Graduate Student Positions
Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology (VMP) and the
Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health frequently
recruit traditional graduate students through individual
labs. This page is intended to direct inquiries from
prospective students to labs that have self-identified
as being in the process of recruiting students. Faculty
who are not listed on this page may also be recruiting
students, but you will need to contact them individually
about training opportunities. For more information about
the different graduate student program options, please
see our
Graduate & Training Programs page. If you have any
questions about this process, please contact Dr. Douglas
Call (drcall@wsu.edu)
Nipah and Hendra viruses are among the deadliest animal
and human viruses, with mortality rates approaching 75%
in humans. Their high stability in aerosols makes these
neurologic and respiratory viruses suitable as bio- and
agro-terrorism agents. Our research group has uncovered
and continues to uncover novel determinants that these
viruses use to enter mammalian cells. We are also
developing molecular, biochemical, and immunological
tools to dissect and inhibit essential entry steps for
these deadly pathogens.
My research focuses on the use of molecular
epidemiological tools to describe pathogen transmission
routes between animal and human populations. Multi-drug
resistant zoonotic pathogens and factors that influence
emergence and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance
are included in that focus. As we develop an Infection
Control program in the Veterinary Teaching Hospital
there will be opportunities to ask these questions in
that setting, as well as to compare animal
hospital-acquired infections to those in human hospitals
and communities.
http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/people-vmp/faculty/Nicola.aspx
The long-term goal of my laboratory is to understand the
molecular processes that herpesviruses use to gain entry
into host cells. A better understanding of how herpes
simplex virus interacts with the cell will identify
novel targets for intervention. We utilize a combination
of cellular, molecular, biochemical, and microscopic
approaches to delineate the step-by-step itinerary of
the incoming virus.
http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/people-vmp/faculty/shah.aspx Salmonella and
Campylobacter cause majority of bacterial
food-borne infections in the United States with
contaminated poultry and poultry products being the
major sources of infection. Research in my laboratory is
primarily focused on understanding molecular pathogenic
aspects of Salmonella and developing
intervention strategies including vaccine, probiotics or
immunotherapeutics to reduce Salmonella and
Campylobacter infections in poultry. I am also
interested in studying molecular aspects of
anti-microbial drug resistance and epidemiology in
food-borne pathogens.
Plague is a fulminant often fatal zoonotic disease that
is caused by the Gram-negative bacterial agent Yersinia
pestis. Dissemination of the disease in humans and wild
rodent species is facilitated by flea-borne transmission.
Using the oriental rat flea as a model and current molecular
biology and next generation genomic approaches - research in
my lab focuses on identifying and understanding the
molecular and genetic mechanisms that underlie persistence
and the biological means of transmission of Y. pestis
from fleas.
