Mark Pokras, associate professor in the Department of Environmental & Population Health, worked on the Pathology Atlas Digitization project. An abstract of the project is below.
We are developing a new teaching and research tool; a web-based atlas of the anatomy and pathology of native wild birds and other selected species. The initial purpose of this atlas is to provide anatomic and histologic images of both normal/reference animals and of common abnormalities from selected wildlife species. Images will include external photographs, dissections, x-rays, CT scans, and photomicrographs. Images will be annotated and accompanied by extensive metadata and links to other electronic resources. Such information is not readily available either on the web or in books. Anatomic structures and specializations characteristic of these species will provide tools for education and reference materials for a variety of research goals including taxonomy, comparative anatomy, wildlife conservation, and evolutionary biology.As educators and scientists we are deeply aware of the need to educate new generations of experts, especially those with vision and who can be encouraged to think outside of traditional disciplinary silos. Thus, the WebAtlas can be viewed as an important resource for S.T.E.M. education. The image collection will be hosted by the Tufts Digital Library and will serve as a key resource to encourage cross- disciplinary communication, research and education. Our project is not intended to stand alone. It will be very important to link this work to other important electronic resources on the biology and conservation of wildlife species (e.g.: Web of Life, NBII, DigiMorph, Birds of North America, etc.) as well as sites related to both human and animal health issues.