Making Headlines: UGA Vet Med’s Year of Impact
In 2025, the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine made headlines for excellence in teaching, research, and service. The college advanced impactful initiatives—from addressing the rural veterinarian shortage and combating avian influenza to pioneering traumatic brain injury treatments and advancing breakthrough Parkinson’s research. Join us as we celebrate a […]
Avian influenza isn’t new. But the most recent outbreak’s rapid and prolific spread is setting off alarm bells.
Biography Sam is the Administrative Specialist for the Center for Vaccines and Immunology. In this role, they draw on their strengths in coordinating both projects and people, molding to fill gaps as they arise. Sam has demonstrated consistent commitment to the Athens and UGA communities, working with various nonprofits to […]
Biography Cris Leonard is the HR Specialist for the Center for Vaccines and Immunology, the Isakson Center for Neurological Disease Research, and Precision One Health. Before joining UGA’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Cris honed her skills in employee relations and workforce management, bringing valuable expertise to the role. She graduated from the University of […]
Mark Tompkins is appointed director of UGA Center for Vaccines and Immunology
Mark Tompkins, Ph.D., UGA Athletic Association Distinguished Professor in Virology and Immunology, has been appointed director of the Center for Vaccines and Immunology (CVI) in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Established in 2015, the CVI is made up of a premier team of researchers that are leading the way in […]
UGA research programs shine at 42nd meeting of the American Society for Virology
The University of Georgia’s research prowess was on display for the 42nd annual meeting of the American Society for Virology, the first time in the society’s history that it met in Athens and one of a handful of times the gathering has been held in the Southeast.
UGA researchers receive prestigious grant to develop malaria drug
Two University of Georgia researchers have been awarded approximately $770,000 from the Global Health Initiative Technology (GHIT) Fund to develop a new drug to kill the dormant liver stages of Plasmodium vivax, the most widespread of the malaria parasites.
My name is Katie Kollars and I grew up in Statesboro, Georgia. I moved to Athens to earn my BFA in scientific illustration at UGA. During my undergrad, I worked as a lab assistant in the dept. of entomology and realized how much I enjoyed working with insects in the […]
Preston Woods is the Business Manager for the Center for Vaccines and Immunology, the Isakson Center for Neurological Disease and Research, and interim Business Manager the Precision One Health Initiative. After graduating from the College of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Georgia in 2022, he found a position […]
Daniel Wychrij completed his MSci in Biochemistry at the University of Manchester, during which time he performed research in the laboratory of Dr Ilaria Russo, identifying and profiling inhibitors against Plasmepsin V, a Plasmodium falciparum aspartic protease which is responsible for protein export. After graduation, Daniel moved to Washington University […]
UGA researchers developing new models for malaria drug development and testing
Two UGA researchers are working to make it easier to develop effective treatments for malaria, a disease that sickens millions worldwide and kills hundreds of thousands each year. In tropical climates around the globe, malaria poses a grave risk to already vulnerable populations. In 2019, the World Health Organization estimated […]
Ms. Hughes is the Center for Influenza Disease and Emergence Research (CIDER) coordinator and National Institutes of Health contract coordinator within the Center for Vaccines and Immunology at the College of Veterinary Medicine. She manages the operational activities of the center and is responsible for collecting and organizing required contract […]
UGA-led COVID study seeks more applicants
January 2021: In September 2020, the College of Veterinary Medicine announced SPARTA (SARS SeroPrevalence and Respiratory Tract Assessment), a study funded by the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Cancer Institute. The study’s original purpose was to investigate the human body’s response to infection with […]
Meet the Faculty: Jarrod Mousa
What is your role at the CVM? When did you come to UGA? I am an assistant professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases. My research laboratory is in the Center for Vaccines and Immunology. I joined UGA in August 2017. What is your research focus? My lab studies antibodies, […]
Engineered dog virus combats coronaviruses
A team of researchers at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine has developed a COVID-19 vaccine candidate that has proven successful in promoting an immune response in early test models. The team is led by Biao He, the Fred C. Davison Distinguished University Chair in Veterinary Medicine at […]
Staying the Course in the Face of Chaos
It has been a little under a month since COVID-19 was first recognized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Around the world, people from all walks of life have been asked to adapt to a new lifestyle—one of constant change and social distancing. Despite the upheaval, the University […]
CVI researchers developing coronavirus vaccine
Ted Ross, director of the CVM’s Center for Vaccines and Immunology, and his team have partnered with labs and biotech companies to develop new vaccines that could protect against the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Learn more here.
Georgia Bio names two College of Veterinary Medicine units as annual Helix Award winners
Two College of Veterinary Medicine units were recently honored at Georgia Bio’s Golden Helix Awards and Annual Gala in Atlanta. The Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center (PDRC) was awarded a Community Award and the Center for Vaccines and Immunology (CVI) received a Deal of the Year Award. The Community Awards […]
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 […]
CVM faculty member to lead new NIH Collaborative Influenza Vaccine Innovation Center
The University of Georgia has signed a contract with the National Institutes of Health for an initial award of $8 million to develop a new, more advanced influenza vaccine designed to protect against multiple strains of influenza virus in a single dose. The total funding could be up to $130 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
