|
Department of Veterinary Molecular Biology
The Department of Veterinary Molecular Biology (VMB) uniquely combines expertise in the study of pathogen biology,
host defense, cell biology and use of small and large animal models. Three areas broadly encompass the scope of VMB research:
- Molecular and genetic studies of animal and pathogen biology.
- Understanding molecular pathways of communication between pathogen and host.
- Regulation of host immune responses in human and animal diseases.
Funding of research in the Department of VMB comes from diverse sources such as the National Institutes of Health,
US Dept of Agriculture, National Science Foundation and the Montana Agricultural Experimental Station among others.
Several large grants were awarded to the department in 2004 including a $10.1 million COBRE grant from the
NIH, $10.5 million from NIH to study innate immunity, and a $2 million grant from the Department of Defense for
adjuvant discovery.
The Department of VMB sponsors undergraduate programs in Biotechnology and Pre-Veterinary training and Masters and
Ph.D. programs that emphasize training in cell biology, genetics, immunology, and infectious disease. Weekly
seminars are offered by the department and the Nelson seminar series brings many accomplished scientists to
Montana State University.
VMB is housed in the new Molecular Biosciences building. Instrumentation suites house equipment for DNA
sequencing, genome analysis, flow cytometry and FACS, and epifluorescent or confocal microscopy. The
Department has facilities for small animal experimentation and manages facilities for large animal work
housed on 20 acres adjacent to the main building. With 21 tenure and research faculty, 66 professional
staff, and 40 graduate and undergraduate students involved in independent research, VMB is a dynamic
research and teaching environment with state-of-the-art facilities for cell biology, genomics, immunology,
and microbiology.
|
