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CVMBS Professors Named EDGES Fellows For High-Impact Contributions

Story by Aubrey Bloom

The Texas A&M Veterinary Research Building
The Texas A&M Veterinary Research Building

Drs. Gregory Johnson and William Murphy, both professors in the Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences (VIBS) at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVMBS), have been named Chancellor Enhancing Development and Generating Excellence in Scholarship (EDGES) Fellows by The Texas A&M University System.

Launched in 2019, EDGES Fellowships were developed with resources from Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp to honor, incentivize, and boost mid-career faculty at the associate or early full professor rank who are making significant marks in their discipline.

“We are delighted to have two faculty members in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences to be selected as 2020 Chancellor EDGES Fellows,” said Dr. John August, CVMBS dean. “Dr. Gregory Johnson and Dr. William Murphy are testaments to the outstanding research being conducted in the CVMBS, and we are proud that their significant scholarly accomplishments, hard work, and dedication to achieving their goals have been recognized with this very selective honor.”

VIBS department head Dr. Todd O’Hara said that their impact extends to everyone they work with at the college.

“In addition to their long inventory of accolades and accomplishments, they are kind and generous colleagues and fine teachers and mentors for students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty members,” O’Hara said.

Dr. William Murphy

CVMBS EDGES Fellow Dr. William Murphy headshot
Dr. William Murphy

Murphy, who earlier this year was also named a University Professor, has been with the CVMBS since 2004, and even though he has received a number of awards in the past, he said he still wasn’t expecting his recent recognitions.

“My initial reaction was one of surprise,” Murphy said. “But I am certainly honored and humbled to have been selected by the university for this honor. I would not have been selected if not for the outstanding students and staff, great colleagues at A&M, collaborators at other institutions, and administrative support by the department heads and the dean throughout my career at A&M.”

Murphy is internationally recognized for his longstanding contributions to feline health through genomics research, for which he received the 2013 American Veterinary Medical Foundation/Winn Feline Foundation Excellence in Research Award.

In a 2011 edition of the journal Science, Murphy published the results of a five-year National Science Foundation-sponsored project that established the first resolved phylogeny, a history of organismal lineages as they change through time, of all mammalian families. Other investigators now refer to the phylogenetic “trees” conceptualized in these papers as “Murphy trees,” which have become key features in leading mammalogy textbooks.

Dr. Murphy previously received the prestigious 2009 JoAnn Treat Research Excellence Award given by the Board of Trustees of the Texas A&M Research Foundation and the 2010 Texas A&M University Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award in Research.

He was more recently appointed the title of Presidential Impact Fellow in the first class of inductees in 2017.

Dr. Gregory Johnson

CVMBS EDGES Fellow Dr. Gregory Johnson headshot
Dr. Gregory Johnson

Johnson has been with the CVMBS since 2002 and continues to develop a strong collaborative research program focused on reproduction in a variety of species. He is nationally and internationally recognized as a leader in the study of implantation and placentation in domestic livestock.

According to Johnson, his goal as a research scientist is to serve society by advancing understanding of the processes that affect reproductive health to benefit human, agricultural animal, and companion animal reproduction.

“My honest, first reaction, and my continued reaction, to receiving the EDGES award is that I am very humbled by the professional recognition and the significant efforts others made to make this a reality,” Johnson said. “I love science, research, academia, and knowledge—and my modest ambition has always been to continue to be privileged to ‘play in the sandbox with my dump truck.’”

Johnson has previously received CVMBS Outstanding Alumni Awards for Outstanding Mentor for Graduate Students and/or Postdoctoral Research Associates in 2014 and 2016, the Association of Former Students (AFS) College-Level Distinguished Achievement in Research Award in 2020, the AFS College-Level Distinguished Achievement in Teaching Award in 2013, the Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence for Diversity, and the Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence for Team Research in 2005.

Other honors include receiving the excellence in Reviewing Award from the journal Placenta in 2016 and being elected to the board of directors for the Society for the Study of Reproduction in 2016.

The EDGES Fellowship

The EDGES recognition highlights Texas A&M’s intentional commitment to intensively support, retain, and recognize faculty with significant and sustained accomplishments and the promise of continued high-impact scholarship.

“These awards recognize the priority of Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp to develop and support faculty members with national and international acclaim,” said Provost and Executive Vice President Carol A. Fierke. “The honorees are scholars with careers on-track to make high-impact contributions to enhance the state and nation, leading to national and international recognition.”

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For more information about the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, please visit our website at vetmed.tamu.edu or join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Contact Information: Jennifer Gauntt, Director of CVM Communications, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences; jgauntt@cvm.tamu.edu; 979-862-4216

CVMBS Receives Fourth Consecutive HEED Award For Commitment To Diversity, Inclusion

Insight into Diversity Health Professions HEED Award graphicFrom an integrated and inclusive curriculum to initiatives that make higher education accessible to students at all levels and training opportunities for faculty and staff, the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences’ (CVMBS) commitment to celebrating diversity and inclusion is multifaceted.

For the CVMBS’ efforts over the years, the college has been one of only two veterinary schools across the United States to be recognized with three consecutive Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award.

On Thursday, Oct. 1, INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine announced that the CVMBS is again one of two veterinary colleges to earn a fourth consecutive HEED Award, joining three other veterinary colleges and the Texas A&M College of Dentistry as 2020 recipients.

“We are thrilled that our diversity and inclusion efforts have been recognized with a fourth HEED Award,” said Dr. John August, CVMBS dean. “The CVMBS operates like a jigsaw puzzle, with every member of our community serving as an important piece that, when we come all together, creates a beautiful picture. We take very seriously the responsibility of fostering an environment that supports everybody’s success and continuing to look for new areas in which we can improve.”

The Health Professions HEED Awards are presented annually in recognition of U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion.

All 46 recipients of this year’s Health Professions HEED Award—representing U.S. medical, dental, pharmacy, osteopathic, nursing, veterinary, allied health, and other health schools and centers—will be featured in the December issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. Texas A&M University was also named a 2020 HEED award recipient as a “Diversity Champion” for the second consecutive year.

In addition to programs and trainings, this year, the CVMBS’ Diversity & Inclusion Office has initiated a number of activities designed to promote inclusion, diversity, and access.

Those include weekly well-being emails sent by executive associate dean and D&I director Dr. Kenita Rogers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a new monthly Diversity & Inclusion Digest enewsletter, and the newly formed Committee on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accountability (C-IDEA), charged with promoting a welcoming, inclusive, and respectful environment for all individuals within the college community.

Another highlight of this year was the “I am CVM” video series that celebrated the uniqueness of more than 40 CVMBS faculty, staff, and students through short video testimonials, while reinforcing that all are connected through the college.

These new initiatives expand upon the college’s strong student and college organizations that are dedicated to supporting a welcoming learning environment. These include the Graduate Student Association, which provides consistent multicultural programming; VOICE (Veterinarians as One Inclusive Community for Empowerment), a student-run organization that addresses socio-cultural awareness among veterinary students, faculty, and staff; and Broad Spectrum (PRIDE), which works to connect, support, and empower LGBTQ+ veterinary students and allies.

In addition, the veterinary student-led CVMBS White Coats are dedicated to maintaining a culture of universal acceptance and selfless leadership in order to preserve the ideals of inclusion and excellence within the CVMBS.

“The HEED Award process consists of a comprehensive and rigorous application that includes questions relating to the recruitment and retention of students and employees—and best practices for both—continued leadership support for diversity, and other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. “We take a detailed approach to reviewing each application in deciding who will be named a HEED Award recipient. Our standards are high, and we look for institutions where diversity and inclusion are woven into the work being done every day across their campus.”

For more information about the 2020 Health Professions HEED Award, visit insightintodiversity.com.

 

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For more information about the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, please visit our website at vetmed.tamu.edu or join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Contact Information: Jennifer Gauntt, Director of CVM Communications, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences; jgauntt@cvm.tamu.edu; 979-862-4216

CVM Postdoctoral Researchers Receive AFS Distinguished Graduate Student Awards

Story by Megan Myers

Two postdoctoral research associates at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM) have been recognized with 2020 Distinguished Graduate Student Awards from the Association of Former Students (AFS).

Dr. Keshav Karki, from Dr. Stephen Safe’s Molecular & Cellular Oncology Laboratory, and Dr. Alyssa Meyers, from the Sarah A. Hamer Laboratory, received awards for their significant research accomplishments and embodiment of Texas A&M’s core values.

Keshav Karki
Dr. Keshav Karki

Dr. Keshav Karki

Karki earned his doctorate in toxicology in 2019 as a graduate student in both the CVM’s Department of Veterinary Physiology & Pharmacology (VTPP) and the Texas A&M Interdisciplinary Faculty of Toxicology.

He has coauthored 10 published manuscripts and presented his research, largely on the development of anticancer agents, at 11 local, regional, and national scientific meetings.

Most recently, Karki has been working with Safe, a Distinguished Professor and Karki’s faculty mentor, to target the NR4A2 and NR4A1 nuclear receptors as a means for treating glioblastomas, breast cancer, and endometriosis.

“Keshav’s Ph.D. research has been outstanding,” Safe said, “and his ongoing research projects, including development of an NR4A2 ligand for targeting PD-L1 (a protein that researchers believe may allow cancers to evade the host immune system) in glioblastomas, are also high impact studies.”

By helping develop a family of pharmaceutical compounds (C-DIMs) that bind and inactivate the NR4A1 and NR4A2 receptors, Karki’s research has been “instrumental in the recent licensing of this technology for future clinical development,” Safe said.

“Keshav has also been a role model for his colleagues in the laboratory in terms of his collaboration and mentorship and his willingness to help keep the laboratory functioning,” Safe said.

Once Karki completes his current research projects in the Safe Lab, he plans to transition into a position in the pharmaceutical industry.

Alyssa Meyers
Dr. Alyssa Meyers

Dr. Alyssa Meyers

Meyers, who earned her doctorate in biomedical sciences in 2019, has received numerous awards for her accomplishments as a researcher and mentor.

Working with Hamer, her faculty mentor, Meyers has contributed to eight peer-reviewed published papers and has presented her research at 23 different regional, state, and national venues.

Meyers’ research in the Hamer Lab has focused on exploring vector-host-parasite interactions in the Chagas disease system. By studying populations of working dogs owned by the U.S. government, she has made great contributions to determining the burden of disease and clinical outcomes of infection.

“Her research has built bridges with government veterinarians, extension entomologists, the Institute for Infectious Animal Diseases (IIAD), the Department of Homeland Security, the Texas Department of State Health Services, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” Hamer said. “She has been a true research leader.”

While working in South Texas, Meyers discovered widespread exposure to Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease, among working dogs. She then did further work to characterize the various cardiac abnormalities in infected dogs, providing useful information for veterinarians and dog owners.

During her time at the CVM, Meyers has also devoted much of her time to mentoring undergraduate and graduate students. She was recently recognized with the 2019 Ethel Ashworth-Tsutsui Memorial Award for Mentoring from the Texas A&M organization Women in Science and Engineering (WISE).

“The positive culture in my lab and many of my team’s successes are directly attributed to Alyssa serving as a model student and setting a high level of productivity,” Hamer said.

Meyers plans to pursue a career in government service working on epidemiology research, outbreak investigations, and enacting public health practices based on science.

CVM alumna Dr. Lauren Lewis also received a 2020 Distinguished Graduate Student Award in the category of research. Lewis works at the Cambridge, Massachusetts, site of Takeda, a global research and development pharmaceutical company based in Japan, conducting research projects and developing models to improve safety evaluations.

The award recipients will each receive a framed certificate and custom gold watch from the AFS.

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For more information about the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, please visit our website at vetmed.tamu.edu or join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Contact Information: Jennifer Gauntt, Director of CVM Communications, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences; jgauntt@cvm.tamu.edu; 979-862-4216

CVM Faculty Recognized With AFS Distinguished Achievement Awards

Story by Megan Myers

Five faculty members at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM) have been honored with this year’s Distinguished Achievement Awards from the Association of Former Students (AFS).

The university-level awards are presented each year to faculty and staff who exhibit the highest standards of excellence at Texas A&M.

This year, the CVM had the most awardees from any college or division, with recipients honored in more than half of the award categories.

Dr. Kristin Chaney
Dr. Kristin Chaney

Dr. Kristin Chaney

Chaney, a clinical assistant professor in the CVM’s Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences (VIBS), was recognized for teaching.

Chaney contributes to multiple courses within the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) curriculum, often using her experience in equine medicine to teach on a variety of subjects.

“Dr. Chaney’s passion for teaching, her command of her discipline, and her various teaching methodologies is very apparent in the classroom setting,” one nominator said. “In addition to being a knowledgeable and effective teacher, Dr. Chaney also cares greatly for her students.”

As a member of the CVM’s Professional Programs Office (PPO), Chaney helps develop the DVM program curriculum and works to advance veterinary education both within the CVM and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC). She was also recently recognized with a Presidential Award for Meritorious Service from the AAVMC.

“As one of the lucky few who have been able to experience Dr. Chaney’s radiant energy, I can attest to her outstanding ability to accommodate a variety of student performance levels, her genuine care for every student, and her exceptional communication skills,” said another nominator and former student of Chaney’s.

Dr. Brian Porter
Dr. Brian Porter

Dr. Brian Porter

Porter, a clinical professor in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology (VTPB), also was recognized for teaching.

He instructs veterinary students in the areas of pathology and diagnostic medicine and also supervises the veterinary anatomic pathology combined residency-Ph.D. program.

“Dr. Porter is an excellent role model who embodies leadership traits and possesses the unique ability to relay information to students/residents that is easy to understand and retain,” one nominator said. “Dr. Porter has played a critical role in the success of the residency program at Texas A&M University.”

Porter serves as both a teacher and mentor for his students, with many former students saying he inspired them to pursue careers in pathology. He has also been recognized with the Carl J. Norden-Pfizer Distinguished Teaching Award from Zoetis.

“He has taken modern teaching methods in stride and keeps the students’ attention and interest with interactive lectures, gaining excellent student evaluations along the way,” another nominator said.

Dr. Gregory Johnson

Dr. Gregory Johnson
Dr. Gregory Johnson

Johnson, a professor in VIBS, was recognized for research.

His work at the CVM studies the interactions between the embryo/fetus and uterus during pregnancy, with the ultimate goal of reducing pregnancy loss in women, livestock, and companion animals.

“By every measure of excellence and international recognition, Dr. Johnson is a research leader in his field of reproductive biology,” one nominator said. “Dr. Johnson has established himself as a highly accomplished researcher and truly outstanding teacher and mentor.”

Dr. Johnson’s laboratory has studied the unique physiology of pigs and sheep to establish many of the key molecules involved in initial attachment of the placenta to the uterus.

He found that the protein osteopontin (OPN) has diverse roles in mammalian pregnancies, including nutrient transport, homing of immune cells to the uterus during pregnancy, and the genesis of new blood vessels in the uterus and placenta required to support fetal development.

“Dr. Johnson’s pioneering research, contagious enthusiasm, and common sense have thrust him into positions of high professional responsibility,” another nominator said. “He is frequently called upon to review research papers and grant proposals; he has served on the editorial boards of the most prestigious journals in the field of reproductive biology.”

Dr. Jörg M. Steiner
Dr. Jörg M. Steiner

Dr. Jörg M. Steiner

Steiner, a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (VSCS), was recognized for extension, outreach, continuing education, and professional development.

As director of the Gastrointestinal (GI) Laboratory, he oversees a staff of scientists, technicians, and student assistants as they perform testing services to help veterinarians around the world diagnose and treat gastrointestinal diseases in dogs and cats.

“Dr. Steiner collaborated with numerous colleagues not only from veterinary but also from human medicine from all over the world,” one nominator said. “The comparative aspects of his work are of great interest and help to generate funding, demonstrated by the impressive number of his (competitive) research grants.”

Steiner is also a world leader in the study of canine and feline pancreatitis, having devoted much of his research career to developing the first accurate and reliable method to test for these conditions.

“Dr. Steiner’s impact on the practice of small animal veterinary gastroenterology has been profound,” another nominator said. “His research and study of both canine and feline pancreatic diseases over a span of 16 years helped to revolutionize the diagnostic approach to this condition.”

Dr. Stephen Safe

Dr. Stephen Safe
Dr. Stephen Safe

Safe, a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology (VTPP), was recognized for graduate mentoring.

Within the Molecular & Cellular Oncology Laboratory, also known as the Safe Lab, he mentors graduate students as they work to develop anticancer agents and a new class of drugs for treating endometriosis.

“Dr. Safe has been an extraordinarily supportive and highly inspiring mentor to many graduate students, including myself,” said one nominator, who previously worked in the Safe Lab. “He has mentored a plethora of graduate students, the majority of whom have highly productive scientific careers. Most importantly, his guidance lead to the overall development and character of a graduate student to serve and lead in their own professional and personal lives.”

Safe has mentored 97 Ph.D. students, 18 Master of Science graduate students, and more than 20 postdoctoral fellows.

“Dr. Safe is always willing to share his scientific experience, vision, and knowledge to find career-related information and exposure to various professional resources, opportunities, meetings, and networks,” said another nominator and past graduate student in the Safe Lab. “Furthermore, he has provided both emotional and moral support and encouragement through career related counseling and coaching.”

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For more information about the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, please visit our website at vetmed.tamu.edu or join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Contact Information: Jennifer Gauntt, Director of CVM Communications, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences; jgauntt@cvm.tamu.edu; 979-862-4216