AMES, Iowa - Dr. Charles O. Thoen’s lifelong work in public health was recognized at the annual convention of the American Veterinary Medical Association in Seattle, Washington. The association awarded Dr. Thoen the 2009 Karl F. Meyer – James H. Steele Gold Head Cane Award. The award recognizes achievements that have significantly advanced human health through the practice of veterinary epidemiology and public health. Thoen was cited for his expertise in tuberculosis in animals and humans.
Thoen has been a professor in the department of Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine in the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine for 32 years, and has served as department chair. He has authored or co-authored 130 peer reviewed publications on mycobacteria and mycobacterial diseases, numerous textbook chapters on infectious disease and two textbooks used throughout the world in teaching microbiology and public health. He is serving as primary author of a monograph for One Health/One Medicine, and is an associate editor of the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. He is an Honorary Diplomate of the American Veterinary Epidemiology Society.
Prior to coming to Iowa State, Thoen was head of the Mycobacteria and Brucella Section at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories of the USDA, providing support to the National Tuberculosis and Brucellosis Eradication Programs. He chaired the Scientific Committee on Tuberculosis in Animals of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and the Committee on Animal Tuberculosis of the World Health Organization. He was a research fellow and received his Ph.D. in microbiology at the University of Minnesota Mayo Graduate School of Medicine. His travels have included 184 presentations in 25 countries.