Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology
Home to faculty engaged in preclinical, diagnostic, and research activities
CONTACTS
Ira Blader, Department Head
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
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.
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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Isabella Bordin-Pérez, DVM , bioResident, Anatomic Pathology
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Laura Victoria Quishpe Contreras, DVM, Msc , bioResident, Clinical Pathology
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Alexandra Reddy, DVM , bioResident, Anatomic Pathology
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Jasmine Hsin Yeh, DVM , bioResident, Clinical Pathology
- Get in touch with VA-MD Vet Med's Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences Graduate Student Association.
- See Discover Blacksburg on the Virginia Tech website.
- Browse the Virginia Tech Graduate School website to learn about graduate student life.
LATEST NEWS
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Veterinary students expand horizons into biomedical research through summer program in 19th year , articleCovering topics ranging from infectious diseases to oncology to public health, 11 students made meaningful contributions to science and gained valuable mentor-led experience that could define a career path.
Date: August 2026 - -
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Researchers begin to uncover how cryptococcus shifts from silent infection to killer fungus , articleKirsten Nielsen’s laboratory has identified the "previously unappreciated diversity" of immune cells that keep cryptococcus in check for the vast majority of people who are infected with this potentially deadly fungus.
Date: August 2026 - -
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Scientists restore lost protein to reverse lung disease in preclinical models , articleResearchers at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC identified a protein that helps keep lung blood vessels healthy. Restoring the protein in preclinical models reversed key features of a rare disease that causes dangerously high blood pressure in the lungs.
Date: July 2026 - -
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VMCVM Faculty Spotlight: Sahar Abdelrazek , articleMeet Sahar Abdelrazek, research assistant professor of microbial pathogen metagenomics for the last two years at the veterinary college. Sahar credits her father as her greatest inspiration — from a large rural household of eight siblings, he became a paramedic and eventually the dean of an agricultural college. Sahar believes in "give it a try" as guiding advice — learning from a mistake is better than missing an opportunity.
Date: July 2026 - -
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For 20 years, this program has been turning veterinarians into biomedical researchers , articleMitchell Caudill's new job as a lab director is the latest proof it works. The program's federal funding was just renewed for another five years.
Date: July 2026 - -
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The brain has a brake against seizures. A parasite turns it off , articleThe National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke awarded Ira Blader a five-year grant to answer why a dormant parasite in the brain can suddenly activate and cause seizures.
Date: July 2026 -
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