2013 PVM Report - Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine

New Faces
on the PVM Faculty
Dr. Alice Chun-Ju Chang joined the
Department of Basic Medical Sciences
as an assistant professor of cancer
biology and pharmacology February
6, 2012. Dr. Chang received her
Ph.D. degree from the University of
California. She also holds a pharmacy
degree from National Taiwan
University in Taipei, Taiwan. Dr.
Chang did her postdoctoral training
in the Department of Molecular and
Cellular Oncology at the University of
Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Her current research is focused on revealing critical molecular
mechanisms by which the tumor microenvironment regulates
epigenetic status of breast cancer stem cells.
Dr. Jer-Yen Yang joined the
Department of Basic Medical
Sciences March 1, 2012 as an
assistant professor of cancer and
developmental biology. Dr. Yang
received his Ph.D. degree from the
University of Texas MD Anderson
Cancer Center. His scholarship has
been primarily focused on studying
the signal transduction in RTK
(Receptor Tyrosine Kinase) involved
in breast and lung cancer progression.
Dr. Yang did his postdoctoral training
in the laboratory of Dr. Matthew Scott at Stanford University, where
he studied the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway in neuronal development
and medulloblastoma (MB), a pediatric brain tumor, using mouse
models. His current research is focused on revealing critical
molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of Hh activity in
neuronal and cancer development.
Dr. Niwako Ogata, assistant professor
of companion animal behavior, came
to Purdue from Tufts University,
where she completed a residency
in animal behavior, and served as a
research associate. Dr. Ogata earned
her B.V.Sc. degree (DVM equivalent)
at Nippon Veterinary and Life
Science University in Tokyo, Japan
in 1990. After working as a general
practitioner in Tokyo and Osaka, she
earned a Diploma of Applied Animal
Behavior and Animal Welfare in 1997
from the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. She
then served as a small animal clinical behaviorist consultant and
referral veterinary behaviorist in Japan before earning her Ph.D. in
veterinary medical science at the University of Tokyo in 2007. Her
areas of interest include pursuing mental health and well-being in
companion animals and translational research between the human
psychiatric field and veterinary behavior. Dr. Ogata’s appointment
in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences was effective
January 3, 2012.
Dr. GuangJun Zhang joined the
Purdue Veterinary Medicine faculty as
the John T. and Winifred M. Hayward
Assistant Professor of Genetic
Research, Genetic Epidemiology and
Comparative Medicine. Dr. Zhang
received his Ph.D. in comparative
genetics from the University of Florida
and completed post-doctoral studies
at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology in cancer genomics using
zebrafish models. His research focuses
on comparative genomic approaches
to identify genetic alterations that drive cancer development and
on the biological consequences of aneuploidies and polyploidies in
cancer. Dr. Zhang’s appointment in the Department of Comparative
Pathobiology was effective June 25, 2012.
Dr. Hsin-Yi Weng joined the
Department of Comparative
Pathobiology as assistant professor
of analytical/clinical epidemiology
January 3, 2012. Dr. Weng received
her veterinary degree (BVM) from
National Chung Hsing University,
Taiwan. She also holds a Master of
Public Health degree from Tulane
University in New Orleans, and a
Ph.D. from the University of California
at Davis. Her prior experience includes
working as a small animal veterinarian in Taiwan, and serving as a
Public Health Epidemiologist at the Louisiana State Department of
Health. She also held the positions of epidemiology specialist at the
University of Illinois and surveillance epidemiology specialist at the
University of California. Her research interests include assessment of
economic factors affecting companion animal welfare, development
of statistical models for risk assessment and disease/syndromic
surveillances.
Dr. Ralph Millard joined the
Department of Veterinary Clinical
Sciences faculty as clinical assistant
professor of small animal surgery August
13, 2012. Dr. Millard earned his DVM
degree at Kansas State University College
of Veterinary Medicine in 2006 and went
on to complete a small animal medicine
and surgery internship at the University
of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center.
He also did a small animal surgical
internship at the Dallas Veterinary
Surgical Center in Dallas, Texas, and completed a post-doctoral
small animal orthopedic research fellowship at the University of
Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in 2009. He returned
to Kansas State University to complete his small animal surgery
residency there in July, 2012. He obtained board certification with
the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2013. His research
interests include open fractures and minimally invasive fracture
repair techniques.
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