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Mrs. Anissa Riley,

Office of External Affairs,School of Veterinary Medicine, Tuskegee University

Tuskegee, AL 36088, (334)724-4509, FAX: (334)727-8177, Email: riley@tuskegee.edu

Tuskegee College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health Researchers Visit Auburn University to Discuss Potential Research Collaborations

by Anissa L. Riley

Auburn’s Pathology Department research faculty member Dr. Curt Bird explains to Tuskegee Researchers the advantages of the modified sorter used in his laboratory.

Tuskegee, AL--Dr. Cesar Fermin, Associate Dean for the Office of Research and Advanced Studies at the Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health (CVMNAH), took a group of researchers from the CVMNAH to Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine (AUCVM) on October 29, 2008. The purpose of the trip was to have a round table discussion on research interest, ongoing projects, as well as identify common ground for potential collaboration. A tour was arranged by Dr. Carl Pinkert, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine (AUCVM), as a result of exchanges that occurred during Tuskegee University’s CVMNAH 9th Annual Biomedical Research Symposium (BMRS) on September 17 - 19, 2008.

Contemporary biomedical research requires multidisciplinary approaches that are best realized with collaborative efforts between institutions that share human and physical resources of common interest, and that is the case with this interaction,”said Dr. Fermin.

Dr. Jim Sartin, Professor of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, provided a guided tour through the entire veterinary college at Auburn to include teaching, research and clinical facilities. Following the tour of the facilities that lasted approximately one hour, the group then met with research faculty Associate Dean Pinkert, and Dr. Timothy R. Boosinger, Dean of the AUCVM. Lunch was graciously provided by the AUCVM during the round table discussion.

Researchers from Tuskegee University’s CVMNAH present at the meeting were Dr. C. Fermin (Associate Dean), Dr. Teshome Yehualaeshet (Pathobiology), Dr. Temesgen Samuel (Pathobiology), Dr. Woubit Abdela (Pathobiology), and Dr. Naga Yamani (Biomedical Sciences). Auburn University’s researchers present at the meeting included Dr. Michael Irwin (Pathology), Dr. Carl Pinker (Associate Dean), Dr. Bruce Smith (Pathology and Scott Ritchey Research Center), Dr. Robert Judd (Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology), Dr. Curt Bird (Pathology), Dr. Stuart Price (Pathology) and Dean Boosinger. Dr. Pinkert introduced the group and started the meeting by expressing his appreciation for inclusion of faculty and himself in the Tuskegee University’s CVMNAH Biomedical Research Symposium (BMRS) in September 2008.

Following initial introductions and substantive remarks regarding collaborative interests by Tuskegee and Auburn faculty, a roundtable discussion began with faculty members from Tuskegee and Auburn outlining their research interests and activities.

From the Auburn University side, Dr. Stuart Price (bacteriologist), described his interest in food borne diseases, where he is working in pre-harvest food safety to reduce Salmonella in chickens and cattle. Dr. Price’s research is funded by grants from the USDA and Alabama Agricultural Extension Services.

Dr. Michael Irwin explained his research in transgenic mouse modeling, specifically in efforts targeting the manipulation of the mitochondrial DNA genome and using the manipulated mitochondria to determine the effect that they may have on the physiology of cells and experimental mice.

Dr. Bruce Smith introduced his canine models of muscular dystrophy and explained his interest in gene therapy using these models. He also introduced his work in cancer gene therapy using naturally occurring tumors in dogs. His work centers on tissue specific targeting and adaptation of the immune system through genetic manipulation, targeted tumor cell killing and replication competent virotherapy as approaches to treat canine lymphoma, osteosarcoma and melanoma.

Dr. Curt Bird has spent over 20 years at Auburn University and works in molecular genetics. He is an expert in flow cytommetry and uses a very powerful four lasers-four color sorter. Also,

Dr. Bird maintained a very large bio-tumor collection (tumor bank or tissue bank) with more than 16,000 samples. These samples are primarily breast and melanomas.

Dr. Robert Judd discussed his work in diabetes and reiterated the invitation to Diabetes Research Day and the touched on the program to be held on March 6, 2009. He indicated his familiarity with Tuskegee University researcher Dr. Ayman I. Sayegh’s (Biomedical Sciences) work on appetite and past and future research collaborations.

Dr. Pinkert explained his interest on mitochondria biogenesis and mitochondria research and expanded some of the comments made at presentations provided at the last BMRS of the college. His work and Dr. Irwin’s efforts are funded by the National Institute of Child and Human Development, the Alabama Agricultural Extension Services, and private foundation support. Following each investigator’s description, an additional tour of the Scott-Ritchey Research Center by Dr. Smith and the flow cytometry facility by Dr. Bird ended the afternoon.

As a consequence of this meeting faculty at Tuskegee and Auburn are planning an exchange of activities, resources, and future applications to granting agencies. Moreover, faculty from Auburn are planning to participate in Tuskegee’s CVMNAH conference series. The conference series includes scientific topics supporting or enhancing biomedical research, especially those that may lead to cross-fertilization to design interdisciplinary projects needing collaborations from different fields. Also included in the conference series are the following: Grand Rounds – interesting cases and clinical presentations, Research Conferences – progress reports of ongoing research projects, Research Faculty Meetings, and Workshops. For more information on the conference series, contact Mrs. Tammie Hughley, (334) 724-4540; hughley@tuskegee.edu.

For more information on the Office of Research and Advanced Studies at Tuskegee University, visit: www.onemedicine.tuskegee.edu/ and click on Research and Advanced Studies.