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"Molecular Mechanisms of Toxicology
and Environmental Disease"
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Environmental Pathology Training Grant
Environmental Training Grant
Since the inception of the training program in 1982, 39 predoctoral students have received their PhD degrees while in the program and 25 postdoctoral fellows (MDs, DVMs, PhDs) have finished training. These trainees have been recruited to academia, government and industry. A total of 23 highly interactive faculty members from 7 different departments participate in the program. All have funded research programs and are nationally recognized in disciplines related to environmental pathology. Our program emphasizes concepts of basic pathology and "state-of-the-art" approaches such as computer-assisted teaching (CATs) in environmental pathology, cell imaging, and molecular and cellular approaches for studying mechanisms of environmental disease. Strongly interactive programs exist in mechanisms of DNA damage and repair, cell signaling and control of mitogenesis and cell death. A Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) research award to the Medical College for establishment of a program in structural biology, long-standing NSF, EPSCoR and HHMI Helix grants with mentoring programs for high school teachers, junior faculty members, undergraduate women and minorities, an NCI-funded comprehensive Cancer Center grant, a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) in Translational Research in Lung Biology and Disease, complementary training programs in Cancer Biology/ Cardiovascular Disease, and an NIH-funded DEVELOP (Delaware-Vermont Linkage to Open the Pipeline) grant to encourage minority students to enter our training program, are strengths at UVM. Other strong aspects of our program include its multi departmental participation, its Environmental Pathology and Cell Signaling Seminar series, a Microscopy Imaging Center, and a new program project grant on "Signaling in Epithelial Injury, Proliferation, and Fibrosis" in models of asbestosis and asthma. Both predoctoral and postdoctoral (MD, PhD, and DVM) traineeships are presently available. Further information is available by contacting Dr. Brooke T. Mossman (Ph: 802-656-0382; Fax: 802-656-8892; e-mail: brooke.mossman@uvm.edu).
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Microscopy Imaging Center
The Microscopy Imaging Center which is housed in the Department of Pathology under the direction of Dr. Douglas Taatjes, is a core facility of the University of Vermont College of Medicine. It serves researchers and students at the University of Vermont as well as users throughout northern New England. Fellows on the training grant have access to instrumentation and are trained in their use by Dr. Taatjes and the facility's staff. Dr. Taatjes offers an introductory lecture "Cell Imaging Techniques in the Study of Environmental Diseases" in the Pathology 305/306 course and a Special Topics course on "Cell Imaging Techniques" (Pathology 275) in the fall semester. Equipment includes a confocal imaging system with the capability for 3-dimensional reconstruction and optical disc drive for image storage, an atomic force microscope for high-resolution of biological/ materials surfaces, epi-fluorescence microscopy for in situ hybridization, image analysis system with 2D/3D graphics and scanning and transmission electron microscopes with STEM and X-ray microanalysis capabilities and Ethernet linkage for image transmittal.
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Comite Institute for Environmental Health
This world center in environmental health (formerly the Conté Institute) was founded by Arthur Bloom, M.D., in 1987 and has recently been relocated to offices in Paris and Burlington, VT. The Comité Institute is now launching the International Scientific Program in Environmental Health to set priorities for environmental health research in Central and Eastern Europe and has ongoing programs in environmental genetics, neuroscience, and environmental science education. Dr. Bloom is an adjunct Professor of Pathology at the University of Vermont.
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Computer-Assisted Teaching System (CATS)
The CATS system is an educational program developed by the department of Pathology, consisting of image-based modules that facilitate student learning of histology and pathology in small groups or individually.
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Departments
Eight different departments participate in our program. Ph.D. students may apply to the interdisciplinary program of Cell and Molecular Biology or to the departmental programs in Microbiology & Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry. Summer fellowship monies for Medical Students at UVM allow them to gain research experience in their first year of training.
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Develop Program
We encourage minority students to apply and have several avenues of funding for students including a NIH grant called DEVELOP (Delaware-Vermont Linkage to Open the Pipeline), a Science Education Partnership Award. Student funds are available for undergraduate summer trainee ships in research prior to entering the program.
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