The Colorado State University, Laboratory Animal Resources, in conjunction with the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, offers post-DVM graduate training position in comparative animal medicine. The core program includes residency training in laboratory animal medicine and graduate research, and is designed to culminate in both American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine board certification eligibility (ACLAM), and an MS or PhD degree in the department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology.
Residency component: CSU’s Comparative Medicine Training Program has been recognized as an approved training program by ACLAM since 2001. The residency training program has a 3-year funding base and admits one new student every 1-2 years.
Animal Care Program: CSU’s Laboratory Animal Care program is AAALAC-international accredited and houses a diverse spectrum of species and animal model systems. Seven programs of research and scholarly excellence utilize animal models of research and are supported by CSU LAR. Facilities range from state of the art BSL3 rodent biocontainment facilities to outdoor paddocks and pastures housing livestock. Colorado State University has recently received a grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to establish a Regional Center of Excellence (RCE) for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases research and training, which will further expand CSU’s longstanding expertise in laboratory animal resource biocontainment capabilities, providing a fertile ground for clinical residency training. Students will obtain hands-on clinical experience in these facilities, interact with investigators, and be involved in laboratory animal management considerations and IACUC functions.
Adjunct Training Opportunities: Additionally, participants will benefit from the opportunity to receive cross training in veterinary pathology, microbiology, anesthesiology, and zoo and wildlife medicine, by interfacing with the facilities available within the Veterinary Teaching Hospital and CSU State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Trainees will also have excellent opportunities for learning at nearby institutions with large populations of transgenic animals, primates, and cage manufacturing facilities. Opportunities to participate in national meetings and CE sessions will be provided approximately once/year. CSU has a highly functional IACUC that reviews approximately 350 new protocols/year. Approximately 100 PI's have active protocols utilizing animal models. Residents will have opportunities to interface with the IACUC and will receive instruction in veterinary ethics. The CSU University Veterinarian will also provide one-on-one training in areas of regulatory compliance.
Faculty and case load: The Program Coordinator and the CSU University Veterinarian are ACLAM diplomats; the LAR director and clinical veterinarian have over 25 and 10 years of experience in the field of laboratory animal medicine. Eight veterinary pathologists, all ACVP diplomates, conduct and supervise pathology section activities. Approximately 200 laboratory animal morbidity reports and 100 necropsies are reviewed within the animal care program annually; average daily census is approximately 10,000 animals. In addition, approximately 900 VTH necropsy cases and 1800 VTH surgical pathology cases are performed annually.
Coursework: A required core curriculum consists of courses for meeting both ACLAM board certification eligibility and graduate degree requirements.
Teaching Opportunities: The Program Director is responsible for coordination of all nondomestic animal coursework in the professional veterinary medicine curriculum. Trainees will be responsible for helping to administer didactic and well as practical courses for third and fourth year veterinary students taking these courses. Additionally residents may participate in administration of several graduate level courses in comparative medicine in the Department. Trainees participate in weekly research and clinical rounds and Departmental seminars and conferences.
Resident Research Projects: In addition to scholarly research publications, trainees frequently have opportunities to prepare clinical or management publications. Such activity provides valuable experience in critical writing and interpretation as well as participation in a collaborative effort.
Research component: Graduate research training utilizes modern scientific methodology and encourages independent thought with an emphasis on experimental design, data interpretation, and development of written and oral communication skills. Research opportunities include, but are not limited to, the study of bacterial and viral pathogenesis, mycobacterial diseases, arthropod borne infectious disease, retrovirus pathogenesis/therapy, transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, immunoparasitology, malarial molecular biology and immunology, vector biology, inherited metabolic disease, and diseases induced by environmental toxins. Students will begin investigations of prospective laboratories in which to conduct their research beginning in year 1. Years 2-3 are structured to provide time for increasing research activities and coursework required for culmination of the graduate degree. Graduate work towards a PhD typically continues after year 03 after which time stipends are funded by mentor laboratories, independent funding obtained during years 2-3, or via a departmental T32 post-DVM PhD training grant ( http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/mip/graduate/postdvmphd.htm).
Application: Positions will be advertised nationally when available. Application procedures are outlined at http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/mip/residency/combined.htm. For further information, please contact:
Sue VandeWoude, DVM, ACLAM
Colorado State University
Associate Director, Laboratory Animal Resources
Associate Professor of Comparative Medicine
Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology
1619 Campus Delivery
Fort Collins CO 80523-1619
Sue.Vandewoude@colostate.edu
phone:(970) 491-7162 fax:(970) 491-0523
