Toxinology expert Retires

The end of 2005 marked the end of a 31-year teaching career for Charlotte L. Ownby, Regents professor of histology for the Center for Veterinary Health Sciences. While at the CVHS, she made numerous discoveries through her research and held several positions that have allowed her to influence and educate many students.

Before joining the faculty as an instructor of histology, cytology and electron microscopy in 1974, Ownby graduated from the

University of Tennessee’s pre-med program, obtained a master’s degree in zoology as a National Science Foundation research participant and earned a Ph.D. in veterinary anatomy from Colorado State University.

After four short years at the CVHS, she became the director of the OSU Electron Microscopy Laboratory and still holds this position today. In 1990, she became the head of the physiological sciences department, a position she held for five years before becoming the graduate program coordinator in 2002.

Ownby is a co-founder of the Oklahoma Microscopy Society and past president of the International Society on Toxinology. Until her retirement, she headed an internationally recognized snake venom research program.

“Since coming to OSU, I’ve been able to accomplish everything that I ever wanted to do academically,” she says. “I’ve been able to teach excellent students, do challenging research and serve as head of the department. I have had great support from the students, faculty and staff.”

Ownby has contributed much to the CVHS during her tenure. Her most recent accomplishment is acquiring a $750,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for a new electron microscope.

“This microscope has the latest technology in imaging and will allow us to view very small viruses, plants and animals as well as analyze their composition. It’s mind boggling,” she says.

The microscope is located in the OSU Microscopy Laboratory in Venture I at the Oklahoma Technology and Research Park in Stillwater. Ownby is director of the lab, which was completed in early 2006.

“The most memorable contribution I have made was realizing that by detailed analysis of snake venoms, you can obtain information that can lead to the improvement of snake bite treatment by improving the antivenom.

“The research that we’ve done and published on antivenom and its affects in humans and animals has led to the development of better antivenom and a better understanding of the type of damage that snake venom causes,” she says.