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What's New?
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A Newsletter Exploring
page one page two We Want to Hear From You! We want to include your stories, comments, or questions relating to animals in your classroom in upcoming editions of BioFocus. Please email stories to mismr@umich.edu.
Why Veterinary Pathology is Cool!
Veterinary students all love animals, but some find the most satisfaction comes not from interacting with individual pets and owners, but from solving difficult diagnostic challenges. Veterinary pathologists who work in veterinary colleges and diagnostic laboratories provide answers for practitioners, teach pathology to veterinary students, and do research. Practicing veterinarians send biopsy specimens or animals that have died for diagnosis. They need to know: "What kind of tumor is this?" "What skin disease does this cat have?" "Why did this calf die?" A diagnostic veterinary pathologist provides the answers, uses the cases to teach veterinary students and pathology trainees, and may use the case material for research. Toxicologic pathologists have a slightly different mission. Some work in academia, some for the government, but most work for large companies, like I do. Our job is to learn about the toxicities of natural and man-made chemicals that may affect humans or animals. These are research jobs that probe the way organisms react to chemicals in the most fundamental ways, often working at the molecular or cellular level. Pathologists working for pharmaceutical companies are a very important part of the scientific teams that discover and develop new drugs. Those working for the chemical industry provide critical information for industrial hygienists and government regulators so that chemicals can be used safely - from crop protection chemicals to your toothpaste. Whether it's deciding the safe dose for a clinical trial for a new human heart medication, or learning if a chemical found in a river is responsible for abnormalities in the fish, a toxicologic veterinary pathologist is critical to answering the question. What does it take to become a veterinary pathologist? First you need to be a good student who loves to learn. You start with undergraduate studies, then veterinary school. After becoming a veterinarian (D.V.M.), you apply for a training program in pathology, also usually at a veterinary college. (Don't worry, you're finally getting paid!) You may get a Ph.D. in experimental veterinary pathology at the end of this additional 3-5 years of training, and you will probably want to become board certified by the American College of Veterinary Pathologists. This is accomplished by a very tough two-day exam given every year. Most people don't pass the first time. Why would anybody want to do this? Well, like I said, first you have to love to learn and love the scientific process. And, if you do, and if you get the necessary training, the rewards are great. Right now there is a shortage of veterinary pathologists. Many jobs at veterinary schools are going unfilled, and industrial jobs are plentiful as well. The pay is great; most veterinary pathologists make more than $100,000 per year. Unfortunately, most veterinary students think only of practice, and not of the special rewards of a career in scientific research. Maybe you've got one of those bright inquiring minds that wants to look a little deeper. Think about it. It's cool! page one page two You may download a PDF format of the actual newsletter. |
When you heard that West Nile virus was discovered in birds on the east
coast, or that an environmental chemical causes cancer in rats, or that
your neighbor's dog had a tumor of his blood vessels, or that frogs in a
rain forest are dying from a protozoan parasite, do you wonder who
figured that out? Chances are that a veterinary pathologist provided the
critical information to solve the problem.
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MISMR members strongly support humane animal study in research. We hope that likeminded citizens will join us in working for rational public policy that assures the continued appropriate use of animals in the course of good science. |