Five members of the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine faculty have been awarded professorships in recognition and support for their work in teaching, research and public service.
Dr. Frane Banovic was named UGA College of Veterinary Medicine Professor.
Banovic is part of the Dermatology Service in the Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
He earned his DVM at the University of Zagreb in Zagreb, Croatia, and received his PhD in veterinary microbiology from the University of Zagreb. He finished a one-year rotational internship at Ludwig-Maximillian University in Munich, Germany, before completing a three-year dermatology residency at North Carolina State University. Afterward, he enrolled in a postdoctoral fellowship in investigative dermatology with a primary research focus on itch in atopic dermatitis and staphylococcal pyoderma.
Banovic favors interdisciplinary approaches to biologic questions and incorporates basic immunology as well as cell biology and biochemical approaches in his research. He joined the CVM in 2015.
Dr. Joe Bartges was named Bulldog Veterinary Medicine Professor.
Bartges – who serves in Clinical Nutrition, Interventional Radiology, Small Animal Internal Medicine and Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital – focuses his research on nephrology and urology with an emphasis on urolithiasis, urinary incontinence and urinary tract infections, as well as nutrition and its role in health and disease.
He received his BS in zoology in 1983 from Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va., and his DVM from The University of Georgia in 1987. He completed an internship and residencies in small animal internal medicine and nutrition in addition to a PhD at the University of Minnesota in 1993.
After a post-doctoral position at the University of Minnesota, he joined the faculty at The University of Georgia in 1994 where he remained until 1997. In 1997, he joined the faculty at The University of Tennessee where he remained until 2015.
During this time, he achieved Professor of Medicine and Nutrition, held the Acree Endowed Chair of Small Animal Research, and served as interim department head for approximately two years. He then joined the staff at Cornell University Veterinary Specialists in Stamford, Conn., as an internist and nutritionist and was Adjunct Clinical Professor of Medicine and Nutrition at Cornell University.
He is board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Small Animal Internal Medicine) and the American College of Veterinary Nutrition.
Dr. Janet Grimes was named Small Animal Foundation Chair in Small Animal Studies.
Grimes serves in the Small Animal Medicine and Surgery unit, Soft Tissue Surgery Service at the UGA Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
She graduated from Emory University with bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and biology. While at Emory, she participated in the Emergency Medical Technician Program.
She received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from UGA CVM, graduating Summa Cum Laude. She was a Veterinary Intern Instructor at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and served as a Small Animal Surgery Resident at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, where she received her master’s in biomedical sciences.
Prior to returning to UGA, Grimes served as Clinical Assistant Professor of Companion Animal Surgery, Assistant Professor of Companion Animal Surgery, and Chief of Companion Animal Surgery at the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine.
She has published on several treatments for diseases and surgical complications affecting companion animals.
Dr. Marc Kent was named the 1946 Veterinary Medicine Professor.
Kent teaches Small Animal Neurology in the Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
He received his BA in Biology from Columbia University in New York, and his DVM from Tufts University, School of Veterinary Medicine in North Grafton, Mass. He is a Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in the specialties of Neurology and Internal Medicine.
Kent’s research covers a wide range of topics related to neurology and neuropathology.
Dr. Mark Tompkins, PhD, was named UGA Athletic Association Distinguished Professor in Virology and Immunology. This position is funded by the UGA Athletic Association.
Tompkins works in the Animal Health Research Center of the Center for Vaccines and Immunology housed in the Department of Infectious Diseases.
He received his doctorate in immunology from Emory University and then studied immune mechanisms of antigen- and virus-induced autoimmune diseases as a National Multiple Sclerosis Society Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University Medical School. In 2002, Tompkins joined the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the FDA as a Research Fellow, focusing on influenza virus vaccines and therapies.
Tompkins joined the CVM in 2005, where he is a member of a NIAID Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance. In 2012, he was awarded a Senior Fulbright Scholar’s Award to work with the Australian Animal Health Laboratories in Geelong, Australia, for six months. In 2016, Tompkins joined UGA’s newly established Center for Vaccines and Immunology to collaborate with members on cutting edge vaccines for infectious disease.
His research focuses on understanding the emergence, pathogenesis, prevention, and treatment of influenza viruses. These studies include surveillance for influenza virus in animal populations, susceptibility of different species to influenza infection, and influenza virus evolution. Areas of research include dissecting virus-host interactions at the cellular and host level and exploiting these interactions to collaboratively develop novel vaccines, antiviral drugs, and treatments for human and animal use.
“I am grateful to our supporters, who have created endowed faculty positions that enable us to recognize excellent faculty across our tripartite mission of teaching, research and service,” said Dr. Lisa Nolan, Dean of the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine. “These professorships help recruit and retain excellent faculty and give flight to their creativity in their areas of academic strength.”
