Comparative Biomedical Sciences (Graduate Program)

Program Overview

The graduate program in comparative biomedical sciences offers an interdisciplinary approach to conducting biomedical research as it applies to humans and animals. The goal of the program is to educate and prepare students for successful careers in academic, private industry, or government environments. Degrees granted include a PhD or MS degree in veterinary medical sciences with focuses in cell and molecular biology, environmental health sciences, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, or toxicology. The school also has a DVM/PhD track for students accepted into the veterinary medicine program.

Administration

Admission

Applications and supporting materials for all graduate study must be submitted through the online application site for the LSU Graduate School: www.lsu.edu/gradapply. Official transcripts, official test scores, and other materials that come from third-party sources must be mailed to: Graduate Student Services, 114 David Boyd Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. These paper documents are stored electronically and departments have access to all materials submitted by and/or on behalf of a student applying to graduate study.

Applications for admission are accepted and evaluated by the department at any time, but applicants are not evaluated for admission or financial assistance until completed application materials have been received, including test scores, official transcripts, and letters of recommendation. Application should be initiated at least six months prior to anticipated entry. Applicants must adhere to the application deadlines established by the Graduate School.

Students seeking admission must submit satisfactory credentials from previous study, acceptable GRE test scores, and three letters of recommendation. Minimum criteria for admission include ≥3.0 GPA out of 4.0 on the US system scale and a combined verbal and quantitative GRE score of ≥302 (1100 on the older exam version). International students whose native language is not English must also submit an acceptable TOEFL score (≥213 computer version or ≥79 Internet version or ≥550 paper version) or IELTS score (≥6.5), or PTE score of (≥59). One of the department graduate faculty members must agree in advance to accept the applicant as a student in his/her laboratory.

Financial Assistance

Financial assistance is available to some students. Financial aid consists of research assistantship stipends or fellowships. The amount of the award depends on prior educational performance and awards are made on a competitive basis; financial aid is rarely awarded to MS students. Special fellowships and tuition exemption may also be available. A student should contact his/her home department for more information on available assistantship positions. To ensure consideration for financial aid, all application materials should be submitted in accordance with deadlines established by the LSU Graduate School and preferably six months prior to anticipated entry.

Research Facilities

Research facilities include laboratories, instrument rooms, walk-in cold rooms, and rooms for radiolabel materials use, animal treatment, cell culture, photography, and storage. The department operates the Inhalation Research Facility, the Analytical Systems Laboratory, the Aquatic Research Facility, the Equine Medication Surveillance Laboratory, and the SVM Microscopy Center. The School of Veterinary Medicine also houses the Gene Probes & Expressions Systems Laboratory, LSU Flow Cytometry Core Facility, Veterinary Computer Resources, Veterinary Medicine Library, Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine, Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, a Biomedical Communications Unit, and the facilities of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital & Clinics.

Graduate Faculty

(check current listings by department by clicking this link)

Steven A. Barker (M) • Analytical toxicology and the neurochemistry of hallucinogens
Hermann H. Bragulla (6A) • Development of skin and skin appendages in normal and diseased states
Henrique Cheng (M) • Molecular mechanisms controlling stem cell differentiation and islet cell hormone secretion
Ji-Ming Feng (7M) • Pathogenesis of autoimmune-mediated demyelinating diseases
Marxa Figueiredo (3F) • Development of cancer gene therapy using viral vectors
Joseph Francis (M) • Pulmonary and cardiovascular pathophysiology
David W. Horohov (3F) • Equine immunology
Kevin M. Kleinow (M) • Aquatic animal pharmacology and toxicology, developmental toxicology, zebrafish as genomic models for disease, Deep Horizon
Charles C. Lee (6A) • Neurobiological mechanisms underlying auditory processing and plasticity
Shisheng Li (M) • DNA repair and mutagenesis
J. Michael Mathis (M) • Targeted oncolytic virotherapy for breast cancer and multifunctional targeted delivery and non-invasive imaging of adenoviral vectors
Margaret McNulty (6A) • Bone regeneration and osteoarthritis
Arthur Penn (M) • Inhalation toxicology, cardio/pulmonary responses to air pollutants, gestational exposures and adult disease
George M. Strain (M) • Deafness, clinical neurophysiology and neurology
Gary E. Wise (EM) • Cell and molecular biology of tooth eruption
Shaomian Yao (6A) • Isolation and differentiation of dental stem cells, molecular biology of stem cells, and their roles in osteogenesis and osteoclastogenesis
Masami Yoshimura (M) • Molecular and cellular biological aspects of cyclic AMP signal transduction regulation

Recent Faculty Publications

The following is a representative sample of recent faculty publications:

S.A. Barker, J. Borjigin, I. Lomnicka, R. Strassman (2013). LC/MS/MS analysis of the endogenous dimethyltryptamine hallucinogens, their precursors, and major metabolites in rat pineal gland microdialysate. Biomed Chromatogr doi: 10.1002/bmc.2981. [Epub ahead of print]

C.B. Wilson, L.D. McLaughlin, A. Nair, P.L. Ebenezer, R. Dange, J. Francis (2013). Inflammation and Oxidative Stress Are Elevated in the Brain, Blood, and Adrenal Glands during the Progression of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in a Predator Exposure Animal Model. PLoS One 8: e76146.

G. Middleton, D.J. Hillmann, J. Trichel, H.H. Bragulla, L.Gaschen (2012). Magnetic resonance imaging of the ligamentous structures of the occipitoatlantoaxial region in the dog. Vet Radiol Ultrasound 53: 545-551.

S. Li (2012). Implication of posttranslational histone modifications in nucleotide excision repair. Int J Mol Sci 13: 12461-12486.

R. Gupta, E. Qualls-Creekmore, M. Yoshimura (2013). Real-time monitoring of intracellular cAMP during acute ethanol exposure. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 37: 1456-1465.

C.C. Lee (2013). Thalamic and cortical pathways supporting auditory processing. Brain Lang 126: 22-28.

R.D. Dayton, M.A. Gitcho, E.A. Orchard, J.D. Wilson, D.B. Wang, C.D. Cain, J.A. Johnson, Y.J. Zhang, L. Petrucelli, J.M. Mathis, R.L. Klein (2013). Selective forelimb impairment in rats expressing a pathological TDP-43 25 kDa C-terminal fragment to mimic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Mol Ther 21: 1324-1334.

M. Rezai Rad, G.E. Wise, H. Brooks, M.B. Flanagan, S. Yao (2013). Activation of proliferation and differentiation of dental follicle stem cells (DFSCs) by heat stress. Cell Prolif 46: 58-66.

P. Nelson, T.D. Ngoc Tran, H. Zhang, O. Zolochevska, M. Figueiredo, J.M. Feng, D.L. Gutierrez, R. Xiao, S. Yao, A. Penn, L.J. Yang, H. Cheng (2013). Transient receptor potential melastatin 4 channel controls calcium signals and dental follicle stem cell differentiation. Stem Cells 31: 167-177.

R. Xiao, Z. Perveen, D. Paulsen, R. Rouse, N. Ambalavanan, M. Kearney, A.L. Penn (2012). In utero exposure to second-hand smoke aggravates adult responses to irritants: adult second-hand smoke. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 7: 843-851.

G.M. Strain (2012). Canine deafness. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract 42: 1209-1224.

A. Bui, R. Xiao, Z. Pervveen, K. Kleinow, A. Penn (2012). Zebrafish embryos sequester and retain petrochemical combustion products: developmental and transcriptome consequences. Aquat Toxicol 108: 23-32.

S. Yao, D.L. Gutierrez, H. He, Y. Dai, D. Liu, G.E. Wise (2011). Proliferation of dental follicle derived cell populations in heat-stress conditions. Cell Prolif 44: 486-493.

Programs

• Veterinary Medical Sciences-Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Ph.D.

• Veterinary Medical Sciences-Comparative Biomedical Sciences, M.S.