Brooke Dubansky

Brooke Dubansky

Associate Professor of Anatomy

Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences

LSU School of Veterinary Medicine
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803

EMAIL DR. DUBANSKY

Education

PGCertVetEd, 2023

AAS, Tarleton State University, 2013

PhD, Louisiana State University, 2012

BS, Louisiana State University, 2004

Clinical Certifications

HTL(ASCP)CM, Histotechnologist, American Society for Clinical Pathology

H(ASCP)CM, Technologist in Hematology, American Society for Clinical Pathology 

Research Interest

My research investigates mechanisms of natural and pathological bone formation in soft tissues of vertebrates, especially skin and connective tissue. Alligators naturally develop bone in the dermis of some scales, and this process is histologically similar to the formation of bony lesions in a broad spectrum of disorders called heterotopic ossification, which affects humans and some domestic animals.  Alligators are not only good natural models for investigating different types of HO disorders, but also provide insight into the evolutionary history of dermal armor in ancient vertebrates such as dinosaurs. 

Teaching Interest

Veterinary Anatomy, Histology, Histotechnology, and Hematology

Clinical Interest

Clinical Histotechnology and Hematology

Awards & Honors

2024, Dean’s Teacher Merit Honor Roll

2022, Dean’s Teacher Merit Honor Roll

Engaged Faculty Award, College of Health Sciences & Human Services, Tarleton State University, 2019

Early-Career Anatomist Publication Award, The Anatomical Record, American Association of Anatomists, 2018

Scientific Teaching Mentor, Summer Institutes on Scientific Teaching, Yale Center for Teaching & Learning, 2018

Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, College of Health Sciences & Human Services, Tarleton State University, 2017

Life Sciences Education Mentor, National Academies of Science, Gulf Coast Summer Institute on Undergraduate Education in the Life Sciences, Baton Rouge, LA 2013-2014, 2014-2015

Life Sciences Education Fellow, National Academies of Sciences, Gulf Coast Summer Institute on Undergraduate Education in the Life Sciences, Baton Rouge, LA 2012-2013

William H. Gates Award for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence, Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, 2007. 

Select Publications

Patterson LD, Dubansky BD, Dubansky BH, Stone S, Kumar M, Rice CD. 2023. Generation and characterization of a multi-functional panel of monoclonal antibodies for SARS-CoV-2 research and treatment. Viruses 16(1); https://doi.org/10.3390/v16010064.

Filogonio R, Dubansky BD, Dubansky BH, Leite, CAC, Crossley DA II. 2021. Prenatal hypoxia affects scaling of hemodynamics and arterial wall mechanics in the common snapping turtle, Chelydra serpentina. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A: Molecular &Integrative Physiology 260:111023. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34224856/

Filogonio R, Dubansky BD, Dubansky BH, Wang T, Leite, CAC, Crossley DA II. 2021. Arterial wall thickening normalizes arterial wall tension with growth in American alligators, Alligator mississippiensis. Journal of Comparative Physiology B. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33629153/

Kirkham M, Kalivas A, Fatema K, Luelling S, Dubansky BH, Dubansky B, Jones KB, Barrott JJ. 2020. Underlying ossification phenotype in a murine model of metastatic synovial sarcoma. International Journal of Molecular Science 21(7):2636. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32290096/

Dubansky BH & Close M. 2019. A review of alligator and snake skin morphology and histotechnical preparations. Journal of Histotechnology 42(1):31-51 [Cover Issue]. https://doi.org/10.1080/01478885.2018.1517856

Li W, Ma H, Shotorbani PY, Dubansky BH, Chaudhari S, Huang L, Wu P, Wang L, Ryou M-G, Zhou Z, & Ma R. 2019. Comparison of diabetic nephropathy between male and female eNOS-/-db/db mice. American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology, 316(5):F889-F897. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30810354/

Dubansky BH & Dubansky BD. 2018. Natural development of dermal ectopic bone in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) resembles heterotopic ossification disorders in humans. The Anatomical Record 301(1):56-76. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28837758/

Redd TC, Dubansky BH, Osborn ML, Tully TN, & Homberger DG. 2012. A registration algorithm for the identification of individual parrots based on patterns of filing ridges on the internal surface of the upper bill tip. International Journal of Biometrics & Bioinformatics 6(3):68-91.

Homberger DG, Ham K, Ogunbakin T, Bonin JA, Hopkins BA, Osborn ML, Hossain I, Barnett H, Matthews II KL, Butler LG, & Bragulla HH. 2009. The structure of the cornified claw sheath in the domestic cat (Felis catus): Implications for the claw-shedding mechanism. Journal of Anatomy 214:620-643. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19422428/   

Grants

2024, Veterinary Translational Science Award ($10,009), LSU SVM, “The role of mechanotransduction in osteoderm development in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis): A novel and natural animal model for heterotopic ossification disorders.”

2024, Boehringer Ingelheim/NIH Veterinary Summer Scholars Program Mentor ($6,500 student stipend), LSU SVM, “Utilization of contrast-enhanced CT imagining to characterize ligamentous and tendinous osteoderm attachments in the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).”

2023, Boehringer Ingelheim/NIH Veterinary Scholars Program Mentor (Kenneth F. Burns Trust, $6,588 student stipend), LSU, SVM, “Mechanical influence of head, neck, and shoulder muscle attachments on osteoderms development in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis): Implications for understanding heterotopic ossification.”

2022, Boehringer Ingelheim/NIH Veterinary Scholars Program Mentor (Kenneth F. Burns Trust, $6,450 student stipend), LSU, SVM, “The morphological and histological evidence for the mechanical induction of osteoderm development in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis): implications for understanding mechanisms of heterotopic ossification disorders.”

2019-2020, Faculty-Student Research and Creative Activity Internal Grant ($5,000), Office of Research and Innovation, Tarleton State University, “Investigating osteoprogenitor cells in ectopic and heterotopic bone development.”

2014-2015, Organized Research Grant ($10,000), Office of Faculty Research, Tarleton State University, “The Physiological and molecular mechanisms of pathologic soft tissue mineralization.”