I am Lisa Anaya, the new Office Manager for the IDA and AIDL facilities at the Foothills Campus. I have been employed with CSU for almost 12 years, beginning with a stint as an Admin Asst I in Equine Sciences in Dec 1996. I am grateful for having begun there as it was a great training ground in the complexity of production, processes and procedures within higher education. I left Equine Sciences as an Accounting Tech II in 2000, transferring to the Dean's Office in the Foothills Campus Research Support Center as an Acct Tech III. Linda Pundt and I worked together for 6 years in the basement of what's now IDA managing grants for the Foothills operations of multiple CVMBS departments. I joined the MIP staff in March 2007.

I have 2 children (18, 15) and 2 cats (3). I have 5 brothers, am the only girl and the baby of the family. I am a CHSAA/CVOA certified volleyball official and enjoy traveling. I'm also a blackjack player - so it's good to be in a Department where everyone is playing with a full deck.

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Andrea Torres has accepted an Assistant Professor position in the department effective August 15. Her primary responsibilities include teaching microbiology coursework within the professional veterinary medicine curriculum and training of post-DVM residents within the microbiology residency program. Andy received her DVM from CSU in 1998. She worked in private practice until returning to CSU in 2000 when she entered the combined microbiology residency/PhD program. Her thesis work with mentor Ed Hoover focused on the examination of the pathogenesis of feline leukemia virus infection. Andy received her PhD and became board certified by the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists in 2007. Andy and her husband Matt live in Lyons with their two daughters Maya and Emma. Welcome aboard Andy!

Hi, I'm Beverly Meyer and I'm looking forward to assisting you in fulfilling your HR needs. My experience at Colorado State University for the past 28 years includes 9 years of Contract and Grants accounting and the last 18 years as Business Manager in Athletics.

I'm a native of Fort Collins, CO and grew up on a dairy farm on the east side of town. My husband Allan works for Poudre Valley Coop. Our family includes 3 sons and 3 grandchildren. Ron and his wife Shannon live in Freeland, MI with our two granddaughters Ashlyn (5) and Brianna (2). Brent and our grandson Brock (3) live in Wellington. Bradley is attending Front Range Community College in Fort Collins majoring in Horticulture.

My favorite pastime is spending time with my family (especially the grandchildren), working in the yard, and quilting.

Congratulations to the following MIP students who won awards for their presentations at the joint meeting of the Rocky Mountain ASM Branch / Virology Club meeting that took place October 5-7 in Pingree Park:

• Kevin Sokoloski - 1st place Oral Presentation (tie) (Wilusz Lab)
• Chris Lehmann - 1st place undergraduate presentation (Foy Lab)
• Kevin Kobylinski - 2nd place poster presentation (tie) (Foy Lab)
• Emily Chaskey - 2nd place poster presentation (tie) (Wilusz Lab)
• Jaclyn Scott - 2nd place poster presentation (tie) (Blair Lab)

We also wish to acknowledge and thank the Rocky Mountain Branch of the ASM for their support of this meeting, particularly in terms of providing numerous student travel awards.

Undergraduates Natalia Reim and Peter Garza, both Micro Majors, will be presenting at the 2008 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) in Orlando Florida on November 7th. In addition, Natalia received an ABRCMS Travel Award which will fund her attendance at the meeting. Congratulations to both Natalia and Peter on these achievements!

On October 6th and 7th, the Fourth Annual Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Disease Research took place in Bozeman Montana.  80 attendees enjoyed an invigorating series of talks and posters, along with a keynote address by Dr. Albert Churilla, chief of the Medical Science and Technology Division of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency of the DoD.  Some of the many highlights of the meeting included impressive talks on:

• successful applications of virtual high-throughput screening for novel antimicrobials
• the development of a novel attenuated B. pseudomallei strain
• the characterization of accelerated immune responses obtained using protein cages
• novel insights into ways that Coxiella messes with its host cell environment
• the identification of several compounds that block arenavirus entry
• several new approaches for the development of antiviral therapeutics

On the non-science front, several late night patrons of the hotel bar/restaurant were very disappointed that they did not win the drawing for a free trip from Bozeman to Denver for a Broncos Game.  However they were left sitting with their mouths open at the site of Dr. Schweizer absorbing ~2.5 pints of Fat Tire in a split second.  Instead of it going straight to his head as you might expect, much of it went straight to his right shoe…..
     A big thanks goes out to John, Julie, Charmaine, Lesley and the rest of the RMRCE gang for putting on a terrific meeting.

MIP Publications Late September - Early October 2008

• Beamer GL, Flaherty DK, Assogba BD, Stromberg P, Gonzalez-Juarrero M, de Waal Malefyt R, Vesosky B, Turner J.  Interleukin-10 promotes Mycobacterium tuberculosis disease progression in CBA/J mice.  J Immunol. 2008 Oct 15;181(8):5545-50.
• Campbell CL, Black WC 4th, Hess AM, Foy BD.  Comparative genomics of small RNA regulatory pathway components in vector mosquitoes.  BMC Genomics. 2008 Sep 18;9(1):425.
• Fonvielle M, Coinçon M, Daher R, Desbenoit N, Kosieradzka K, Barilone N, Gicquel B, Sygusch J, Jackson M, Therisod M.  Synthesis and Biochemical Evaluation of Selective Inhibitors of Class II Fructose Bisphosphate Aldolases: Towards New Synthetic Antibiotics.  Chemistry. 2008;14(28):8521-9.
• Liptak JM, Dernell WS, Rizzo SA, Monteith GJ, Kamstock DA, Withrow SJ.: Reconstruction of chest wall defects after rib tumor resection: A comparison of autogenous, prosthetic, and composite techniques in 44 Dogs. Vet Surg. 37(5): 479-487, 2008
• Liptak JM, Kamstock DA, Dernell WS, Monteith GJ, Rizzo SA, Withrow SJ.: Oncologic outcome after curative-intent treatment in 39 dogs with primary chest wall tumors (1991-2005). Vet Surg. 37(5): 488-496, 2008.
• Lozano-Fuentes S, Elizondo-Quiroga D, Farfan-Ale JA, Loroño-Pino MA, Garcia-Rejon J, Gomez-Carro S, Lira-Zumbardo V, Najera-Vazquez R, Fernandez-Salas I, Calderon-Martinez J, Dominguez-Galera M, Mis-Avila P, Morris N, Coleman M, Moore CG, Beaty BJ, Eisen L.  Use of Google Earth to strengthen public health capacity and facilitate management of vector-borne diseases in resource-poor environments.  Bull World Health Organ. 2008 Sep;86(9):718-25.
• Mao J, Eoh H, He R, Wang Y, Wan B, Franzblau SG, Crick DC, Kozikowski AP.  Structure-activity relationships of compounds targeting mycobacterium tuberculosis 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase.  Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2008 Oct 1;18(19):5320-3.
• Nemeth N, G Kratz, J Scherpelz, R Bowen and N Komar. 2008. Naturally-induced West Nile virus immunity in raptors. EcoHealth 5(3):¯.
• Nemeth N, P Oesterle and R Bowen. 2008. Passive immunity to West Nile virus provides limited protection in a common passerine species. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 79(2):283-290.
• Ptitsyn AA, Weil MM, Thamm DH.  Systems biology approach to identification of biomarkers for metastatic progression in cancer.  BMC Bioinformatics. 2008 Aug 12;9 Suppl 9:S8.
• Sullivan EK, Kamstock DA, Turner AS, Goldman SM, Kronengold RT.  Evaluation of a flexible collagen surgical patch for reinforcement of a fascial defect: Experimental study in a sheep model.  J Biomed Mater Res B Appl Biomater. 2008 Oct;87(1):88-94.

John Spencer does the Can-Can-Can-Can-Can-Can-Can-Ca.....

Thanks to all members of the MIP family who participated in the recent "Cans Around the Oval" Food Drive. We would especially like to recognize Dr. John Spencer for donating ~400 pounds of canned foods this year. So if you were wondering why there were no Raman Noodles or Mac and Cheese on the shelves at King Soopers this weekend..

ATTENTION GRADUATE STUDENTS, POSTDOCS and PROFS WHO CAN (or think that they can) DANCE:

Be sure to make a video of your ‘science dance’ and enter it in the AAAS Science Dance Contest! The human body is an excellent medium for communicating science--perhaps not as data-rich as a peer-reviewed article, but far more exciting. Check out all the details at the 2009 Science Dance Contest Web site. The deadline for submissions is Novemeber 16^th (and don't forget to send a copy to the MIPnews!)

Jenny Harding (MIP) and Marci Stille (VTH) help Cam the Ram model his new "fashion jersey" that they designed and made.

I am almost a Fort Collins native (we moved here in 1969) and have been working at CSU for the past three years. I have two wonderful teenage children and a terrific husband who is an Ironman. My children and I ran across the finish line with him in Hawaii last year. I love to garden and spend time with my family. I also have a penchant for taking math classes and am currently studying introduction to probability theory. I love learning about biology and try to glean bits of information whenever possible from the accounts that I help manage. When the opportunity presents itself, I like to travel. I've visited six of the seven continents, and have made my home in Japan, Zaire, and various South American countries. I hope some day to visit the Antarctic as well.

I have been in Colorado for just over two years and am just getting settled in Fort Collins. I have spent most of my life in Texas, but have also logged some time in Michigan, Las Vegas, and the D.C. area. I received my BS in Accounting in 2001 from the University of North Texas. I am looking forward to learning more about working at CSU (including ALL the acronyms) and possibly continuing my education. In my free time I enjoy traveling, biking, and spending time with family.

Dr. Helle Bielefeldt-Ohmann will be leaving MIP to move to Australia at the end this month. We wish to thank her for her service to the department and wish her the best of luck in her future pursuits.

Congratulations to Karen Dobos-Elder, Mary Jackson, Ashley Linton, Jessica Prenni, and Jeff Wilusz for participating in the Crossroads Half Marathon race on September 21st.

Congratulations to the Scherman family on the birth of their son, Micah Garnchanok, on September 25. Upon delivery Micah weighed 6 lbs 7 ozs and measured 19 inches long.

The Colorado Combined Campaign is an annual statewide campaign that allows Colorado State University faculty and staff to contribute to charitable agencies across Colorado through payroll deduction and other convenient means. Colorado's charitable and human service organizations are facing greatly increased demand and need our support more than ever. Please reflect on the impact your contribution makes and consider donating again this year.

The Infectious Disease Research Center has a new website!

Check it out at idrc.colostate.edu

MIP has faculty representatives serving on the following College and University Committees:

Biomedical Curriculum Committee
• RoxAnn Karkhoff-Schweizer
• Sandra Quackenbush

Commencement Committee
• Ralph Smith

Research Council
• Paul Avery
• Hana VanCampen

Scholarship and Award Committee
• Susan Deines
• Gary Mason

Special Faculty Advisory Committee
• Mike McNeil
• MaryAnn DeGroote

Veterinary Admissions Committee
• EJ Ehrhart
• Andrea Bohn

Veterinary Curriculum Committee
• Pat Schultheiss
• Randy Basaraba

PVM Curriculum Committee
•Christine Olver

Foothills Research Advisory Committee
• Ken Olson

DVM/PhD Committee
• Anne Avery
• Jeff Wilusz

North-facing wall


Close-up of north-facing wall and construction worker on third floor


Close-up of construction workers installing windows on west-facing stairwell.


Installing west-facing stairwell windows


South-facing wall and connection-hallway between DMC and VTH

"We believe that ‘to err is human.’ To blame it on someone else, is politics."

Alternative Captions:

1. The eyes and mouth must've been added by a Phillies Fan after Game 4 of the NLCS.
2. Name three other bald guys on the third floor of the Micro Building
3. As the sign suggests, you (and your career) only go up when you work in Micro.
4. Submit your own

Focus on Fungus and Parasites

Click Here for the questions to MIPuzzle #35
Click Here for the answers to MIPuzzle #35

• Two Strikes and You're Out: New NIH policy on Grant Resubmissions:

  NIH has officially announced a change in its policy on resubmission grant applications (see the NIH Grants Website).  Beginning with original new applications (i.e., never submitted) and competing renewal applications submitted for the January 25, 2009 due dates and beyond, the NIH will accept only a single amendment to the original application.  Failure to receive funding after two submissions (i.e., the original and the single amendment) will mean that the applicant should substantially re-design the project rather than simply change the application in response to previous reviews.  It is expected that this policy will lead to funding high quality applications earlier, with fewer resubmissions.

• The Yearly Continuing Resolution Blues:

  As you probably know, the Department of Health and Human Services is operating on a Continuing Resolution (CR) Budget that currently extends through March 6, 2009. Consistent with its practice during the CRs of FY 2006-2008, until the final FY 2009 appropriation is enacted, NIH will issue non-competing research grant awards at a level below that indicated on the most recent Notice of Award (generally up to 90% of the previously committed level). NIH will consider upward adjustments to these levels after the final appropriation is enacted, but expects institutions to monitor their expenditures carefully during this period.

• You might want to dust off that risky but highly innovative idea that you never thought NIH would fund:

  As part of the NIH Roadmap for Biomedical Research, the National Institutes of Health has issued an RFA that invites transformative Research Project Grant (R01) applications from institutions/organizations proposing exceptionally innovative, high risk, original and/or unconventional research with the potential to create new or challenge existing scientific paradigms. The due date for applications is Jan. 29th.  Read more about it at the NIH Grants Website.

• A new approach to encourage success and transition to independence among your scientists:

  In addition to its classic ‘New Investigator’ Status (i.e someone who has never been PI/PD on a substantial NIH grant), NIH has recently created a new status called “Early Stage Investigators’ (ESI) (someone within ten years of their terminal degree or medical residency).  Traditional NIH research grant (R01s) applications from ESIs will be identified and the career stage of the applicant will be considered at the time of review and award. Read more about it at the NIH Grants Website.

• We are definitely losing our 'Edge'- a firm date for the switch from PureEdge to Adobe electronic grant forms:

  For January 2009 receipt dates, you will have to use Adobe forms for all NIH applications except conference and small business grants, which are slated to switch in April.

• Major Peer Review Changes on the horizon for May:

  Starting in May 2009, NIH will start scoring applications on a scale of 1-7 rather than the current 1-5 scale.  In summary statements, you’ll also start receiving scores and critiques for each criterion so the strong/weak points of your application should be crystal clear.  Triaged applications will also receive a preliminary priority score based on the critiques from the assigned reviewers, which should also take some mystery out of that category.  Read more about these and other planned changes in September 19, 2008, NIH Guide notice and Enhancing Peer Review - Implementation Updates.

• A truly groundbreaking R01 change coming January 2010:

  R01 research plans will shrink to 12 pages; NIH will scale research plans for other types accordingly and restructure all to align with new review criteria.

Ramesh Akkina , "Human Embryonic Stem (HES) Cells for Hematopietic and HIV/AIDS Therapies", NIH-Natl Heart, Lung & Blood
Ramesh Akkina , "University of Colorado Center for AIDS Research/Mouse Model Facility", UCHSC
Dean Crick , "Assembly of the Mycobacterial Cell Wall", University of Rochester Medical Center
Becky Rivoire , "Building a Regional Training Center for Product Translational...", Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation
Mark Zabel , "Aptamers for Ante-mortem Diagnostics of Prion Infection", IST-Infoscitex Corporation

Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri
		1 Microscope Seminar, 8am, Path 103	2	3 RMV/ASM Mtg Dept Seminar 9am, Path 103
6 Regional RCE Mtg	7 Regional RCE Mtg Grad Student Seminar, 12pm, Path 103	8	9 Dept Seminar 12pm, Path 103	10
13	14	15 Microscope Seminar, 8am, Path 103	16	17
20	21 Grad Student Seminar, 12pm, Path 103	22 Microscope Seminar, 8am, Path 103	23 Dept Seminar 12pm, Path 103	24
27	28 Grad Student Seminar 12pm, Path 103 Faculty Mtg 4pm Path 103	29 Microscope Seminar, 8am, Path 103	30	31

Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri
3	4 Grad Student Seminar, 12pm, Path 103	5 Microscope Seminar, 8am, Path 103	6	7 Dept Seminar 9am, Path 103
10	11 Faculty Mtg 4pm Path 103 Grad Student Seminar, 12pm, Path 103	12 Microscope Seminar, 8am, Path 103	13	14
17	18 Grad Student Seminar, 12pm, Path 103	19 Microscope Seminar, 8am, Path 103	20	21 Dept Seminar 9am, Path 103
24	25	26	27 Univ Offices Closed	28 Univ Offices Closed

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