University of Maryland

Program

The Department of Veterinary Medicine is under the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) at the University of Maryland and is home to the Comparative Biomedical Sciences (CBSC) Graduate Program (code: VMSC). The Department of Veterinary Medicine is the Maryland Campus of the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.

The Comparative Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program (CBSC) offers a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree. Members of the CBSC faculty specialize in a wide range of research topics in infectious diseases and zoonoses, including cell and molecular biology, microbiology, immunology, virology, vaccine development, and poultry health management and disease prevention.

Admission to the CBSC Graduate Program

The application package.

Prospective students are required to submit:

• resume/CV
• academic transcripts
• GRE scores if available
• English proficiency scores if applicable
• 3 letters of recommendation*
• statement of research goals and experience,
• list of published works if available.

*Letters of recommendation must be from persons competent to judge the applicant's probable success in graduate school. These letters are usually from the applicant's former professors, who can give an in-depth evaluation of the applicant's strengths and weaknesses concerning academic achievement. Additional recommendations may come from employers or supervisors who are familiar with the applicant's work experience.

CBSC Graduate Admission and Examination Review Committee reviews applications and credentials. Admission is dependent on the availability of a faculty member in the proposed area of study who is willing to assume the responsibility of the Advisor and the availability of funding. Once a suitable Advisor is identified, the Graduate Admission and Examination Review Committee Chair notifies the Graduate School of the Department’s recommendation on admission status. Only the Graduate School can issue an official offer of admission.

University of Maryland Graduate School application guide: 

- https://gradschool.umd.edu/admissions/application-process/step-step-guide-applying

- https://gradschool.umd.edu/admissions

Contact:

Please address all questions regarding your application to the CBSC program to Dr. George Belov (gbelov@umd.edu)

Facilities

The Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM) is the only truly regional veterinary college in the United States. The College was established as a joint venture between two major land grant universities, the University of Maryland and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). The College has three major campuses:

1.  Avrum Gudelsky Veterinary Center in College Park, Maryland,
2. Marion Scott Dupont Equine Medical Center in Leesburg, VA,
3. and the main teaching hospital and research facility at Blacksburg, Virginia.

Please visit links below for more information on facilities at the different locations:

• https://vetmed.umd.edu/facility
• https://academiccatalog.umd.edu/graduate/programs/veterinary-medical-sciences-vmsc/#facilitiesandspecialresourcestext
• https://biology.umd.edu/about/resources/laboratory-for-biological-ultrastructure
• https://my.ilabsolutions.com/service_center/show_external/5631

The Maryland campus of the VMRCVM focuses on research, education and outreach, and our faculty provide a myriad of related services throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Veterinary teaching hospitals are located in Blacksburg and Leesburg, VA. 

The College Park campus is ideally situated near a number of federal agencies involved in veterinary medical sciences. Collaborative initiatives are underway with the

• U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Centers for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) and Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN);
• U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS);
• Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS);
• Agricultural Research Service (ARS);
• Beltsville Agriculture Research Service (BARC);
• National Institutes of Health (NIH);
• Walter Reed National Military Medical Center;
• World Bank;
• and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

Scientists from some of these agencies have adjunct appointments with the College of Veterinary Medicine and participate on students’ graduate committees.

Curriculum/Degree Requirements

Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Applicants with a D.V.M may be admitted to the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program. Students must complete the course requirements of 12 credits in addition to a minimum of 12 dissertation research credits (VMSC899). Students must maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 or better in courses taken for graduate credit per Graduate School policy.

DOCTORAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

The plan of study must be approved by the Advisor and Chair of the Graduate Admissions and Examination Review Committee by the end of the first semester of enrollment. By the end of the fourth semester, a student should have completed their core course requirement and present a dissertation research proposal to the Advisory Committee. For entering Ph.D. candidacy, a student must pass a qualifying examination (written and oral) satisfactorily by the end of the sixth semester. A dissertation based on independent and original research must be submitted to the CBSC Program and the Graduate School. The student must present the dissertation in a public seminar and pass a final oral examination given by the Advisory Committee.

Coursework Requirements:

Staff

• Dr. Xiaoping Zhu Professor and Department Chair Host mucosal immune responses to infections and the control of inflammation.
• Dr. George Belov Associate Professor Replication of positive-strand RNA viruses and virus-host interaction
• Dr. Seth Dickey Assistant Professor Physiology, virulence, and antibiotic resistance of pathogenic bacteria as well as the mechanisms of new antimicrobials.
• Dr. Mostafa Ghanem Assistant Professor The development of advanced molecular diagnostics and typing schemes using next-generation sequencing for molecular typing and epidemiological investigation of infectious diseases of economic (Avian Mycoplasma) and public health significance (foodborne pathogens).
• Dr. Daniel Nelson Professor Antimicrobial discovery with a focus on endolysins, a class of bacteriophage-derived peptidoglycan hydrolase enzymes
• Dr. Utpal Pal Professor Biology and Prevention of Tick-borne infections (Lyme Disease & Anaplasmosis) and Leptospirosis
• Dr. Jaekeun Park Assistant Professor Investigation of protective and pathological mucosal immune responses to influenza viruses to identify effective therapeutic and vaccine interventions against influenza and other zoonotic respiratory viruses.
• Dr. Sean Riley Assistant Professor Molecular and cellular interactions between intracellular bacteria and mammalian cells with a focus on tick-transmitted pathogens of the genus Rickettsia.
• Dr. Meiqing Shi Associate Professor Host immune responses to fungal infection and parasite infection.
• Dr. Nathaniel Tablante Professor Develop and disseminate practical science-based information on the prevention and control of poultry diseases such as Avian Influenza and Infectious Laryngotracheitis (ILT) to poultry industry personnel, Extension specialists, educators, veterinarians, state and federal agencies, scientists, and the general public.
• Dr. Yanjin Zhang Associate Professor Virus-cell interactions, viral pathogenesis and vaccine development

Links

• Information about the graduate CBSC program
• General information about the Department of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Maryland, College Park
• Academic requirements for a Ph.D. degree in the CBSC program
• University of Maryland Graduate School application guide
• Application
• University of Maryland Graduate School English proficiency requirements and exemptions