College of Veterinary Medicine - Cornell University

Current and Former Trainees

Current Cornell Clinical Fellows

Dr. Jodie Gerdin (2012 - 2014) - Faculty Mentor - Dr. John Parker
       Research Project:  Investigations into the mechanisms of feline calicivirus infection of epithelial cells

I received my DVM from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2003 and returned in 2009 to study anatomic pathology. My interest in molecular mechanisms of disease grew during my residency, and it was also during this time that my interest in the health of shelter animals was renewed. The Clinical Fellows program offered me the opportunity to fuse these interests, conducting research in a top-tier laboratory at the Baker Institute for Animal Health studying Calicivirus. It has also allowed me to continue to develop my skills as a pathologist by serving in the anatomic pathology department.

In John Parker’s lab, I am studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms required for entry of feline calicivirus (FCV) into polarized epithelial cells (PECs). Our long-term goals are to identify the molecular mechanisms required for FCV infection of PECs. While some of the pathways of FCV infection have been elucidated using mesenchymal cells, these are not the cell type first encountered by the virus in natural infection, and do not appear to be the primary target of the virus. We believe that FCV infection of PECs requires activation of cellular signaling and endocytic pathways that differ from those required to infect non-polarized cells. In addition, the cellular receptor for Calicivirus, feline junctional adhesion molecule A (fJAM-A), is known to be present on PECs, but is sequestered, absent from the apical surface to which FCV is first exposed. My research focuses on how FCV reaches its receptor and infects PECs, and the uptake pathways and cell-signaling requirements for FCV infection, using confocal microscopy and inhibitors of endocytosis.

Dr. Nedra Holmes (2012-2014) - Faculty Mentor - Dr. Robert Weiss
Research Project:  Determine the requirement for Sirt5 during malignant transformation in vivo using a mouse model of cancer.

Dr. Holmes grew up in Rochester, NY and graduated with a B.S.Animal Science from Cornell University in 1996. After working in molecular biology research for approximately six years, she decided to pursue veterinary school. She attended the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, UK and earned her BVetMed in 2006. Dr. Holmes completed a one-year small animal rotating internship in Massachusetts and thereafter practiced at DoveLewis Animal Hospital in Portland, Oregan as an emergency staff veterinarian, before starting her 3-year Imaging residency at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals (CUHA). Her split time will be spent with Robert Weiss’ laboratory in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and the Imaging Department at the CUHA. Dr. Holmes’ research interest centers on Molecular Imaging. Her research project collaborates with researchers and clinicians on the Cornell University Ithaca campus and the Weill Cornell Medical College Citigroup Biomedical Imaging Center in New York City. Her two-year clinical fellowship combines the elegant mouse model with micro CT and micro PET/CT as it applies to lung cancer and the development of targets for therapy. The basis of the project focuses on Sirtuin 5 (Sirt5), a mitochondrial protein that is overexpressed in many human cancers. She hopes to also identify this protein in canine and feline tumors.

Dr. Luciano Caixeta (2011-2013) - Faculty Mentor - Dr. Daryl Nydam
       Research Project:  Define the roll of FGF-21, a hormone-like protein, produce in the liver that take action of lipid mobilization, mechanism very important on the attempt to regulate the metabolism on the peri-parturient period

I am a member of a family of large animal veterinarians; being a vet was always an objective of my life and in March 2008 I graduated at Federal University of Goiás – Brazil, obtaining my DVM degree. The large beef cattle enterprises were always part of my routine and the population medicine and management was the guideline during my veterinary education back home, along with research developed in “junior research” program of my Veterinary College. During my last year of Veterinary School I had the chance to visit Cornell University for the first time and the contact with the Population Medicine department and Ambulatory Clinic showed me a way to improve my large animal clinical experience by participating on the residency program. Throughout the training period research opportunities were presented and that combined all my expectations. Starting the Clinical Fellow program was a good chance to keep on the clinical-research track, and Cornell being known worldwide for its excellence in the Animal Nutrition program just made it easier to find the institution to apply for.

Currently my research is focused in the transition period of the dairy cow, period when the animals go through a severe metabolic imbalance and when most of the veterinary work is demanded. The specific aim of my experiments is to define the roll of FGF-21, a hormone-like protein, produce in the liver that take action on lipid mobilization, mechanism very important on the attempt to regulate the metabolism on the peri-parturient period.

Former Cornell Clinical Fellows