As a veterinary pathologist, my interests are many. Therefore, I am happy to provide pathology support for researchers and clinicians working in several disciplines. I have worked for over 13 years with several members of the Department of Radiology, who perform in vivo studies designed to optimize minimally invasive cancer treatments (high intensity ultrasound and cryoablation) using MR guided methodologies. Real time MRI post-treatment monitoring is a critically important tool that can be used to accurately visualize and document the exact location of thermal and cryo lesions, as well as the extent of tissue damage created by these treatments. In order for clinicians to adjust and re-direct their cancer treatments, they must be able to interpret regional target tissue viability (i.e. the appearance of acutely dead/effectively treated vs sub-lethally damaged/ineffectively treated tissue) using real-time MR imaging modalities. My charge is to analyse the macroscopic and microscopic pathology in post-treatment target tissues in order to provide critical feedback, paramount to the success of these minimally invasive clinical procedures. These techniques must be refined in animal models (dog prostate, rabbit brain and pig liver and kidney models), before implementation in human patients. My expertise in the anatomy, physiology, and histology of these various species combined with a deep understanding of the unique pathology created by these treaments, has resulted in > 15 co-authorships on publications with this group.
In addition to working with the radiologists, I have numerous faculty collaborations in the medical school and on main campus including: radiation oncology (development and testing of new hypoxic cytotoxic compounds for cancer therapy, pathology support for xenograft and orthotopic rodent models), mouse models of human disease, (particularly host-pathogen interactions in bacterial and viral disease states), infectious diseases of Xenopus laevis frogs (laboratory colonies of African clawed frogs), medical device development (MRI-compatible breast biopsy device), and phenotypic characterization of genetically engineered mice (transgenic and knock-out mice). I have also been fortunate to collaborate with scientists and undergraduate students working “in the field” in Namibia, who study elephant seismic communication and behavior.
Comparisons of T1-weighted contrast enhanced MR images (A. E), TTC stained prostate slices (B, F), low magnification (C, G), and high magnification (D, H) microscopic images of dog prostates subjected to cryoablation (top row) or high intensity ultrasound treatments (bottom row). TZ – transition zone, HF – heat fixed zone, Coag – coagulation necrosis. (Bouley et al, Proceedings SPIE 6440, 2007)
Donna Bouley, DVM, PhD
Professor
(650) 498-5403
(650) 725-0940 (fax)
