Programs of Study
The postdoctoral training programs of the pathology section include residency/non-thesis master's degree programs in both anatomic and clinical pathology as well as thesis PhD programs.  Most trainees are initially accepted into the residency/non-thesis master's option.  Promising residents are encouraged to identify a research problem during the residency and continue with the PhD program following its completion.  In addition to intra-departmental PhD programs, the department has recently established an integrated interdisciplinary residency/PhD program in toxicologic pathology with the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology in the School of Veterinary Medicine and the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the School of Pharmacy.  Applicants with previous residency experience or who have no interest in diagnostic training can apply directly for either thesis MS or PhD programs.  Only DVM (or equivalent) graduates are accepted into the residency/non-thesis MS program.   The program is three years long and includes both graduate course work and practicums.  Core courses for anatomic pathology trainees are General Pathology, Neoplastic Diseases of Animals, Laboratory Animal Pathology, Ultrastructural Pathology, and Avian Pathology.  Core courses in clinical pathology are General Pathology, Neoplastic Diseases of Animals, and Ultrastructural Pathology.  Elective courses can be selected from a wide variety within pathology or campuswide in areas such as biochemistry, molecular and cell biology, pharmacology, and statistics and experimental design.  Practicums in anatomic pathology are in necropsy and mail-in pathology through the ADDL; practicums in clinical pathology are in clinical chemistry, hematology, cytology, and surgical pathology through the clinical pathology laboratory in the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.  Residents in both disciplines complete teaching practicums in the pathology and clinical pathology courses of the professional veterinary curriculum.

Trainees going on for the PhD degree usually identify a thesis advisor and thesis problem between the end of the first and second year of the residency.  A thesis advisory committee is selected and the PhD plan of study outlining graduate course work is usually completed by the end of the second year.  A research proposal is written and preliminary examinations are completed by the end of the last year of the residency.  PhD research generally requires an additional two to three years to complete.

A unique postdoctoral program within the pathology section is the cooperative graduate program.  In this program students complete the standard pathology residency and graduate course work at Purdue and conduct PhD research in absentia at an outstanding but non-degree granting research institution.  Cooperating institutions include the Lovelace Inhalation Toxicology Research Institute, Genentech Co., Merrell Dow Research Institute, and the USDA Exotic Animal Research Laboratory on Plum Island, New York.

Stipend Support
Stipend support is guaranteed for the residency, but the trainee and advisor are expected to generate support for the PhD component of the graduate program with the exception of the program in toxicologic pathology, where full PhD stipends are also available.

Departmental Research Areas
Because of the diversity of disciplines represented within the department, research programs are also diverse.  Broadly speaking, research is focused in the areas of infectious disease, spontaneous disease, and toxic disease, and is primarily mechanism based.  Infectious disease research addresses the areas of novel vaccine development, mechanisms of mucosal immunity, the zoonoses and mechanisms of pathogenesis of a variety of infectious diseases including avian infectious laryngotracheitis, infectious bursal disease, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), porcine circovirus (PCV), bovine respiratory syncytial virus infection, salmonellosis, echinococcosis of canids, baylisascarid infections, and amoebiasis. Other programs are investigating the immunologic effects of dioxin toxicity, the development of methods to monitor environmental contamination through changes in fish, tumor angiogenesis, differentiation of bone marrow stem cell populations, and mechanisms of red cell senescence.  Still others are epidemiologic studies investigating food safety issues regarding S. enteritidis infection of eggs, the impact of different kinds of music on the well-being of poultry, risk factors for the development of canine bloat, and the causes of overpopulation of dogs and cats.  Investigations are conducted at the whole animal, tissue, cellular, and molecular levels and are supported by state of the art Electron Microscopy and Flow Cytometry facilities within the school as well as hybridoma, protein synthesis, gene-sequencing, mass spectroscopy and tissue culture facilities on campus.

Eligibility and Application
Applicants must hold the DVM or equivalent and must be approved for admission both by the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology and the Purdue University Graduate School.  We are particularly motivated to recruit minorities and women into the program because these groups are underrepresented in this area of our profession and, therefore, vital to our future.  Interested candidates should send letters of inquiry to:

Pathology Section Faculty:

J.A. Christian, D.V.M., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Veterinary Clinical Pathology, Director, Clinical Pathology Laboratory

H. HogenEsch, D.V.M., Ph.D., Head, Department of Veterinary Pathobiology;
Professor of Immunopathology, Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Pathologists

C.H. Holland, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVP, Clinical Assistant Professor of Veterinary Pathology

S. B. Hooser, D.V.M, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Toxicology, Head of Toxicology Section and Assistant Director, Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Diplomate, American Board of Veterinary Toxicology

E.A. Kazacos, D.V.M., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Veterinary Pathology; Pathology Section Head, Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Pathologists

R.A. Kreisle, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Pathobiology

T.L. Lin, D.V.M., M.S., Ph.D., Professor of Veterinary Pathology; Senior Veterinary Diagnostic Pathologist, Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory

M.A. Miller, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVP, Professor of Veterinary Pathology

S. Mohammed, DVM, MS, PhD, Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology; Director of Purdue Drug Development Shared Resource

J.A. Ramos-Vara, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ECVP, Associate Professor of Veterinary Pathology

R.E. Raskin, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVP, Professor of Veterinary Clinical Pathology

A.H. Rebar, D.V.M., Ph.D., Executive Director of Discovery Park, Senior Associate Vice President for Research, Professor of Veterinary Clinical Pathology, Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Pathologists

P.W. Snyder, D.V.M., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Veterinary Pathology, Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Pathologists

G.W. Stevenson, D.V.M., M.S., Ph.D., Professor of Pathology, Diagnostic Consultant, Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Pathologists

H.L. Thacker, D.V.M., Ph.D., Professor of Veterinary Pathology; Director, Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Pathologists

C.A. Thompson, DVM, Dipl. ACVP, Clinical Assistant Professor of Veterinary Clinical Pathology

W.G. Van Alstine, D.V.M., Ph.D., Professor of Veterinary Pathobiology, Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Pathologists

J.F. Van Vleet, D.V.M., Ph.D., Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, School of Veterinary Medicine, Professor of Veterinary Pathology, Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Pathologists