Hello, I'm Wendy Seay, your new Office Manager for the Pathology facility. I'm a native Texan (growing up in the Friday Night Lights and all). I have one older brother and ALL of our family lives in TX. I've been married to Kenneth (who works here also, for the District Energy Plant) for almost 26 years. (OH the Bliss!!) We have two sons, Justin (22) and Jeff (20). We also have a 9 yr old Black Lab mix (Jake) (He could have had a name that DIDN'T start with a "J" don't ‘cha think?) and an 8 mo. old brown tabby kitten named Tabitha (aka: Tabby) We moved to CO in February of 2000, where we fell in LOVE with the scenery and surroundings. For some odd reason, we THOUGHT we wanted to move back to TX in Nov. of 2003 (which we did) and only made it a mere 6 mos. before we realized that CO was home and we HATED the heat and humidity of Texas. I've had a variety of jobs over the years, some of which include computer operator, payroll/accounting clerk, HR personnel, Office Manager in Medical Imaging, Admin Asst. at Lamar University in Beaumont, TX, and substitute teacher for two school districts in one year. (That was God preparing me for my boys to go to Middle School, since that seemed to be the only ones who needed the subs!) Moving back to CO enabled me the opportunity to get on with CSU in October of 2004 as an Accounting Tech in ERHS, where I remained until February of 2006 when I moved over to MIP in the Micro Facility.

My favorite things to do include: traveling (via car/plane or the back of our Harley), riding bicycles on the trails around here, reading (my absolute fav), beading, scrapbooking and the occasional dabbling in other crafts(crocheting, knitting, quilting, and whatever else keeps my hands busy), and camping and outdoors activities.

I love family gatherings (since they ALL live in TX) and look forward to being "empty nesters" AGAIN. It seems that we have raised "the Boomerang Boys" and they just keep coming back!

I'm so excited about the new "PATH" I'm venturing into. I hope you will each take a couple of minutes to stop in and say "Hello", as I look forward to meeting and working with each of you. You'll find me to be quick-witted and humorous (bring on the laughs - or come by if you need one)! :o) My door is always OPEN.

Congratulations to Kristy Pabilonia and Andrea Torres for recently passing the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists Board Exam!

Kristy and Andrea are the FIRST EVER MIP Veterinary Residents to complete the Residency Program in Microbiology and pass the national microbiology boards.

Congratulations to Nicole Garneau of the Wilusz² Lab for receiving the 2008 American Society of Microbiology (ASM) Student International Travel Grant. The grant is particularly notable because only a single award was made in the entire country! Nicole will use the grant to travel to this year's ASM-Australia Meeting being held in Melbourne, Australia, as well as spend a week in the laboratory of Dr. Greg Goodall at the Institute of Veterinary and Medical Sciences in Adelaide to develop an active research collaboration. She'll also perhaps discover what Vegemite and kangaroo taste like.

Congratulations to Alan Schenkel for receiving an American Association of Immunologists’ Junior Faculty Travel grant. The grant will help Alan attend the 95th Annual AAI Meeting in San Diego, California.

Tired of orbiting the A-lots trying to find a parking place after 9:30AM?  Help is on the horizon.  CSU is planning to break ground on a new elevated parking garage this summer! The ~800 space parking garage (#7 on the above photo) will be constructed where the current surface parking lot is located at the intersection of Lake Street and Center Ave (directly across from the Physiology Building). 

Believe it or not, this isn't a story about that Slayden character... MIP is deep into the planning stages for the Research Innovation Center (aka RIC)- a $53M addition to the Foothills Infectious Disease Complex. RIC, to be situated on the northwest corner of the new Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, is planned to have three floors to accommodate MIP research labs/offices, provide laboratories and offices for private companies that need incubator space for MicroRx (the new ID Supercluster company that was formed to assist in business development), and have a small vivarium for laboratory animals. In addition, RIC funding will provide for new manufacturing space to continue the development of biological products. A separate space is also in the planning stages to allow the addition of whole-body imaging (e.g. magnetic resonance imaging) for laboratory animals. Stay tuned for more info on this exciting new project.

Dean Crick celebrated a birthday milestone in February. Best wishes for many more Dean!

Dean was also recently appointed to the Journal of Biological Chemistry Editorial Board. Congratulations Dean!

In the News...

• Gerry Callahan has been quoted in several newspapers the past month regarding eating dirt;
  • Chicago Daily Herald
    Jan 21, "Relax -- a little dirt won't hurt"
  • Boulder Daily Camera
    Jan 22, "We are living in a bacterial world: But do antibacterial products go too far?"
  • 
    Jan 29, "Hard times have some in Haiti eating dirt"
  • 
    Jan 30, "Poor Haitians Resort to Eating Dirt"
• Dean Crick, aka ‘The Shadow’ was pictured in the Feb 10 Coloradoan.
  More > >

Congratulations to Jeff Wilusz on editing a book ("Post-Transcriptional Gene Regulation") that was recently published as part of the Methods in Molecular Biology Series by Humana Press. It's also made the top million best seller list at Amazon.com (where it's currently ranked #913,646 in overall sales). Look out Mr. Grisham!

MIP Publications Late January - early February 2008

• Antognoli MC, Garry FB, Hirst HL, Lombard JE, Dennis MM, Gould DH, Salman MD.  Characterization of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis disseminated infection in dairy cattle and its association with antemortem test results.  Vet Microbiol. 2008 Mar 18;127(3-4):300-8.
• Belánová M, Dianisková P, Brennan PJ, Completo GC, Rose NL, Lowary TL, Mikusová K.  Galactosyl transferases in mycobacterial cell wall synthesis.  J Bacteriol. 2008 Feb;190(3):1141-5.
• Bryant B, Blair CD, Olson KE, Clem RJ.  Annotation and expression profiling of apoptosis-related genes in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti.  Insect Biochem Mol Biol. 2008 Mar;38(3):331-45.
• Chesne-Seck ML, Barilone N, Boudou F, Gonzalo Asensio J, Kolattukudy PE, Martín C, Cole ST, Gicquel B, Gopaul DN, Jackson M.  A point mutation in the two-component regulator PhoP-PhoR accounts for the absence of polyketide-derived acyltrehaloses but not that of phthiocerol dimycocerosates in Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra.  J Bacteriol. 2008 Feb;190(4):1329-34.
• Drum MG, Kawcak CE, Norrdin RW, Park RD, McIlwraith CW, Les CM.  Comparison of gross and histopathologic findings with quantitative computed tomographic bone density in the distal third metacarpal bone of racehorses.  Vet Radiol Ultrasound. 2007 Nov-Dec;48(6):518-27.
• Green KM, Browning SR, Seward TS, Jewell JE, Ross DL, Green MA, Williams ES, Hoover EA, Telling GC.  The elk PRNP codon 132 polymorphism controls cervid and scrapie prion propagation.  J Gen Virol. 2008 Feb;89(Pt 2):598-608.
• Mahapatra S, Crick DC, McNeil MR, Brennan PJ.  Unique structural features of the peptidoglycan of Mycobacterium leprae.  J Bacteriol. 2008 Jan;190(2):655-61.
• Pecon-Slattery J, McCracken CL, Troyer JL, Vandewoude S, Roelke M, Sondgeroth K, Winterbach C, Winterbach H, O'Brien SJ.  Genomic organization, sequence divergence, and recombination of feline immunodeficiency virus from lions in the wild.  BMC Genomics. 2008 Feb 5;9(1):66

Jason Ramer, Lenden Neeper and the rest of our hard working undergraduates are getting ready for the annual Celebrate Undergraduate Research and Creativity (CURC) on April 15. Go to the CURC webpage to learn more about the event as well as detailed information for submissions/registration. A key date to keep in mind is March 14th - the last day for registration/submission.

Also remember that MIP faculty and staff are needed as judges and can volunteer at the CURC web site noted above. MIP has a long tradition of having a strong presence at this event, so please consider presenting, judging and/or attending the CURC Symposium.

Claudia Gentry-Weeks, accompanied by Sheridan Potter on the violin, recently performed "A Little Ditty About Antibiotics" by CGW (Claudia Gentry-Weeks) for the MIP351-Medical Bacteriology students sung to the tune of "She'll be coming 'round the mountain"

---

MIPnews could not confirm nor refute the rumor that Dr. Ed Hoover will be performing his own ditty ‘Prion State of Mind’ to the tune of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ in MIP555 later this year.

Several Scholarships are out there waiting to be awarded to MIP Undergraduates:

• The CSU Scholarship Application deadline is March 1, 2008. Applications are online at the CSUSA Website. You should complete the application even if you do not meet the University definition for financial need.
• CVMBS offers quite a few scholarships for undergraduates - and in some years we get a surprisingly low number of applicants! Go to the MIP Scholarship Webpage to learn about the criteria used to select recipients.
• AmeriCorps offers a scholarship to students who perform community service.

Graduate Student Recruitment in Full Swing

Panda Express fortune cookies are right on the money for students interested in MIP graduate programs! Graduate Recruitment visits are scheduled for February 22 and 29, so be sure to mark your calendars and meet and help evaluate the new recruits!

Note to applicants - if the Panda fortune cookie isn't enough to make you salivate about a position in MIP, check out the sign we found on one of the lab hoods. MIP doesn't live by science alone!

Dear Friends,
I've recently made a commitment to walk in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in the Rocky Mountains (From Keystone to Breckenridge) on June 28 and 29. I'll walk to help more than 200,000 people in the United States who will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year and in memory of the more than 40,000 people who will die of it.

Here's my commitment: I will spend the next several months getting in shape to walk the distance of a complete marathon (26.2 miles) on one day, followed by another half-marathon (13.1 miles) on the next day - a total of almost 40 miles. In addition, I am committed to raising at least $1,800 in donations.

Please help me to reach my goal. The money we raise goes to five crucial areas: awareness and education; screening and diagnosis; treatment; support and services; and scientific research. Avon will keep most of this money right here in Colorado.

You can make a donation directly online with a credit card by going to my Personal Avon Donation Webpage. If you'd prefer to write a check, just let me know and I'll send you a Donation Coupon.

Your donation will help to send millions of dollars to breast cancer organizations in the Colorado area and across the country. While making an invaluable contribution to those who desperately need it, your gift to the Avon Walk will be tax-deductible and responsibly managed by the Avon Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity. At the same time, you will be showing your support of my efforts, for which I'm extremely grateful.
Thank you,
Nikki Marlenee

Can science be beautiful? Can art be scientific? If you answered "yes" to either of these questions, please consider entering Colorado State University's Third Annual Art and Science Exhibition. CSU's Third Annual Art and Science Exhibition is now accepting submissions in all mediums. All CSU students, faculty, and staff are invited to participate by submitting work, be it photomicrograph, computer simulation, circuit board, geotechnical blueprint, painting, sculpture, or pottery.

This exhibition will celebrate the intertwining of art and science by featuring scientific displays which are inherently artistic, as well as art which draws inspiration from science. The opening reception will take place on March 12 from 4 - 6 pm in the Curfman Gallery in the Lory Student Center. The show will close March 28th.

All entrants must register online by March 5th in order to participate. For more information or to register online, please visit http://www.natsci.colostate.edu/artscience.

FOR EXAMPLE:

Stained section of two merged germinal centers (B lymphocte zones) in a lymph node.

Reference: Crocker, J. Journal of Clinical Pathology Vol 56, Number 2. Cover image. 2003

In case you're wondering why you haven't seen some pretty faces around main campus these days, please note that many MIP'ers have, or are in the process of, moving to the Foothills Campus. Herbert Schweizer moved his entire lab to the RBL effective January 15. This will allow the Schweizer lab to be closer to BSL3 facilities and to facilitate his interactions with the RMRCE administrative staff as Associate RCE Director. While Herbert plans on spending the majority of his time at his RBL office, he is maintaining his office in Micro for administrative purposes as Associate Department Head for Graduate Education and Research.

Becky Rivoire and her RMRCE PDM Core staff have also moved to the RBL. Two additional faculty - Ric Slayden and John Belisle - along with select staff/students are going to move in the very near future.

Information on the CVMBS College Research Council (CRC) 2008 Call for Proposals is now available on the CVMBS website. At this website, you will find the Call for Proposals information letter, as well as the CRC Face Sheet and signature page. The CRC Proposal deadline is 5:00pm on Monday, March 24th.

Just a reminder that CVMBS Research Day begins at noon on Saturday the 16th with the keynote speaker, Dr. Richard Bowen, and concludes with an award ceremony at 6:30PM. Poster set up is from 11:30am-noon

Don't forget that the Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB) Program's Annual Research and Recruitment Symposium is scheduled for Friday, February 29th (Leap Day) from 2-5PM in the North Ballroom of the Lory Student Center.

February 13, 2008: Two months into the project construction starts to go "vertical"...

LAR Construction Updates

"If the people lead, eventually the leaders will follow."

Dean enjoys a little roasting by his compadres on the occasion of his 50th birthday.

1. Dean never reads the MIPnews photo captions without wearing his little insurance policy
2. Like the rest of the MIP faculty, Dean prepares for his annual evaluation meeting with the Dept. Head
3. Dean's Idea of the Week®: Solve the MIP space crunch by converting the rest rooms to offices and hand out these to all MIP staff and students
4. Dean now has all he needs for that 8 hour BSL3 experiment
5. Please, whatever you do, don't start calling him Dr. Dependable
6. We hired him for ‘bladder or worse’
7. Now we have a prime suspect for who's been putting soiled diapers in the MIPnews Suggestion Box
8. Submit your own

Click Here for the questions to MIPuzzle #27
Click Here for the answers to MIPuzzle #27

A fairly sizeable group of MIPathologists took advantage of a great deal from Frontier Airlines and headed south during January's frigid temperatures.

Pictured from first on the left, back around the table in a horseshoe are;
Haley Avery (offspring of P and A), Will Zabel (offspring of Mark), Kathy Zabel, Mark Zabel, Matt Rooney (Andy Torres husband), Robyn Elmslie (Steve Dow's wife), Steve Dow, Lance Masoner (can't see him, Candy Mathiason's boyfriend), Candy Mathiason, Tim Kurt and wife Liz, Anne Avery, Jim Perry, Maya Rooney (offspring of Andy Torres and Matt Rooney), Davis Seelig, Catherine Hageman (Davis' girlfriend).
Not shown: photographer P. Avery, Offspring of Steve Dow and Robyn Elmslie, Cooper and Sawyer, who were likely setting fire to something off camera.

Check out the Photo Gallery.

• An insider's guide to peer review - see what six study section chairs have to say on the topic of what makes a good grant application.
• NIH’s Center for Scientific Review Peer Review Notes – January 2008.  Keep up with the latest in NIH’s peer review process. For example: study sections now being held once a year outside of the DC area and flexible submission options for NIH study section members. 
• The NIH salary cap for PIs has been raised to $191,300. For more details, check out the Full Notice.
• Did you know that you are still considered a ‘new’ investigator according to NIH guidelines even if you've been PI on an R03, R15, R21, R41(STTR), R43 (SBIR) or an early career K award (excluding K02, K06, K24 and K26)? Check out NIAID's "are you new" webpage for more info.
• Vector biologists and TB researchers in particular will probably want to check out NIAID –DMID's list of approved concepts (the early planning stage for possible future RFAs) for 2008. All of the approved concepts for other NIAID divisions can be found at http://www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/budget/in-main.htm
• NIAID has officially revised its R01 payline for FY'08 to 12.0 percentile. The payline for new investigators remains at the 14.0 percentile. Read all about it and find other updated payline info at the NIAID Paylines & Budget Website.

Some Highlights from the
February Faculty Council Meeting

1. Campus Construction - The Academic Instruction Bldg and the Research Innovation Center. Using bonds, student fees and other governmental/private sources of revenue, CSU is moving ahead with a fairly aggressive construction plan (particularly in comparison to the last few years). Two projects of particular interest to MIP include the new parking garage outlined elsewhere in this newsletter as well as a 3 story ‘Academic Instruction Bldg’ to be located in the parking lot to the south of the Clark Bldg. This teaching/office structure is projected to include a 400 seat ‘state-of-the art’ lecture hall - something the department might want to consider trying to reserve for certain seminars. The ground breaking for this building is projected for the Fall/early January. One additional project - the Research Innovation Center for the Foothills Campus, is projected to consist of a combination of labs for both university research and public/private corporation partnerships. Keep reading the MIPnews for more details regarding this project.
2. Update on the CSU-Global Campus Initiative (formally called CSU-Colorado). For more information on this on-line university project, please visit the CSU Global Campus Website. The university administration appears to be taking a wise ‘don't launch it until its ready to be launched’ approach on this endeavor. Current tasks involve the development of the concept of a Master Syllabus and in depth discussions of what is the best approach to ‘hire’ faculty for this new enterprise. It is projected that faculty will be brought into the project to work on both initial course development as well as to interact with enrolled students.
3. Multi-Year Contracts for Special Appointment Research Faculty. As many of you know, the State General Assembly last year revised statute 24-19-104 to allow the university to offer multi-year employment contracts for faculty involved in research performed in a university setting (such contracts were previously limited to a handful of university positions, such as football coach, etc). A motion was unanimously passed at Faculty Council to revise the Faculty Manual (in particular sections E.1 through E.6) to allow multi-year special faculty appointments at CSU. While this Faculty Council action is a major step towards allowing the option of multi-year contracts for select special appointment faculty at CSU, it is important to note that there are still additional steps in the process before it is a reality. The next step in the process is for the revisions approved by Faculty Council to be approved by the Board of Governors.
4. COI/COC. MIP Faculty: Don't forget to complete your new Conflict of Interest (COI)/Conflict of Commitment (COC) disclosure forms this Spring. From the faculty perspective, disclosure of these entrepreneurial activities is important to protect the faculty member and maintain accountability.
5. Other news: Paul Mallette will be replacing Harvey Cutler as Chair of the University Discipline Panel. Candidates for the position of VP of Financial Services will be visiting next month.

Charles Calisher, "Production of Isolates of Hantaviruses for BEI Resources", American Type Culture Collection
Herbert Schweizer, "Evaluation of BAL30072 as Potential Melioidosis Therapeutic", Basilea Pharmaceutica
Tina Wang, "Gammadelta T cell Regulation of Adaptive Immunity in West Nile Virus Infection", NIAID

Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri
				1
4 Faculty Seminar	5 Graduate Seminar	6 Microscopy Seminar	7	8
11 Faculty Seminar	12 Graduate Seminar	13 Microscopy Seminar	14	15 Norm Pace Seminar 11am
18 Faculty Seminar	19 Faculty Mtg 4pm Path 103 Graduate Seminar	20 Microscopy Seminar	21	22 Grad Student Recruitment
25 Faculty Seminar	26 Graduate Seminar	27 Microscopy Seminar	28	29 Grad Student Recruitment CMB Research Symp

Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri
3 Faculty Seminar	4 Graduate Seminar	5 Microscopy Seminar	6	7
10 Faculty Seminar	11 Graduate Seminar	12 Microscopy Seminar	13	14
17 S B Faculty & Ad Pro Evals Due	18 P R Faculty Mtg 4pm Path 103	19 R E	20 I A	21 NG K
24 CRC Proposals Due Faculty Seminar	25 Graduate Seminar	26 Microscopy Seminar	27	28
31 Faculty Seminar

Do you have NEWS or PICTURES you would like to share?

Send In your ideas or newsworthy items. Contributions make the Newsletter better!