Veterinary clinical pathology trainees benefit from toxicologic externship opportunities in the biopharmaceutical industry

For the second year in a row, the ASVCP has provided the Regulatory Affairs Committee (RAC) with funds to financially support veterinary clinical pathology residents to participate in externships in toxicologic clinical pathology in various industrial settings, which this year included 2 contract research organizations and one large multinational pharmaceutical company. The goal of this scholarship is 2fold: First, to expose residents to the opportunities and challenges of clinical pathologists in the biopharmaceutical industry, and second, to increase knowledge and capabilities in laboratory animal and toxicologic clinical pathology. Three resident externs were able to be supported financially this year, up from 2 awardees in 2014. Dr. Laura Black, a 3 year clinical pathology resident at the University of Florida, spent 4 weeks at MPI Research in Mattawan, Michigan under the mentorship of Drs. Adam Aulbach, Caitlyn Carter, and Laura Cregar. Dr. Eric Fish, also a 3 year clinical pathology resident at Auburn University, spent 2 weeks at Merck Research Laboratories in West Point, Pennsylvania under the guidance of Drs. Elizabeth Besteman and Mike Topper. Dr. Adi Wasserkrug Naor, another 3 year clinical pathology resident at Kansas State University, spent 2 weeks at Charles River Laboratories in Reno, Nevada under the guidance of Drs. Angela Wilcox and Bill Siska. All 3 externship recipients enjoyed their respective training experiences in toxicologic clinical pathology and found them to be valuable in numerous ways, including but not limited to, learning about laboratory animal specific clinical pathology that they are not routinely exposed to in an academic residency, developing toxicology skills that have broad utility in research and industry, and experiencing exposure to rewarding and intellectually stimulating careers outside of diagnostic and academic clinical pathology. Dr. Black’s externship experience at MPI research included: