M. Christine Zink to take sabbatical from director role

Dear Colleagues,

I'm writing to let you know that M. Christine Zink, professor and director of the Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, will take a one-year sabbatical from Johns Hopkins beginning Oct. 1.

As some of you know, Dr. Zink's ongoing work with veterinary schools has resulted in the establishment of a new specialty, veterinary sports medicine and rehabilitation. As a charter member of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation's Board of Directors, she is helping to build residency training programs and outline the credentialing criteria for this emerging field. Her upcoming leave will allow her to focus on her passion for teaching veterinary professionals about the medical needs of canine athletes.

Although she is handing over her leadership responsibilities, she will continue to oversee her highly regarded research program in the department. As a pathologist and virologist, Dr. Zink studies the pathogenic mechanisms of HIV/simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) and the host defenses and responses to viral infection using both animal models and human samples.

The Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology at Johns Hopkins is the premier comparative medicine department in North America, with more research dollars and a larger National Institutes of Health-funded training program than any other. To ensure continuity of research, teaching and patient care in Dr. Zink's absence, Joe Mankowski will serve as acting director.

Dr. Mankowski is the director of academic training in the department. His lab studies the damaging effects of HIV infection on the heart, brain and peripheral nervous system using the SIV/macaque model. He joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 1992 after completing a Ph.D. in infectious diseases here and a residency in veterinary pathology. He obtained his doctor of veterinary medicine degree from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University.

Dr. Zink has been an exemplary member of the Johns Hopkins community for 30 years, and she deserves our best wishes as she embarks on this exciting academic mission.

Sincerely,

Paul B. Rothman, M.D.
Dean of the Medical Faculty
CEO, Johns Hopkins Medicine