Cornell Duo: Student Profile with Emily Cornwell and 10 Questions with Mentor Rod Getchell

Dr. Emily and a large muskie!

Student: Dr. Emily Cornwell

Emily is currently a  DVM/PhD student at Cornell University. She completed the PhD portion of her program in July 2012 with  Dr. Paul Bowser as her program chairman and is now in the 3rd year of her veterinary curriculum. Her thesis works is focused on the infection dynamics of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus in the Great Lakes.

1.     What is your current research/position?

I am in the dual DVM/PhD program at Cornell University.  Currently, I am a 3^rd year veterinary student and a part-time postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Paul Bowser’s lab.  My PhD research focused on the epidemiology of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus in the Great Lakes and I am expanding that work during my post-doc with more of a focus on the genetic variation of this virus that has occurred since it was first introduced into the Great Lakes.

 2.     What sparked your interest in aquatic animal health?

I have wanted to be a veterinarian since I was in 4^th grade, but in college I had a summer externship at the Hatfield Marine Science Center with Dr. Tim Miller-Morgan and fell in love with research and with fish.  Focusing on aquatic animal health in vet school and for my PhD seemed like the perfect way to combine my passions.

 3.     What has been your favorite fisheries-related job?

Teaching students about fish health.  I have been fortunate to have several opportunities to teach, both by mentoring students in the laboratory and more formally in the classroom.  One of my favorites has been teaching middle and high school students in 4H about how amazing fish are.  Another veterinary student, Caroline Laverriere, and I designed the class together and we talk about fish diversity, anatomy, native species identification, aquarium care and maintenance, and then the students get to do a complete necropsy on a fish. It’s so rewarding to see students go from being grossed out or entirely disinterested by fish to excitedly pointing out parasites on gill clips.

 4.     What do you like most about graduate/professional school? 

In graduate school, I really enjoy being able to ask questions and then figure out how to design an experiment to answer them.  I also like the camaraderie in our lab – we all support each other and help each other out on our respective projects.  In vet school, my favorite parts are interacting with clients and their pets and trying to make connections between what we are learning about in domestic animals and fish.

5.     When and why did you first become involved with AFS and the FHS?

I became involved with AFS and FHS during my first year of graduate school.  It seemed like a great way to start to meet other people in the field.  Since joining, I have been really impressed by what a close-knit and collaborative community the FHS is and feel really lucky to be a part of it. 

6.     What are your long-term professional goals (FHS or otherwise)?

I hope to be able to combine my interests in clinical medicine, research, and teaching, most likely in academia or government but I am open to anything.  I would also really like to continue incorporating international work into my career.

  

Mentor: Dr. Rod Getchell

Rod teaching a group of students

Rod Getchell is a Senior Research Associate at Cornell University in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the College of Veterinary Medicine.  He oversees diagnostic tasks for the department’s Aquatic Animal Health Program and recently became a Block IV tutor for second year veterinary students.  His primary research interests involve emerging diseases of fish and the development of new molecular assays for their detection.  He also is the Associate Director of AQUAVET®.

1.      How did you get to where you are today?   

My love of science began with my father, who was a Junior High School science teacher.  Then, when I went to the University of New Hampshire, I focused on microbiology.  I took an interest in fish and marine biology as well and spent many summers at the Shoals Marine Lab out at the Isles of Shoals in the Gulf of Maine.  I also took Sea Semester, which is run by Sea Education Association, and sailed on the R/V Westward out of Woods Hole, MA.  I decided to go to graduate school to study fish diseases and was lucky enough to get into Oregon State University (OSU) and John Fryer’s research group.  I came to Cornell in 1990 and entered the Employee Degree Program in 1996 while working in the labs of Dr. Bruce Calnek and Dr. Benjamin Lucio.  Eventually, I joined the lab of Dr. Paul Bowser, where I conducted the research requirement for my PhD and have continued to perform studies on a variety of fish diseases.

2.      What do you like most about your current job? 

I like the combination of research, extension/diagnostic work, and the teaching I do at AQUAVET® and in the small-group learning environment of Block IV, the microbiology and immunology portion of the vet student training.

3.      When and why did you first become involved with AFS and the FHS?  

I joined the Fish Health Section in 1981 when I started at OSU.  I think someone I respected just told me to do it, probably John Rohovec.

4.      How do you feel that FHS has influenced your career path?  

I have met many of my close colleagues through the section and the Eastern Fish Health Workshop.  FHS is the most important professional group in our field, and it has helped me foster collaborative relationships on a number of projects.

5.     What do you see for the future of the FHS?  

I think the organization will continue to fulfill the mission that was laid out by many of our own mentors.

6.     What has been your favorite part about being a part of the FHS network?  

Reconnecting with members both old and new at the meetings each year.  It is great to hang out with people who I can talk with about the subjects I am most interested in.

7.     Who were your mentors as you were an up-and-coming fish health specialist? 

How did they influence you?  My mentors at OSU were John Rohovec and Craig Banner.  They showed me how to conduct fish disease research, but, more importantly, they showed me how to treat other people in the lab, how to work hard, and how to enjoy life.  My mentor at Cornell has been Paul Bowser, a person who has dedicated his life to this field.  Most of my recent success I credit to Dr. Bowser’s guidance.

8.     What would you say to yourself now, when you were going through school? 

Take advantage of as many opportunities as possible.  Find a mentor you respect and learn as much as you can from him or her.

9.     If you mentor students currently or hire new graduates, what sort of qualities do you look for?   

Enthusiasm for what we do in the lab goes a long way for me.  We can train students to perform most any assay, but they have to bring the drive to push themselves.

10.    Any words of wisdom to up-and-coming FHS students and new members?  

Don’t be afraid to walk up to colleagues you do not know and introduce yourself.  The path my career has taken was greatly influenced by unplanned conversations.  You never know when a door will open for you. 

 

10 Questions with FHS Mentor Dr. Jerri Bartholomew

Jerri Bartholomew is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology at Oregon State University, and Director of the John L. Fryer Salmon Disease Laboratory. She oversees graduate and undergraduate researchers and runs a research program that focuses primarily on myxozoan disease in wild fish. She teaches an undergraduate course on fish disease as well as organizes a course for professionals in the field.

1. How did you get to where you are today?

I followed an interest in marine biology that began when I was really young, and in college this expanded to an interest in fisheries. I got a BS from Penn State with an emphasis in Marine Sciences, and came west to Oregon State University with the thought that I would study oyster aquaculture. But during my first term in graduate school I took a microbiology class on fish diseases and was fascinated – I didn’t even know this field existed.  At the end of that term I asked Dr. John Fryer if I could work in his lab and he gave me a tentative yes. My first project was looking at the virulence of Vibrio isolates with different iron sequestration profiles. Luckily for me I then assigned a research project on Ceratomyxa shasta under the mentorship of John Rohovec, who guided me through a masters degree.  I stayed on for a PhD then did a post-doc at the National Fisheries Research Center in Seattle, WA, with Jim Winton. This project was on bacterial kidney disease and gave me the opportunity to work on something very different. But ultimately, I moved back to Oregon State and returned to working on myxozoans.

2. What do you like most about your current job?

I enjoy the university atmosphere, the variety of research conducted across campus and all of the collaborations that enables. I also like solving puzzles and for me that is what research is – one thing leads to another and you find yourself going down pathways that you never would have imagined. I never dreamed that by working with fish parasites I would find myself studying cnidarians and polychaetes.

3. When and why did you first become involved with AFS and the FHS?

I became involved with both AFS and the FHS simultaneously as a masters student. John Rohovec was newsletter editor at the time and every quarter we would manually compile the newsletter (yes, that was the pre-electronic era).

4. How do you feel that FHS has influenced your career path?

On a number of levels. First, the FHS has provided a network of people across the country that have influenced me in one way or another – by opening opportunities for collaboration or influencing my scientific questions.  Second, by serving the FHS (as secretary-treasurer, vice-president, and president), I became involved with national issues. During my term as president we undertook a collaboration with the USFWS that resulted in the current Blue Book. This was one of the most challenging things I have done, but it also was one of the most rewarding.  Third, the meetings are important for sharing information and meeting with colleagues. 

5. What do you see for the future of the FHS?

We have been a leading voice in guiding fish health legislation and I hope we will continue this role in the developing U.S. aquatic animal health program. I know this is an area we struggle with, as we are a volunteer organization and other groups and agencies have more political leverage and full-time employees. I also hope to see the FHS become more international in its membership and the scope of issues it becomes involved with.

6. What has been your favorite part about being a part of the FHS network?

Mostly the people. We share a common interest and that odd sense of our place in the world and because of that I’ve made some very good friends as well as good colleagues. I’ve shared many a glass of wine with Beth MacConnell, Ron Hedrick, Jim Winton and others over discussions of science, policy and life.

For the past decade I have run the listserv, and this has allowed me to keep on top of what is going on in the FHS – it gives me sort of a broad overview and I enjoy keeping in contact with everyone.

7. Who were your mentors as you were an up-and-coming fish health specialist? How did they influence you?

Of course John Fryer taught me how to conduct science and write. John Rohovec taught me how to be a good judge of people and provided lessons in grantsmanship. Jim Winton and Ron Hedrick taught me about diplomacy in running a lab and about how to ask good questions and find good collaborators. Beth MacConnell tried to teach me how to say “no”, but I wasn’t a very good student.

8. What would you say to yourself now, when you were going through school?

I would say that my mentors probably knew more about what was going on then I thought they did and that things really weren’t as bad as they seemed at the time.  Or as Andy would say, “don’t sweat the small stuff”.

9. If you mentor students currently or hire new graduates, what sort of qualities do you look for?

That is a long list, but probably begins with reliability and being a team player.  When I take on a new student they meet with my entire lab and I try to gauge how this person would fit in and who they would work well with. Its always wonderful to have students that are highly production and can produce lots of publications, or who write grants that supply their own funding. But its also rewarding to have students that are highly enthusiastic and have a thirst for learning. I try to meet weekly with my students on an individual basis and I like to see them bring new ideas to the table and be able to problem solve when things are going wrong.

10. Any words of wisdom to up-and-coming FHS students and new members?

Get involved! If you plan to stay in this field the people in the FHS will be your future employers and colleagues. Show that you are ambitious! Go to as many meetings as you can and present your research – and treat each talk like a job interview.  Make sure that you listen to the other talks and learn to ask questions and start conversations with other presenters – you never know where that will lead.  Get involved with the student section – these people will be who you will work with for the next 30 years. I know that sounds unbelievable, but it happens faster than you can ever imagine.