Current Projects
Boehringer Ingelheim Veterinary Scholar Program (BIVSP)
PI: Dr. Martina Jackson DVM and Dr. Kelly Pate D.V.M, PhD
Grant Period: 04/15/2021 - 04/14/2026
Funded by: Boehringer Ingelheim Veterinary Scholars Program
Project Goals: Provide a positive, rewarding and engaging experience that cultivates enthusiastic longitudinal participation in biomedical research and consideration of a future research career. A primary objective of the program is to expose veterinary students to an array of active biomedical research environments and the many careers in research that veterinarians may pursue in addition to providing an engaging mentored research experience.
Mucin-mimetic interventions to modulate the gut-brain axis
PI: Dr. Katharina Ribbeck PhD
Co-PI: Dr. Kelly Pate D.V.M, PhD
Grant Period: 08/15/2022 - 08/14/2025
Funded by: Department of Defense
Project Goals: This project will build and probe bioactive libraries of specific glycans from mucin; map the spatiotemporal distribution and activities of intestinal enzymes and metabolites; optimize the ENS organoid to identify mechanistic causal links between mucin, gut microbiota, and ENS function; and engineer mucin mimetics. This project includes 5 other investigators from MIT, Boston College, Tufts University, and New York University.
Interactions Between the Microbiota and Helicobacter pylori in Gastric Carcinogenesis
PI: Dr. Richard Peek Jr and Dr. James G. Fox D.V.M, MS
Award Effective Date: 6/1/2023
Final Expiration Date: 5/31/2028
Funded by: National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Project Goals: Gastric cancer is influenced not only by H pylori, but also by sustained interaction with resident members of the other gastric microbiota which can modulate the gastric environment and host immune responses. Because of our germ-free resource, we are able to define the significance and function of candidate microbiota species under defined gnotobiotic conditions, and determine their role in gastric disease progression.
NIH Training Grant Cross-Disciplinary Training for Veterinary Students
PI: Dr. Kelly Pate D.V.M, PhD & Dr. Cheryl London D.V.M, Pd.D.
Co-PI: Dr. Martina Jackson DVM
Award Effective Date: 7/1/2022
Final Expiration Date: 6/30/2027
Funded by: National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Project Goals: The NIH T35 funded Boston Area Research Collaborative (BARC) Veterinary Scholars program, led through a partnership between Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Division of Comparative Medicine, aims to create a paradigm that maintains the support structure of the veterinary school environment while exposing trainees to the breadth of opportunities available in research and the wealth of options for such a career in the greater Boston area. We aim to provide a robust set of positive learning experiences designed to generate sustained interest in scientific endeavors and ultimately enhance the number of students choosing to make pursuit of research a long-term career goal.
The main objectives of our program are to:
- Provide veterinary students who are interested in considering a career in research with a high-quality mentored research experience as part of a structured training program over 12 weeks during the summer
- Familiarize these students with the myriad career options for veterinarians in research.
- Inspire these students to subsequently pursue a research career
- Provide participants, including women and students from URGs, with tangible experience that will enhance their ability to competitively pursue postdoctoral research opportunities following graduation.
Thus, key outcomes will include presentations at national meetings, including the National Veterinary Scholars Symposium, and inclusion of trainees on peer-reviewed manuscripts.
Prior Grant Funding
Microbiome-mediated oxytocin release in human health
PI: Dr. Susan Erdman D.V.M, MPH ; Elizabeth A. Lawson, MD; Eric Alm PhD
Co-PI: Sharon Dekel, PhD; Nouchine Hadjikhani, MD, PhD; Caroline Mitchell, MD
Award Effective Date: 12/1/2019 Final
Final Expiration Date: 5/31/2024
Funded by: John Templeton Foundation
Project Goals: Evaluate the effects of a probiotic dietary supplement on the gut microbiome, oxytocin levels, socioemotional functioning, and well-being in mother-partner-infant triads.