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Faculty Achievements & Activities
 

Outstanding National/International Faculty Achievements

Dr. Marion Ehrich receives 2010 Merit Award from Society of Toxicology
Dr. Marion Ehrich is the recipient of the 2010 Merit Award from the Society of Toxicology for her long-lasting and multi-level contributions to the field. This is a national honor bestowed onto a select few (“best among best”). Dr. Ehrich will be honored by the society on March 7th at the 49th Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah. Congratulations to Dr. Ehrich! Learn more

Dr. S. Ansar Ahmed surpasses 500 in citation index
A research paper authored by Dr. S. Ansar Ahmed titled “A New Rapid and Simple Nonradioactive Assay to Monitor and Determine the Proliferation of Lymphocytes — An Alternative to [H-3] Thymidine Incorporation Assay,” has surpassed 500 citations in the citation index ISI Web of Science, a prestigious honor earned by few in the field of life sciences. Congratulations to Dr. Ahmed! Learn more

VMRCVM, Luna Innovations grant announcement featured on EurekAlert
The VMRCVM and Luna Innovations partnership on a nationally funded nerve gas program was among the Virginia Tech research related press releases recently featured on the EurekAlert, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) science news dissemination program. See the EurekAlert May report.

Dr. Bonnie Smith receives National Norden-Pfizer Distinguished Teaching Award
Dr. Bonnie Smith has received the 2008 National Carl J. Norden-Pfizer Distinguished Teacher Award! Her selection, made by a committee of her peers appointed by the Association of the American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), designates Dr. Smith as the outstanding veterinary medical educator of the year in the United States. This is a highly prestigious, national teaching award and places Dr. Smith amongst the best teachers in the country.

Dr Smith has been asked to receive her award at the Teaching and Research Awards Presentation of the AAVMC Annual Meeting in Washington in March, 2009. At this time Dr. Smith will give a short presentation on her teaching philosophy, and she will also prepare a manuscript on this topic for inclusion in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. Congratulations to Dr. Smith for this well deserved award!
 

Outstanding Faculty Achievements

Scott Kenney receives prestigious grant to study swine disease
The Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology is very pleased to announce that Scott Kenney received a two-year, $130,000 grant from the USDA to investigate the molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis behind porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus. Dr. X.J. Meng is mentor of this fellowship grant. Congratulations to Drs. Meng and Kenney! Learn more

Dr. Tom Inzana re-certified with American Board of Medical Microbiology
Dr. Tom Inzana has been re-certified with the American Board of Medical Microbiology for a three period ending on Dec. 31, 2013. To be recertified, diplomates must accumulate 150 contact hours of continuing education over a three-year period including programs approved by the American Society of Microbiology, American Society of Clinical Laboratory Sciences. AMA, CDC, etc. Congratulations to Dr. Inzana!

Dr. Phillip Sponenberg Provides Expertise on Fainting Goats for the Guardian
To coincide with the premiere of the motion picture "The Men Who Stare at Goats," Dr. Phillip Sponenberg recently provided his expertise on myotonic goats for a story featured in the United Kingdom newspaper the Guardian. He explains the breed history and characteristics which contribute to the "fainting goat" phenomenon. Read the full story at http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/nov/05/fainting-goats-explained.

Tom Caceci joins Editorial Board Team
Dr. Tom Caceci recently accepted an invitation to join the editorial board team of the "Journal of Veterinary Anatomy," the official journal of the African Association of Veterinary Anatomists. Congratulations to Dr. Caceci!

Marion Ehrich honored by the Society of Toxicology
Dr. Marion Ehrich was honored during the recent 20th Anniversary Celebration of the SOT Undergraduate Education Program for Minority Students. Dr. Ehrich was recognized as one of the individuals who were instrumental in the development and growth of the program. Congratulations to Dr. Ehrich! Learn more (PDF)

X.J. Meng receives Alumni Award for Research Excellence
The Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology is very pleased to announce that Dr. X.J. Meng has received the university's 2008 Alumni Award for Research Excellence — the highest research award given at the university. Sponsored by the Virginia Tech Alumni Association, the Alumni Award for Research Excellence is presented annually to as many as two Virginia Tech faculty members who have made outstanding contributions in the area of research. Congratulations to Dr. Meng! Learn more

X.J. Meng named inaugural Fralin Life Science Institute Senior Faculty Fellow
The Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology is very pleased to announce that Dr. X.J. Meng has been named Virginia Tech's inaugural Fralin Life Science Institute Senior Faculty Fellow. Dr. Meng is being honored for his outstanding scholarship and his sustained leadership within the life sciences in the university. The Fralin Life Science Senior Faculty Fellow award was created to recognize contributions of senior faculty members beyond their scientific achievements and their regular faculty appointments. Congratulations to Dr. Meng! Learn more

Dr. Anne Zajac and David Goodwin receive national honors
A faculty member and student in the VMRCVM's Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology (DBSP) were recently honored by the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists. Dr. Anne Zajac, an associate professor in the DBSP, was named the recipient of the association’s 2008 Distinguished Service Award. David Goodwin, a DBSP graduate student, was named the first recipient of the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists-Companion Animal Parasite Council Graduate Student Award in Zoonotic Disease. Learn more

New Grant Announcement
The Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology is very pleased to announce that Dr. LeRoith (PI), Dr. Meng and Dr. Pelzer (Co-Is) have secured two grants from the National Pork Board totaling $119,918. Please see the Research Awards page for more information about the grants. Congratulations to Drs. LeRoith, Meng and Pelzer!

New Grant Announcement
The Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology is very pleased to announce that Dr. Wilcke (PI) and Dr. Green (Co-I) have secured a grant from USDA, APHIS, Veterinary Services totaling $65,000. Please see the Research Awards page for more information about the grants. Congratulations to Drs. Wilcke and Green!

New Grant Announcement
The Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology is very pleased to announce that Dr. Meng (PI), and Dr. Sponenberg (Co-I) have secured a grant from NIH totaling $24,866. Please see the Research Awards page for more information about the grants. Congratulations to Drs. Meng and Sponenberg!

Dr. Zimmerman and Dr. Cecere pass the ACVP Anatomic Board Examination
The Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology is very pleased to announce that Dr. Kurt Zimmerman and Dr. Tom Cecere have passed the ACVP Anatomic Board Examination. This is indeed an important achievement as Dr. Zimmerman now has the unique distinction of being double boarded in Clinical Pathology and Anatomic Pathology. Congratulations to Drs. Zimmerman and Cecere!

New Grant Announcement
The Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology is very pleased to announce that Dr. Marion Ehrich (PI) and her colleagues have secured a new NIH R21 grant total award of $946,432 for 3 years. Please see the Research Awards page for more information about the grant. Congratulations to Dr. Marion Ehrich and Dr. Bernard Jortner of VMRCVM and Roger Van Tassell and Chris Kepley of Luna Innovations, Inc!

New Grants Announcement
The Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology is very pleased to announce that Dr. XJ Meng (PI) and his colleagues have been awarded two NIH RO1 grants worth more than $2.8 million. Please see the Research Awards page for more information about the grants and read the full story in Vital Signs. This is a MAJOR accomplishment, especially in this current funding climate. Congratulations to Drs. Meng, Huang, Halibur, Pierson, and LeRoth!

An Interview with Dr. XJ Meng in in-cites.com from Thomson Scientific
According to a recent analysis of Essential Science Indicators data, the work of Dr. XJ Meng has entered the top 1% by total citations in the field of Microbiology, with 31 original articles and review papers published in the past decade cited a total of 896 times to date. Dr. Meng is also in the top 1% of researchers in the field of Clinical Medicine. Dr. Meng’s full record in the Thomson Scientific database includes 68 papers cited a total of 1,842 times to date, which includes original articles and review papers from January 1997 to August 2007.
Read the interview

Dr. Bradley Klein, other VMRCVM professors, edit major textbook
Dr. Bradley G. Klein (Associate Professor of Neuroscience, DBSP) is Co-Editor-in-Chief, along with Dr. James G. Cunningham (Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine), of the recently published 4th edition of Textbook of Veterinary Physiology (Elsevier-Saunders). The book has previously been published in four languages and is the most widely used veterinary physiology text in the world. Drs. Gerhardt Schurig (Dean) and Ansar Ahmed (Interim Dept. Head, DBSP) contributed a new section of the book entitled The Immune System and Dr. Sharon Witonsky (LACS) served as Clinical Correlations editor. Dr. Klein also co-authored the extensive Neurophysiology section of the book.


Global Medicine Activities

VMRCVM, Virginia Tech and Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS), Chennai, India have joined hands to build capacity to understand viral diseases and promote animal biotechnological applications as part of the Indo-U.S. Agricultural Knowledge Initiative, funded by the USDA. This has paved the way for a very productive collaboration since 2007 on several fronts including veterinary education, research and extension. The faculty from these institutions actively collaborate and publish jointly on key animal health issues. DBSP's Dr. Elankumaran Subbiah and Dr. Nammalwar Sriranganathan are the coordinators for this international program.

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