Basic Sciences

News and Accolades

Several Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty, Staff, and Students were recognized this semester with well deserved awards.

Dr. Shane Burgess received the Ralph E. Powe Award for Research for 2009. This is the highest award for research given by MSU and requires outstanding research accomplishments for several years.  Dr. Burgess has elevated the entire research enterprise at MSU, and we are very fortunate that Basic Sciences is his home department.  He has developed remarkably effective cross disciplinary research teams. While working as Director of the Life Sciences and Biotechnology Institute and co-director of the Institute for Digital Biology, mentoring 6 graduate students, teaching, and serving on committees, he was able to publish 15 peer reviewed scientific articles last year.  In addition, he has obtained competitive research funding worth several million dollars.  His work has brought recognition to MSU as a leader in bioinformatics of agriculturally important species through publishing, hosting a very successful international meeting, and founding AgBase (an online database in which scientists can find descriptions of the functions and pathways in which particular genes and proteins participate).  AgBase is cited thousands of times in other databases and in publications and every time someone uses it, they are reminded that MSU is a leader in this field of research.

Dr. Jeff Eells received the MSU Office of Research and Economic Development Faculty Award for 2009.  Dr. Eells has received two competitive research grants from the National Institutes of Health this year and has published his work in high quality journals.  He is also very active in teaching veterinary students and mentoring graduate students and veterinary students in our summer research experience. 

Mary Beth Dail received the MSU Office of Research and Economic Development Staff Award for 2009.  Mary Beth is a Research Associate in the Center for Environmental Health Sciences, and her supervisor is Dr. Jan Chambers.  Mary Beth often functions at the level of a faculty member.   She has learned bioinformatics skills which has permitted a fruitful collaboration between Dr. Chambers and our Digital Biology group.  She recently obtained the data, analyzed, and published a paper on the changes in gene expression in the liver caused by an anesthetic commonly used in animal research and associated with pre-cancerous changes.  This paper was accepted by the Editor of the journal (which was one of the top two journals in toxicology) without further review.  This is almost unprecedented and indicates that the editor was so sure that the writing and the science were outstanding that further review was not needed. 

Claire Fellman received the MSU Office of Research and Economic Development Graduate Student Award for 2009.  Claire is a dual degree student in the DVM program, and she is advised by Dr. Andrew Mackin.  She is a remarkably dedicated researcher.  Last summer she obtained invaluable data on her project to identify biomarkers for Cyclosporin A treatment in dogs to identify when the dose given is sufficient but not too high.  This work allowed Dr. Mackin to successfully apply for funding from the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Foundation.

Dusan Kunec received the CVM Graduate Student Award in the PhD student category.  Dusan is mentored by Dr. Shane Burgess.   He has published his work in outstanding journals and was the key researcher responsible for a grant valued at over $180,000. 

Ashley Harris received the CVM Graduate Student Award in the MS student category.  Ashley is mentored by Dr. Andrea Varela-Stokes.  She has mastered several very challenging techniques such as nested PCR, RT-PCR, QPCR, and immunofluorescent antibody staining. Ashley's abstract for College Research Day in 2008 was one of only four selected for an oral presentation. 

Talisha Moore received the Couvillion Scholarship.  This scholarship provides $500.00 for a student to travel to present their results at a scientific meeting.  We are grateful to the Couvillion family for their generous gift that makes this Scholarship possible.  Talisha Moore is mentored by Dr. Jeff Eells and she is one of our DVM/PhD students.  She has been very successful in her PhD studies and has already published some of her results and contributed significantly to the results that allowed Dr. Eells to be successful in his grant applications to NIH. 

We are fortunate to have people like these associated with our Department, and their hard work and success are much appreciated.