Pathobiology

Overview

Expertise in the Department of Pathobiology spans epidemiology, microbiology, immunology, parasitology, virology, and comparative pathology.

Through its multidisciplinary approach, the department addresses complex problems in biomedical and veterinary sciences. Research emphasizes multi-host disease systems, with the goal of improving human and animal health at the individual and population levels in a broad social and environmental context.

In the veterinary professional degree program, the department teaches courses in both the basic science and clinical portions of the curriculum, fostering students’ ability to apply the fundamental tenets of disease mechanisms in the practice of clinical and diagnostic medicine.

The Pathobiology graduate program produces leaders in biomedical research and education. The program accepts students from a variety of backgrounds, who have completed undergraduate or professional degrees, into programs leading to master’s and doctoral degrees. Graduate degrees are also offered in conjunction with the campus MD degree (Medical Scholars Program) and the college DVM degree (Veterinary Medical Scholars Program).

The department is home to a nationally recognized residency program in anatomic, clinical, or zoologic pathology, leading to board eligibility with the American College of Veterinary Pathology. The residency program can be combined with a PhD program. Virtually all graduate students receive tuition waivers and competitive stipends while participating in the teaching and research functions of the department.

Professional service, ranging from interpreting submissions to the college’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory to developing continuing education courses in molecular biology and industrial toxicology and pathology, comprises a significant proportion of departmental activity.

Areas of Research

• Pathogenesis of enteric, respiratory, and reproductive diseases
• Molecular mechanisms of infection, host-pathogen interactions, and immunity
• Strategies for vaccine design and disease control
• Spatial and contextual aspects of health and illness, combining human, animal, and ecosystem health
• Mathematical modeling of infectious diseases to promote disease control
• Foreign animal disease prevention, preparedness, and response
• Virus biophysics

 

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News Pathobiology

Help Combat Tick-borne Disease in Illinois with Data

May 14, 2019 / General News

Assist in Data Collection on Ticks The first year (2018) of I-TICK (Illinois Tick Inventory Collaboration Network) was overwhelmingly successful: 70 individual participants and 18 Hubs collected over 900 ticks in 28 counties in Illinois. The program is expanding in 2019, looking for more individuals and organizations willing to participate and assist in data collection...

NIH Grant to Vinayak Seeks to Unlock Secrets of Deadly Cryptosporidium

Feb 10, 2019 / Pathobiology

Work Builds on Earlier Breakthroughs Dr. Sumiti Vinayak has received a two-year, $426, 511 R21 grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a tool that will help researchers everywhere find effective weapons against the protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium. Cryptosporidium has long been a target of investigation, given the suffering it inflicts on people and...

Mouse Study Suggests a Vaccine Strategy for Immunocompromised Patients

Feb 10, 2019 / Pathobiology

Findings may have broad translational potential A study led by Som Nanjappa at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine identifies a cellular target that may improve efficacy of vaccines designed to protect immunocompromised individuals from potentially deadly opportunistic infections. The study, recently published in the Journal of Immunology, demonstrates, using a mouse model,...

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