Although more than dozen species of animals have been housed at MIT in the past several years, genetically engineered mice are the overwhelming majority of animals on campus. Other species include, swine, primates (macaques and marmosets), rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, rats, white-footed mice, zebra finches, tree shrews, frogs, axolotls, and fish. Trainees are on call approximately every 6th week and three week-ends per year and are primarily responsible for care of clinical cases arising during those times. Trainees respond to clinical cases as they arise and work with faculty veterinarians to effect resolution.

Fellows have a pathology rotation (3 months in length) where they perform necropsies and discuss histopathology findings with boarded pathologists on clinical cases going to necropsy or cases with unexpected mortality in experimental studies.

Fellows participate in a rodent clinical rotation to learn clinical management of both spontaneous and experimental disease in rodent facilities. The transgenic rotation (3 months) exposes fellows to in depth transgenic technology including clinical monitoring of transgenic animals during construction and maintenance of GEM.

Fellows are involved in intensive training in experimental surgery and clinical management of surgical models during their large animal medicine and surgery rotation (3 months).

The objective of the program is to train postdoctoral veterinarians in comparative medicine and the conduct of biomedical research. The program is comprised of three years of integrated practical and didactic training in medicine and research that promote a multidisciplinary approach to questions in biomedical science.

The training is structured to expand upon the unique comparative knowledge, skills, and perspectives that a veterinarian brings to biomedical research. Training in medicine includes rotations in diverse clinical settings, medicine and pathology seminars, IACUC meetings and protocol reviews, and clinical and facilities meetings. Postdoctoral veterinarians will participate in rotations and seminars in fulfillment of the requirements of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM).

Training in research includes completion of a mentored, hypothesis-driven project and submission of a peer-reviewed manuscript appropriate for ACLAM board eligibility, , coursework, research seminars, journal clubs, and general immersion in a productive comparative medicine research environment. Postdoctoral veterinarians will become proficient in topics central to the conduct of research including research methods, experimental design, and animal model development.

Swennes AG, Buckley EM, Madden CM, Byrd CP, Donocoff RS, Rodriguez L, Parry NMA, Fox JG. Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli prevalence in laboratory rabbits. Vet Micro 163(3-4):395-8. 2013. PMID: 23391439.

Fremont-Rahl JJ, Ge Z, Taylor NS, Muthupalani S, Fox JG, Carey MC, Maurer KJ. An Analysis of the Role of the Indigenous Microbiota in Cholesterol Gallstone Pathogenesis. PLoS One 8(7):e70657. 2013. PMID: 23923015

Garcia A, Feng Y, Parry NMA, McCabe A, Mobley MW, Lertpiriyapong K, Whary MT, Fox JG. Helicobacter pylori infection does not promote hepatocellular cancer in a transgenic mouse model of hepatitis C virus pathogenesis. Gut Microbes 4(6):577-90. 2013. PMID: 23929035

Swennes AG, Turk ML, Trowel EM, Cullin C, Shen Z, Pang J, Petersson KH, Dewhirst FE, Fox JG. Helicobacter canis colonization in sheep: a Zoonotic link. Helicobacter 19(1):65-8. 2013

Lertpiriyapong K, Whary MT, Muthupalani S, Lofgren JL, Gamazon ER, Feng Y, Ge Z, Wang TC, Fox JG. Gastric colonization with a restricted commensal flora replicates the promotion of neoplastic lesions by diverse intestinal flora in the Helicobacter pylori INS-GAS mouse model of gastric carcinogenesis. GUT 63(1): 54-53. 2014.

Whary MT, Muthupalani S, Ge Z, Feng Y, Lofgren J, Shi HN, Taylor NS,Correa P, Versalovic J, Wang TC, Fox JG. Helminth co-infection in Helicobacter pylori infected INS-GAS mice attenuates gastric premalignant lesions of epithelial dysplasia and glandular atrophy and preserves colonization resistance of the stomach to lower bowel microbiota. Microbes Infect 8: S1286-4579. 2014 PMID:24513446

Woods SE, Qi P, Rosalia E, Chavarria T, Discua A, Mkandawire J, Fox JG , García A. 2014. Laser-Assisted In Vitro Fertilization Facilitates Fertilization of Vitrified-Warmed C57BL/6 Mouse Oocytes with Fresh and Frozen-Thawed Spermatozoa, Producing Live Pups. PLoS One 9(3): e91892. 2014. PMID: 24618785

Borjeson TM, Pang J, Fox JG, Garcia A. Administration of luteinizing hormone releasing hormone agonist (LHRHa) for estrus synchronization and generation of pseudopregnancy for use in a rat embryo transfer program. JAALAS. 53(3):232-7. 2014. PMID: 24827564

Pang J, Borjeson TM, Muthupalani S, Ducore R, Carr C, Feng Y, Sullivan M, Cristofaro V, Luo J, Fox JG. Megaesophagus in A Line of Transgenic Rats – A Model of Achalasia. Vet Pathol Nov;51(6):1187-200. 2014. PMID: 24457157

Swennes AG, Sheh A, Parry NM, Muthupalani S, Lertpiriyapong K, Garcia A, Fox JG. Helicobacter hepaticus Infection Promotes Hepatitis and Preneoplastic Foci in Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR) Deficient Mice. PLoS One 9(9):e106764. 2014. PMCID: PMC4153687

Turowski, EE; Shen Z, Ducore R, Parry N, Fox, JG. Isolation of a Campylobacter lanienae-like from Laboratory Chinchillas, (Chinchilla laniger). Zoonoses Public Health 61(8):571-80. PMID: 24628887.

Darby A, Lertpiriyapong K, Park DS, Gamazon ER, Batchelder C, Buckley EM, Taylor NS, Shen Z, Fox JG. Cytotoxic and pathogenic properties of Klebsiella oxytoca isolated from laboratory animals. PLoS One 9(7): e100542. 2014. PMCID: PMC4109914.

Miller CL, Muthupalani S, Shen Z, Fox JG. Isolation of Helicobacter spp. from mice with rectal prolapses. Comp Med 64(3): 171-8. 2014. PMCID: PMC4067580.

Lertpiriyapong K, Handt L, Feng Y, Mitchell TW, Lodge K, Shen Z, Dewhirst FE, Muthupalani S, Fox JG. Pathogenic Properties of Enterohepatic Helicobacter spp. Associated with Intestinal Adenocarcinoma in Rhesus Macaques. J Med Microbiol 63(7): 1004-16. 2014. PMID: 24696515.

Ge Z, Feng Y, Woods SE, Fox JG. Spatial and temporal colonization dynamics of segmented filamentous bacteria is influenced by gender, age and experimental infection with Helicobacter hepaticus in Swiss Webster mice. Microbes Infect. 17(1):16-22. 2015. PMID: 25448636

Shen Z., Feng Y., Rickman B., Fox J.G. Helicobacter cinaedi Induced Typhlocolitis in Rag Deficient Mice. Helicobacter. 20(2): 146-55. 2015. PMID: 25381744. PMCID: PMC4374619

Frydman GH, Davis N, Beck PL, Fox JG. Helicobacter pylori eradication in patients with immune thrombocytopenic purpura: a review and the role of biogeography. Helicobacter. 20(4):239-51. 2015. PMID: 25728540. PMCID: PMC4506733

Woods SE, Leonard MR, Hayden JA, Brophy MB, Bernert KR, Lavoie B, Muthupalani S, Whary MT, Mawe GM, Nolan EM, Carey MC, Fox JG. Impaired cholecystokinin-induced gallbladder emptying incriminated in spontaneous “black” pigment gallstone formation in germfree Swiss Webster mice. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 015 Feb 15;308(4):G335-49. PMID: 25477375. PMCID: PMC4329474

Burns MA, Ge Z, Muthupalani S, Georgieff M, Fox JG. Helicobacter pylori infection induces anemia, depletes serum iron storage, and alters local iron-related and adult brain gene expression in male INS-GAS mice. PLoS One. Nov 17;10(11):e0142630. 2015. PMID: 26575645

Nagamine CM, Shen Z, Luong RH, McKeon GP, Ruby NF, Fox JG. Coinfection of the Siberian hamster, Phodopus sungorus, with a novel Helicobacter sp. and Campylobacter sp. J Med Micro 64(Pt 5):575-81. 2015. PMID: 25752854

Pang J, Borjeson TM, Parry NMA, Fox JG. Struvite Urolithiasis in Long Evans Rats. Comp Med. 65(6):486-91. PMID: 26678365 Autieri C, Miller C, Kilgore A, Papscoe V, Garner M, Muthupalani S, Fox JG. Four Cases of Ferret Systemic Coronaviral Diseases (FRSCV). Comp Med 65(6):508-16. 2015. PMID: 26678368.

Caron TJ, Scott KE, Fox JG, Hagen SJ. Tight junctions: dysregulation of the gastric mucosal barrier by Helicobacter pylori. World J Gastroenterol. 21(40):11411-27. 2015. PMID: 26523106.

Woods SE, Ek C, Shen Z, Feng Y, Ge Z, Muthupalani S, Whary MT, Fox JG. Male Syrian Hamsters Experimentally Infected with Helicobacter spp. of the H. bilis Cluster Develop MALT-Associated Gastrointestinal Lymphomas. Helicobacter. 21(3): 201-17. 2016. PMID: 26348390

Lieberman MT, Wachtman LM, Marini RP, Bakthavatchalu V, Fox JG. Spontaneous cholelithiasis in a Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri sciureus). Comp Med 66(1):63-7. 2016. PMID: 26884412

Esmail MM, Bacon R, Swennes AG, Feng Y, Shen Z, Garcia A, Sharma P, Cohen J, Fox JG. Helicobacter species identified in captive sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys) with metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma. Helicobacter. 21(3): 175-85. 2016. PMID: 26477442

Frydman GH, Bendapudi P, Marini RP, Vanderburg C, Tompkins RG, Fox JG. Coagulation biomarkers in a population of healthy Chinese-origin rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). JAALAS. 55(3): 252-9. 2016. PMID: 27177557

Swennes AG, Parry NMA, Feng Y, Sawyer E, Lohr BR, Twedt DC, Fox JG. Enterohepatic Helicobacter spp. in cats with non-hematopoietic intestinal carcinoma: a survey of 55 cases. J Med Microbiol. 2016 May 10. doi: 10.1099/jmm.0.000274. [Epub ahead of print]