Comparative Biomedical Sciences

The Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences conducts basic and translational research in diverse areas of biomedical sciences including cancer biology, cardiovascular disease, developmental biology, neurosciences, and toxicology. We seek to understand the normal regulation of physiological and cellular processes, which are dysfunctional in disease states. Understanding these mechanisms may offer novel approaches for therapeutic intervention.

The department is committed to advancing groundbreaking discoveries in the biomedical sciences, providing excellence in professional and graduate education, and serving and promoting LSU Vet Med and its greater community.

All who are interested in enrolling in a graduate program involving advanced biomedical research are encouraged to contact us for more information.

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Contact Us

Administration: 225-578-9889

Department Head and Graduate Program Contacts

Alexander Murashov

Alexander Murashov

MD, PhD

Department Head and Professor

EMAIL DR. MURASHOV

 

Ahmed Abdelmoneim

Ahmed Abdelmoneim

BVMS, PhD

Assistant Professor

Graduate Recruiter

EMAIL DR. ABDELMONEIM

Alexandra Noel

Alexandra Noel

PhD

Associate Professor

Graduate Recruiter

EMAIL DR. NOEL

Achievements

We are proud of the successes and achievements of our faculty, staff, and students.

Faculty Achievements

Alexandra Noël, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences (CBS), received the Zoetis Award for Research Excellence. Zoetis presents an honorarium and inscribed plaque to a faculty member who has excelled in veterinary medical research during the past two years. Dr. Noel’s research focuses on the production and characterization of aerosols, as well as inhalation and developmental toxicology. This includes the study of engineered nanoparticles, second-hand smoke, electronic cigarette vapor, hookah smoke, and a multi-pollutant approach to simulate real-life exposure scenarios.

Alexandra Noël's Faculty Page

Shisheng Li, PhD, professor in CBS, received the School of Veterinary Medicine Faculty Distinguished Scholar Award. An honorarium and inscribed plaque are presented to a faculty member who has made significant contributions to the advancement of veterinary medicine through research and/ or scholarly activities. Dr. Li’s research focuses on the mechanisms of DNA damage repair and mutagenesis.

SHISHENG LI'S FACULTY PAGE

Awards

Ankit Aryal

Tammy Dugas, Major Professor

  • 2022: First place in poster presentation at the Dellinger Symposium 2022, LSU SRP
  • 2022: Travel grant from SCCSOT
  • 2021: Second place in graduate poster presentation, SCCSOT 2021 Annual Meeting
  • 2020: Third place in graduate poster presentation, SCCSOT 2020 Annual Meeting

Ishita Choudhary

Yogesh Saini, Major Professor

  • 2022: Immunotoxicology Paper of the Year, Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, San Diego
  • 2022: 4th Place, Phi Zeta Research Emphasis Day, LSU SVM
    2022: 2nd Place, Platform Presentation award, Comparative Biomedical Sciences
  • 2021: Society of Toxicologic Pathology (STP) Young Investigator Award
  • 2021: STP Environmental Toxicologic Pathology SIG (ETP-SIG) Student Research Award
  • 2021: 1st Place, Poster Presentation at 8th Annual LBRN Conference on Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
  • 2021: Society of Toxicology Graduate Student Support Award
  • 2021: Society of Toxicology CTPVSS Specialty Section Trainee Award
  • 2021: 1st and 2nd Place, Poster Presentation, Phi Zeta Research Emphasis Day, LSU Vet Med
  • 2020: LSU School of Veterinary Medicine Heidi Lott Scholarship Award
  • 2020: 1st and 4th Place, Poster Presentation, Phi Zeta Research Emphasis Day, LSU Vet Med

Richa Lamichhane

Sonika Patial, Major Professor

  • 2021: ASIP 2021 Trainee Scholar Award

Kshitiz Paudel

  • 2021: Ozone and Host Susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, Phi Zeta Research Emphasis Day, LSU Vet Med

Weiqiong Rong

Shaomian Yao, Major Professor

  • 03/04/2022: Dissertation Year Fellowship 2022-2023
  • 02/25/2022: Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine
  • (SEBM) Young Investigator Award 2022
    02/23/2022: Phi Zeta Research Emphasis Day Award - 2nd Place 2022

Dhruthi Singamesetty

Yogesh Saini, Major Professor

  • 2022: 1st Place in PhD category, Phi Zeta Research Emphasis Day, LSU Vet Med
  • 01/12/2021 :Second place in Junior Trainee Category; CBS Retreat 2021 (Zoom event) 

PhD Student Publications

Ankit Aryal

Tammy Dugas, Major Professor

  • 2021," Particulate matter air pollutants and cardiovascular disease: Strategies for intervention," published in Journal of pharmacology and therapeutics.

Ishita Choudhary

Yogesh Saini, Major Professor

  • Patial S, Lewis BW, Vo T, Choudhary I, Paudel K, Mao Y, Singamsetty D, Brombacher F, Saini Y. MyeloidIL4Rα is an indispensable link in IL-33-ILCs-IL-13-IL4Rα axis of eosinophil recruitment in murine lungs. Sci Rep. 2021 Jul 29;11(1):15465. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-94843-9. PMID: 34326406; PMCID: PMC8322172.
  • Choudhary I, Vo T, Paudel K, Yadav R, Mao Y, Patial S, Saini Y. Postnatal Ozone Exposure Disrupts Alveolar Development, Exaggerates Mucoinflammatory Responses, and Suppresses Bacterial Clearance in Developing Scnn1b-Tg+ Mice Lungs. J Immunol. 2021 Aug 15;207(4):1165-1179. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.2001286. Epub 2021 Jul 30. PMID: 34330754; PMCID: PMC8654340.
  • Choudhary I, Vo T, Paudel K, Wen X, Gupta R, Kesimer M, Patial S, Saini Y. Vesicular and extravesicular protein analyses from the airspaces of ozone-exposed mice revealed signatures associated with mucoinflammatory lung disease. Sci Rep. 2021 Dec 1;11(1):23203. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-02256-5. PMID: 34853335; PMCID: PMC8636509.
  • Vo, T, Paudel, K, Choudhary, I, (co-first author) Patial S., Saini, Y. Ozone exposure upregulates the expression of host susceptibility protein TMPRSS2 to SARS-CoV-2. Sci Rep 12, 1357 (2022). 
  • Lewis BW, Vo T, Choudhary I (co-first author), Kidder A, Bathula C, Ehre C, Wakamatsu N, Patial S, Saini Y. Ablation of IL-33 Suppresses Th2 Responses but Is Accompanied by Sustained Mucus Obstruction in the Scnn1b Transgenic Mouse Model. J Immunol. 2020 Mar 15;204(6):1650-1660. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1900234. Epub 2020 Feb 14. PMID: 32060135; PMCID: PMC7714586.
  • Lewis BW, Choudhary I, Paudel K, Mao Y, Sharma R, Wang Y, Deshane JS, Boucher RC, Patial S, Saini Y. The Innate Lymphoid System Is a Critical Player in the Manifestation of Mucoinflammatory Airway Disease in Mice. J Immunol. 2020 Sep 15;205(6):1695-1708. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.2000530. Epub 2020 Aug 17. PMID: 32817334; PMCID: PMC7717108.
  • Choudhary I, Vo T, Bathula C, Lamichhane R, Lewis BW, Looper J, Jeyaseelan S, Blackshear PJ, Saini Y and Patial S (2020) Tristetraprolin Overexpression in Non-hematopoietic Cells Protects Against Acute Lung Injury in Mice. Front. Immunol. 11:2164. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.02164
  • Choudhary I, Vo T, Paudel K, Patial S, Saini Y. Compartment-specific transcriptomics of ozone-exposed murine lungs reveals sex- and cell type-associated perturbations relevant to mucoinflammatory lung diseases. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2021 Jan 1;320(1):L99-L125. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00381.2020. Epub 2020 Oct 7. PMID: 33026818; PMCID: PMC7847060

Tanya Gandhi

Charles Lee, Major Professor

  • Adeyelu, Tolulope, Tanya Gandhi, and Charles C. Lee. "Crossed Connections From Insular Cortex to the Contralateral Thalamus." Frontiers in Neural Circuits 15 (2021).
  • Gandhi, Tanya, and Charles C. Lee. "Neural mechanisms underlying repetitive behaviors in rodent models of autism spectrum disorders." Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience(2021): 463.

Wenzhi Gong

Shisheng Li, Major Professor

  • Epub: (6-9-2021); Elongation factor ELOF1 drives transcription-coupled repair and prevents genome instability; Nat Cell Biol. 

D. Parker Kelley

Joseph Francis, Major Professor

  • D. Parker Kelley, Katy Venable, Aspasia Destouni, Gerald Billac, Philip Ebenezer, Krisztian Stadler, Charles Nichols, Steven Barker, Joseph Francis (2021) Pharmahuasca and DMT rescue ROS production and differentially expressed genes after predator and psychosocial stress: relevance to human PTSD. ACS Chemical Neuroscience.
  • Prasad, A.†, Chaichi, A. †, Kelley, D. P. †, Francis, J., & Gartia, M. R. (2019). Current and future functional imaging techniques for post-traumatic stress disorder. RSC Advances, 9(42), 24568-24594.
  • D. Parker Kelley†, Ardalan Chaichi†, Alexander Duplooy, Dhirendra Singh, Manas Gartia, Joseph Francis Increased ROS production is associated with Increased cholesterol, altered lipid expression in the hippocampus after predator exposure and psychosocial stress: RAMAN imaging + Lipidomics. Neurobiology of Stress (April 2022) † indicates shared 1st authorship. (Under review)
  • D. Parker Kelley, Lucas A Souza, Shea Cruise, Alexander Duplooy, Dhirendra Singh, Nick Gilpin, Joseph Francis Conditioned place avoidance (CPA) is associated with a distinct Hippocampal phenotype: Role of Pattern Separation, IGF1/2, ROS, and Mitochondria. eLife. (to be submitted May 2022)

Rahul Kumar

Sonika Patial, Major Professor

  • Bathula, C. S., Chen, J., Kumar, R., Blackshear, P. J., Saini, Y., & Patial, S. (2022). ZFP36L1 regulates Fgf21 mRNA turnover and modulates alcoholic hepatic steatosis and inflammation in mice. The American Journal of Pathology, 192(2), 208-225.

Richa Lamichhane

Sonika Patial, Major Professor

  • Choudhary, I. Vo, T., Bathula, C.S., Lamichhane, R., Lewis, B.W., Looper, J., ...& Patial, S. (2020); Tristetraprolin Overexpression in Non-hematopoietic Cells Protects Against Acute Lung Injury in Mice. Frontiers in Immunology, 2164.

Alexander Lee

Michelle Osborn, Major Professor

  • Feb 2021; "Construction of a Realistic, Whole-Body, Three-Dimensional Equine Skeletal Model using Computed Tomography Data"; JoVE.
  • April 2020; The Horse & Rider: A Dynamic 3D Model for Studying the Role of Chronic Postural Asymmetries in Degenerative Osteoarthritis"; Experimental Biology conference Abstract.
  • April 2019; "Creating a 3D Model to Study Equine Lameness"; Experimental Biology conference Abstract

Yun Mao

Yogesh Saini, Major Professor

  • July 2021; Postnatal Ozone Exposure Disrupts Alveolar Development, Exaggerates Mucoinflammatory Responses, and Suppresses Bacterial Clearance in Developing Scnn1b-Tg+ Mice Lungs; The journal of Immunology
  • July 2021; Myeloid-IL4Rα is an indispensable link in IL-33-ILCs-IL-13-IL4Rα axis of eosinophil recruitment in murine lungs; Scientific Reports 
  • July 2020; Innate lymphoid system is a critical player in te manifestation of muco-inflammatory airway disease in mice; The Journal of Immunology

Former Graduate Students (Where Are They Now)

Yi-Fan Chen

Tammy Dugas, Major Professor

Yi-Fan Chen was selected for the SCC Student Travel Award to attend the 2018 Society of Toxicology (SOT) meeting. Ms. Chen will receive awards (certificate and $500) at the regional chapter mixer at the Yard House Restaurant in San Antonio, TX on March 12, 2018. 

Carroll-Turpin, M., Hebert, V.Y., Chotibut, T., Wensler, H., Krentzel, D., Varner, K.J., Burn, B.R., Chen, Y.F., and Dugas, T.R.  (2015). 4,4’-methylenedianiline alters serotonergic transport in a novel, sex-specific model of pulmonary arterial hypertension in rats.  Toxicol. Sci. 147(1):235-45.

Charan, S., Sanjiv, K., Singh, N., Chien, F. C., Chen, Y. F., Nergui, N. N., ... & Chen, P. (2012). Development of chitosan oligosaccharide-modified gold nanorods for in vivo targeted delivery and noninvasive imaging by NIR irradiation. Bioconjugate chemistry, 23(11), 2173-2182.

Chen, C. W., Wu, M. H., Chen, Y. F., Yen, T. Y., Lin, Y. W., Chao, S. H., ... & Lee, T. C. (2016). A Potent Derivative of Indolizino [6, 7-b] Indole for Treatment of Human Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells. Neoplasia, 18(4), 199-212.

Liao, Y.C., Chen, Y.F., & Lee, T.C. (2015). Increased susceptibility of H-Ras G12V-transformed human urothelial cells to the genotoxic effects of sodium arsenite. Archives of toxicology, 89(11), 1971-1979.

Michael Flanagan

Shaomian Yao, Major Professor

◊Yao S, He H, Gutierrez DL., Rad-Rezai M, Liu D, Li C, Flanagan M, Wise GE. (2014). Expression of bone morphogenetic protein-6 in dental follicle stem cells and its effect on osteogenic differentiation. Cells Tissues Organs, 198, 438-447.

Flanagan M, Gimble JM, Yu G, Wu X, Xia X, Hu J, Yao S, Li S. (2011). Competitive electroporation formulation for cell therapy. Cancer Gene Ther, 18, 579-586.

Rebecca Hill

Masami Yoshimura, Major Professor

Hill, R.A., Xu, W., Yoshimura, M. (2016) Role of an adenylyl cyclase isoform in ethanol's effect on cAMP regulated gene expression in NIH 3T3 cells. Biochemistry and Biophysics Reports 8:162-167

Brandon Lewis

Yogesh Saini, Major Professor

2022 HESI Young Investigator Award for his postdoctoral work at Nationwide Children's in Columbus Ohio, Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, San Diego.

The Saini Lab was awarded Paper of the Year at the 2018 Society of Toxicology (SOT) Annual Meeting in San Antonio, March 11 - 15, 2018, during the Immunotoxicology Specialty Section reception. Lewis accepted the award for the article entitled, Early Postnatal Secondhand Smoke (SHS) Exposure Disrupts Bacterial Clearance and Abolishes Immune Responses in Muco-obstructive Lung Disease, which was published in the Journal of Immunology in 2017. The article was also featured in the journal section "In This Issue," where articles are highlighted as the top 10% of papers published in the journal for the year.

Maryam Rezai-Rad

Shaomian Yao, Major Professor

Rezai-Rad M, Bova JF, Orooji M, Pepping J, Qureshi A, Del Piero F, Hayes D, Yao S. (2015) Evaluation of bone regeneration potential of dental follicle stem cells for treatment of craniofacial defects. Cytotherapy, 17 (11),1572-81. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4592822.

Rad MR, Liu D, He H, Brooks H, Wise GE, Yao S. (2015) The role of dentin matrix protein 1 (DMP1) in regulation of osteogenic differentiation of rat dental follicle stem cells (DFSCs). Archives of Oral Biology, 60, 546-556.

◊Yao S, He H, Gutierrez DL., Rad-Rezai M, Liu D, Li C, Flanagan M, Wise GE. (2014). Expression of bone morphogenetic protein-6 in dental follicle stem cells and its effect on osteogenic differentiation. Cells Tissues Organs, 198, 438-447.

Rad Rezai M, Wise GE, Brooks H, Yao S. (2013). Activation of the proliferation and differentiation of dental follicle stem cells (DFSCs) by heat-stress. Cell Proliferation,  46, 58-66.

Heather Richbourg

Margaret McNulty, Major Professor

*Mitchell, C. F., Richbourg, H. A., Goupil, B. A., Gillett, A. N., McNulty M. A. (2016) Assessment of tuber coxae bone biopsy in the standing horse. Veterinary Surgery. In Press

Mirza, M. H., Bommala, P., Richbourg, H. A., Rademacher, N., Kearney, M. T., & Lopez, M. J. (2016). gait changes Vary among horses with naturally Occurring Osteoarthritis Following intra-articular administration of autologous Platelet-rich Plasma. Frontiers in veterinary science, 3.

*Richbourg, H. A., Martin, M. J., Schachner, E. R., McNulty, M. A. (2016) Anatomical variation of the tarsus in common inbred mouse strains. The Anatomical Record. In Press