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Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program
Academic Program Review College of Veterinary Medicine &
Biomedical Sciences Texas A&M University Self-Study Document
April 2019 External Review Team Dr. Kathleen Boris-Lowry, Chair
University of Minnesota Dr. Wondwossen A. Gebreyes The Ohio State
University Dr. Alan Buckpitt University of California, Davis
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Welcome
On behalf of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical
Sciences and the Office of the Associate Dean for Research &
Graduate Studies, we are pleased to welcome you to our campus and
thank you for your service as external reviewers of our Biomedical
Sciences (BIMS) Graduate Program. This self-study report was
prepared for your review and reflects an evaluation of our BIMS
Graduate Program during the period of September 1, 2012 through
August 31, 2018, since our last academic program review (APR) in
March 2012. The review process provides us with an opportunity for
self-reflection and critical assessment of our BIMS Graduate
Program. We recognize that this review represents a considerable
commitment of your time and effort and appreciate your willingness
to invest in strengthening our program. We can assure you that we
value your review and will utilize it to facilitate our program’s
continued progress forward. The 2012 APR identified a list of
strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations that created an
awareness with college and program leadership of significant
opportunities for improvement. Those observations provided a
valuable roadmap for the BIMS Graduate Program enhancements that
have occurred over the past seven years. I will be happy to answer
any questions you might have and provide any additional information
you might need. I look forward to meeting with you during your
visit on April 14-17, 2019. If you have any questions or require
additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Robert C. Burghardt, PhD Associate Dean for Research and Graduate
Studies College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-4461 Tel:
979-847-8555 | Cell: 979-777-3552 [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]
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Table of Contents External Review Team
Charge……………………………………………………………………………………………………pg. 1 Executive
Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………pg. 2
Introduction to Degree
Program………………………………………………………………………………………………..pg. 4 Mission,
Strategic Plan, and Goals……………………………………………………………………………………………. pg. 7
Mission…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..pg. 8
Strategic Plan and Goals…………………………………………………………………………………………………pg. 8
Administrative Structure………………………………………………………………………………………………..pg. 9
Facilities..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….pg. 13
Finances…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………pg. 20
External Program Accreditation……………………………………………………………………………………..pg.
22 Date of the Last APR
..………………………………………..………………………………………………………….pg. 22
Analysis………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….pg. 22 BIMS
Graduate Program and CVM Strategic Planning
Integration……………….……..pg. 25 Improvements since the Last Program
Review in April 2012……………………………….pg. 26 Academic Programs and
Curricula……………………………………………………………………………………………..pg. 28 Programs
Offered…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..pg. 28 Program
Curricula ....……….…………………………………………………………………………………………….pg. 29
Admissions Criteria and
Recruitment……………………………………………………………………………..pg. 33 Number of Degrees
Awarded and Average Time to Degree…………………………………….……..pg. 36
Academic Enhancements/High-Impact Opportunities for
Students…………………….………….pg. 38 Assessment of Student Learning Outcome
…………………………………………………………………pg. 40
Analysis………………………………………………………………………………………………………….......…………pg. 42
Faculty
Profile……………….……………………………………………………………………………………………………........pg. 43
Core Faculty……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………pg. 43
Number of Core Faculty…………………………………………………………………….............…….pg.
44 Core Faculty/Student Ratio………………………………………………………………………………….pg. 45
Publications…………………………………………………………………………………………………………pg. 45 External
Grants……………………………………………………………………………………………………pg. 48 Teaching
Load……………………………………………………………………………………………………..pg. 49 Faculty Other
Than Core…………………………………………………………………………………….........……pg. 49 Number
of Faculty Other Than Core…………………………………………………………………….pg. 49 Faculty
Other Than Core/Student Ratio……………………………………………………………….pg. 50
Faculty Other Than Core Publications………………………………………………………………….pg.
50 Faculty Other Than Core External
Grants…………………………………………………………….pg. 50 Faculty Other Than Core
Teaching Load………………………………………………………………pg. 50 Faculty
Diversity……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..pg. 50 Faculty
Qualifications……………………………………………………………………………………………………..pg. 51
Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..pg. 51
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Student
Profile……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………pg. 53 MS in
Biomedical Sciences – Non-Thesis Option……………………………………………………………..pg.
53 Enrollment…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..pg. 53
Student Demographics and Diversity…………………………………………………………………..pg. 53
Retention and Graduation Rates………………………………………………………………………….pg. 55
Number of Degrees Awarded with Time to Degree
Completion…………………………..pg. 56 Institutional Financial
Support……………………………………………………………………………..pg. 57 Employment
Profile……………………………………………………………………………………………..pg. 57 MS Thesis Option
and PhD in Biomedical Sciences…………………………………………………………..pg. 58
Enrollment………………………………………………………………………………………………..………….pg. 58 Student
Demographics and Diversity…………………………………………………………………….pg. 59
Retention and Graduation Rates…………………………………………………………………….…….pg. 60
Number of Degrees Awarded with Time to Degree
Completion……………………………pg. 61 Institutional Financial
Support……………………………………………………..……………………….pg. 63 Student Publications
and Presentations…………………………………..……………………………pg. 64 Employment
Profile……………………..……………………………………………………………………….pg. 64
Analysis……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……..pg. 65
Concluding
Observations……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..pg. 67
Appendix A: BIMS Graduate Program Strategic Plan July 2014; Revised
July 2018 Appendix B: BIMS Graduate Program Academic Program Review
– 2012 Appendix C: Texas A&M University Institutional Profile
Appendix D: Responses to 2012 APR Appendix E: BIMS Graduate Program
1 Year Post Review Report Appendix F: CVM Graduate Student Oath
Appendix G: Holistic Review for Non-Cognitive Attributes Appendix
H: Graduate Student Annual Evaluation Tool Appendix I: Core Faculty
Biosketches Appendix J: Core Faculty Publications Appendix K:
Graduate Student Publications
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ABBREVIATIONS TABLE
AAALAC Association for Assessment and Accreditation of
Laboratory Animal Care MSL Medical Sciences Library
AAU Association of American Universities NIEHS National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
ADRGS Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies NIH
National Institutes of Health
AFS Texas A&M Association of Former Students NSF National
Science Foundation APR Academic Program Review NTO Non-thesis
option
AY Academic Year OGAPS Office of Graduate Studies and
Professional Studies BCD Baylor College of Dentistry ORCID Open
Researcher and Contributor ID
BIMS Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program OTC Texas A&M
University System Office of Technology and Commercialization CIP
Classification of Internal Programs PhD Doctor of Philosophy CMP
TAMU Comparative Medicine Program SACS Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools
COM College of Medicine SACSCOC Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools Commission on Colleges COTC Comparative Oncology Trials
Consortium SAH Small Animal Hospital CRRC Clinical Research Review
Committee SPH School of Public Health
CVM College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
STJR Science and Technology Journalism
CVP Cardiovascular Pathology Laboratory TAMHSC Texas A&M
Health Science Centre DAT Dental Admissions Test TERL Trace Element
Research Laboratory DOF Dean of Faculties THECB Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board
DVM Doctor of Veterinary Medicine TIGGS Texas A&M Institute
for Genome Sciences and Society ELPE English Language Placement
Exam TIGM Texas A&M Institute for Genomic Medicine FY Fiscal
Year TIPS Texas A&M Institute for Preclinical Studies GC
Graduate Council TOEFL Test of English as a Foreign Language GCP
Good Clinical Practices TOXI Toxicology (Graduate Degree Program)
GHRC Global Health Research Complex URC University Research Council
GIC Graduate Instruction Committee USDA United States Department of
Agriculture
GLP Good Laboratory Practices VBEC Veterinary & Biomedical
Education Complex (VENI,VIDI, and VICI Buildings) GOC Graduate
Operations Committee VIBS Veterinary Integrative Biosciences GPA
Grade Point Average VLAH Veterinary Large Animal Hospital GSA
Graduate Student Association VLCS Large Animal Clinical Sciences
IACUC Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee VMA Veterinary
Medical Administration Building IAL Image Analysis Laboratory VMP
Veterinary Medical Park IBT Institute of Biosciences and Technology
VMS Veterinary Medical Sciences Building ICSI Intracytoplasmic
Sperm Injection VPHE Veterinary Public Health & Epidemiology
IDP Interdisciplinary Degree Programs VRB Veterinary Research
Building IFT Interdisciplinary Faculty of Toxicology VRBA
Veterinary Research Building Addition LAH Large Animal Hospital
VSCS Small Animal Clinical Sciences LARR Laboratory Animal
Resources and Research VTH Veterinary Teaching Hospital MCAT
Medical College Admission Test VTPB Veterinary Pathobiology MS
Master of Science VTPP Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology
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External Review Team Charge The Academic Program Review (APR)
process at Texas A&M provides the occasion for academic units
to plan strategically, assess the quality and efficacy of their
programs, and determine the best courses of action for ongoing
improvement. APR is at the heart of our institutional commitment to
excellence, and we sincerely thank you for assisting us. This
letter provides you with the charge to the committee and a brief
overview of the program.
Peer Review Team Charge Please examine the College of Veterinary
Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM) BIMS Graduate Program and
make recommendations that will help in planning improvements. Your
resources are a self-study report prepared by the program, copies
of materials from the program’s last review, information you gain
through personal interactions while visiting Texas A&M, copies
of strategic plans and goal-setting documents at the program,
college, and/or university level, and any additional information
requested by you that we can provide. Within the broad charge of
recommending ways the program can continue to improve are some
specific questions that we would like you to address:
• Based on the data / information provided in the self-study
report or gathered by the review team, what are the program’s
overall strengths and weaknesses?
• How well do the program’s strategic goals align with those of
its college and with those of Texas A&M?
• How would you compare this program with its peers?
Specifically, is the curriculum directly related and appropriate to
the mission and goals of the institution?
• What improvements (including student learning and faculty
development) has the program made since the previous program
review?
• With only current resources or a modest infusion of new ones,
what specific recommendations could improve the program’s
performance, marginally or significantly?
We look forward to meeting with you during your time on campus.
If you have any questions or require additional information prior
to your visit, please contact Ms. Bettyann Zito, APR Program
Coordinator, at [email protected].
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Executive Summary The BIMS Graduate Program was established in
2006 by approval of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
(THECB) with the creation of PhD and MS degrees in Biomedical
Science. It is administered by the College of Veterinary Medicine
& Biomedical Sciences (CVM). This 12-year-old program
originated as a decentralized graduate program administered by five
individual departments for its first 10 years, with limited
academic oversight provided by the Associate Dean for Research
& Graduate Studies (ADRGS) Office. The BIMS PhD program became
one of two PhD programs in the college along with the Veterinary
Pathobiology PhD program. With the closing of the latter PhD
program in 2015, the BIMS Graduate Program became the only PhD
degree program in the CVM. In 2016, the BIMS Graduate Program was
operationally centralized under the ADRGS Office. Two additional MS
programs, Science and Technology Journalism (STJR) and Veterinary
Public Health & Epidemiology (VPHE), are offered through the
Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences. However, they
receive centralized administrative and academic advising support
through the ADRGS Office.
The mission of the BIMS Graduate Program is to provide a premier
degree program for preparing diverse, innovative,
globally-competitive biomedical scientists who are committed to the
improvement of the health and welfare of animals, humans, and the
environment, and who have skill sets necessary to pursue diverse
career paths in academic, public, and private sectors. Our goal is
to provide a graduate educational experience that emphasizes a
strong foundation in biomedical sciences career opportunities
emphasizing creativity and innovation.
The CVM has 241 Graduate Teaching Faculty who are credentialed
according to the guidelines of the Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools (SACS) as verified by the Texas A&M Dean of
Faculties (DOF) Office. The CVM has 112 Core Faculty defined as
full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty. Core faculty are
responsible for teaching nearly all of our upper-division courses
and our graduate courses, and who provide meaningful research
experiences for our majors in their laboratories. We offer the PhD
program in Biomedical Sciences to approximately 92 students, and MS
thesis and MS with a non-thesis option to 18, and 70 students,
respectively and 7 non-degree seeking students.
The CVM is striving to serve every Texan every day through
Global One Health (the intersection of human, animal, and
environmental health) with a central emphasis on basic, clinical,
and translational research and discovery. Research in the CVM spans
the breadth of biomedical sciences and is supported by a wide
variety of funding sources. The BIMS Graduate Program aspires to
provide transformational learning experiences though leadership and
innovation in the alignment of BIMS curricular training tracks with
research areas of emphasis identified by a critical mass of
extramurally funded faculty.
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Notable achievements since the 2012 BIMS Graduate Program
Academic Program Review (APR):
• Centralized administration of the BIMS Graduate Program •
Established several regional recruiting initiatives • Developed a
robust orientation bootcamp • Implemented numerous critical skills
training opportunities for graduate students to increase
their preparedness for the job market • Aligned the BIMS
Graduate Program curricular training tracks with CVM research areas
of
emphasis • Increased the number of fellowship opportunities for
graduate students • Implemented the pilot BIMS Rotation Program for
four incoming BIMS graduate students
BIMS Graduate Degrees Awarded Annually for the 5-Year Period
from Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 To 2017:
Degree Offered BIMS Degrees Awarded Annually
12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16 16-17
*B.S 285 326 315 320 404
M.S. NTO 22 24 43 62 68
M.S. THO 7 10 5 9 11
Ph.D. 8 11 7 6 10
Totals 322 361 370 397 493
* The Biomedical Sciences undergraduate program had a separate
APR performed in 2018 and will not be a part of the BIMS graduate
program review.
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Introduction to Degree Program Overview and History
Texas A&M is the oldest public university in Texas,
established as a land grant university in 1871 as the Agricultural
& Mechanical College of Texas. It opened for classes in 1876
with six professors and 106 students by the end of the first year.
As of the Fall 2018 semester, the university reached record-high
enrollment with 69,367 students (64,126 students on the 5,200 acre
College Station campus), including 14,988 graduate and professional
students, making it the second largest public university campus in
the United States. The University changed appreciably in the 1960s,
when women were admitted as students, participation in the Corps of
Cadets was made optional, and the goals of the institution
broadened to pursue status as a comprehensive university. In 1963,
the name of the institution was changed to Texas A&M, with the
"A" and "M" only remaining to signify the university's past.
Texas A&M serves as a flagship of the Texas A&M
University System. The Texas A&M system is one of the largest
systems of higher education in the nation, with a statewide network
of 11 universities, a campus in Doha, Qatar, and seven state
agencies. Texas A&M System members educate more than 148,000
students and reach another 22 million people through service each
year. With more than 26,000 faculty and staff, the Texas A&M
System has a physical presence in 250 of the state’s 254 counties
and a programmatic presence in every one. More than one in five
students in a public university in Texas is enrolled in a Texas
A&M System institution.
Today, Texas A&M ranks 9th among public research
universities and 16th overall based upon research and development
in the latest survey from NSF, with fiscal year 2017 expenditures
of over $905 million. Texas A&M is one of only 62 members of
the Association of American Universities and one of only 17
institutions in the nation to hold the triple designation as a
land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant university. Additionally,
Texas A&M is an active member of the Association of Public and
Land-grant Universities.
Since 1999, Texas A&M has pursued the ideals of Vision 2020
(http://vision2020.tamu.edu), a plan built on a foundation of
twelve imperatives, to become recognized as a top ten public
institution. Prominent among these imperatives are goals of
elevating the faculty to national prominence, improving graduate
and undergraduate programs, and increasing the campus community’s
globalization and diversity. A subsequent complementary
university-wide strategic plan for the period 2015-2020, “Texas
A&M University: An Ideal 21st Century University”
(http://provost.tamu.edu/Provost/media/Assets/pdfs-strategicplan/FINALSTRATPLAN.pdf)
specifies the balanced commitment “to the founding principles of
the Morrill Act of 1862” with “the modern purposes of Association
of American Universities (AAU) research universities.”
The Texas A&M CVM is the only veterinary school in Texas and
one of 35 accredited veterinary schools in North America. Twelve
years after the opening of the Agricultural & Mechanical
College of Texas, a
http://vision2020.tamu.edu/http://provost.tamu.edu/Provost/media/Assets/pdfs-strategicplan/FINALSTRATPLAN.pdf
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state appropriation was awarded for the equipping and operating
of a new Department of Veterinary Science and in that year (1888),
Dr. Mark Francis received a formal appointment to the faculty as
its first trained veterinarian. Dr. Francis was responsible for
proving that the tick was the cause of Texas cattle fever (which
had plagued Southern livestock since the late 1700s) and developed
inoculations against this devastating disease. He was appointed
Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine when it opened in
September 1916. The College of Veterinary Medicine originally
consisted of the Departments of Veterinary Anatomy, Medicine and
Surgery; Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology (with Toxicology
added in 1917) and Veterinary Pathology. Since that time, the
college has attained world-class stature for not only educating and
training professional Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) students
but also graduate and undergraduate students. To reflect the
college’s additional commitment to educating future biomedical
scientists at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, the name
of the college was changed from the College of Veterinary Medicine
to the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences in
2004. One hundred and one years after beginning with a class of 13
veterinary students, CVM enrollment includes over 552 veterinary
students, 259 BIMS graduate students, and 2,518 BIMS undergraduate
students (the largest undergraduate major at Texas A&M
University), as of the Fall semester 2018.
There are five academic departments in the CVM:
• Large Animal Clinical Sciences (VLCS) • Small Animal Clinical
Sciences (VSCS) • Veterinary Integrative Biosciences (VIBS)
- Renamed from Veterinary Anatomy & Public Health in 1991,
after being derived from an earlier merger of the two
departments
• Veterinary Pathobiology (VTPB) - Formed in 1991 by the merger
of the Department of Veterinary Pathology with the
Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology •
Veterinary Physiology & Pharmacology (VTPP)
The CVM BIMS Graduate Program was established in 2006 by
approval of the THECB with the creation of PhD and MS degrees in
BIMS that replaced the MS and PhD degrees in Veterinary Anatomy and
Veterinary Physiology & Pharmacology as well as several other
MS degrees. At that time, the BIMS MS and PhD degrees in BIMS
became available for use by all five departments. Prior to 2006,
students in the clinical departments pursued the graduate degrees
through the basic science departments. This change allowed the
students in the departments of VLCS and VSCS to pursue BIMS
graduate degrees through their home departments.
Following the formation of the VTPB department in 1991, the
department offered the PhD in Veterinary Pathobiology and in
Veterinary Microbiology as well as an MS degree in Laboratory
Animal Medicine. The Laboratory Animal Medicine MS was closed in
2016. The Veterinary Microbiology and Veterinary Pathology degrees
folded into a single Veterinary Pathobiology degree in 2011. In
November 2015, faculty in the VTPB department voted to close the
Veterinary Pathobiology graduate degree, effective Fall 2016, and
solely utilize the BIMS graduate degree program. With the closing
of
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the PhD in Veterinary Pathobiology in 2015, the BIMS Graduate
Program became the only PhD degree program in the college, albeit
with separate administrative operations of the degree managed by
departments (including admissions, advising, course and degree
requirements).
From 2006 to 2016, the ADRGS was assigned academic oversight and
administration of the decentralized BIMS Graduate Program that was
maintained through collaboration with staff, department heads,
departmental graduate advisors, and faculty to sustain the program.
A designated departmental graduate advisor worked as a liaison
between the graduate student and major professor on one side, and
the ADRGS Office on the other side. The ADRGS Office provided
oversight and help for the functioning of the graduate program
within each department through direct contact with the department
head, departmental graduate advisor, administrative staff handling
graduate affairs, graduate students, and major professor of the
students, along with the members of Graduate Advisory Committees.
Contact by the ADRGS Office with the latter two groups was
relatively limited and happened mainly when situations arose that
required guidance or intervention by the ADRGS or university
administration. The ADRGS Office also served as the administrative
liaison between the above groups (department/college) and the Texas
A&M Office of Graduate Studies and Professional Studies
(OGAPS). It was this decentralized graduate program that was
subjected to its first Academic Program Review in 2012.
In 2016, the BIMS PhD and MS degree programs were integrated
into a centralized BIMS umbrella graduate program under the CVM
ADRGS Office. As detailed in subsequent sections of this
self-study, this centralization process has created significant
opportunities to address recommendations made by the Academic
Program Review team that evaluated the BIMS Graduate Program for
the first time in 2012.
In addition to the BIMS PhD and MS degrees, graduate students in
the CVM have access to two additional MS degrees, one in Science
& Technology Journalism and the second in Veterinary
Epidemiology & Public Health in the VIBS department. The ADRGS
Office provides the latter two MS programs academic advising and
professional development and experiential training programs. CVM
graduate students also have access to eleven campus
Interdisciplinary Degree Programs (IDPs) that provide eight PhD and
nine MS degrees. The Toxicology IDP originated as a degree program
administered by the Department of Veterinary Physiology &
Pharmacology. Given the interest in Toxicology on the Texas A&M
campus in the late 1980s, the toxicology faculty in VTPP and
several other academic departments on campus proposed the
establishment of an interdisciplinary degree program. Texas A&M
established the Interdisciplinary Faulty of Toxicology (IFT) and
its Toxicology (TOXI) graduate degree program in 1989. Of the 45
students enrolled in the TOXI IDP from the period 2012-2017, about
77% of these trainees have graduate committee chairs in the CVM. A
small number of CVM trainees also participate in the Genetics,
Neuroscience, and the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology IDPs.
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Mission, Strategic Plan, and Goals The mission, strategic plan,
and goals of the BIMS Graduate Program align with the Texas A&M
mission (https://www.tamu.edu/statements/mission.html), ideals of
Vision 2020, and most recent strategic plan 2015-2020
(http://provost.tamu.edu/Provost/media/Assets/pdfs-strategicplan/FINALSTRATPLAN.pdf).
The BIMS Graduate Program adheres to the Texas A&M learning
outcomes for master’s and doctoral students found on the university
website:
https://provost.tamu.edu/Provost/media/Assets/pdfs-essentials/Access-Graduate-Learning-Outcomes.pdf
For the master’s degree, learning outcomes include:
• Complete of all master degree program requirements, including
theories, concepts, principles, and practice, and develop a
coherent understanding of the subject matter through synthesis
across courses and experiences
• Apply subject matter knowledge in a range of contexts to solve
problems and make decisions • Use a variety of sources and evaluate
multiple points of view to analyze and integrate
information and to conduct critical, reasoned arguments •
Communicate effectively • Use appropriate technologies to
communicate, collaborate, conduct research, and solve
problems • Develop clear research plans and conduct valid
(data-supported), theoretically consistent and
institutionally appropriate research • Choose ethical courses of
action in research and practice
For the doctoral degree, learning outcomes include:
• Complete of all master degree program requirements, including
theories, concepts, principles, and practice; develop a coherent
understanding of the subject matter through synthesis across
courses and experiences; and apply subject matter knowledge to
solve problems and make decisions
• Apply a variety of strategies and tools, use a variety of
sources, and evaluate multiple points of view to analyze and
integrate information and to conduct critical, reasoned
arguments
• Communicate effectively • Develop clear research plans,
conduct valid, data-supported, theoretically consistent and
institutionally appropriate research and effectively disseminate
the results of the research in appropriate venues to a range of
audiences
• Use appropriate technologies to communicate, collaborate,
conduct research, and solve problems.
• Teach and explain the subject matter in their discipline •
Choose ethical courses of action in research and practice
https://www.tamu.edu/statements/mission.htmlhttp://provost.tamu.edu/Provost/media/Assets/pdfs-strategicplan/FINALSTRATPLAN.pdfhttp://provost.tamu.edu/Provost/media/Assets/pdfs-strategicplan/FINALSTRATPLAN.pdfhttps://provost.tamu.edu/Provost/media/Assets/pdfs-essentials/Access-Graduate-Learning-Outcomes.pdfhttps://provost.tamu.edu/Provost/media/Assets/pdfs-essentials/Access-Graduate-Learning-Outcomes.pdf
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Mission The BIMS Graduate Program is committed to its mission,
first articulated in our 2014 strategic plan and revised in 2018
(Appendix A), which was developed in response to our first Academic
Program Review in 2012 (Appendix B):
The mission of the BIMS Graduate Program is to provide a premier
degree program for preparing diverse, innovative,
globally-competitive biomedical scientists who are committed to the
improvement of the health and welfare of animals, humans, and the
environment, and who have skill sets necessary to pursue diverse
career paths in academic, public, and private sectors. Our goal is
to provide a graduate educational experience that emphasizes a
strong foundation in biomedical sciences career opportunities
emphasizing creativity and innovation.
Strategic Plan and Goals
The BIMS Graduate Program developed its first strategic plan as
part of the development of the CVM strategic planning process in
2014. As noted earlier, emphasis in the 2014 BIMS Graduate Program
Strategic Plan was focused on developing an improved framework to
provide uniformity within a decentralized program managed by
individual departments and to address findings and recommendations
of the 2012 BIMS Academic Program Review (Appendix B).
Recent strategic planning for the BIMS Graduate Program focused
on transformational learning emphasizing leadership, innovation,
diversity, and inclusion. Current goals (G) and strategies (S) to
accomplish the mission of the BIMS Graduate Program include:
• G1: Graduate the highest quality career-ready scientists with
the capacity to address global challenges
° S1: Increase the quality and diversity of students in the
applicant pool ° S2: Integrate holistic review practices for
admission, retention and progression of the
best trainees ° S3: Increase internal and external funding to
enhance graduate education ° S4: Implement a rotation program with
dedicated program funding ° S5: Provide an optimal graduate
advising support system that supports faculty and their
trainees to provide a sense of community, ensure retention,
progression through the program, and timely graduation
• G2: Support faculty in the provision of core elements
necessary for MS and PhD STEM education
° S1: Develop scientific and technological literacy and conduct
original research ° S2: Develop leadership, communication, and
professional competencies ° S3: Facilitate the exploration of
diverse career paths in academia, public, and private
sectors and their associated skill sets ° S4: Encourage
curricular innovation within the graduate program
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Administrative Structure
College administration is led by the Carl B. King Dean of
Veterinary Medicine (Figure 1). Members of the CVM Executive
Committee report to the Dean and include an executive associate
dean; associate deans for Professional Programs, Research and
Graduate Studies, Global One Health, and Undergraduate Education;
assistant deans for Finance and Hospital Operations; and five
department heads.
Figure 1. Organizational Chart: CVM Research & Graduate
Studies Office
Carl B. King Dean of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Eleanor Green
Associate Dean for Research and Graduate
Studies
Dr. Robert Burghardt
Administrative Coordinator for Research
and Graduate Studies
Lauren Pluhar
Program Manager for Research and Graduate
Studies
Dr. Ashley Seabury
Coordinator of Academic and Student Services
Dr. David Kessler
Academic Advisor
Kathryn Smith
Academic Advisor
Katharina Ojala
Academic Advisor
Demetria Cooper
Assistant Dean for Research and Graduate
Studies
Dr. Michael Criscitiello
Director of Veterinary Medical Park
Dr. Timothy C. Ashley
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CVM Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Studies
Office
The ADRGS Office consists of an associate dean, an assistant
dean, a program manager, a coordinator of academic and student
services, an administrative coordinator, and three academic
advisors. The Associate Dean, Assistant Dean, and Program Manager
have PhD degrees in biomedical sciences fields and completed
several years of postdoctoral training. The Coordinator of Academic
Services earned a PhD in higher education and the Administrative
Coordinator has an MS in marketing. The academic advisors have
extensive experience and training in student support capacities. An
additional report to the Associate Dean is the Director of
Veterinary Medical Park (VMP), who has a DVM degree.
Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies (Robert C.
Burghardt, PhD)
The Associate Dean works with CVM administration, in concert
with other associate and assistant deans across campus, to fulfill
the mission of Texas A&M and engage in strategic planning for
research and the involvement of trainees in research. This is
accomplished in part through membership on the University Research
Council (URC), which provides advice and assistance to the Vice
President for Research regarding the development of research
planning and policy. Through involvement in the URC and
interactions with Texas A&M Sponsored Research Services (SRS)
and Texas A&M AgriLife Research, the Associate Dean facilitates
individual and collaborative research opportunities within the
college and across the university. The Associate Dean provides
administrative oversight for college research compliance, research
space allocations, collaborative agreements, and serves as a
liaison to support external research partnerships with other
universities and professional organizations. Additionally, the
Associate Dean serves as an ex officio member of the CVM Research
Advisory Council and the Clinical Research Review Committee
(CRRC).
The Associate Dean also provides leadership and oversight for
the planning and development of programs and educational
opportunities related to graduate studies within the CVM. These
efforts are especially focused on programmatic design, oversight,
and diversity efforts within the BIMS Graduate Program. Through
membership on the Texas A&M Graduate Operations Committee
(GOC), an advisory body that reports to the Associate Provost for
Graduate and Professional Studies, the Associate Dean interacts
with other associate deans to discuss issues/concerns of an
operational nature, and recommend procedures and policies for
resolution. This ultimately contributes to the development of
uniform policies and procedures across colleges. The GOC works
closely with the Graduate Council (GC) to coordinate all curriculum
and policy issues. The Associate Dean provides administrative
oversight and ex officio membership on the college Graduate
Instruction Committee (GIC), which is charged with advisory
programmatic oversight and admissions of the BIMS Graduate
Program.
Assistant Dean for Research and Graduate Studies (Michael F.
Criscitiello, PhD)
In 2017, Dr. Jane Welsh, who served as the Assistant Dean for
Graduate Studies, was appointed Interim Department Head of VIBS. At
that time, the Assistant Dean position subsequently was expanded to
include research responsibilities and Dr. Michael F. Criscitiello
was recruited into this new position. Primary duties of the
Assistant Dean for Research and Graduate Studies include service as
an ex officio member of CVM RAC, a member of the GC, chair of the
CVM GIC, and chair of the BIMS MS Non-Thesis
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Option Steering Committee. He also serves as chair of the
admissions committees for both the BIMS MS non-thesis degree and
BIMS MS thesis and PhD degree programs. Additional responsibilities
include leading graduate curriculum review and development,
mentoring graduate students, and supporting trainees and faculty
through facilitating open communication and conflict management.
The Assistant Dean also provides back-up support for the Associate
Dean through participation at campus research and/or graduate
studies committee meetings.
Program Manager for Research and Graduate Studies (Ashley
Gustafson Seabury, PhD, Genetics)
The Program Manager works with the Associate Dean to coordinate
and oversee the planning, development, and implementation of
activities related to research and graduate education. The Program
Manager acts as liaison between the Associate Dean, Office of the
Vice President for Research and OGAPS, CVM administration,
department heads, faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral
associates with the CVM. Duties include oversight of program
budgets in coordination with the Assistant Dean for Finance that
include distribution of tuition and scholarships, support of
faculty with interactions with Texas A&M Sponsored Research
Services involving pre- and post-award interactions with campus and
federal funding agencies, supervision of the ADRGS Office support
staff, event planning and coordination, maintenance of research and
graduate studies records and databases for proposals and grant
awards. Additional duties include preparation of research and
graduate studies annual reports to the Office of the Vice President
for Research and OGAPS as well as contributing leadership and
coordination of strategic planning with CVM stakeholders.
Coordinator of Academic and Student Services for Graduate
Studies (M. David Kessler, PhD, Higher Education)
The Coordinator of Academic and Student Services provides
leadership and oversight of academic advising, annual graduate
student evaluation system, class scheduling, coordinator of CVM
graduate and diversity fellowships, college graduate student policy
development, diversity training, and program initiatives. This
individual has a PhD in Higher Education and is the lead instructor
in the required BIMS Graduate Program core course, VMID 689 –
Special Topics: Foundations in Biomedical Graduate Education.
Additional major responsibilities include service as the lead
Assessment Liaison for the CVM to the Texas A&M Office of
Institutional Assessment and coordinator of CVM degree programs
assessment process including development, implementation, and
continuous improvement of assessment planning and reporting
required for University accreditation.
Administrative Coordinator for Research and Graduate Studies
(Lauren Pluhar, MS, Marketing)
The Administrative Coordinator provides support to the Associate
Dean as an executive assistant and to the ADRGS Office as a
logistical manager for activities relating both to research and
graduate education. Major responsibilities include serving as the
point of contact for the ADRGS Office, planning and executing
events, coordinating logistics for professional development
opportunities, and providing support for the activities of the
Program Manager. The Administrative Coordinator is also the primary
logistical contact for invited guests of the ADRGS Office, which
include speakers for various events and prospective graduate
students for the BIMS Graduate Program; responsibilities include
coordinating travel arrangements, preparing itineraries, and
processing expense reports. The Administrative
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Coordinator also manages marketing activities, which includes
planning and developing content for both print and electronic
media. Additional responsibilities include administrative support
of the GIC and the CRRC.
Academic Advisors
All academic advisors have the primary responsibility of
providing academic advising to CVM graduate students for the BIMS,
STJR, and VPHE programs. These students are divided evenly among
the advisors (~100 graduate students each). The BIMS students are
required to meet with their academic advisor at least once (PhD and
MS thesis) or twice (MS non-thesis) a year to fulfill the mandatory
advising requirement. All advisors participate in a monthly open
forum advising event, which is a group advising session with topics
generated by graduate students in attendance. Other duties are
distributed among advisors based upon their specialized training,
expertise, and/or interests.
Academic Advisor II (Kathryn Smith, BS)
In addition to shared advising duties, this advisor has primary
responsibilities related to student enrollment processes and
academic success. Duties of this advisor include but are not
limited to processing annual graduate advisory committee reports,
processing graduate course requests, updating the graduate catalog,
managing tuition and fees payments, coordinating open forum
advising events, managing alumni relations, and representing the
CVM at the Texas A&M GC meetings.
Academic Advisor II (Demetria Cooper)
In addition to shared advising duties, this advisor has primary
responsibilities in academic support initiatives. Duties of this
advisor include but are not limited to serving as the OGAPS liaison
and as a graduate degree processor by communicating with students
to ensure they meet graduation requirements in the most efficient
way. The latter responsibility includes degree plan submission,
processing petitions, degree evaluations, requests for final exam
and dissertation, and graduate faculty nominations; managing
student records; coordinating exit interviews; and managing the MS
Regalia Assistance Program.
Academic Advisor II (Katharina Ojala, BS)
In addition to shared advising duties, this advisor has primary
responsibilities in recruiting, admissions, and new student
programs and services. Duties of this advisor include participating
in recruitment fairs; organizing recruitment activities;
coordinating admissions logistics; processing letters of intent,
offer, and annual reappointment; managing international student
issues; coordinating ELPE and Graduate Assistant Teaching reporting
for the New Teaching Assistant Training and Evaluation Program; and
coordinating orientation bootcamp.
Director, Veterinary Medical Park (Timothy C. Ashley, DVM)
The director of the VMP oversees operations supporting research
using traditional agriculture animal species, ultimately ensuring
that animals housed in the VMP are cared for according to standards
set by various regulatory agencies, which is required for
Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory
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Animal Care (AAALAC) accreditation. The director’s
responsibilities are to ensure that: 1) all large animal research
and teaching animals used in the CVM receive appropriate veterinary
care and reports this at weekly veterinary rounds attended by the
University Attending Veterinarian, 2) preventative medicine
programs and herd health management programs are provided, and 3)
USDA, Texas Animal Health Commission, University Biosafety, and
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) concerns
regarding biosecurity and biocontainment are fully addressed.
Importantly, the director consults with researchers developing
grant proposals to provide advice on appropriate animal models and
costs associated with conducting research at the VMP. The director
also oversees any remodeling and/or replacement of research,
testing, and teaching animal holding facilities to ensure that
appropriate facilities are available to house the IACUC approved
research and teaching animals.
Facilities
The scope and footprint of the CVM facilities reflects both a
century of our history as a land grant institution and more recent
institutional mandates as an AAU research university (Figure 2).
Texas A&M is a land-grant institution mandated to focus on
teaching, research, and extension. The CVM has the additional
responsibility of providing patient care. The breadth of our
facilities reflects our commitment to train veterinarians,
residents, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and
undergraduate students in the ever-changing fields of veterinary
medicine and biomedical sciences, and execute cutting-edge
translational research in both laboratory and clinical
settings.
Figure 2. (Left panel) The central part of the 5,200 acre Texas
A&M campus, with CVM footprint highlighted in the dashed box.
(Right panel) The VM complex includes the Veterinary &
Biomedical Education Complex, Large and Small Animal Hospitals, the
Texas A&M Institute of Preclinical Studies, and multiple
research buildings and Veterinary Medical Park facilities.
VBEC
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CVM Buildings, Teaching and Research/Laboratory Space
Veterinary & Biomedical Education Complex, (VBEC) is a
330,000 sq ft, three building complex (Building 1812 VENI; Building
1813 VIDI; and Building 1814 VICI) providing state-of-the-art
classroom, teaching laboratory, and collaboration and learning
space opened in the Fall semester 2017. The buildings accommodate
most of the classroom and specialized laboratory instructional
needs for the professional veterinary program, undergraduate, and
graduate programs of the college. Offices and suites for college
administration, department, programs, and faculty are located
within the VBEC Complex.
Veterinary Research Building (VRB, Building 1197) and Veterinary
Research Building Addition (VRBA, Building 1811) were constructed
in two phases between 1993 and 2010. As a dedicated research
facility, the VRB is a four-story, 114,666 sq ft structure that
contains 43 laboratories of approximately 600 sq ft each with an
additional 250 sq ft flexible work space between main labs (Figure
3).
The flexible space includes rooms for cell culture, analytical
equipment, 86 student and postdoc offices (each accommodating 2-3
trainees), 31 faculty offices, common spaces on each floor for
instrumentation and freezers, 4 conference rooms of 258 sq ft, and
autoclave rooms on two of the floors. Additionally, there is a
BSL-3 laboratory suite on the first floor. VRBA is a 3 floor,
52,993 sq ft addition constructed in 2010 that contains 26
laboratories of approximately 750 sq ft each, 29 faculty
offices, 23 student and postdoc offices (each accommodating 2-3
trainees), two conference rooms of 175 sq ft, and one 175 sq ft
student office suite containing 10 cubicle workstations, common
spaces on each floor for instrumentation and freezers, and
self-sufficient autoclave rooms on two floors.
Figure 3. VRB and VRBA includes 167,659 sq ft of research space
including 69 laboratory modules, shared laboratory support
facilities, 60 faculty offices, numerous postdoc and grad student
offices, modular workstation office units, conference rooms, and an
open atrium/commons space.
Veterinary Medical Administration Building (VMA, Building 1027,
94,680 sq ft) housed the CVM administrative offices, the CVM
Development Office, two department administration offices (VIBS,
VTPP), and multiple teaching areas until 2016 when they were
relocated to the new VBEC Complex. The vacated CVM administrative
offices were subsequently occupied by Veterinary Medical Teaching
Hospital administration and the Veterinary Emergency Team. The
Image Analysis Laboratory, Clinical Parasitology, Clinical
Pharmacology, and Immunohistology Laboratories and eight faculty
research laboratories continue to function in VMA.
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Veterinary Medical Sciences Building (VMS, Building 507, 69,367
sq ft) is a 63 year old building that is on limited Texas A&M
deferred maintenance schedule in 2017. VMS contained one
departmental administration office (VTPB), multiple research and
teaching labs ranging in size from 150 sq ft to 1052 sq ft, several
classrooms, and numerous offices. In 2017, everything was moved to
the VBEC Complex, except the Trace Element Research Laboratory and
five single-PI research labs. Demolition of this building is
planned. Therefore, the college has been assigned space in Building
1041, the Veterinary Medical Research Extension (VMRE). The
remaining occupants of VMS are expected to relocate to VMRE in 2020
after it receives a new roof and improvements to the HVAC
system.
Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) has a principal
function of providing primary, emergency, and specialty services
for large and small animals, as well as providing hands-on clinical
education for veterinarians. VMTH is comprised of the following
buildings:
• Veterinary Teaching Hospital (Building 508, 96,416 sq ft) •
Diagnostic Imaging and Cancer Treatment Center (Building 1184, 9,00
sq ft) • Large Animal Hospital (VLAH, Building 1194, 140,865 sq ft)
• Small Animal Hospital (VSAH, Building 1085, 103,440 sq ft)
Both hospitals conduct extensive clinical and translational
research. Faculty researchers in VLCS are recognized leaders in
fields of stallion and mare reproduction, equine infectious
disease, gastrointestinal disease and microbiome, and regenerative
medicine. In VSCS, investigative programs are active in aging,
anesthesiology, cardiology, dermatology, gastroenterology,
neurology, oncology, and orthopedic surgery. Clinical trial
research is centered on the study of the spontaneously occurring
diseases of the small animal patients and on regenerative medicine
in large animal patients. Recent CVM clinical trials have focused
on oncology, neurology, ophthalmology, internal medicine (aging, GI
disease), cardiology and orthopedics.
Veterinary Medical Park (VMP;
http://vetmed.tamu.edu/vetmedpark), is an AAALAC-accredited, large
animal facility that supports research and teaching. It is
comprised of approximately 185 acres of pasture, housing space, and
facilities for agricultural animal care services and is located
adjacent to the CVM Large Animal Hospital. VMP animal housing and
research facilities include:
• Thirty varying-sized paddocks of approximately 100 acres
housing horses, cattle, sheep, and goats used for teaching and
research
• Five animal barns provide indoor housing for pigs, sheep,
goats, horses, and cattle including barns for foaling, surgery, and
extension
• Two 2.5 acre horse quarantine pens • Fifteen outdoor concrete
slab quarantine pens for ruminants • A swine facility that houses a
small farrowing house and pens for 75 breeding pigs • Ten ABSL-2
animal holding buildings support research in a BSL-2 environment •
Two large animal surgical suites, one of which is a BSL-2 large
animal surgical suite with
mechanical hoists, complete monitoring systems, two anesthesia
induction and recovery rooms, and working pens for incoming
animals
http://vetmed.tamu.edu/vetmedpark
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The VMP also supports an off-campus Reproductive Sciences Lab
facility of approximately 75 acres, about 270 acres of pastures on
the Texas A&M Rellis campus, and two new animal housing
facilities: the Avian Health Complex (11,000 sq ft) and the
Multispecies Research Building (35,000 sq ft).
The VMP Director is a veterinarian who works closely with
researchers in identifying resources, detailed animal use and
oversight protocols, and scheduling of large animal projects for
federal and a variety of private foundation grant applications.
Other key personnel include a VMP manager, business coordinator,
facilities coordinator, surgery veterinary technician, veterinary
technician assistant, animal care supervisor, 3.5 animal
caretakers, 3.5 research maintenance workers, and 5 student workers
who provide 7 days/week support for animal care and facilities
operation/maintenance.
Texas A&M Institute for Preclinical Studies (TIPS) is a
112,000 sq ft facility established in 2007 to serve the preclinical
needs of academic researchers and industry. TIPS provides large
animal Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) and translational research
studies with access to expertise in major medical and scientific
disciplines including surgery, biomedical engineering, advanced
imaging, pathology, radiography, interventional cardiology,
neurology, animal behavior, chemistry, and engineering. The TIPS
facility includes long-term large animal housing for approximately
240 animals, state-of-the-art surgical and imaging suites, clinical
diagnostic lab space, support areas, conference rooms, sponsor
workrooms, and a large auditorium for meetings/training. The Core
Imaging Center houses advanced imaging research technology
including 3 Tesla MRI with XMR (interventional capabilities) and
128 slice PET/CT. TIPS maintains a close working relationship with
The Texas A&M University System Office of Technology and
Commercialization (OTC), which promotes an industry-friendly
environment to facilitate industry partnerships and
commercialization. In addition, there is strong community support
from the Research Valley Partnership economic development group,
exemplifying the unlimited economic development opportunities.
CVM Core Research Facilities and Service Labs
Cardiovascular Pathology Laboratory (CVP, Buildings 1040 &
990, http://vetmed.tamu.edu/cvpath) provides pathology laboratory
support for Texas A&M and its affiliates. This BSL-2 compliant
lab also provides pathology and histology services on a
fee-for-service basis to outside investigators and medical device
companies. The lab focuses on the development and utilization of
integrative pathology techniques for the evaluation of implantable
devices in humans and animals. The CVP lab specializes in
cardiovascular devices such as circulatory assist devices,
implantable leads, and intravascular stents. Texas A&M CVP also
conducts toxicology studies and is compliant with GLP and Good
Clinical Practices (GCP) guidelines.
DNA Technologies Core Laboratory (VRB Building) provides
automated nucleotide sequencing, genotyping, and bacterial and
fungal DNA sequence-based identification technologies. It also
offers individual identification, parentage testing, and genetic
trait testing for livestock producers, wildlife managers, and
clinical microbiology labs worldwide. The lab houses shared capital
equipment used by researchers and students throughout the
college.
http://vetmed.tamu.edu/cvpath
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Equine Embryo Laboratory
(http://vetmed.tamu.edu/equine-embryo-laboratory) performs both
research and clinical work in equine assisted reproduction. The lab
is one of the few in the world actively doing research on horse
cloning, and is one of two laboratories in the United States
performing clinical oocyte recovery and intracytoplasmic sperm
injection (ICSI) to produce foals from client mares for which
embryo transfer is not an option. In addition to ICSI, other
clinical services include ICSI post mortem, cell line processing,
embryo vitrification, and biopsy for genetic diagnosis.
Flow Cytometry Laboratory (VRBA Building) provides flow
cytometry and cell sorting support for CVM researchers and outside
users. Instrumentation includes a Beckman Coulter MoFlo® Astrios™
High-Speed Cell Sorter and a Becton Dickinson FACSCalibur™
Analyzer.
The Gastrointestinal Laboratory (VSAH Building,
http://vetmed.tamu.edu/gilab) is the only one of its kind. It has
helped to advance our understanding of gastrointestinal (GI)
disease in companion animals through research in the study of GI
disorders in dogs and cats. The lab also develops new diagnostic
tests for diagnosing gastrointestinal disorders and studies new
therapeutic strategies for groups of patients with gastrointestinal
disease. The GI lab is also a leader in feline and canine
intestinal microbiome, metagenome and metabolome research and
conducts numerous clinical trials in GI disease.
Image Analysis Laboratory (IAL, VMA Building,
http://vetmed.tamu.edu/ial) has supported microscopy and imaging
research needs of investigators in the CVM since 1987. It has
expanded to serve the Texas A&M System as a shared BSL-2 live
cell imaging facility. The IAL has served as an Advanced Imaging
Facility Core for interdisciplinary NIEHS-supported P30 Center and
P42 Superfund grants and NCATS-supported TEX-VAL: Texas A&M
Tissue Chip Validation Center. The IAL provides individualized
training for researchers and graduate students as well as a
graduate course in Optical Microscopy and Live Cell Imaging.
Instruments available for research and instruction include a
superresolution microscope, high content imaging system,
multiphoton and confocal microscopes, total internal reflection
fluorescence microscope, fully automated upright microscope with
fluorescence deconvolution and structured illumination image
processing, laser capture microscope, microplate reader, and
transmission electron microscope.
Molecular Cytogenetics and Genomics Laboratory (VRB Building)
provides a range of cytogenetic, molecular, and DNA-based testing
for clinical and research facilities, private companies,
veterinarians, breeders, and animal owners. For chromosome
analysis, both traditional and state-of-the-art techniques such as
karyotyping and fluorescence in situ hybridization are used, and
tests are conducted for all domestic animals and a broad range of
wild species.
Trace Element Research Laboratory (TERL, VMA Building,
http://vetmed.tamu.edu/labs/terl) is a 1,500 sq ft core laboratory
providing internal and external users with high quality educational
support in environmental chemistry and trace element data
collection. It offers a combination of academic research expertise
in the environmental monitoring and regulation arenas. All work is
conducted under a comprehensive quality assurance/quality control
program with experience in the use of clean
http://vetmed.tamu.edu/equine-embryo-laboratoryhttp://vetmed.tamu.edu/gilabhttp://vetmed.tamu.edu/ialhttp://vetmed.tamu.edu/labs/terl
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(1 ppb level) and ultra-clean (< 0.1 ppb level) sampling and
pre-concentration procedures required to make accurate measurements
of trace metals at ambient levels in both freshwater and
seawater.
VIBS Histology Laboratory (Vivarium, Building 1010) provides
tissue paraffin processing, embedding, sectioning, staining,
special stains, and frozen sections for CVM teaching and research.
Campus demand for histology services has necessitated that the
facility provide support to the broader CVM campus community as
time permits.
VTPB Histopathology Laboratory (VMA Building) provides
diagnostic and limited research services to the college and the
VMTH. Services include routine sectioning and staining of tissues
for microscopic examination, performing special stains for
diagnostic and research samples, and performing
immunohistochemistry and immunocytochemistry for diagnostic and
research samples and applications.
Texas A&M Facilities and Core Laboratories
In addition to CVM core facilities and service laboratories,
Texas A&M has over 100 different core laboratories
(https://tamu.corefacilities.org/landing/276#/cores) that address
the majority of CVM researcher needs for genomics, transcriptomics,
bioinformatics, proteomics, and metabolomics. Particular reference
here is made to the Texas A&M AgriLife Genomics and
Bioinformatics Service (http://www.txgen.tamu.edu/), which has
frequently partnered with the BIMS Graduate Program to provide
experiential learning opportunities to a broad group of trainees
who utilize genomics and bioinformatics tools in their research. In
addition, a Molecular Genomics Workspace, located in the CVM VMRA
building and managed by The Texas A&M Institute for Genome
Sciences and Society (TIGSS), is a molecular genomics laboratory
with shared equipment to support genomics-based research at Texas
A&M. TIGSS offers training and experimental support for many
technologies upstream of sequence generation. Equipment available
for use includes the Fluidigm C1 single-cell system for extraction
and isolation of nucleic acids and template preparation for
sequencing or qPCR from single cells. The Fluidigm Biomark HD
system for high-throughput real-time or end-point PCR in nanoliter
volumes is also available for single cell analysis. Further
equipment available for the generation of single cell sequencing
libraries include the Eppendorf epMotion 5075 robot for library
preparation, the Agilent Tape Station and BioTek Cytation 5 for
library quality control, and the Illumina MiSeq or NextSeq 500 for
generation of up to 400 million single end or 800 million paired
end sequencing reads per run.
Texas A&M University Libraries house a rich array of
resources assembled to support the research, learning, and teaching
at Texas A&M. Comprised of five unique libraries on the College
Station campus, the University Libraries serve the entire diverse
student, staff, and faculty population at Texas A&M. The
University Libraries is currently ranked number 8 among public ARL
Universities and sees approximately 4.5 million in-person visitors
and 2.5 million digital visitors every year. The primary location
of the Medical Sciences Library (MSL) is adjacent to the CVM. It
supports the veterinary and agricultural colleges and the medical
colleges of the TAMHSC). Two MSL librarians are assigned
specifically to support CVM research, programs, and instruction.
Heather K. Moberly, MSLS, AHIP,
https://tamu.corefacilities.org/landing/276#/coreshttp://www.txgen.tamu.edu/
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FHEA, PgCert (Veterinary Education) holds the Dorothy G. Whitley
Professorship in Library Science and is the Coordinator of
Veterinary Services at MSL. She is jointly appointed in the
Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences and provides the
primary support to the BIMS Graduate Program. When the University
Libraries received a grant to promote ORCID (Open Researcher and
Contributor ID) adoption among young researchers, the BIMS Graduate
Program was the earliest adopter. Currently, ORCIDs are required of
BIMS thesis masters and doctoral students. The early ORCID efforts
were presented in a variety of venues including Graduate Student
Association meetings and class sessions. These efforts matured and
found a place in the curriculum with an interactive session in BIMS
689 class, which explores scholarly identity
https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/LM-10-2017-0104.
Other Texas A&M Animal and Research Resources
The following campus research support facilities are located
immediately adjacent to the CVM and are used by investigators
carrying out biomedical research involving rodents.
Laboratory Animal Resources and Research (LARR) is a university
facility managed by the Texas A&M Division of Research
Comparative Medicine Program (CMP) that provides molecular
phenotyping housing and care for the laboratory animals used by the
CVM faculty, graduate students, and trainees. In addition to
laboratory housing and care, CMP facilities offer specialized
(biohazard and hazardous chemical) animal housing, animal isolation
housing, animal procurement and husbandry, veterinary care,
surgical facilities, and technical support.
Texas A&M Institute for Genomic Medicine (TIGM) is a
facility supported by Texas A&M AgriLife Research supporting
researchers wishing to obtain knockout (KO) mice and embryonic stem
cells quickly and with favorable intellectual property IP terms.
TIGM resources include the world’s largest gene trap library of ES
cells in the C57BL/6N mouse strain and access to the largest
library of embryonic stem cells in the 129/SvEvBrd mouse strain.
TIGM provides both embryonic stem cell clones including lncRNA KO
ES cells and mice as well as other transgenic core services
including CRISPR/Cas9-based genome modifications within the Texas
A&M system and to the public and private international research
community.
Global Health Research Complex (GHRC) is a new 102,000 sq ft
facility that is currently under construction and will be located
immediately adjacent to the VMP with an anticipated opening during
Fall 2019. This biocontainment facility will provide advanced
laboratories for the study of infectious agents and diseases in
plants, animals, and humans. Supporting collaboration within the
A&M System, the project will co-locate biomedical, veterinary,
engineering, and environmental science research in a single complex
to create innovative strategies for diagnosis, treatment, and
prevention. When the GHRC opens, Texas A&M will be one of only
two facilities in the U.S. to have both BSL3Ag and an ACL3
insectary supporting the study of disease transmission.
https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/LM-10-2017-0104
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Finances
The CVM receives a financial allocation from OGAPS annually
(Table 1). These allocations are distributed in five categories
including: Graduate Stipend/Salary Funds, Graduate Tuition Funds,
Graduate Merit Fellowship Funds, Enhancement/Strategic Support, and
Lechner Graduate Grant Program. College allocations are calculated
based upon a three-year average of full-time enrolled graduate
students. In 2016, administration of all graduate programs in the
college were centralized and this annual budget is now managed by
the ADRGS Office.
The Graduate Stipend/Salary Funds are utilized to support
college match to fellowship financial packages, graduate student
assistantships that support the education mission of the college,
and partial staff salary support for our academic advisors.
The Graduate Tuition Funds are utilized to pay tuition (the
minimum credit hours required to maintain full-time enrollment) for
eligible doctoral graduate students. Eligibility is defined as
being enrolled full-time, paid by an assistantship that is sourced
from state funds or grants that do not allow tuition payment. These
funds are also used to pay the tuition and fees for all Texas
A&M Association of Former Students (AFS) Merit, Texas A&M
Diversity, CVM Merit Scholars, and CVM Diversity Fellowship
recipients. These funds were exhausted each year. For the past two
years, we have committed funds from the Graduate
Enhancement/Strategic Support accounts to ensure that all eligible
graduate student tuition would be covered. These funds allow us to
ensure that all of our doctoral graduate student tuition is paid by
grants, fellowships, or sponsorships or the Graduate
Enhancement/Strategic Support accounts.
For fiscal year (FY) 13-16, the CVM received an allocation of
funds to partially fund the CVM Merit Scholars Fellowship program
in combination with funds from the Graduate/Stipend Salary account.
In FY17, we transitioned to a different program in which the Texas
A&M AFS Merit Fellowships were administered through the college
and were funded using these funds in combination with funds from
the Graduate/Stipend Salary account.
Graduate Enhancement/Strategic Support Funds are used to support
all the professional development programmatic offerings for
graduate students in the CVM as described in a subsequent Academic
Enhancements/High-impact Opportunities for Students section.
Additionally, these funds support recruiting and retention
programs, as well as a variety of wellness and inclusion
programs.
Lechner Graduate Grant Program provides funds to the college to
assist in student matriculation to Texas A&M by supporting
travel, a commitment bonus, fees, stipends, books, scholarships,
etc. The individuals receiving these awards are designated Lechner
Scholars.
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Table 1. CVM Graduate Program Finances Source FY13 FY14 FY15
FY16 FY17 FY18 Graduate Stipend/Salary Funds $36,531 $26,709
$45,385 $41,885 $79,033 $79,033 Graduate Tuition Funds $224,324
$218,742 $310,944 $305,281 $286,361 $300,198 Graduate Merit
Fellowship Funds $118,500 $169,500 $196,000 $182,000 $35,510
$41,344 Graduate Enhancement/ Strategic Support Funds $86,731
$146,294 $209,709 $322,520 $343,799 $398,472 Lechner Graduate Grant
Program $25,000 $25,000 $25,000 $30,000 $30,000 $30,000 Total
$491,086 $586,245 $787,038 $881,686 $774,703 $849,047
Texas A&M has two primary types of graduate assistantships,
research (GAR) and teaching (GAT). The assistantship creates a 50%
FTE (20 hours/week) employment relationship between the student and
Texas A&M through which the student works in either a research
or teaching capacity while concurrently obtaining practical
hands-on experience. Both PhD and MS-thesis graduate students are
eligible to be on an assistantship, while the MS non-thesis
students are not in our college. The assistantship provides the
student with a monthly stipend, eligibility to the Texas A&M
health insurance plan (where the state contributes a portion of the
premium), and creates an out-of-state tuition waiver that allows
the students to pay tuition and fees at an in-state rate. The
stipend rate varies across departments and investigators as it is
often a reflection of the research funding source, student
experience, and prior degrees obtained (Tables 2 and 3). All of our
PhD and MS-thesis graduate students are funded through an
assistantship (research or teaching), fellowship, or sponsorship.
Additionally, they all receive tuition payment through their
committee chair’s grant, fellowship, sponsorship, or OGAPS graduate
tuition funds.
Table 2. Average Annual Assistantship Rates for CVM Graduate
Students (excluding tuition & benefits) Department/
Unit FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 TIPS $28,560 $28,560 $28,560
$28,560 $28,560 $28,560 VLCS $18,440 $22,880 $22,371 $16,950
$18,680 $22,800 VTPB $22,213 $22,710 $22,699 $20,720 $22,107
$22,454 VSCS $22,292 $24,983 $24,869 $24,213 $27,601 $31,532 VTPP
$22,023 $21,464 $22,093 $20,928 $22,630 $24,956 VIBS $21,319
$18,078 $18,930 $19,255 $21,034 $22,145
Table 3. Average Monthly and Annual Assistantship Rates for the
CVM* (excluding tuition and benefits)
FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 Monthly $1,801.98 $1,791.90
$1,811.54 $1,707.97 $1,847.22 $1,960.56 Annually $21,623.76
$21,502.80 $21,738.48 $20,495.64 $22,166.64 $23,526.72
* The 2018 NIH Predoctoral Assistantship Monthly and Annual
Stipend is $2,027 and $24,324, respectively.
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External Program Accreditation
The BIMS Graduate Program is accredited as part of Texas A&M
through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission
on Colleges (SACSCOC). External program accreditation documents can
be found in Appendix C.
Date of the Last APR
The establishment of the BIMS MS and PhD programs occurred in
2006 by mergers of PhD programs in Veterinary Anatomy, Physiology,
and Pharmacology along with several MS programs. The BIMS Graduate
Program last underwent an Academic Program Review in 2012; this was
the inaugural review of the program. That review, and detailed
responses to the recommendations outlined in the review are
included in Appendices B and D.
Analysis
The 2012 APR identified a number of strengths of BIMS graduate
programs within the CVM including:
• High quality faculty who have been, and are becoming, leaders
in their fields in many areas of research
• Faculty who are demographically diverse and include an
excellent mix of junior, mid-level, and senior professors
• Excellent facilities in both clinical and laboratory sciences
• Multiple, diverse sources of funding • An administration that
values graduate education
In the program assessment a number of weaknesses were
identified:
• Programs (i.e. individual departments) remain semi-autonomous
with varying admissions standards
• Lack of coordinated recruitment strategy • Highly variable
standards for qualifying examinations • No clearly articulated
mission
The APR Committee offered a number of recommendations that
impact standardization of key processes for:
• Recruiting and admissions • Program structure and processes •
The student educational experience and sense of community •
Laboratory rotations
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The major issues identified in the 2012 APR indicated arose due
to the lack of an integrated programmatic structure resulting from
different departmental policies and practices. The APR highlighted
the need for a rigorous internal review of the program to include
all structural and functional aspects of the BIMS Graduate Program
and its leadership.
At the time of the BIMS Graduate Program 1 year Post Review
Report, there were a several substantive improvements to the
program (Appendix E). A mission statement was developed. Outreach
and recruiting efforts included improvements in the CVM Graduate
Studies website incorporating more details about the program
requirements, a new link to the website through GradSchools.com,
the introduction of an inaugural BIMS Doctoral Student Recruitment
Weekend on campus, participation in 7 campus-based graduate program
fairs, and development of several CVM Graduate Student Merit
Scholars Fellowships.
More substantial improvements in the BIMS Graduate Program were
delayed by several events including a one-year leave of absence by
the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies during the
2013 academic year followed by a change in leadership the following
year. A second, highly impactful situation resulted from the return
of the Texas A&M Health Science Center (TAMHSC) to Texas
A&M in 2013 following a period beginning in 1999 when the
College of Medicine (COM) left Texas A&M to consolidate the
COM, the Baylor College of Dentistry (BCD) in Dallas, the Institute
of Biosciences and Technology (IBT) in Houston, and a new School of
Public Health (SPH). In the late 2000s, the COM/IBT Medical
Sciences graduate program merged with the BIMS Graduate Program at
BCD creating a single Biomedical Science graduate program in the
TAMHSC. The arrangement continued until 2013, when the TAMHSC was
brought back under the administrative control of Texas A&M. As
part of the merger process, it was initially proposed by the
Provost that the TAMHSC and CVM BIMS Graduate Programs (which
shared the same Classification of Internal Programs (CIP) code)
undertake a two-year transitional period to establish a combined
BIMS Graduate Program. A joint steering committee was established
and discussions among TAMHSC and CVM graduate leadership about this
prospect were initiated early in 2013. After 9 months of meetings,
TAMHSC proposed to restore the earlier approved Medical Sciences
degree program with agreement from the CVM to retain the separate
BIMS Graduate Program.
Dr. Robert C. Burghardt was appointed Acting Associate Dean for
Research and Graduate Studies in 2013 and subsequently, Associate
Dean in 2014. At that time, as part of a CVM strategic planning
process, the new Associate Dean, Program Manager, and Senior
Academic Advisor initiated new strategic planning for both the
Graduate Studies and Research missions of the college with a focus
on preparing for the APR scheduled in April 2019. The decision in
November 2015 by the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology to close
the Veterinary Pathobiology doctoral degree program and have their
trainees move into the BIMS Graduate Program, presented an
opportunity to propose a centrally-administered CVM BIMS Graduate
Program, managed by the ADRGS Office. This also provided an
opportunity to systematically address each of the recommendations
of the 2012 BIMS Graduate Program APR. The centralization of the
administration of the BIMS Graduate Program by the ADRGS Office was
approved in 2016 with support from Dean Eleanor Green, department
heads, CVM Executive Committee members, and CVM faculty. The
academic advisors from two departments
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joined the ADRGS Office and a third academic advisor was
recruited. At the same time, a BIMS Graduate Program Task Force,
with two representatives from each department, was convened and
charged to make recommendations regarding the development of a
centralized BIMS graduate. The BIMS Graduate Program Task Force met
biweekly to develop recommendations over the ensuing seven months.
They participated in regular department and college town hall
meetings with faculty to discuss and receive feedback on the
construction of the centralized program. The final recommendations
were reviewed and approved by the CVM Executive Committee, to be
implemented, in the Fall 2016 semester with the first cohort of
students.
As the BIMS Graduate Program Task Force was developing
recommendations for the centralization of the BIMS Graduate
Program, the ADRGS led an assessment of CVM research strengths and
priorities. Five major areas were identified that had a critical
mass of extramurally-funded faculty, together with impact and
relevance to the CVM mission.
Current research areas of emphasis include:
• Biomedical Genomics & Bioinformatics • Diagnostics &
Therapeutics • Infection, Immunity & Epidemiology • Physiology
& Developmental Biology • Toxicology & Environmental
Health
These areas of research specialization incorporate faculty from
across multiple departments and represent the curricular training
tracks of the BIMS Graduate Program. The opportunity to integrate
research areas of emphasis and BIMS curricular training tracks
provided an efficient organizational structure to unify the
research and graduate programs within the college that promote
basic, clinical, and translational research (Figure 4).
Consequently, the BIMS curricular training tracks now
include:
• Biomedical Genomics & Bioinformatics • Diagnostics &
Therapeutics • Infection, Immunity & Epidemiology • Physiology
& Developmental Biology
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Figure 4. The basic, clinical, and translational research areas
of emphasis in the CVM. These research areas of emphasis now align
with the BIMS curricular training tracks and the Toxicology IDP
housed in the college.
The Toxicology & Environmental Health research area of
emphasis in the CVM also aligns with a Texas A&M IDP that is
administratively housed within the CVM. CVM leadership was
responsible for organizing a critical mass of NIEHS-funded
individual investigator awards that provided the opportunity to
compete for NIEHS-funded programs including Toxicology T-32
Training Grants (1992-2009), a NIEHS P30 Center Grants (CERH,
1998-2007; CTEHR, 2014-2018), a NIEHS P42 Superfund Basic Research
Program Grants (SBRP, 1989-2007; 2017-2122), and NIH Partnership
for Environmental Education and Rural Health program (PEER,
1999-2009). A new a NIEHS P30 Center Grant, the Texas A&M
Center for Environmental Health Research, is currently pending.
BIMS Graduate Program and CVM Strategic Planning Integration
The BIMS Graduate Program strategic plan integrates with the CVM
strategic plan that is focused on transformational learning;
translational, collaborative, and interdisciplinary research;
leading-edge patient and client care; and service. Given the
integral importance of graduate research as an engine of the CVM
research enterprise, the BIMS Graduate Program aspires to provide
transformational learning experiences through the alignment of
graduate curricular training tracks with research areas of emphasis
in a learning environment that promotes climate, diversity, and
wellness. This alignment creates a path forward for excellence.
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Improvements since the Last Program Review in April 2012
In the previous APR, which was the first for the BIMS Graduate
Program, it was noted that the program “has yet to use the broader
base of BIMS to its full advantage. Programs remain semi-autonomous
with varying admissions standards, no coordinated recruitment
strategy, highly variable standards for qualifying examinations and
no clearly articulated mission.” In response, the ADRGS Office led
a reorganization of the BIMS Graduate Program with support from CVM
administration and faculty. With the extensive involvement and
contributions from the BIMS Graduate Task Force, major improvements
were developed and implemented that addressed these and other
recommendations identified in the 2012 review (Appendices B and D)
including the following abbreviated list:
1) Replacement of a decentralized, department-centric management
plan for the graduate program with a centralized administrative
plan that includes oversight of recruitment, admissions, and
advising managed by the ADRGS Office. A coordinator of academic and
student services for graduate studies and three academic advisors
provide consistent academic and student support, mandatory
individual advising at least once per year, walk-in advising
throughout the year, and monthly optional group advising.
2) Enhanced recruiting activities and establishment of a
standardized, holistic admissions process. This includes the
assignment of an academic advisor to serve as the recruiting and
admissions coordinator, participation in graduate and professional
school fairs at universities within Texas and New Mexico, targeted
recruitment at universities and events that serve underrepresented
minorities, and the development of on-site recruitment events. Both
graduate admissions committees (one for MS non-thesis and one for
MS thesis and PhD) carries out a holistic review of applicants.
Highly qualified doctoral applicants are invited to attend the BIMS
Doctoral Student Recruitment Weekend, a recruitment event that is
coupled with an annual CVM Trainee Research Symposium.
3) Introduction of an extensive week-long orientation/onboarding
program, engaging all incoming BIMS Graduate Program students, to
provide important programmatic information and foster a sense of
community. The program involves welcome activities,
biosafety/compliance training, and other elements that introduce a
learning environment that promotes climate, diversity, and
wellness. All graduate students are welcomed with short
presentations by CVM administration, CVM Graduate Student
Association, and current graduate students. All incoming MS thesis
and PhD students receive Texas A&M research compliance training
(GLP, BSL-2, and Bloodborne Pathogens Training) and Texas A&M
teaching assistant training. Other presentations include:
• A half-day workshop on social justice/inclusion/diversity
presented by Dr. Vernon Wall Director of Business Development,
LeaderShape Inc.
• A seminar “Establishing Strong Connections with Faculty” by
Dr. Michael Criscitiello, Assistant Dean for Research and Graduate
Studies
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• A seminar on the BIMS Graduate Program particularly related to
program requirements for each of the curricular training tracks
• CVM Graduate Student Oath Ceremony, where trainees receive a
BIMS Graduate Program laboratory coat, a magnetic name badge, and
publicly recite an oath that expresses awareness of the importance
of developing a deep personal commitment to a code of conduct as
biomedical scientists (Appendix F)
4) Alignment/integration of BIMS Graduate Program curricular
training tracks with CVM research areas of emphasis. The BIMS
Graduate Program has a required core curriculum regardless of the
selected track. Additionally, each curricular training track has a
required course, a list of common elective courses, and a weekly
seminar series that is co-branded with the respective research area
of emphasis. All curricular training tracks share: a)
standardization of preliminary examinations; core competencies for
scientific and technological literacy and the conduct of original
research; presentation and publication requirements; and b)
programs for leadership, communication, and professional
competencies training; and exploration of diverse career paths in
academia, public, and private sectors and their associated skill
sets.
5) Increase in funding options for trainees with the
implementation of the BIMS Rotation Program, a one-year rotation
system with up to four one-year stipends for highly qualified
graduate students.
6) Increase in the number of fellowship opportunities available
for incoming CVM graduate students. In conjunction with the CVM
Office of Diversity, a new four-year CVM Graduate Diversity
Fellowships program was established. Also in