Professor Appointed to Elite Scientific Advisory Board
COLLEGE STATION, TX – Dr. Heather Wilson-Robles of the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM) has recently been appointed to serve on the Small Animal Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) for the Morris Animal Foundation (MAF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to investing in research. The work of MAF and their investment in research has a global impact on animal health. Wilson-Robles, a veterinary oncologist, is an assistant professor in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (VSCS) at the CVM.
“Dr. Wilson-Robles is widely recognized for her excellence in patient care and clinical research,” said Dr. Eleanor M. Green, Carl B. King Dean of Veterinary Medicine at the CVM. “She oversees multiple clinical trials in veterinary oncology that will one day lead to improved therapies in humans and animals. We are proud that her efforts have been recognized with this important opportunity to advance veterinary research and One Health initiatives.”
Wilson received her first grant from the MAF several years ago for a project involving canine osteosarcoma (OSA) and the identification of tumor initiating cells in the cell cultures of canine OSA. Her work serving on the SAB requires time and effort to ensure that the MAF funds are used to support high quality research and to provide critical feedback to unfunded investigators improving their research proposals.
“She has endeavored to investigate spontaneous tumors in animals with the goal of defining innovative and effective treatments, while collaborating with medical oncologists to discover potential applications to management of human cancers,” said Dr. Sandee Hartsfield, Professor and Head of VSCS. “Her expertise will be very valuable to the MAF small animal scientific advisory board.”
Each member appointed on the SAB serves a four-year term and contributes more than 100 volunteer hours. In addition to the time spent volunteering, these elite board members must review and provide written comments for approximately 16 grant proposals submitted to the foundation and devote up to three days for an in-person grant review meeting. Integral to the advancement of veterinary medical research, the SAB ranks proposals for scientific merit, relevance, and impact.
“I believe that we, as veterinarians, have a very important role to play in the one health initiative and we can only do that by continuing to perform high quality research,” said Dr. Wilson-Robles. “MAF is one of the few entities that help to financially support veterinary clinician scientists, and because of this, I am happy to help them in any way I can.”
