Clinical Microbiology: Open Access

Aruna Panda

Aruna Panda
Department of Pathology, School of Medicine
University of Maryland, USA

Biography

As a researcher, veterinarian and faculty member in the Comparative Medicine Program, Department of Pathology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) my duties include conducting research, as well as carrying out administrative, teaching and clinical activities. The major goals of my research projects are focused on characterization of animal models of human disease for biomedical research and use of such models to advance understanding of disease or biological processes. My areas of expertise are in the fields of Veterinary Medicine, Virology, Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health. My duties involve management of a diagnostic and pathology laboratory and conducting institutional and inter institutional collaborative research involving infectious disease studies. These projects are related to developing vaccines and other innovative therapeutics against infectious agents such as Shigella dysenteriae 1, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Escherichia coli O104:H4, Francisella tularensis, avian influenza and measles. I have conducted extensive research with laboratory animals such as rodents and non-human primates used as models of infectious diseases. These studies are conducted in special biocontainment areas such as animal biosafety level (ABSL) 2 and 3 facilities. Additionally, these studies are mostly conducted under good laboratory practices (GLP). My other duties involve conducting lectures on Operations in Animal Biosafety Level 3 (BSL3) in workshops on BSL3 Training at UMSOM. Additionally, as a veterinarian, I participate in clinical duties such as providing veterinary care to laboratory animals used for biomedical research. I also serve as an alternate voting member in the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of the UMSOM. Duties involve reviewing and evaluating protocols related to laboratory animal research. As a faculty member at UMSOM my teaching responsibilities include providing lectures to undergraduates, graduates and medical students in areas related to global public health, epidemiology, infectious diseases and vaccine development. Over the last 8 years, I have mentored several veterinarians in projects related to infectious disease research resulting in publication of data from such studies in peer-reviewed journals and leading them to meet their goals towards obtaining certification in ACLAM.

Research Interest

Dr. Aruna Panda Research Intersts are in the fields of Veterinary Medicine, Virology, Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health.