Rossmeisl Laboratory

INQUIRIES

John Rossmeisl, DVM, MS
Dr. and Mrs. Dorsey Taylor Mahin Professor
Neurology/Neurosurgery
Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences
Email: jrossmei@vt.edu

Bio Item

John H. Rossmeisl, Jr., DVM, MS, DACVIM–Internal Medicine, Neurology , bio
Associate Department Head, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences; Dr. and Mrs. Dorsey Taylor Mahin Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery

About John Rossmeisl's research

The Veterinary and Comparative Neuro-oncology Laboratory (VCNOL) is a translational research group whose primary mission is to develop more-effective methods for the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumors affecting companion animals and humans. The group's research focuses on the following:

Understanding how brain cancers form;
Creating new ways to deliver therapeutic agents to the brain;
Developing devices and techniques that can control cell functions; and
The design and conduct of clinical trials in companion animals with brain cancer.

To achieve our goals, VCNOL clinician-scientists and researchers work in partnership with a group of world-renowned collaborators with expertise in a broad range of allied fields, including biomedical engineering, cancer biology, comparative pathology, immunology, medical physics, medical and radiation oncology, neurosurgery, and radiology. Although our priority is the study of brain tumors, our discoveries and related technologies have broader applications for the treatment of cancer, as well as for the management of neurological diseases, such as epilepsy, movement disorders, stroke, and traumatic brain injury.

Research themes

Canine spontaneous brain tumor translational disease model
Precision medicine for brain tumors: Molecularly targeted therapeutics (MTT)
Minimally invasive cellular ablative techniques
Novel systems for drug delivery to the brain

More about Dr. Rossmeisl's research interests→

Publications

Lab members

Faculty, staff, graduate students, undergraduate students, former students

Faculty

John L. Robertson, VMD, PhD
Co-Investigator
Research professor, Veterinary Pathology and Biomedical Engineering

Staff

Jonathan Hinckley
Laboratory Specialist and Manager

Graduate students

Josefa Garcia, DVM; CONICYT Scholar (Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica Y Tecnológica de Chile), PhD candidate 2021-present
James May, DVM, PhD candidate, 2022-present

Undergraduate students

Joy Adler, Virginia Tech, clinical neuroscience, research assistant, 2017-present
Taylor Duncan, Virginia Tech, biological systems engineering, research assistant, 2015-present

Former Students

Brittanie Partridge, DVM, PhD; American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Oncology) diplomate; Ph.D Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences 2017-2022
Rebecca Weiske, DVM; graduate research assistant, 2018-2021
Yukitaka Kani, DVM; CONICYT Scholar (Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica Y Tecnológica de Chile), PhD Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, 2018-2022
Montana Loveday, DVM; graduate research assistant, 2021-2022
Richard Shinn, DVM, MS; American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Neurology) diplomate; resident, neurology/neurosurgery, 2016-2019
Deepinder Sidhu, DVM; American College of Veterinary Surgery (SA) diplomate, graduate research assistant, 2015-2017, NIH/Merial Summer Veterinary Research Scholar, 2015
Jamie King, DVM, MS; American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Neurology) diplomate; resident, neurology/neurosurgery, 2014-2017; MS, veterinary medical science, 2014-2017
Elyse Olechnowicz, DVM; graduate research assistant, 2015
Samantha Emch, DVM, MS; American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Neurology) diplomate; resident, neurology/neurosurgery, 2012-2015; MS, veterinary medical science, 2012-2015
Thomas Rogers-Cotrone, DVM, PhD; American College of Veterinary Pathology diplomate; graduate research assistant, 2013
Courtney White, DVM; graduate research assistant, 2013
Paulo Garcia, PhD; post-doctoral researcher, 2010-2012; PhD, biomedical engineering, 2007-2010
Ashley Wilkinson, DVM; MS; American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (SAIM) diplomate, graduate research assistant, 2012
Theresa Pancotto, DVM, MS; American College of Veterinary Medicine (Neurology) diplomate; resident, neurology/neurosurgery, 2008-2011; MS, veterinary medical science, 2008-2011
Francois-Xavier Liebel, DVM; European College of Veterinary Neurology diplomate; graduate research assistant, 2007
Johnny Randy Cross, DVM; American College of Veterinary Medicine (Neurology) diplomate; graduate research assistant, 2007
Michael Higgins, DVM, MS; American College of Veterinary Medicine (Neurology) diplomate; resident, neurology/neurosurgery, 2003-2006; MS, veterinary medical science, 2003-2006

Collaborators

Individuals and organizations

Dr. Rossmeisl and the VCNOL are proud members of the National Cancer Institute's Comparative Brain Tumor Consortium (CBTC). Dr. Rossmeisl also serves on the CBTC steering committee.

John Daniel Bourland
We work with Dr. Bourland to develop stereotactic radiosurgical (Gamma Knife) protocols tailored for the treatment of brain tumors affecting dogs and cats.
Rafael Davalos
Working with Rafael Davalos, the inventor of irreversible electroporation (IRE), and his team, we have pioneered the use of IRE for the treatment of brain tumors.
Waldemar Debinski
In collaboration with the Debinski lab, we have generated novel cytotoxic agents that target cell surface proteins, IL-13Rα2 and EphA2, that are expressed on the majority of canine gliomas but are not present in normal canine brain tissue.
Peter Dickinson
We collaborate with Dr. Dickinson on the molecular genetic characterization of canine brain tumors, and the development of convection-enhanced delivery platforms for treatment of diseases of the brain.
Robert Gourdie and Zhi Sheng
We collaborate with Drs. Gourdie and Sheng to define the molecular and genetic features of malignant gliomas in order to identify novel pathways that can be exploited for drug development.
Akiva Mintz
We work with Dr. Mintz to develop targeted diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals and stem cell therapeutics with applications for use in the treatment of brain cancer.
Christopher Rylander
With the Rylander lab, we have developed novel catheter systems to perform Convection Enhanced Delivery more precisely and efficiently. Collectively, our technical advancements are designed break down the technical barriers that have historically been associated with the CED procedure.
Amanda Taylor
Dr. Taylor and the VCNOL partner to develop and refine minimally invasive neurosurgical techniques and technologies, and Dr. Taylor is a co-investigator on our P01 project, "Maximizing Local Access to Glioblastoma.”
Scott Verbridge
Together with the Verbridge lab, we use three dimensional engineered tumor microenvirmonents as a modeling system to develop and test new treatments for brain cancer.
Boo Radley Foundation
The Boo Radley Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit corporation established to benefit humans and canines through funding canine brain cancer research and clinical trials.