Dr. Beth Ihms, a boarded anatomic veterinary pathologist with special expertise in the pathology of laboratory animal models, serves as director of the TRAP Core. Dr. Ihms trained in comparative pathology at Johns Hopkins University, where she earned her Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Medicine. Prior to arriving at OSU, Dr. Ihms served as an independent consultant for both academic and industry clients. Her previous experience is broad, and includes models of infectious respiratory disease, retrovirology, gene therapy, medical device evaluation, toxicologic pathology, cancer therapeutics, immunodeficient and transplant models, gnotobiotic animal models, avian and aquatic species and more.
Services Include
- Specialized consultation and collaboration for basic science and preclinical researchers who utilize animal models.
- Full service AAVLD-accredited histology lab providing expert histological preparation of research samples, including histochemical and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining.
- Confirmation and characterization of important research findings.
- Diagnosis of unexpected findings or problems in an animal colony or research project.
- Characterization of novel genetically engineered rodent and zebrafish strains and substrains.
- Manuscript assistance and review.
- Photography and photomicroscopy.
Request Services
- Send an email to ovdl.trap@oregonstate.edu to schedule a consultation. Please include a brief overview of your research project and any specific questions or goals.
- After consultation has been completed, please fill out a submission form. Be sure to include the following information:
- Species, age, sex, strain and source of animals being used.
- Details of any experimental or genetic manipulations, including timelines and routes of administration.
- Treatment and control groups with animal ID numbers.
- Requested tests.
- Submit specimens to the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Submission instructions and forms can be found here.
- Fresh (non-fixed) specimens should be sent overnight on ice. Ice is not required for formalin-fixed specimens.
- Zebrafish and other small fishes should be sent alive or preserved at your research institution.
- All tissues and formalin should be in sealed leak-proof containers.
Turnaround Times
Turnaround is highly variable and depends on project size and complexity. Please contact us for current turnaround estimates.
Please Note
- We do not accept hazardous specimens. This includes:
- Fresh (non-formalin-fixed) primate samples.
- Fresh (non-formalin-fixed) samples with known or suspected BSL3 pathogens.
- Human samples.
- Payment for consultation services does not preclude authorship. It is expected that Oregon State’s Responsible Authorship Practices will be followed.
- Our laboratory does not operate under GLP conditions or regulations.