) has been pushed back until late November 2006 due to redesign necessary to accommodate a 'green roof' next to upper balcony. Stay tuned to MIP news for further updates on this main campus attraction.  The MIP Newsletter reached its Silver Anniversary in June! Thanks to everyone who contributes to the Newsletter for making it a fun and informative forum to keep everyone in the know on Department happenings!
In the News... Gerald and Gina Callahan were highlighted in the Poudre Health District Compass, Summer 2006 edition, regarding Celiac Disease and Gina's new book on cooking gluten-free meals. Kristy Pabilonia was quoted in CSU In The News on June 14, regarding the Colorado Avian Disease Surveillance Program Bird Flu Sampling Kits. Read the story. Emily Kampf was highlighted in the June 26 edition of the Grand Junction Sentinel regarding her hantavirus research. Read the article.
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  The microbiology teaching lab was a beehive of activity on the afternoons of July 10th and 11th when thirty-five K-12 math and science teachers, media/resource specialists, and support personnel came to learn about avian influenza as part of the 2006 Wildlife Disease Workshop. The Wildlife Diseases Workshops, which are funded by the Division of Wildlife, are designed to provide educational professionals with information about wildlife pathogens and give them the opportunity to do some hands-on work in the lab. Speakers from the Division of Wildlife and the CDC talked about whirling disease, West Nile virus infections, and chronic wasting disease. MIP's own Deryl Keney, Pete Justice, and Susan Deines taught the participants how to perform hemadsorption and hemagglutination tests. All attendees left with plenty of interesting fodder to share with their young students this Fall. 
And now for something completely different...........
All Faculty and Graduate Students 
To help welcome our new MIP graduate students to the Department, we're holding a Rootles® hunt on Monday, August 14th, at 3:30pm, with refreshments and prizes to follow. All faculty and current graduate students are invited to participate in this fun and challenging event. Rootles® hunts are a form of treasure hunt in which groups work together to solve complex clues that lead them from place to place. The MIP hunt will take teams of faculty and students on a 60-90 minute tour around campus, solving puzzles that will guide them through a series of hidden clues.
To get a sense of what the hunt will be like, we're offering a $25 Avo's gift certificate for the first individual who correctly solves a sample clue and finds an answer tag currently hidden on campus. Click on the box above to access the sample clue, and for more information on this upcoming MIP activity. 
 August 25th A/Z Lawn Area 4-8pm Kick-off the start of another school year with the annual MIP Department Picnic. Bring your family and enjoy drinks, BBQ, and socializing with your coworkers at this shouldn't-be-missed summer event. Mark your calendars!  AEP Bioinformatics Center InitiativeLands a Keeper We are pleased to announce that Dr. Andrey Ptitsyn has accepted a faculty position as the first hire in the AEP Bioinformatics Center Initiative. Furthermore, Andrey has requested that his academic appointment be in MIP.  Dawn Petersen, Microbiology Facility Front Desk Guru, became an 'official' MIP'er on July 1, 2006. We are glad to have Dawn onboard!  Best Wishes Amy!  CSU faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends gathered on June 16th in the Pathology Glover Gallery to thank Robert Norrdin for his 37 years of service and to wish him the best in his retirement. Check out the photos from the party.  MIP is pleased to welcome Dr. Chet Moore, a special appointment Professor, to the MIP family. Chet formally transferred his appointment from ERHS to MIP effective July1. Chet is a well known vector biologist/ecologist and will be part of the AIDL team of researchers.
 High Throughput System Demonstration
And you thought they were kidding when they said they have a thousand things to do today..... On July 27th the CSU Veterinary Diagnostic Lab will be collaborating with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), the Department of Homeland Security and the United States Department of Agriculture - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services to demonstrate a high throughput system for the detection of foot and mouth disease virus. This powerful laboratory diagnostic system has the potential to be utilized for surveillance purposes or during a response to a foreign animal disease outbreak. Over the course of three days, technicians from LLNL will demonstrate an automated robotics system that will allow the complete processing - from sample receipt by the lab through data analysis and the reporting of results -- of at least 1000 samples per day. During this time, CSU VDL technicians will be cross trained on the equipment and run many of these samples. 
Recent photos of the RBL construction...  This shows the split level between animal rooms on the main floor, and the upper mechanical space.  Framing in the BSL3 spaces on the East side of the building.  The North side of the building. The framed section is the main laboratory floor.  The lower mechanical space. This area is almost completely full of Air Handling Units (AHU's) and ductwork. We have already done some preliminary duct pressure testing on those systems. Thanks for the photos Jerry! Upcoming Birthdays
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In June, Jeff Wilusz sent a letter to MIP Alumni highlighting Department accomplishments and happenings and asking alumni to share their experiences. Read the Letter. Click Here to read some of the replies we've received from MIP Alumni!  Photo/Story by Kevin Hoffman/The Coloradoan - June 23, 2006
"Climbers Ric Slayden, right, and Rich D'Alessando hit the trail to Grey Rock, leaving their car at the trailhead Thursday. Unattended cars at trailheads can be targets for theft." The moral of the story: Don't let your vehicle be a target for theft - keep it in a CSU parking lot on workdays and don't try to ‘work at home’. Submit alternative ‘morals’. 
New Grants
 Anne Avery, "Gene Expresion Profiling of Canine Lymphocytic Leukemia: A Pilot Study", American Kennel Club. John Belisle, "Strain Characterization of TB Vaccine Candidates", Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation. Gary Mason, "ACVP/STP Coalition Pathology Fellowship", American College of Veterinary Pathologists. Sue VandeWoude, "new Therapies for Feline Retroviral Diseases (1. Range Finding; 2. Efficacy Study)" Luitpold Pharmaceuticals.
JULY 2006
AUGUST 2006
Do you have NEWS or PICTURES you would like to share? Send In your ideas or newsworthy items. Contributions make the Newsletter better! |
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| MIP Newsletter Volume 3, Issue 7, July 2006 | MIP Home • CVMBS Home • CSU Home |
MIP Publications Late June/early July 2006
Andrey is a well-trained computational biologist/bioinformatician who comes to CSU from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana where he played a large role in building the bioinformatics capabilities of the Center. Dr. Ptitsyn's areas of interest are in computational biology and genomics, particularly in gene expression analysis, alternative expression forms and algorithm development. He is eager to collaborate with CSU life science researchers and will be on campus in mid August. We are delighted to welcome Andrey to the MIP family.
