NIH/Merck Summer Research Program for Veterinary Students

Participating Faculty

All faculty at the University of Pennsylvania are potential mentors. Faculty who have mentored students in recent years are listed below. Information on other faculty members at Penn can be found at the Graduate Group and Department Web sites.

Helen Aceto
Epidemiology of zoonoses in dairy cattle, environmental and foodborne transfer of pathogenic organisms between livestock and humans, the ecology of antimicrobial resistance in foodborne pathogens

David Artis
Immuno-regulatory mechanisms that govern the initiation, regulation, and effector responses following gastrointestinal helminth infection

Michael Atchison
Determining the molecular mechanisms responsible for transcriptional regulation and the control of differentiation

Narayan Avadhani
Cancer biology, mitochondrial genetics, and regulation of mitochondrial membrane biogenesis in mammalian cells

Tracy Bale
Deciphering the role stress plays in disrupting homeostasis

Charles Benson
Techniques and protocols valuable in the delineation of clinical problems relative to the practice of veterinary medicine in large animals

Erfei Bi
Development of cell polarity and control of cytokinesis in budding yeast

Eric Birks
Exercise physiology of the equine athlete and studies on equine pulmonary hemmorhage.

Gopa Biswas
Mitochondria-to-nucleus stress signaling in cells, and signal transduction pathways that are mediated or influenced by the intracellular calcium homeostasis in tumor progression and metastasis.

Margaret Casal
Genodermatoses (Inherited Skin Disorders), Collagen Defects (Osteogenesis imperfecta), Wolfhound Rhinitis and Epilepsy in the Irish Wolfhound

Margaret Chou
Mechanisms of malignant transformation, signaling by small GTPases, regulation of vesicular trafficking, ubiquitination

Gary Cohen
Herpes simplex virus entry mechanisms; Structure-Function of HSV viral Entry proteins vaccinia virus proteins involved in protection

Gudrun Debes
Effector and memory lymphocytes, unlike naïve lymphocytes, can efficiently enter non-lymphoid tissues as well as sites of inflammation and infection.

Ina Dobrinski
The biology of male germ line stem cells and spermatozoa in non-rodent mammalian species

Robert Doms
HIV and emerging viral pathogens

Zhengxia Dou
Soil and environmental science. Environmental impact and management of agricultural wastes

Roselyn Eisenberg
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) entry into susceptible cells, and animal models of HSV-1 and HSV-2 disease in their human host

Peter Felsburg
Role of the common gamma chain in lymphoid development and function, and immune reconstitution following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and gene therapy

James Ferguson
Evaluation of nutrition and reproduction in dairy cows

Steve Fluharty
Cellular and molecular mechanisms of angiotensis II (Ang II) action in the brain

Douglas Fraker
Treatment methods for primary and metastatic tumors including resection, radiofrequency thermal ablation, intra-arterial pump for chemotherapy.

George Gerton
Spermatogenesis; fertilization; pre-implantation mammalian embryo development

Alan Gewirtz
Cell biology of normal and malignant human hematopoiesis

Urs Giger
Hereditary disorders of companion animals in particular hematologic and metabolic defects; hematologic diseases and transfusion medicine

Kurt Hankenson
Cellular and molecular mechanisms of bone remodeling and regeneration

Mark Haskins
Lysosomal storage diseases; gene therapy

Paula Henthorn
Genetic diseases of dogs and cats

Meenhard Herlyn
Normal tissue homeostasis and tumor development

Rebecka Hess
Canine and feline diabetes mellitus and other endocrinopathies, acute pancreatitis

Erika Holzbaur
Microtubule-based motility

James Hoxie
Viral and cellular aspects of HIV and SIV entry into cells; mechanisms of viral resistance to the host immune response; neutralizing antibodies

Chris Hunter
The events that regulate protective immunity to the parasite Toxoplasma gondii

Olena Jacenko
Processes that control skeletal development

Andras Komaromy
Inherited retinal degenerations, achromatopsia, ocular gene therapy, glaucoma

Gregory Kopf
Biochemistry of mammalian fertilization with specific emphasis on the mechanisms by which gamete maturation and activation occurs prior to and after sperm-egg fusion

Michaela Kristula
Dairy production medicine, bedding materials to prevent mastitis, and reproductive synchronization programs for dairy cows

James Lok
The endogenous mechanism governing developmental arrest and lifespan in parasitic nematodes

Frank Luca
Yeast and mammalian cell cycle regulation; Regulation of mitotic exit, cytokinesis, daughter cell-specific gene expression, and polarized growth

Nicola Mason
Immune approaches to cancer therapy

Michael May
Signal transduction pathways that control gene expression in immune and inflammatory responses and how deregulation of these mechanisms contribute to disease

John McLaughlin
Functional role of epigenetics in development

Kathryn Michel
Nutritional requirements of critically ill patients, nutrient modulation of gastrointestinal and endocrine diseases

Richard Miselis
Neuroanatomy, Neurotropic Virus, Pseudorabies virus - central nervous system transport, and behavior

Adrian Morrison
Sleep research and behavior; arousal from rapid eye movement sleep (REM)

Lisa Murphy
Emergency preparedness and response; exotic and aquatic animal medicine

Ruth Muschel
Investigations in the mechanisms underlying metastasis

Tom Nolan
Epidemiology of parasites of companion small animals; Strongyloides stercoralis: Host modification of developmental decisions

David Nunamaker
Equine bone remodeling during exercise

Cindy Otto
Hypoxia and emergency critical care

Tom Parsons
Cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurotransmitter release

Ed Pearce
Immune responses during infection, the biology of dendritic cells, the biology of parasites, with emphasis on helminthes.

John Pehrson
Identifying and understanding mechanisms that regulate chromatin structure and function

Shelley Rankin
Surveillance and epidemiology of drug resistant bacteria in animals; the application of realtime molecular diagnostics for infectious disease

Dean Richardson
Equine connective tissue development and diseases

Karyn Rosenthal
Endocrinology of exotic species

Jean-Pierre Saint-Jeannet
Control of neural crest and placodes formation in Xenopus

Dieter Schifferli
Mechanisms of how bacterial pathogens initiate their infectious process

Phil Scott
T-cells and cytokines in infectious disease, particularly Leishmania

Patricia Sertich
Equine reproductive biology

Bernard Shapiro
Growth hormone regulation of hepatic gender-dependent iso forms of CYP

Meg Sleeper
Inherited cardiomyopathies; biochemical markers of cardiac disease; real time 3D echocardiography

Gail Smith
Engineering principles to investigate the musculoskeletal system in both health and disease

Gary Smith
Epidemiology and population dynamics of infections disease in humans and wild and domestic animal species

Louis Soslowsky
Structure-Function Relationships of Tendons and Ligaments Models for Tendon Injury, Healing, Repair, and Regeneration Biomechanics

Larry Soma
Equine exercise physiology

Nancy Spinner
Human Genetics, Notch signaling in human disease, Alagille syndrome, human disease gene identification by mapping deletions

Oriol Sunyer
Role of the complement system of teleost fish in innate and adaptive immunity

Rebecca Syring
Hyperglycemia in the traumatized patient; ventilator management in acute lung injury; oxidative injury

Andrei Thomas-Tikhonenko
Mechanisms of neoplastic transformation by the Myc oncoprotein as well as host responses to malignant growth, in particular tumor surveillance based on anti-angiogenesis

Regina Turner
Molecular regulation of sperm motility; testicular degeneration in the stallion

Sigrid Veasey
Identification of drug therapies for obstructive sleep apnea and the neurobiological basis of residual sleepiness in obstructive sleep apnea

Charles Vite Neurodegenerative disorders, lysosomal storage diseases, myotonia congenita.

Susan Weiss
Murine coronavirus pathogenesis; SARS coronavirus gene expression and pathogenesis

Robert Whitlock
Johne's disease in dairy cattle

Carmen Williams
Signal transduction, mouse oocyte maturation, fertilization, preimplantation development, and implantation

John Wolfe
Gene transfer in the central nervous system, genetic diseases, animal models, mechanisms of pathology