Hugues Beaufrère, DVM, PhD, DACZM, DABVP (Avian), DECZM (Avian)
(see also: Exotic Animal Medicine)
Dept of Medicine and Epidemiology – School of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Beaufrère main research area is on lipid disorders and lipid diagnostic tests in birds and reptiles such as studies on atherosclerosis, hepatic lipidosis, and plasma lipid biomarkers. Dr. Beaufrère is also very active in clinical research in companion zoological medicine on a variety of topics and has a special interest in applied biostatistics in zoological medicine.
STAR students will participate in research projects related to sodium fluoride pet-scan of arteries in Amazon parrots: comparison of scanning protocols /CT contrast timing in bearded dragons.
Please email Dr. Beaufrere for more information.
Adrien Dupanloup, DVM, MS
Assistant Professor, Surgical & Radiological Sciences
(See also: Surgery, Neurobiology/Neurology)
I am an Assistant Professor of Neurology/Neurosurgery and my research interests center on neurosurgical interventions in the management of intracranial disorders. Student interested in clinical research in neurosurgery can be involved in studies ranging from perioperative diagnostics (such as MRI, CT, Electroencephalography), surgical anatomy, and risk factor analysis.
To contact Dr. Dupanloup, please email amdupanloup@ucdavis.edu.
Eric G. Johnson, DVM
Associate Professor of Clinical Surgical & Radiological Sciences
My background research interests include mapping of lymphatic pathways with ultrasound, CT and MRI and novel disease descriptions using these cross sectional imaging modalities.
Contact information: egjohnson@ucdavis.edu
Richard Levenson, MD, FCAP
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
(see also: Pathology)
BACKGROUND: Richard Levenson, MD, FCAP, is Professor and Vice Chair for Strategic Technologies in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UC Davis. He trained in medicine at University of Michigan and pathology at Washington University, and is Board-certified in Anatomic Pathology. A faculty position at Duke was followed by an appointment at Carnegie Mellon University to explore multispectral imaging approaches for pathology and biology. In 1999, he joined Cambridge Research & Instrumentation (now part of PerkinElmer) to become VP of Research, and helped develop commercially successful multispectral microscopy systems and software for molecular pathology and diagnostics, multispectral and three-dimensional small-animal imaging systems, optical dynamic contrast techniques, and birefringence microscopy. He serves on NIH, NCI and NSF review panels, is section editor for Archives of Pathology, and is on the editorial boards of Laboratory Investigation. Current research includes mass-tagged enabled multiplexed immunohistochemistry, and novel slide-free microscopy. MUSE MICROSCOPY How microscopes work in actual clinical pathology has not changed materially in well over a century. Our lab originally developed ultraviolet-based MUSE microscopy as a novel approach for obtaining high-resolution, diagnostic-quality histological images from unsectioned thick tissue specimens. MUSE avoided the need to perform extensive tissue processing and thin physical sectioning. In recent years we have gone on to develop visible-light-based FIBI (fluorescence imitating brightfield imaging), which has some advantages over MUSE. FIBI images resemble H&E-slide digital captures, and can be generated from tissue in just a few minutes. Extended fields of view can be captured from whole organs with microscopic detail. This non-destructive process leaves the sample intact for subsequent downstream molecular or genetic analysis. In addition, images can include shading and depth cues that reveal surface profiles important in understanding the three-dimensional organization of complex specimens. This inexpensive, rapid, and slide-free, sample-sparing method has potential to replace frozen sections, and may have other applications in both high- and low-resource settings.
EXAMPLES OF POSSIBLE PROJECTS:
1. Survey a suite of familiar and unfamiliar stains as alternatives to hematoxylin and eosin for improving image content or for staining new tissue components that are not easily detected just with H&E, such as collagen, elastin, amyloid, PAS, etc.
2. Developing immunofluorescence approaches that are compatible with FIBI so molecular data can be acquired at the same time histology images are captured. We have a number of approaches that can be explored, including new contrast agents, and non-antibody-based probes.
3. Application to vet path cases would be very relevant, as FIBI can both provide intra-operative guidance, as well as point-of-care histology in veterinarian offices, which could be helpful in decreasing the need for return visits and accelerating care. Creating a digital atlas of FIBI images from a variety of normal and diseased tissues from a variety of species would be an interesting project. Another would be to explore imaging parasitic diseases. Research skills that would be helpful: imaging experience, software and coding expertise for enhancing image capture and display, histology exposure, AI interest or familiarity.
Important point: currently, the work would take place at the Medical Center in Sacramento. If we have built additional imaging stations it is possible, but perhaps not likely, that we will have a FIBI imaging station available for experiments at the vet school in Davis.
Contact - levenson@ucdavis.edu
Jessica Morgan, DVM, PhD, DACVSMR
VM: Medicine & Epidemiology, VMTH Equine Field Service
(See also: Cardiology, Internal Medicine)
Dr. Morgan is an equine practitioner board-certified in Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation in the Department of Medicine & Epidemiology with a 50% clinical appointment in the VMTH. Her laboratory focuses on the study of performance limitations in the horse with an emphasis in cardiovascular and musculoskeletal disease. Recent projects include evaluation of heart rate variability in horses with gastric ulcers and assessment of the effects of sedation on gait evaluation.
Several projects are available involving electrocardiography or echocardiography in the horse or evaluation of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone signaling in the horse. Students will gain experience with live animal studies and data analysis.
For more information and to discuss potential projects please contact Dr. Morgan at jmmorgan@ucdavis.edu.