February 19, 2025
Dr. Jianqiang Zhang, professor of veterinary diagnostic and production animal medicine, has been named the Lora and Russ Talbot Endowed Professor in Veterinary Medicine.
The endowed faculty position is one of three named professorships that the Talbots have established in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Rachel Allbaugh, professor of veterinary clinical sciences, and Dr. Heather Greenlee, professor of biomedical sciences, are the other two Talbot Endowed Professors.
A faculty member in the College of Veterinary Medicine since 2012, Zhang earned his PhD in molecular virology from the University of Kentucky. He also received a MD degree from the Beijing Medical University School of Public Health.
Zhang is internationally renowned for his role in building Iowa State’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory’s virology and molecular diagnostic services unit for food animal diseases into what many consider to be the best in the world. He has an exemplary record of presentation and publication of his work through scientific abstracts and proceedings papers and national and international meetings and in high quality peer-reviewed journals.
Because of his productivity and reputation in diagnostic medicine and infectious disease research, Zhang has been invited to serve on the organizing committees of several major national and international scientific meetings.
His research interests include the development and validation of diagnostic assays for viruses of veterinary significance; genetic classification, pathogenicity, and cross protection of PRRSV; molecular epidemiology, pathogenicity, immune responses, and vaccine development of swine enteric coronaviruses; as well as the characterization of other viruses, such as porcine sapovirus, porcine rotaviruses, and avian metapneumovirus.
During his Iowa State tenure Zhang has been recognized multiple times by the university and the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM). His awards include the CVM International Service Award, the ISU Award for Early Achievement in Research, the CVM Award for Early Achievement in Research, and the Zoetis Award for Veterinary Research Excellence.
In addition to his research duties, Zhang is an active classroom instructor and serves on numerous college committees. He is a member of the American Society of Virology, American Society for Microbiology, American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, and American Association of Swine Veterinarians.
The Talbots are long-time supporters of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Iowa State University. The Belmond, Iowa, couple have supported many different areas of the college including multiple four-year and two-year student scholarships as well as graduate fellowships. Their extraordinary gift to the ISU Alumni Association created a first-in-the-nation endowed alumni position for the association’s president and CEO. The couple established completion grant scholarships for undergraduate students and funded significant endowments for the College of Human Sciences’ Fashion Show’s “Best in Show” award and the Merchandising Scholarship.
“One of our long-term goals with our philanthropy to the College of Veterinary Medicine has been to endow faculty positions,” the couple have said. “That goal has now become a reality. Establishing endowed professor positions is a special opportunity to support and promote the future of veterinary medicine. We greatly value and deeply appreciate the outstanding high-quality faculty which we have at Vet Med. We have enjoyed many, many positive experiences, interactions, and activities with the exceptional ISU Vet Med faculty.”