M. Christine "Chris" Zink is the director of the Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology at the

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established in 1893 following the construction of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, th ...

. She also holds professorships in the Department of Pathology at Johns Hopkins and in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is the public health graduate school of Johns Hopkins University, a private university, private research university primarily based in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded as the Johns Hopkins ...

. Zink researches the response of the

immune system The immune system is a network of biological systems that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to bacteria, as well as Tumor immunology, cancer cells, Parasitic worm, parasitic ...

retrovirus A retrovirus is a type of virus that inserts a DNA copy of its RNA genome into the DNA of a host cell that it invades, thus changing the genome of that cell. After invading a host cell's cytoplasm, the virus uses its own reverse transcriptase e ...

es such as

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

and is currently investigating an animal model of

antiretroviral therapy The management of HIV/AIDS normally includes the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs as a strategy to control HIV infection. There are several classes of antiretroviral agents that act on different stages of the HIV life-cycle. The use of mul ...

and the potential of a common antibiotic to prevent

HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) are neurological disorders associated with HIV infection and AIDS. It is a syndrome of progressive deterioration of memory, cognition, behavior, and motor function in HIV-infected individuals during ...

s.Johns Hopkins faculty profile
"Common Antibiotic May Fight HIV Brain Disease"
Miranda Hitti, WebMD, April 26, 2005 on: foxnews.com As a veterinarian, Zink is known for consulting and writing on canine athletics
and is an expert on

stem cell In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can change into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell ...

therapies for dogs. She was named Outstanding Woman Veterinarian of the Year at the 2009 meeting of the

American Veterinary Medical Association The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is an American not-for-profit association founded in 1863 that represents more than 105,000 veterinarians. The AVMA provides information resources, continuing education opportunities, publicat ...

(AVMA)."On the Move: Vet of the Year, M. Christine Zink of Johns Hopkins in Maryland," ''The Daily Record,'' Baltimore, Maryland, July 24, 2009. Her books include ''Peak Performance: Coaching the Canine Athlete, Dog Health and Nutrition for Dummies'', ''The Agility Advantage'', and ''Jumping from A to Z: Teach Your Dog to Soar and Building the Canine Athlete: Strength, Stretching, Endurance and Body Awareness Exercises''. Zink is a

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

-born

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

"One dog's stem-cell venture"
''The Toronto Star,'' Barbara Turnbull, July 18, 2009 and has won several awards for her photography.

Education and training

Chris Zink earned a

doctor of veterinary medicine Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...

(DVM) degree from the

University of Guelph The University of Guelph (abbreviated U of G) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), the MacDonald I ...

, where she also received a PhD in

macrophage Macrophages (; abbreviated MPhi, φ, MΦ or MP) are a type of white blood cell of the innate immune system that engulf and digest pathogens, such as cancer cells, microbes, cellular debris and foreign substances, which do not have proteins that ...

biology.JHU NIMH researchers profile
From 1985 to 1988, Zink completed a

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

fellowship with Opendra "Bill" Narayan at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

, studying animal models of HIV pathogenesis.

Academic career

Following her postdoctoral work, Zink accepted an assistant professorship in the comparative medicine division at Johns Hopkins. She directed the division's postdoctoral training program from 1999. In 2000, Zink became a full professor. In 2007, Zink became the director of the Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology at Johns Hopkins. She follows long-time colleague Janice E. Clements, who had raised the comparative medicine division to department status. Zink's scientific research has focused on the effects of HIV and related

lentivirus ''Lentivirus'' is a genus of retroviruses that cause chronic and deadly diseases characterized by long incubation periods, in humans and other mammalian species. The genus includes the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS. Lent ...

es on the

central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain, spinal cord and retina. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity o ...

Honors

The Association for Women Veterinarians Foundation named Zink the Outstanding Woman Veterinarian of the Year in 2009. The honor was announced at the meeting of the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

in 2009.

References

External links

Canine Sports
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zink, M. Christine American pathologists American sports physicians American veterinarians American women biologists Canadian academic administrators Canadian pathologists Canadian sports physicians Canadian veterinarians Canadian women biologists Women academic administrators Women pathologists Women veterinarians Cynologists Living people Johns Hopkins University administrators Year of birth missing (living people) HIV/AIDS researchers Scientists from Toronto Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health faculty University of Guelph alumni Canadian emigrants to the United States 21st-century Canadian biologists 21st-century Canadian women scientists 21st-century American women