Young researchers study reproductive challenges

By Linda Breazeale
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Their classmates may be taking the summer off, but two undergraduate students at Mississippi State University are spending long hours in a laboratory conducting studies that would challenge seasoned researchers.

Their supervisor, Erdogan Memili, is not surprised. He nominated Alexis Parisi and Kate Thompson for National Science Foundation research programs for elite undergraduates.

“Students like Alexis and Kate, with their motivation for research, will be pioneers in science,” said Memili, an associate professor in animal and dairy science. “They will help shape the way scientists address issues in reproduction.”  more...

MSU researchers study role of platelets in canine cancer

By Karen Templeton
MSU College of Veterinary Medicine

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A group of veterinarians at Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine is working to better understand cancer in dogs, work that will likely also advance knowledge of human cancer.
MSU scientists said there is little difference between cancerous tumors found in dogs and humans, and the opportunity to help both human and canine patients is growing.
“The answers may be in blood platelets. We have a lot to gain by looking at platelets and how they influence cancer and healing,” said Dr. Camillo Bulla, assistant professor in the college’s Department of Pathobiology and Population Medicine. “The platelet is very small, but it gives us a large picture. We hope to be able to find a tumor much sooner by taking a series of blood samples to look at platelet contents.”

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