CONTACTS

Ira Blader, Department Head
Paula Stith, Administrative Assistant
Amanda Atkins, Administrative Assistant
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Phone: 540-231-4652
Phone: 540-231-8689
Fax: 540-231-6033
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Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology
205 Duck Pond Drive
VA-MD Vet Med (0442)
Blacksburg, VA 24061

About the department

The Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, the largest of the college's four departments, is guided by a vision excel in the following areas:

  • Biomedical research that involves One Health medicine, specifically in infectious disease, inflammatory disease, neuroscience, and regenerative medicine
  • Professional and graduate biomedical instruction
  • Diagnostic medicine and professional services
Biomedial Sciences and Pathobiology roster→

Faculty expertise

The Department Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology is home to faculty engaged in preclinical, diagnostic, and research disciplines:

  • Anatomy, gross and microscopic
  • Aquatic, ferret, and wildlife
  • Bacteriology and mycology
  • Clinical and anatomic pathology
  • Drug discovery
  • Genetics
  • Immunology and inflammatory disease
  • Laboratory animal medicine
  • Medical informatics
  • Molecular medicine
  • Neuroscience
  • Parasitology
  • Pharmacology
  • Physiology
  • Regenerative medicine
  • Toxicology
  • Virology

How we contribute

Collectively, Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology faculty carry out all three missions of the college:

Instruction: Faculty members contribute to a wide range of instructional programs, including the DVM professional curriculum, M.D. professional curriculum, and graduate and undergraduate education. The DVM instructional activity includes basic science, research, professional development, and diagnostic medicine disciplines.

Research: Supported by both internal and external funding, the department accounts for a majority of VA-MD Vet Med's research program, as well as some 80% of the college's Ph.D. student advisors and more than half of its graduate students.

Service: The department's faculty provide professional expertise and supervision for ViTALS: Virginia Tech Animal Laboratory Services, which is  accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians and a member of the USDA APHIS National Animal Health Laboratory Network. ViTALS's services include bacteriology, mycology, toxicology, immunology, clinical pathology, necropsy, histopathology, and parasitology. Faculty members also contribute to the governance of the department, college, and university, and serve in national specialty professional associations.

Post-DVM residency and training programs

VA-MD Vet Med's Anatomic and Clinical Pathology Combined Residency/Ph.D. Program prepares graduates for careers in either veterinary clinical pathology or anatomic pathology. The program is one of the few combined training environments nationally dedicated to preparing graduates for careers in either veterinary clinical pathology or anatomic pathology and as research scientists.

Residency program objectives

  • Provide sufficient pathology training for the resident to achieve competency as a diagnostic pathologist
  • Enable the resident to qualify for board certification by the American College of Veterinary Pathologists
  • Provide the resident with sufficient current research training for success as an independent investigator

The Ph.D. portion of the training program is intended to provide training in a research area so that the graduate may perform effective, independent research. In addition, the program will provide for experience and training in teaching. Completion of program requirements will prepare graduates for positions in academic institutions, industry, or governmental agencies.

Full program descriptions

Residency coordinator- Anatomic Pathology

Residency coordinator- Clinical Pathology

Faculty members' areas of research interest can be found on each faculty's biographical page accessible via the departmental rosters:

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