University of Missouri

Institution Type	Public University
Is there a medical school?	Yes
Is this a land-grant institution?	Yes
Vivarium Director	Dr. Erin O’Connor
Program Director	Drs. Craig Franklin, DVM, PhD, DACLAM and Erin O’Connor, DVM, MS, DACLAM
Who to Contact	Dr. Craig Franklin
Address	4011 Discovery Drive, Dept of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Columbia MO 65201
Phone	(573) 882-6623
Fax	(573) 884-7521
Email	franklinc@missouri.edu

Vivarium Information

Vivarium Name	Office of Animal Resources
Is the facility AAALAC accredited?	Yes
Describe management structure	2-5 Administratively distinct vivaria
Describe the extent to which your facilities are centralized	Animals housed in 5+ separate locations
Vivarium Square Feet	120,000
Summarize the nature of the animal population and the predominant types of clinical activities	The University of Missouri Comparative Medicine Program is based in the Office of Animal Resources (OAR) and the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology of the College of Veterinary Medicine. Furthermore, through the College of Veterinary Medicine, trainees have access to a wealth of expertise in a variety of veterinary disciplines (i.e. surgery, pathology, ophthalmology, internal medicine). The Office of Animal Resources (OAR) provides veterinary care for all University-owned animals and serves the needs of approximately 300 investigators with over 500 animal care and use protocols. The majority of animal resources are accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, International (AAALAC). The laboratory animal resource infrastructure consists of approximately 82,000 net assignable square feet of space of animal holding and use space and 41,000 square feet of support space for a total of 123,000 square feet. Animals are housed in conventional, barrier, containment (both ABSL-2 and ABSL-3), and quarantine. With Colleges and Schools of Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, a wide variety of animal based research and teaching using a number of animal species is performed on the MU campus. Animal species may include rodents, dogs, cats, rabbits and other small mammals, cattle, poultry, amphibians and fish. Many animal models at MU have spontaneous or genetically-engineered mutations. When compared to most institutions, MU also has a large population of swine, including genetically engineered swine. Supplemental training with primates can be accomplished through elective rotations at other institutions. Clinical activities include preventative medicine, daily animal care and treatment, health examination for import and export, diagnostics, and experimental, preventative and therapeutic surgeries and support of investigators in model development and refinement.
Number of Veterinarians in program	12
Number of ACLAM Diplomates in program	9
Number of Boarded Pathologists	10
Number of Other Boarded Veterinary Specialists	60
Number of necropsies/week in the veterinary unit	2
Number of surgical cases/week in the veterinary unit	6

Training Program Details

Is this program recognized by ACLAM?	Yes
Does this program participate in the Veterinary Internship & Residency Matching Program (VIRMP)?	Yes
Number of concurrent residents	12
How many residents/trainees have completed this program?	115
Of these, how many have subsequently become ACLAM Diplomates?	83 (note some have yet to take and not all (e.g. those pursuing research careers) choose to take boards
In what year did the program accept its first trainee?	1966
How many years are required to complete this program (residency only)?	3
Is formal coursework offered?	Yes
Is a degree program associated with this residency?	Yes
If yes, what degree(s)?	MS or PhD
Which departments most commonly grant degree(s)?	Pathobiology Area
Give an overview of this program, describing its particular strengths and any unique aspects that are not addressed in any of the other sections	OBJECTIVES The broad objectives of the University of Missouri Comparative Medicine Program (CMP) are to recruit academically oriented veterinarians and prepare them for careers as specialists in laboratory animal medicine and/or as researchers in comparative medicine and other biomedical sciences. Equally important, participants are well-versed in how to establish and foster collaborative research opportunities that include the development and maintenance of animal models in support of translational research activities. This training program provides a foundation of knowledge and credentials necessary to achieve certification by the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine. The Comparative Medicine Program at the University of Missouri have created a short video to describe our program to prospective residents and post-DVM graduate students. youtu.be/C7UClXhPw0M ADDITIONAL APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS PLEASE NOTE: The application deadline for laboratory animal/comparative medicine training programs is earlier than other internship and residency programs to ensure sufficient time for programs to schedule interviews with prospective candidates. Therefore, applicants MUST complete their applications on a date (usually the first week of November) to be announced on this web page in order to ensure that the program has ample time to schedule and complete on site interviews with prospective candidates. As this deadline is distinct from other residency specialties participating in the VIRMP, applicants are encouraged to contact their references and registrar to ensure letters of support and transcripts are submitted ahead of the November deadline. The CMP will review applications in mid-November and invite candidates for interviews to be held in early December (usually the second weekend). For candidates invited to interview with the MU CMP, it is highly recommended that you participate; therefore, you are encouraged to save these dates. Conflicts for invited candidates who absolutely cannot attend the interview will be addressed on an individual basis. PROGRAM HISTORY The CMP is one of the oldest, largest, and most respected laboratory animal medicine residency / comparative medicine research training programs in the country. The program has received NIH funding support for over 30 years. Since its inception, more than 100 individuals have completed residency training. Over 80 of those are now ACLAM diplomates and several others plan to sit for boards in the future. The University of Missouri CMP has trained approximately 8% of the 800 active ACLAM diplomates in the country. Graduates of this program have pursued successful careers in academia, government, and industry. PROGRAM OPTIONS AND DURATION PLEASE NOTE that the MU CMP provides both clinical and research training and has programs where students can emphasize either or both. The MU CMP couples a residency program with a research program that leads to either an MS or PhD degree. The first year of all programs consists of laboratory animal medicine residency activities. In years two and three of a more research-oriented program, the trainee is involved primarily in research activities (at least 40 hours/week) combined with 10-15 hours/week of laboratory animal medicine activities. The latter activities complement training gained in the first year and are part of an individual development plan generated in consultation with program faculty to facilitate pursuit of specific career goals. MS students complete their residency and degree program after three years, while PhD students complete their residency after three years and their degree program after approximately five years. CMP trainees may also elect to pursue a more clinically-oriented program consisting of 1.5 years of residency activities in laboratory animal medicine followed by 1.5 years of research coupled with additional laboratory animal medicine activities at an approximately 50:50 split. Students pursuing this program generally pursue MS degrees but may switch to PhD degree programs. PROGRAM SIZE Approximately 10-12 veterinarians are in training at any one time and 2-3 trainees are accepted each year. PROGRAM FACULTY The program is overseen by a committee of 13 faculty whose credentials include DACLAM (5), DVM (9), PhD (7), and MS (5) with many dual-degreed. Their positions exemplify the broad and diverse roles of laboratory animal scientists. These include: clinical care of laboratory animals in a variety of settings ranging from conventional housing to barrier maintenance to biocontainment in BSL-3 facilities; disease prevention, control, and diagnosis; consultation with investigators on applications of animal models; animal resource administration and management; compliance, teaching; and primary research. The faculty are involved in the greater community of laboratory animal medicine that includes national and international organized laboratory animal medicine and biomedical research. Trainees in the CMP also have access to three ACLAM diplomates in IDEXX BioAnalytics, an internationally recognized research animal diagnostic laboratory as well as the faculty and services of the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Missouri. In addition, over 50 outstanding, well-funded research faculty engaged in a wide variety of biomedical research projects serve as prospective mentors for trainees. These research mentors represent over 25 different departments on campus. The diverse expertise of prospective research mentors allows trainees to match their research interests with those of an outstanding faculty mentor. Examples of research projects of current trainees include development of allografts for ligament and tendon repair, development of rat models of inflammatory bowel disease, studies on the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, optimizing cryopreservation of rodent sperm and embryos, and genetic and microbiota influences of the development of colorectal cancer. PROGRAM STRUCTURE The University of Missouri CMP combines graduate course work, residency training in laboratory animal medicine and research training. In the first year, trainees perform rotations in veterinary care and investigator support; resource management; quarantine and health monitoring; investigator training; protocol review; resource center administration, operation, and management; infectious disease research management; animal model resources, and laboratory animal diagnostics. To gain experience in areas such as primate medicine or industry lab animal medicine, trainees may also perform a 4 week elective rotation during their first year. Didactic training is provided over 36 months through graduate courses, seminars, and weekly rounds. The five required core courses for this program are: 1) Laboratory Animal Biology, 2) Laboratory Animal Pathology, 3) Facility Design and Management, 4) Grant and Manuscript Writing for Biomedical Researchers, and 5) Ethical Conduct of Research. These first four courses are offered in a rotating cycle every 2 years, while Ethical Conduct of Research is offered annually. With this schedule, trainees complete all five courses during the first two years of their program. Trainees may also take one to two elective courses that are usually related to their area of research. In addition, trainees participate in a weekly seminar series and weekly clinical and pathology rounds throughout the year. Three quarters of the fall seminar series are devoted to workshops and interactive sessions designed to develop transferable skills (e.g. emotional intelligence, communication, conflict resolution). In the second year of the research-oriented program, trainees rotate through one to three research laboratories, select a lab for their degree program (MS or PhD), and begin research training. The bulk of their time is spent on their research. Each week, in addition to research, approximately 10-15 hours will be committed to laboratory animal medicine activities which are designed to hone skills applicable to trainees’ specific career goals. The latter are incorporated into an individual development plan that is reviewed and updated annually. Trainees who pursue a PhD spend 100% of their fourth and fifth years in the laboratory. Teaching experience is an important component of CMP training. To this end, all trainees participate in teaching Laboratory Animal Medicine, a course provided to all second year veterinary students at MU. Trainees also teach investigators and research staff animal handling and surgical techniques through workshops and courses and provide mentorship to veterinary students performing externships and elective rotations. Trainees are also expected to lead at least one outreach activity each year; several formal opportunities exist through the College of Veterinary Medicine. Developing presentation skills and networking with the scientific community are key components of the CMP. To this end, trainees are encouraged to attend scientific meetings and funding is provided for 1-2 meetings/year beginning in the second year of the program. Trainees are expected to present at each meeting they attend and apply for available travel grants. Generally, trainees attend the annual AALAS meeting during their second year and a scientific meeting related to their research and the AALAS meeting during their third year and beyond. There are also abundant local and regional opportunities (e.g. Life Sciences Week, CVM Research Day, Cardiovascular Research Day, etc.) in which additional presentation practice can occur. PROGRAM RESOURCES The Office of Animal Resources (OAR) provides veterinary care for all University-owned animals and serves the needs of approximately 225 investigators with over 500 animal care and use protocols. The majority of animal resources are accredited by AAALAC International. The laboratory animal resource infrastructure consists of approximately 82,000 net assignable square feet of space of animal holding and use space and 41,000 square feet of support space for a total of 123,000 square feet. Animals are housed in conventional, barrier, containment (both ABSL-2 and ABSL-3), and quarantine facilities. With Colleges in Schools of Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, a wide variety of animal based research and teaching using a number of animal species is performed on the MU campus. Animal species include rodents, dogs, cats, rabbits and other small mammals, cattle, poultry, amphibians and fish. Many animal models at MU have spontaneous or genetically-engineered mutations. As compared to most institutions, MU has a large population of swine, including genetically-engineered swine. Supplemental training with primates can be accomplished through elective rotations at other institutions. The Animal Care Quality Assurance (ACQA) office oversees the use of animals for all research, training and teaching activities at the University, and assists the Attending Veterinarian and the IACUC in developing institutional policies, guidelines, and operating procedures. The ACQA office also facilitates monthly IACUC meetings and coordinates a number of investigator training laboratories. The College of Veterinary Medicine provides access to a wealth of expertise in a variety of veterinary disciplines including, but not limited to, surgery, pathology, internal medicine, radiology, cardiology, theriogenology, neurology, and ophthalmology. Moreover, MU’s veterinary curriculum also offers many opportunities for CMP trainees to teach, mentor and serve as role models for veterinary students. The Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center (MMRRC), Rat Resource and Research Center (RRRC), and National Swine Resource and Research Centers (NSRCC) serve as repositories for live colony production, cryopreservation, and quality control of genetically engineered rodents and swine and ensure the continued availability of scientifically valuable, genetically engineered animals to the biomedical research community. The MU Metagenomics Center (MUMC) provides a wide range of services associated with the characterization of complex microbial communities.These centers provide a unique opportunity for training in colony management and maintenance, genetic assessment and quality control, distribution of animal models nationally and internationally and scientific rigor required of research using animal models. These centers also provide alternative live colony maintenance approaches through cryopreservation and cryo-recovery mechanisms. In addition, the NSRRC serves a unique role in that it creates genetically-modified swine models for NIH-funded investigators. The Laboratory for Infectious Disease Research (LIDR) is a regional biocontainment laboratory that provides trainees with the opportunity to gain operational, veterinary, animal welfare, regulatory, safety and research experience in working with BSL-3 and select agents including, but not limited to, Yersinia pestis, Coxiella burnetii, Francisella tularensis, Bacillus anthracis and Zika Virus. Trainees also have access to the managing team and resources at IDEXX-BioAnalytics, an internationally renowned research animal diagnostic laboratory. The laboratory receives over 2000 animals or animal tissues/month for diagnostic testing. Additional information about the MU CMP can be found at https://www.aslap.org/career-development/current-residencies/university-of-missouri and http://cmp.missouri.edu/. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS The MU CMP uses the AAVC’s Veterinary Internship & Residency Matching Program (VIRMP). See http://virmp.org/ for more information. NEED MORE INFORMATION? Please contact Dr. Craig Franklin at franklinc@missouri.edu or 573-882-6623 for additional information or to discuss how the MU CMP can meet your residency program and career goals.
Describe any unique research interests of your faculty	The objective of research training is to provide a substantive foundation for competitive primary or collaborative research careers through 1) course work and seminars that give a broad exposure to biomedical sciences and comparative medicine, 2) an intense research experience to provide research competence in state-of-the-art experimental methodology, 3) instruction in fundamental concepts of funding procurement, development of grant-writing skills and laboratory and project management and 4) increasingly independent experience in every stage of the scientific research process. Trainees gain experience in experimental design, data collection, management, and analysis; searching and critical review of the literature (also provided by journal clubs and rounds) and manuscript preparation. MU is one of only a few campuses in the U.S. that has schools of medicine, veterinary medicine, and agriculture, along with strong programs in basic biological and physical sciences. . The combination of our research faculty, facilities, and related resources provides an exceptional training experience in animal-based biomedical research. Over 50 outstanding, well-funded research faculty from 17 different departments engaged in wide variety of biomedical research projects on this campus have enthusiastically agreed to serve as mentors for trainees in the CMP (see http://cmp.missouri.edu/?page_id=47). All of our mentors have experience in all of the necessary components of successful training and mentorship. These mentors also participate in several very successful interdisciplinary programs including exercise and cardiovascular physiology, metagenomics, radiopharmaceuticals in cancer therapy, biomedical engineering, infectious disease, mutant animal biology and production, gender physiology and xenotransplantation. The diverse expertise of prospective research mentors allows trainees to match their research interests with those of an outstanding faculty mentor. Research training in the CMP occurs in three phases: 1) a small project performed during the residency year 2) research rotations and 3) dissertation research. Training culminates with 1) a manuscript (for the MS degree) or preparation of a dissertation (for the PhD degree), 2) defense of the thesis/dissertation work to the trainee's graduate committee, and 3) submission of one or more manuscripts for publication. Research findings are also presented at regional and national scientific meetings. Formal coursework includes instruction in experimental design, biostatistics, grantsmanship (which includes a mock study section review), and career preparation. PhD trainees also prepare and submit an extramural grant application, such as an NRSA Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship (F32) or K award, during their program.
Give a few literature citations of publications completed by trainees during their tenure in this program	Manuscripts in which trainee is first author (2015-current) Alvarado CG, Franklin CL, Dixon LW. 2016. Retrospective evaluation of nail trimming as a conservative treatment for ulcerative dermatitis in laboratory mice. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 55(4):462-6. PMCID: PMC4943618. Alvarado CG, Kocsis AG, Hart ML, Crim MJ, Myles MH, Franklin CL. 2015. Pathogenicity of Helicobacter ganmani in mice susceptible and resistant to infection with H. hepaticus. Comp. Med., 65(1):15-22. PMCID: PMC4396925 Bidot WA, Ericsson AC, Franklin CL. Effects of water decontamination methods and bedding material on the gut microbiota.PLoS One. 2018 Oct 25;13(10):e0198305. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198305. eCollection 2018. PMCID:PMC6201873 Fink MK, Giuliano EA, Tandon A, Mohan RR. 2015. Therapeutic potential of pirfenidone for treating equine corneal scarring. Vet. Ophthalmol. 18(3):242-50. PMCID: PMC4295017 Haney MM, Hinkel C, Thiessen A, Allen J, Deninger I, Ohlhausen D, Lever T. 2017. Creation of resin rodent skulls to reduce animal numbers for stereotactic surgery practice. Lab Anim. 46(2):41-42. doi: 10.1038/laban.1178. PMID: 28106872 Haney MM, Ericsson AC, Lever TE. Effects of Intraoperative Vagal Nerve Stimulation on the Gastrointestinal Microbiome in a Mouse Model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Comp Med. 2018 Dec 1;68(6):452-460. doi: 10.30802/AALAS-CM-18-000039. Epub 2018 Nov 13. PMCID:PMC6310200 Haney MM, Hamad A, Leary E, Bunyak F, Lever TE. Automated Quantification of Vocal Fold Motion in a Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Injury Mouse Model. Laryngoscope. 2019 Jul;129(7):E247-E254. doi: 10.1002/lary.27609. Epub 2018 Nov 26. PMCID: PM6535380 Haney MM, Hamad A, Woldu HG, Ciucci M, Nichols N, Bunyak F, Lever TE. Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Transection in Mice Results in Translational Upper Airway Dysfunction. J Comp Neurol. 2019 Sep 11. doi: 10.1002/cne.24774. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID:31512255 Haney MM, Sinnott J, Osman KL, Deninger I, Andel E, Caywood V, Mok A, Ballenger B, Cummings K, Thombs L, Lever TE. Mice Lacking Brain-Derived Serotonin Have Altered Swallowing Function. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2019 Sep;161(3):468-471. doi: 10.1177/0194599819846109. Epub 2019 Apr 30. PMID:31035861 Hansen SA, Fink MK, Upendran A, Besch-Williford CL, Livingston RS, Amos-Landgraf JM, Lattimer JC, Kannan R. 2015. Delayed and Aberrant Presentation of VX2 Carcinoma in a Rabbit Model of Hepatic Neoplasia. Comp Med 65(5):424-8. PMCID: PMC4617334. Hansen SA, Hart ML, Busi S, Parker T, Goerndt A, Jones KB, Amos-Landgraf JM, Bryda EC. 2016. Fischer 344-Tp53 knockout rats exhibit a high rate of bone and brain neoplasia with frequent metastasis. Dis Model Mech. Aug 15. pii: dmm.025767. [Epub ahead of print] PMCID: PMC5087826. Hanson MM, Liu F, Dai S, Kearns A, Qin X, Bryda EC. 2016. Rapid conditional targeted ablation model for hemolytic anemia in the rat. Physiol Genomics 48(8):626-32. PMCID: PMC5005455. Hart ML, Ericsson AC, Franklin CL. 2017. Differing complex microbiota alter disease severity of the IL-10^-/- mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease. Front Microbiol, 8:792. Doi:10.3389/fmicb.2017.00792. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.00792. PMCID: PMC5425584. Hart ML, Ericsson AC, Lloyd KCK, Grimsrud KN, Rogala AR, Godfrey VL, Nielsen JN, Franklin CL. 2018 Development of outbred CD1 mouse colonies with distinct standardized gut microbiota profiles for use in complex microbiota targeted studies. Sci Rep. Jul4;8(1):10107. Doi:10.1038/s41598-018-28448-0. PMCID: PMC6031694. Hart ML, Meyer A, Johnson PJ, Ericsson AC. 2015. Comparative Evaluation of DNA Extraction Methods from Feces of Multiple Host Species for Downstream Next-Generation Sequencing,” PLoS One 2015 Nov 24;10(11):e0143334. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143334. PMCID: PMC4657925. Hooper SE, Korte SW, Giguère S, Fales WH, Davis JL, Dixon LW. 2016. Pharmacokinetics of Ceftiofur Crystalline-Free Acid in Clinically Healthy Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris). J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 55(2):224-9. PMCID: PMC4783643 Hooper SE, Amelon SK. 2014. Handling and blood collection in the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus). Lab Anim (NY) 43(6):197-9. PMID: 24845004. Hooper SE, Amelon SK, and Womack K. 2017. Bat wing biometrics: using collagen–elastin bundles in bat wings as a unique individual identifier. J Mammal 98:744-751. doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyx018 PMCID: PMC5901080. Hooper SE, Backus RB, Amelon SK. 2017. Effects of dietary selenium and moisture on the physical activity and thyroid axis of cats. J Anim Physiol Nutr (Berl). 2018 Apr;102(2):495-504. doi: 10.1111/jpn.12776. Epub 2017 Oct 6. PMCID: PMC5839927 Korte SW, Dorfmeyer RA, Franklin CL, Ericsson AC. 2018. Effects of Fenbendazole-impregnated Feed and Topical Moxidectin during Quarantine on the Gut Microbiota of C57BL/6 Mice. J Amer Assoc Lab Anim Sci. 57(3):229-235. PMCID: PMC5966229. Montonye DR, Ericsson AC, Busi SB, Lutz C, Wardwell K, Franklin CL. 2018. Acclimation and Institutionalization of the Mouse Microbiota Following Transportation. Front Microbiol. May 28;9:1085. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.01085. eCollection 2018. PMCID: PMC5985407. Moskowitz J, Tracey L, Widmayer S, Dumont B. Meeting report: 32nd international mammalian genome conference. Mamm Genome. 2019 Apr;30(3-4):43-53. doi: 10.1007/s00335-019-09797-1. Epub 2019 Apr 1. PMCID: PMC6494680 Ostdiek AM, Grant DA, Grant SA. 2015. Mechanical and in vitro characterization of decellularized porcine aortic tissue conjugated with gold nanoparticles as a vascular repair material. Int J of Nano and Biomaterials 6(1)1:17. PMID and PMCID not available. Ostdiek AM, Ivey JR, Hansen SA, Gopaldas R, Grant SA. 2015. Feasibility of a nanomaterial-tissue patch for vascular and cardiac reconstruction. J. Biomed. Mater. Res. B. Appl. Biomater., Apr 17. doi: 10.1002/jbm.b.33410, [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 25891427 . Ostdiek AM, Ivey JR, Grant DA, Gopaldas J, Grant SA. 2015. An in vivo study of a gold nanocomposite biomaterial for vascular repair. Biomaterials. Oct;65:175-83. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2015.06.045. Epub 2015 Jun 30. PMCID: PMC4507082 Reynolds TS, Bandari RP, Jiang Z, Smith CJ. Lutetium-177 Labeled Bombesin Peptides for Radionuclide Therapy. 2016. Curr Radiopharm. 9(1):33-43. PMID:25771366 Stoffel RT, Johnson GC, Boughan K, Ewing SA, Stich RW. 2015. Detection of Ehrlichia chaffeensis in a naturally infected elk (Cervus elaphus) from Missouri, USA. JMM Case Reports DOI 10.1099/jmmcr.0.000015. Full text available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272424762_Detection_of_Ehrlichia_chaffeensis_in_a_naturally_infected_elk_Cervus_elaphus_from_Missouri_USA Stott Reynolds TJ, Schehr R, Liu D, Xu J, Miao Y, Hoffman TJ, Rold TL, Lewis MR, Smith CJ. 2015. Characterization and evaluation of DOTA-conjugated Bombesin/RGD-antagonists for prostate cancer tumor imaging and therapy. Nucl. Med. Biol 42(2):99-108. PMID: 25459113, Winkelmann CT, Figueroa SD, Sieckman GL, Rold TL, Hoffman TJ. Non-invasive microCT characterization and in vivo targeting of BB2 receptor expression of a PC-3 bone metastasis model. Mol Imaging Biol 14(6):667-75. 2012. PMID:22314281
Where will vacancies be advertised?	web page (http://cmp.missouri.edu/), VIRMP
What month does the program begin?	July

Living and Working

Starting Annual Salary	$50,004
To what extent is travel to meetings, etc. paid for?	1-2 meetings per year, beginning in year 2
Is individual health insurance provided?	Yes
Is family health insurance provided?	No
Describe any fees or tuition	BENEFITS - All student activity and education fees are paid. Travel to one meeting per year beginning the second year of the program and a bronze membership in AALAS are also provided. Travel to a second meeting each year is provided if the trainee has made a good faith effort to secure travel funds from local or meeting sources. Trainees are currently eligible for the MU Graduate School insurance and subsidy programs (http://gradstudies.missouri.edu/financials/student-medical-insurance/subsidy-program/) with the caveat that these programs are subject to change by the University.
Describe the residents' responsibilities for night, weekend, and holiday coverage	Residents are on call approximately one weekend per month with rotating holiday duties.
How many annual vacation days are given?	10
How many annual sick days are given?	0
Briefly describe the community	MU is located in Columbia, Missouri, about halfway between Kansas City and St. Louis. National magazines, such as Money, frequently rate Columbia as one of the best places in the United States to live. See http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/ for information about Columbia.
Institutional, facility, or training program web site	http://cmp.missouri.edu/