Close the left navigation
NTP Logo

Much of the work carried out by DTT is in support of the National Toxicology Program (NTP), an interagency partnership of the Food and Drug Administration, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and NIEHS.

Visit the NTP Website
Michelle C. Cora, D.V.M., D.A.C.V.P.
Michelle C. Cora, D.V.M., D.A.C.V.P.
Staff Scientist
Tel 984-287-3828
[email protected]
111 Tw Alexander Dr
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709

Research Summary

Michelle Cora, D.V.M., D.A.C.V.P., is a staff scientist and board certified clinical pathologist working in the Cellular and Molecular Pathogenesis Branch (CMPB) clinical pathology group in the Division of Translational Toxicology (DTT) at NIEHS. Cora is the principal clinical pathologist for the DTT, providing clinical pathology oversight and preparation for various National Toxicology Program (NTP) and NIEHS studies. Additionally, she provides clinical pathology collaborative and consultative support to investigators within the DTT and NIEHS. Cora has co-authored numerous publications, including over 40 NTP toxicology and technical reports regarding compounds studied by the NTP. In particular, she has led studies to evaluate the mechanism by which black cohosh extract induces a megaloblastic anemia in mice. She has also co-chaired several Society of Toxicologic Pathology committees, as well as served on the editorial board for the journal of Toxicologic Pathology.

Cora received her BS degree in biology and chemistry from Illinois College and, in 2000, her doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Illinois. After practicing small animal medicine in the Seattle area for 7 years, she began residency training in veterinary clinical pathology at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Upon completion of her residency training in 2010, Cora accepted a position as a research fellow in the CMPB Toxicologic Pathology Training Program; she subsequently joined the CMPB staff in 2013. In 2022, Cora took a position as a diagnostic clinical pathologist at Antech Diagnostics, returning to DTT as a staff scientist within CMPB in 2024. She has been a board certified clinical pathologist by the American College of Veterinary Pathologists since 2011.

Selected Publications

  • Johnson VJ, Rider C, Luster MI, Brix A, Burleson GR, Cora M, Elmore S, Frawley RP, Lopez F, Mutlu E, Schockley K, Pierfelice J, Burback B, Co C, Germolec D. (2023). Immunotoxicity of N-Butylbenzenesulfonamide (NBBS): Impacts on Immune Function in Adult Mice and Developmentally Exposed Rats. Toxicological Sciences, 196, 71-84.
  • Frawley R, Johnson VJ, Burleson GR, Shockley KR, Cesta MF, Travlos G, Cora MC, Roberts G, Germolec D. (2023). Evaluation of Immunotoxicity of Sodium Metavanadate Following Drinking Water Exposure in Female B6C3F1/N Mice in a 28 Day Study. Journal of Applied Toxicology, 43, 1686-1701.
  • Cora M. (2022). Black Cohosh Herbal Extract and Hematologic Alterations in B6C3F1/N Mice. Toxicologic Pathology, 50, 886-889.
  • Watson A, Johnson VJ, Burleson G, Luster MI, Fallacara D, Sparrow B, Cesta M, Cora M, Shockley KR, Stout M, Blystone C and Germolec DR. (2021). Immunotoxicity Studies of Sulfolane Following Developmental Exposure in Hsd:Sprague Dawley SD Rats and Adult Exposure in B6C3F1/N Mice. Journal of Immunotoxicology, 18, 1-12.
  • Shipkowski K, Cora MC, Cesta MF, Robinson VJ, Waidyanatha S, Witt KL, Vallant MK, Fallacara DM, Hejtmancik MR, Masten SA, Blystone CR. (2021). Species comparison of sulfolane effects in Sprague Dawley rats, B6C3F1/N mice, and Hartley guinea pigs after 28 days of gavage exposure. Toxicology Reports, 8, 581-591.
  • Waidyanatha S, Fletcher BL, Fernando RA, Cora MC and Silinski MAR. (2021). Development and Validation of an Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method for Quantitation of Total 3,3’,5-triiodo-L-Thyronine and 3,3’,5,5’-tetraiodo-L-Thyronine in Rodent Serum. Analytical Letters, DOI: 10.1080/00032719.2021.1967969.
  • Shockley KR, Cora MC, Malarkey DE, Jackson-Humbles D, Vallant M, Collins BJ, Mutlu E, Robinson VG, Waidyanatha S, Zmarowski A, Machesky N, Richey J, Harbo S, Cheng E, Patton K, Sparrow B, Dunnick JK. (2020). Transcriptomic data from the rat liver after five days of exposure to legacy or emerging brominated flame retardants. Data in Brief, 32, 106136.
  • Dunnick J, Cora M, Malarkey D, Jackson-Humbles D, Vallant M, Stout M, Collins B, Mutlu E, Robinson V, Shockley K. (2020). Comparative Toxicity of Legacy and Emerging Brominated Flame Retardants following 5-Day Exposure in the Rat. Toxicology Letters, 332, 222-234.
  • Cora MC, Janardhan KS, Jensen H, Clayton N, Travlos GS. (2021). Previously Diagnosed Reticulum Cell Hyperplasia of Rat Bone Marrow Stain Positive for Ionized Calcium Binding Adapter Molecule 1 (Iba1) – a Monocytic/Macrophage Cell Marker. Toxicologic Pathology, 48, 317-322.
  • Cora MC, Gwinn W, Wilson R, King D, Waidyanatha S, Kissling GE, Brar SS, Olivera D, Blystone C, Travlos G. (2017). A black cohosh extract causes hematologic and biochemical changes consistent with a functional cobalamin deficiency in female B6C3F1/N mice. Toxicologic Pathology, 45, 614-623.
  • Cora MC, Kooistra L, Travlos G. (2015). Vaginal cytology of the laboratory rat and mouse: review and criteria for the staging of the estrous cycle using stained vaginal smears. (Invited review) Toxicologic Pathology, 43, 776-793.
  • Rider CV, Nyska A, Cora MC, Kissling GE, Smith C, Travlos GS, Hejtmancik MR, Fomby LM, Colleton CA, Ryan MJ, Kooistra L, Morrison JP, Chan PC. (2014). Toxicity and carcinogenicity studies of Ginkgo biloba extract in rat and mouse: liver, thyroid and nose. Toxicologic Pathology, 42, 830-843.
  • Cora MC, Neel JA, Grindem CB, Kissling GE, Hess PR. (2013). Comparison of automated neutrophil count to manual neutrophil count including blood smear evaluation for the detection of cellular abnormalities and monitoring of neutrophil counts in dogs receiving chemotherapy. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 242, 1539-1543.
  • Mercado-Feliciano M, Cora MC, Witt K, Granville CA, Hejtmancik M, Fomby L, Knostman KA, Ryan MJ, Newbold R, Smith C, Foster PM, Vallant MK, Stout MD. (2012). An Ethanolic Extract of Black Cohosh Causes Hematological Changes but Not Estrogenic Effects in Female Rodents. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 263, 138-147.
  • Cora MC, King D, Betz LJ, Wilson R, Travlos GS. (2012). Artifactual changes in Sprague-Dawley rat hematology variables after storage of samples at 3oC and 21oC. Journal of the American Association Laboratory Animal Science, 51, 616-621.
  • Cora MC, Neel JA, Tarigo J, Post K, Barnes J. (2010). Francisella philomiragia Septicemia in a Dog. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 24, 969-972.