College of Veterinary Medicine

 

Education:

BS, Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, 1999

DVM, Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, 2001
Residency, Comparative Veterianry Anatomical Pathology, Washington State University, 2008
PhD, Veterinary Pathology, Washington State University, 2008

Honors and Awards:

2000 - Best Graduate Student Presentation Award at the 39th Annual North Central Conference of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians
2001 - Dr. Robert F. Langham Diagnostic Pathology Award
2006 - Graduate student travel grant to the American Society of Rickettsiology national meeting
2006 - Graduate student travel grant to the First International Symposium on the Comparative Biology of the Alphaproteobacteria

Research Interests:

My long-term research interests focus on examining how bacteria, such as Anaplasma marginale, produce pathology, including mechanisms of host and vector invasion. My approach is to take a comparative genomics approach, using large-scale DNA sequencing to determine genes that may be involved in disease. Large-scale sequencing and bioinformatics also allow examination of the degree of variation between various bacteria, with the goal of determining factors that drive and alter DNA variation.

Selected Publications:

For Publications Extracted From Medline Click HERE

Dark M.J., Herndon D.R., Kappmeyer L.S., Gonzales M.P., Nordeen E., Palmer G.H., Knowles D.P. Jr., Brayton K.A. Conservation in the face of diversity: multistrain analysis of an intracellular bacterium. BMC Genomics 2009 10(1):16.

Brayton, K.A., Dark, M.J., Palmer, G.H. Anaplasma in Genome Mapping and Genomics in Animal-Associated Microbes, pgs. 85-116. 2009, Springer Press.

Nelson, D.D., Dark, M.J., Bradway, D.S., Ridpath, J.F., Call, N., Haruna, J., Rurangirwa, F.R., Evermann, J.F. Evidence for persistent bovine viral diarrhea virus infection in a captive mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus). Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation 20: 752-759.

McKune, C.A., Brosnan, R.J., Dark, M.J., Haldorson, G.J. Safety and efficacy of intramuscular propofol administration in rats. Journal of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia 2008 35: 495-500.

Fidel J.L., Pargass, I.S., Dark, M.J., S.P. Holmes. Granulocytopenia associated with thymoma in a domestic short haired cat. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Assocation 2008 44: 210-217.

Futse, J.E., Brayton, K.A., Dark, M.J., Knowles, D.P. Jr., Palmer, G.H. (2008) Superinfection as a driver for genomic diversification among strains of highly antigenically variant complex pathogens. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105, 2123-7.

Lopez, J. E., Palmer, G. H., Brayton, K. A., Dark, M. J., Leach, S. E. & Brown, W. C. (2007) Immunogenicity of Anaplasma marginale type iv secretion system proteins in a protective outer membrane vaccine. Infection and Immunity, 75, 2333-42.

Noh, S. M., Brayton, K. A., Knowles, D. P., Agnes, J. T., Dark, M. J., Brown, W. C., Baszler, T. V. & Palmer, G. H. (2006) Differential expression and sequence conservation of the Anaplasma marginale msp2 gene superfamily outer membrane proteins. Infection and Immunity, 74, 3471-9.

Brayton, K. A., Kappmeyer, L. S., Herndon, D. R., Dark, M. J., Tibbals, D. L., Palmer, G. H., Mcguire, T. C. & Knowles, D. P., Jr. (2005) Complete genome sequencing of Anaplasma marginale reveals that the surface is skewed to two superfamilies of outer membrane proteins. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 102, 844-9.

Bell, T. G., Butler, K. L., Sill, H. B., Stickle, J. E., Ramos-Vara, J. A. & Dark, M. J. (2002) Autosomal recessive severe combined immunodeficiency of jack russell terriers. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation 14, 194-204.

Meek, K., Kienker, L., Dallas, C., Wang, W., Dark, M. J., Venta, P. J., Huie, M. L., Hirschhorn, R. & Bell, T. (2001) SCID in Jack Russell terriers: A new animal model of DNA-PKCS deficiency. Journal of Immunology, 167, 2142-50.