Research and Graduate Education
The Office of Research and Graduate Education oversees research at LSU Vet Med and graduate degrees (MS and PhD) in biological and veterinary medical sciences. We also offer dual track DVM/PhD and DVM/MPH programs, as well as a Graduate Certificate Program in Veterinary Medical & Biological Sciences.
Comparative Biomedical Sciences
conducts basic and translational research in cancer biology, cardiovascular disease, developmental biology, neurosciences, and toxicology.
Pathobiological Sciences
conducts research in molecular pathogenesis, disease processes, infectious and parasitic diseases, and host response to disease.
Veterinary Clinical Sciences
conducts clinical research in equine health, ophthalmology, theriogenology (reproduction), surgery, dermatology, oncology, orthopedics, gastrointestinal disease, and more.
Links to Graduate Degrees and Certificate Opportunities are below.
Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education
Tammy Dugas, PhD
Dr. Dugas joined the faculty of LSU Vet Med on September 1, 2014, as a professor in CBS. She served as head of the Comparative Biomedical Sciences department from March 1, 2020, to July 1, 2022. Dr. Dugas received her BS in biochemistry and her PhD in chemistry from LSU in 1992 and 1996, respectively. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1998 and another post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, in 2001. Dr. Dugas’ research focus is on cardiovascular pharmacology and toxicology.
Degree, Certificate, and Post-degree Programs
Research Areas
The Office of Research and Graduate Education oversees research and the advanced degree program (MS and PhD degrees) at LSU Vet Med, where scientists are investigating cancer biology, equine health, infectious disease, vaccinology, lung biology, toxicology, and veterinary diseases and injuries. Our research can improve the lives of both people and animals.
Cancer Biology and Immunology
The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine received an $11 million grant to establish a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE). The COBRE funds will create the Center for Pre-Clinical Cancer Research (Cancer COBRE), which will be based at the LSU SVM. This grant will last for five years and can be renewed for five or more years. The total amount awarded is $11,027,290.
The Cancer COBRE will establish a new specialized core facility, Pre-Clinical Evaluation Core (PCEC), to provide scientific expertise and technical support for the cancer projects as well as to all LSU researchers. To accomplish this approach, advanced 3D cancer cell culture systems (spheroids) will provide critical translational information.
The Cancer COBRE will enhance cancer research both at LSU and at Southern University, strengthen collaborative research efforts with LSU HSC-New Orleans, and aid in efforts to establish a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Center in Louisiana.
The Cancer COBRE aims to identify clinically relevant mechanisms of human cancer using models that closely reflect the disease state in the context of the tumor microenvironment to reveal insights into tumorigenesis and thus drive novel therapeutic discovery. The Cancer COBRE junior investigators will address devastating and/or chronic human diseases that exhibit poor outcomes in patients and for which there are unmet therapeutic needs. The four cancer projects feature osteosarcoma, breast cancer, liver cancer, and prostate cancer as diseases that would benefit from pre-clinical models that are more predictive of mechanistic efficacy in humans and animals. Advanced pre-clinical evaluation capability at LSU will provide exceptional training and mentoring to research scientists, including PJIs, graduate students, and postdocs.
Cancer Biology
- Cell and molecular biology of DNA damage/
- repair mechanisms
- Adenovirus-based cancer therapeutics
Cancer Immunology
- Lung Biology
- Pre-clinical Cancer Research
Equine Health
The Equine Health Studies Program (EHSP) is the premier equine biomedical center in Louisiana and the Southern region. The EHSP was developed by and for Louisiana's illustrious $2.4 billion equine industry, and is dedicated to the health, well-being and performance of horses.
The Equine Medication Surveillance Laboratory was established in 1987 and has served as the official laboratory for the Louisiana State Racing Commission since that time. The laboratory is now housed in new, modern facilities and is located in the Louisiana Animal Disease and Diagnostics Laboratory (LADDL) building directly behind the School of Veterinary Medicine.
The Laboratory for Equine and Comparative Orthopedic Research is a multifaceted, state of the art laboratory for the study of orthopedic injury and disease. Areas in the laboratory are dedicated to various kinds of testing including microstructure, gene expression, cell/tissue culture, mechanical properties and motion analysis.
Infectious Disease and Vaccinology
This facility (approximately 1,200 sq.ft.) is available for multiple faculty use and is managed by the LSU Vet Med Biosafety Committee and LSU Biosafety Office. Renovated in 2009, it is a fully equipped and self-contained laboratory suitable to conduct high containment infection experiments In vitro, with small animals (ABSL-3), and in arthropod vectors (ACL-3). The suite contains two class 11 B2 and one class 11 A2 biological safety cabinets, two glove boxes, two environmental chambers, two animal microisolator units with individual cage HEPA filtered supply and exhaust air, two dual-chamber C02 incubators, centrifuges (including an ultra-speed), bright field and inverted microscopes, water baths, refrigerators, freezers, balance, pH meter and computer. The laboratory is certified and registered with the CDC and USDA for select agent work. As such, all users must complete a biological safety and security training program and clear a background check before being authorized to use the facility.”
The LSU-Tulane CEIDR was established as an NIH: NCRR-supported Center of Biomedical Research Excellence COBRE in 2004, led by the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine in a strategic alliance with the Tulane National Primate Research Center. The overarching focus is Immunopathogenesis of infectious diseases with specific emphasis in Vector-Borne and Respiratory diseases.
The Martinez Lab’s research program is focused on the study of vector-borne rickettsial diseases and host-pathogen interactions.
Lung Biology
The Center was established in 2019 through an 11.6 million dollar grant from the National Institutes of Health-funded Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE). The interdisciplinary faculty of the CLBD come from the Departments of Pathobiological Sciences and Comparative Biomedical Sciences at the School of Veterinary Medicine.
The Center is committed to excellence in research and mentoring related to lung diseases. It is highly interactive, and consists of a dynamic group of junior investigators whose research focus is on understanding the molecular and cellular immunological mechanisms associated with the pathogenesis of infectious and non-infectious lung diseases using molecular, immunological, and pathological approaches in mouse models. They also use human samples to validate their findings from preclinical models.
Neurosciences
Neuroscience
Researchers are working in the areas of
- Neural systems research
- Neural developmental and aging
- Deafness and experimental neurology
Neurology and Neuroscience
A clinical neurologist treats patients in our Veterinary Teaching Hospital and also conducts research in the following areas
- Neurogenetics
- Surgical and therapeutic applications of ultrasound and electromagnetic fields
- 3D printing and custom surgical implants
- Therapeutic potential of natural neurotoxins
- Effects of gastrointestinal microbiota on the central nervous system
- Classification and management of canine epilepsy
Toxicology
Toxicology and Pharmacology
Researchers are working in the areas of
- Comparative pharmacology
- Clinical Pharmacology and Evidence Based Medicine
- Pharmacokinetics/Toxicokinetics
- Analytical Pharmacology and Toxicology
- Cardiovascular pharmacology and toxicology
- Aquatic animal pharmacology, toxicology and physiology
- Respiratory research and environmental agents in atherosclerosis
- Pulmonary immunobiology and toxicology
Pulmonary Immunology and Toxicology
The Pulmonary Immunology and Toxicology Laboratory focuses on understanding multiple aspects of lung biology and inflammatory lung diseases. Broadly, the research employs murine models of pathogens- and toxicant-induced inflammation. Using these models of lung inflammation, the research aims to understand the roles of macrophages in the orchestration of inflammatory responses.
Environmental Toxicology
Inhalation is the most representative route of human exposure to airborne particulate matter. Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals (EPFRs) are pollutant-particle systems formed during thermal treatment (TT) of organic materials and other hazardous substances commonly found at Superfund remediation sites. Approximately 30% of all Superfund sites are remediated using TT and nearly 53 million people live within 3 miles of a Superfund site. This suggests that many US residents are at risk of inhalation exposure to PM containing EPFRs. One of the major objectives of our Center is to clarify the pulmonary and cardiovascular health effects associated with inhalation exposure to Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals (EPFRS).
Recreating an environment representative of real-life exposure scenarios is critical for inhalation toxicology studies. The mission of the ITC is to provide the expertise, training, facilities, and equipment necessary for LSU SRP investigators to expose either mice or cell systems to well characterized EPFR-containing aerosols, as well as to assess lung function in exposed mice.
Veterinary Clinical Research
VCS faculty members and graduate students conduct clinical research for the benefit of animals and humans. Research areas include equine health, ophthalmology, theriogenology (reproduction), surgery, dermatology, oncology, orthopedics, and more.
Facilities
Johnston Lab (Internal Medicine)
Work in Dr. Andrea Johnston's Lab focuses on canine and feline hepatobiliary disease and molecular cell death signaling pathways.
The Laboratory for Equine and Comparative Orthopedic Research is a multifaceted, state of the art laboratory for the study of orthopedic injury and disease. Areas in the laboratory are dedicated to various kinds of testing including microstructure, gene expression, cell/tissue culture, mechanical properties and motion analysis.
The Laboratory for 3D Printing and Regenerative medicine is focused on the design and development of new alternatives to standard treatment solutions. There are different areas of research on which we are currently working: 3D printing of custom devices, 3D bio-printing of a new drug delivery system, and evaluation of the Platelet-Rich Plasma in regenerative medicine.
Lewin Lab (Ophthalmology)
The Lewin Lab is located at the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine (LSU SVM) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The team performs research into a variety of important eye diseases in both animals and humans, with a focus on infectious ocular disease, clinical ophthalmology and bioinformatics.
Sones Lab (Theriogenology)
The Sones Lab focuses on the basic mechanisms of function, control, and signaling at the maternal-fetal interface during pregnancy in health and disease using the horse and mouse as model species. Investigations employ functional genomics to identify key misregulated events of pregnancy that contribute to adverse outcomes, such as fetal growth restriction, preeclampsia, and maternal/fetal death. The goal is to develop interventions that ensure pregnancy success and survival of mother and baby.
Withers Lab (Oncology)
The Withers Lab is run by Dr. Sita Withers, assistant professor of veterinary medical oncology. The lab studies naturally occurring cancers in dogs to develop a deeper understanding of canine and human cancer biology.