Industry, academia forge links to train pathologists

The Coalition for Veterinary Pathology Fellows, with the continuing financial support of the biopharmaceutical industry, has now established 13 new training positions for veterinary pathologists.

The American College of Veterinary Pathologists and the Society of Toxicologic Pathology established the coalition in late 2004 to solicit and allocate funding to train additional veterinary pathologists to fill positions in industry, academia, and government (see JAVMA, June 15, 2005).

The demand for veterinary pathologists exceeds the supply in these sectors, similar to the situation for many other veterinary specialists. Industry needs more veterinary pathologists to help develop modern biopharmaceuticals. Academia needs veterinary pathologists to replace retiring senior faculty—and to train the next generation of veterinary pathologists.

During the past two years, North American training institutions submitted 51 applications to the ACVP/STP coalition for the 13 new training positions. The coalition's board of governors evaluated the applications and awarded 10 positions.

The board made appointments to eight residencies in anatomic pathology. GlaxoSmithKline will provide funding for Drs. Torrie Crabbs at the University of California-Davis, David Gardiner at Colorado State University, and Sandeep Akare at the University of Illinois. Pfizer will fund Drs. Lyn Wancket at The Ohio State University, Robert Johnson at Purdue University, and Melissa Sanchez at the University of Pennsylvania. Eli Lilly is funding Dr. Jana Ritter at Michigan State University, and sanofi-aventis is funding Dr. Danielle Lewis Brown at North Carolina State University.

The coalition board made appointments to two post-residency doctorate positions. Bristol-Myers Squibb will fund Dr. Alicia Olivier at Iowa State University, and Schering-Plough will provide funding for Dr. Aaron Sargeant at The Ohio State University.

Recruiting is under way for three other residency positions—in anatomic pathology at Washington State University, with funding from Amgen; in anatomic pathology at the University of Guelph, with funding from Genentech; and in clinical pathology at the University of Guelph, with funding from Merck.

The ACVP/STP coalition also has received unrestricted grants from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Allergan, Experimental Pathology Labs, Integrated Lab Systems, Wyeth, The Leyden Group, and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. To date, the private sector has provided more than $3 million to support coalition efforts.

The coalition is soliciting funds for additional training positions for 2007.

"Industry's continued strong financial support and the intense competition among training institutions for these prized fellowships clearly demonstrates the value of and need for this type of collaborative educational initiative," said Dr. Gary Cockerell, director of the coalit on.

Information is available from the coalition Web site.