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College of Veterinary Medicine Advance Newsletter

5 Questions with School of Molecular Biosciences alumna Jennifer Adair

Dr. Adair is looking through a microscope
Jennifer Adair ('05 PhD, School of Molecular Biosciences) had never heard of Pullman when she considered WSU’s National Institute of Health Protein Biotechnology Training Program. She even shamefully admits, at first, she confused WSU with the University of Washington. Now, the Coug is developing gene therapies to treat genetic disorders, HIV and cancer. Adair is a faculty member in the Clinical Research Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Her goal: provide safe, cost-effective applications for gene therapy that can be implemented worldwide. » More ...

Understanding Immunity to Improve Health

Dr. Goodman and Marena Guzman in Dr. Goodman's laboratory
Just a few short hours after illness-causing bacteria enter the human body, a sophisticated defense system goes to work. The immune system quickly recognizes the foreign invaders and sends a well-orchestrated, frontline defense. “Innate immunity is ancient,” says Alan Goodman, assistant professor in the School of Molecular Biosciences and affiliate faculty in the Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health. “Our bodies have many ways of fighting infectious disease, but innate immunity is something that must be important for it to have persisted.” » More ...

From WSU to the Mayo Clinic: My Summer as an Undergraduate Research Fellow

Pierce sitting on the steps next to a statue outside the clinic
Walking quickly through an underground tunnel that stretches nearly a half mile, I carried samples frozen on dry ice between two buildings on the Mayo Clinic campus to be tested as part of a clinical study on irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS. Analysis of the tissues may help physician-scientists understand the causes of IBS and one day find a cure. In other places, it could take hours or days for analysis to begin, but here at the Mayo Clinic, I was impressed by how almost instantaneous everything is. » More ...

Training our Students for Success

Dr. Goodman and Keesha in the lab looking at a slide
Keesha Matz wants to understand some of the world’s deadliest viruses. Raised in Chehalis, Washington, her love for microbiology began in a molecular genetics high school class taught by WSU alumnus Henri Weeks. “The class gave me a real feel for research, which I think is unique for a high school class,” says Matz. » More ...

Fellowship Helps Fund a Love of Pathogens

Mike Konkel with graduate student Nicholas Negretti
In a light-filled laboratory, Nick Negretti grows bacteria. “I love pathogens,” says Negretti, who is a graduate student in the WSU School of Molecular Biosciences. “They are so interesting. In each of us, there are more bacterial cells than human cells,” he says. “And while most bacteria are helpful, there are a few that make us sick.” » More ...

1st Biennial Chromatin-DNA Repair Lecture Honors Drs. Raymond Reeves and Michael Smerdon

Standing in a laboratory with a DNA model behind them
To honor Drs. Smerdon and Reeves and their long careers and innovative research on how DNA in chromatin influences basic cell functions, the School of Molecular Biosciences hosted the Smerdon/Reeves Symposium on DNA Repair in Chromatin: The First 40 years (and Beyond). » More ...

A Gift to Last

Katherine Rempe in a laboratory
Every year for 6 years, Pat Youngman ('43 BS in Bacteriology and Public Health) did something that has helped hundreds of WSU students. She provided enough support for the now School of Molecular Biosciences to purchase one Leica microscope each year. "The microscopes made all the things we read in text books or hear in lecture become real," said Katherine Rempe ('10 Microbiology), who is currently a Ph.D student in molecular genetics and microbiology at Duke University. "We could see how bacteria move and behave differently." » More ...