Dr. Songster, as she is known as to students and clients, grew up in a small town southwest of Buffalo in rural western New York State. She attended a small liberal arts teacher’s college in central NYS with the goal of becoming a physical education teacher but soon realized that […]
Dr. Alejandro Ojeda-Rojas is an Assistant Professor and Beef Cattle Veterinarian with expertise in food animal reproduction, herd health, and production management. His work integrates clinical service, research, and teaching to improve reproductive efficiency, animal welfare, and sustainability of cow–calf operations. Across his career in Latin America and the United […]
Aleksandra Pawlak is a veterinary scientist specializing in pharmacology, immunopharmacology, and comparative oncology. She earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and PhD degree from the Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences (UPWr) in Poland, where she has built her academic and research career. Currently, at UGA, Dr. Pawlak serves […]
Richard Lamb, Ph.D. is a member of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and the Department of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy in the Colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy. He is currently the director of the Neurocognition Science Laboratory at the University of Georgia. He earned his Ph.D. from George […]
Dr. Dixon is a graduate of the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine. Following graduation, she completed an equine medical and surgical internship. She has worked in both small and mixed animal private practice and is a certified veterinary acupuncturist. In addition, she has over a decade of experience in […]
Before joining UGA, Dr. Mendes was a full professor at the Instituto Federal Catarinense (IFC) in Concórdia, Santa Catarina, Brazil. He successfully secured multiple research grants at both federal and state levels, demonstrating his expertise and strong research background. His career in veterinary pathology spans more than two decades, beginning […]
After completing her DVM training at the University of Georgia in 2018, Dr. Mackenzie Long received her PhD and veterinary clinical pathology boards certification while training at The Ohio State University. Dr. Long is passionate about enhancing veterinary oncology diagnostics and treatment. She is particularly interested in better characterizing and targeting resistance […]
Dr. Sundaram is a new Assistant Professor appointed by Infectious Diseases and the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. A quantitative ecologist by training, she began her academic path at the University of Mumbai where she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Life Sciences and Biochemistry. Her love of ecology led […]
Dr. Allenspach is a clinician-scientist and has been employed as a faculty in academia for the last 20 years. Dr. Allenspach has a current H-index of 51 with over >150 publications. She has broad background in small animal internal medicine (Diplomate European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine DECVIM-CA) with a […]
Dr. Leigh Anne Clark earned her doctoral degree in 2004 from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University studying exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in German shepherd dogs. After graduation, she remained in the Department of Pathobiology as a Research Assistant Professor, investigating the genetics of dermatomyositis in Collies and […]
As bacterial pathogens become increasingly resistant to antimicrobials, new interventions are needed to manage their spread in human and animal populations. My lab is focused on uncovering the mechanisms of adaptation that contribute to pathogen success. We use computational tools alongside microbial whole genome sequencing data to reconstruct pathogen transmission, […]
Dr. Jon P. Mochel is Professor of Systems Pharmacology in the Department of Pathology and Founding Director of the Precision One Health Initiative at the University of Georgia (USA). A board-certified veterinary pharmacologist and toxicologist (Dipl. ECVPT), he holds advanced degrees in Pharmacology (MS), Pharmacokinetics (MS), and Applied Mathematical Modeling […]
Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of malaria, is a deadly parasite that is spread through the bite of Anopheles mosquitoes. My lab is committed to developing new and novel ways to reduce global malaria burden, and studies the interaction of Plasmodium parasites with their Anopheles mosquito host, with an emphasis […]
Human fungal pathogens cause more than 1.5 million deaths annually. In particular, Cryptococcus species are responsible for life threatening meningitis and kill nearly 200,000 people a year. There are only three classes of effective antifungal drugs available to treat Cryptococcus and developing new drugs is difficult because many potential antifungal […]
Education & Background Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, B.A.(1979) Biological Sciences Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, M.A. (1981) Microbiology University of Georgia, Athens, GA , Ph.D. (1987) Genetics Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, Postdoctoral Fellow (1990) Molecular Biology College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, Assistant Professor (1993) Biology Iowa State […]
Grazieli Maboni is the Section Head of the Microbiology and Molecular diagnostic laboratories at the Athens Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and is an Assistant Professor in Infectious Diseases at the College of Veterinary Medicine. Grazieli is a veterinarian and is board-certified in bacteriology/mycology and virology by the American College of Veterinary […]
Discipline-Based Education Researcher Science Faculty with Education Specialties Trained in Reproductive Neuroendocrinology First-generation college going
Dr. Bryce Miller is a board-certified, faculty pathologist in both the Department of Pathology and the Infectious Diseases Laboratory (IDL), which is based in the Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery. Dr. Miller is a member of the UGA Zoo and Exotic Animal Pathology Service (ZEAPS), which is a […]
Nicole joined the CVM in September 2022 as the Assessment and Accreditation Coordinator for the DVM program. Prior to this role, she worked 14 years in higher education (academic advising/student success & program evaluation/assessment) and 5 years in the federal government (qualitative data collection & analysis). Nicole has a PhD […]
Expertise Infectious disease ecology Biology education research
Dr. Alex Rozenberg is a trained molecular microbiologist and parasitologist. His research program focused on the interaction of the apicomplexan intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii and its mammalian host. This fascinating microorganism is able to invade any nucleated cell, block phagosome acidification, inhibit interferon response, prevent cell death, and grow rapidly […]
Mosquitoes are the world’s deadliest animals, but they have a secret life that doesn’t involve biting us. It’s this whole secret life, that includes everything from mosquito pollination to the non-human animals they feed on to mosquito-mosquito competition to how they find each other to mate, that fascinates me and […]
Binu Velayudhan is the Director of Athens Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases in the College of Veterinary Medicine. He is a veterinarian and a board-certified virologist. Dr. Velayudhan earned his PhD in infectious diseases from the University of Minnesota, and an MBA from Texas Tech University. […]
Dr. Caitlin Burrell is a faculty pathologist and research scientist on the UGA Zoo and Exotic Animal Pathology Service (ZEAPS) team, where she provides diagnostic support for veterinarians working with nondomestic species. Prior to joining ZEAPS, Dr. Burrell was a wildlife pathologist for the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study at […]
Dr. Allison Dockery is an avid horse enthusiast that grew up competing and training Hunter Jumpers in San Diego, California and then went on to compete in both the English and Western show ring. She attended California Polytechnic State University where she obtained her B.S. in Animal Science, followed by […]
Dr. Parr, a 2009 graduate of the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) and Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist® with the American College of Veterinary Nutrition, joined the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2020 as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Nutrition. In her role, Dr. Parr leads the Small Animal […]
Dr. Chet Joyner is a trained immunologist and parasitologist. His research program focuses on understanding the biology of Plasmodium vivax, malaria immunology and pathogenesis, and the biology of B cells and plasma cells. Dr. Joyner’s research uses cutting-edge technologies to develop new treatments and control strategies for malaria while simultaneously […]
Leonor Sicalo Gianechini, DVM, PhD, DACVM (Parasitology) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. Her research focuses on gastrointestinal parasites of livestock, with an emphasis on anthelmintic resistance, parasite population genomics, and the development of high-throughput phenotyping and […]
Dr. Rajao is an associate professor within the Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center in the Department of Population Health, at the College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Rajao is also affiliated with the Center for Vaccines and Immunology. Dr. Rajao’s current research focuses on understanding the molecular elements involved with host […]
My research focuses on vaccine development using paramyxovirus-based viral vectors, virus assembly, paramyxovirus VLP study, paramyxovirus fusion protein structure and function, and virus-promoted membrane fusion.
Hind Yahyaoui Azami is an early-career researcher in the field of infectious diseases, with 10 years’ cumulative post-graduate experience in the epidemiology of zoonotic diseases. She has carried out research in Morocco and Switzerland and possess strong skills in managing international knowledge networks, research partnerships and program development in the […]
Dr. Elyssa Campbell is a Research Faculty member in the Department of Infectious Diseases at the University of Georgia (UGA) College of Veterinary Medicine. Additionally, Dr. Campbell serves as the Director of the NIH-funded Filariasis Research Reagent Resource Center (FR3), which supplies filarial reagents to researchers in North America and other […]
Dr. Melinda Brindley is a molecular virologist, with expertise in positive and negative sense RNA viruses. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Iowa studying how Ebola virus and equine infectious anemia virus enters host cells. As a postdoc at Emory University, she characterized how the measles virus glycoprotein […]
Karen Norris, PhD, received her doctorate in biomedical sciences and microbiology from Wright State University School of Medicine and completed post-doctoral training at The Scripps Research Institute. Dr. Norris was appointed as Assistant Professor in Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry at the University of Pittsburgh, then joined the newly formed Department […]
Eric Shepherd is a clinical assistant professor of avian medicine in the Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia. His interests include poultry respiratory diseases and live production. Before returning back to Athens, Shepherd worked as a production veterinarian for Mountaire […]
Dr. Hostetter is the Barry G. Harmon Professor and Head of the Department of Pathology in the College of Veterinary Medicine. He also is the Executive Director of the Tifton and Athens Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories. In these positions he is responsible for all aspects of the service, teaching and research […]
BVM, MS, PhD, Diplomate ACVM Dr. Mosley is from Taiwan where she earned her Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Master of Science from National Chung Hsing University. Later she got her PhD degree from Purdue University in Virology & Vaccinology. She is a board certified Veterinary Microbiologist with experience of […]
Dr. Barbieri is an assistant professor in the Department of Population Health at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. She is specialized in Extra-intestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) – which encompass avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC), Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) and Neonatal meningitis E. coli (NMEC). She has […]
Dr. Clouser is a 2005 graduate of the University of Georgia Department of Adult Education and joined the CVM in 2018 after 19 years at the UGA Center for Teaching and Learning. Her professional interests include new models for curriculum in veterinary medical education, online and hybrid designs for faculty […]
Dr. Logue specializes in the detection and characterization of foodborne pathogens from food animal sources and has extensive research programs in pathogens of human and animal health; antimicrobial resistance; Food Safety and bacterial pathogenesis of poultry and poultry production. She has published extensively in research areas including, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus […]
My research interests span the ecology, evolution, population dynamics, and molecular epidemiology of emerging infectious diseases. I am primarily interested in viral disease systems, such as influenza A virus, where transmission at individual (including between host species), population and global scales are difficult to observe or quantify.
Dr. Garg received Ph.D. in Medical Microbiology from Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Science, India, followed by postdoctoral training from the University of Texas Health Science Center and the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Garg also spent a few years in the R&D divisions of pharmaceutical companies where […]
Inflammation is necessary for efficient pathogen clearance, but inappropriate inflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of infectious and autoimmune diseases. The focus of the Watford lab is to gain a better understanding of immunoregulatory networks, especially at pulmonary and gastrointestinal barriers that represent major sites for pathogen entry. Current efforts are […]
My laboratory studies mechanisms of respiratory innate immunity supporting immune responses to pathogens or underlying pathogeneses of lung diseases. The first major project focuses on cystic fibrosis lung disease and studies host-pathogen interactions between neutrophils and respiratory pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Mycobacterium abscessus. The second main project investigates […]
Eric T. Harvill completed his Ph.D in Immunology at UCLA in 1996 and postdoctoral studies in Microbial Pathogenesis. He has served the National Academies, NIH, USDA, DOD and other agencies in a variety of capacities and has served on many national and international review panels and editorial boards. He advanced […]
Department of Cellular Biology profile
Whitney Rabacal obtained her Bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College (Brunswick, ME) in 2006 and then worked as a research assistant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston, MA) in the laboratory of Dr. Vicki Rubin Kelley from 2016-2010, focusing on models of autoimmune kidney disease. In 2016, Dr. Rabacal then received […]
I am interested in determining how parasite fitness is shaped by interactions with host(s) and environment. Questions that motivate my research include: 1) How do biotic and abiotic factors regulate dynamics of parasite populations within and between hosts? 2) To what extent do parasites and their hosts vary naturally in […]
Dr. Grimes is an Associate Professor of Small Animal Surgery at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. She is a graduate of the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine and completed a rotating internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the Texas A&M University College of […]
A native of West Virginia, I am a graduate of Marshall University and received my DVM from The University of Georgia in 1987. After receiving my DVM, I completed an internship, dual residency in internal medicine and nutrition, a PhD, and a post-doctoral position at the University of Minnesota in […]
Dr. Mandy Wallace is an Associate Professor of Small Animal Surgery at the University of Georgia. She is a 2010 graduate of Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine and completed an internship in small animal medicine and surgery at Colorado State University in 2011. She was the PennHIP research […]
Honored with a 2022 U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring for her work with underrepresented groups to develop fully the Nation’s human resources in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Karen J.L. Burg is the Harbor Lights Chair of Biomedical Research in the Department of Small […]
Throughout my professional career, my main research goal has been to contribute significantly in the field of microbial sciences concentrating on the study of pathogenic bacteria. The Trent Lab is interested in uncovering the molecular mechanisms required for assembly and maintenance of membranes in Gram-negative bacteria. Working as member of […]
Frane Banovic, DVM, PhD, DECVD, is an Associate Professor of Veterinary Dermatology in the Department for Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine. He also holds an appointment as an Adjunct Professor at the School of Medicine, Emory University, USA and Faculty of […]
Understanding the bacterial cell envelope provides valuable insights for two crucial areas: the discovery of new antibiotics and the understanding of microbe-host interactions. The cell envelope serves as a prime target for antibiotic development, as its unique components and processes can be exploited to disrupt bacterial growth and survival. By […]
Odum School of Ecology profile
I have been investigating virus-host interactions, focusing on the roles of host proteins in regulating virus replication.
The goal of my research project is to construct a tetravalent vaccine for Dengue virus. The vaccine is designed by using the Computationally Optimized Broadly Reactive Antigen (COBRA) methodology, developed by Ted Ross, PhD, for constructing subunit virus-like particles (SVPs) that can elicit immune response and protection against all four […]
Dr. Susan Sanchez is a tenured Department of Infectious Diseases professor and the University of Georgia Curriculum Committee Chair. She has received numerous microbiology, research, mentoring, and teaching awards. Her former students occupy prominent science positions nationally and internationally. Dr. Sanchez is a member of the Council of Councils at […]
Dr. Chad Schmiedt received his DVM from the University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine in 2000. Following five years of post-graduate surgical training at the University of Tennessee, the Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a two year clinical instructorship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, […]
I was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, a very warm, colorful, coastal city with cultural and geographical importance for the development of the region. With no doubts, one of the most beautiful countries on the planet, not only for the natural and economic resources, but also for our lovely and diverse […]
Dr. Heins has lived in various regions of the United States and has a diverse background as a veterinary for beef, swine, and dairy operations as well as prior experience working in small animal medicine. Having grown up in rural Georgia, Dr. Heins sees the importance of mentoring students to […]
Dr. Corey Saba is a graduate of Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine. She completed her medical oncology residency at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has been employed by the University of Georgia since 2006. She has been actively involved in the design and execution of over 40 clinical […]
Stephen Divers graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in London in 1994. He obtained his Certificate and Diploma in Zoological Medicine from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), and is a recognized Specialist in Zoo & Wildlife Medicine and a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. He […]
Jim graduated from the veterinary school at the University of California, Davis, completed an internship at the Ontario Veterinary College and an equine surgery resident and PhD program at the University of Missouri before joining UGA in 1981 as a faculty member in the Department of Large Animal Medicine. Throughout […]
Dr. Karls is a Senior Research Scientist in the Infectious Diseases Department at the University of Georgia. He received undergraduate degrees in Biochemistry and Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He earned his doctorate in Bacteriology from UW-Madison applying biochemistry and molecular genetics to study transcriptional control of bacterial photosynthesis. […]
My research interests include the development of novel antiviral therapeutic agents, as well as the re-purposing of existing therapies applied to counter viral infection. Host cells, triggered by virus infection, induce multiple anti-viral and pro-viral pathways utilized, suppressed or evaded by viruses presenting potential druggable host targets. Our lab studies […]
Dr. Tuhina Gupta is an immunologist and a bacteriologist, with expertise in mycobacterial diseases. She joined the University of Georgia in 2007 and works with Dr. Frederick Quinn on multiple projects. Her research focuses on developing animal models of mycobacterial pathology, meningitis, latency, and transmission, testing novel methods for TB […]
Jamie Barber received an undergraduate degree from a small liberal arts honors college in Maryland and began his professional career at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine’s Oncology Center in the Bone Marrow Transplant Research Unit. After completing a masters degree in Environmental Science with a focus on Toxicology, […]
Department of Microbiology profile
Odum School of Ecology profile
Dr. Hogan began his 30 year scientific career studying host-pathogen interactions during his graduate studies, which focused on immune responses to viral infection in teleosts. After receiving his doctoral degree, he joined the laboratory of Dr. David Woodland at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where his research focused on cell-mediated […]
Mark Tompkins is the Director and Principal Investigator of the Center for Influenza Disease and Emergence Research (CIDER), a NIAID Center of Excellence in Influenza Research and Response (CEIRR) at the University of Georgia. He received his doctorate in Immunology from Emory University and then studied immune mechanisms of autoimmune […]
Frederick D. Quinn, Ph.D., is Athletic Association Professor of Infectious Diseases, Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Interim Director of the Center for Vaccines and Immunology in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia. Dr. Quinn oversaw several laboratory groups at the Centers for Disease […]
The research in my lab is focused on Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of malaria. The parasite uses a protein encoded by an antigenically variant gene family to bind receptors on host cells, allowing the parasites to avoid passage through the spleen. One member of this family encodes a protein […]
One component of my research program consists of identifying and characterizing surface antigens expressed by pathogenic bacteria including Burkholderia pseudomallei and Burkholderia mallei. Given their cellular location at the host-pathogen interface, surface antigens play key roles in bacterial virulence. We believe that studying their biological functions will shed light on […]
Dr. Hondalus is a graduate from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University, and following graduation, she was an equine and small animal private practitioner. She subsequently completed a Large Animal Internal Medicine Residency at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology […]
Dr. He’s lab has been studying paramyxoviruses including PIV5, mumps virus and emerging Jeilongviruses. His work has led to development of paramyxovirus-based vaccines
