Overview
Our three-tiered mission of teaching, research and service is addressed by a highly-productive faculty, energetic graduate students, and the additional expertise of adjunct faculty. Our research is applied to improvement of animal health, public health and food safety. Our faculty have instructional responsibilities for bacteriology, immunology, virology, microbiology, epidemiology and public health.
Our emphasis
Our faculty promote the understanding of causes of infectious disease in animals and the mechanisms by which diseases develop at the organismal, cellular and molecular levels. Veterinary microbiology also includes research on the interaction of pathogenic and symbiotic microbes with their hosts and the host response to infection.
Our unique collaboration
Unique to Iowa State is our proximity to the USDA animal health centers located in Ames. This provides outstanding opportunities for our faculty and graduate students to collaborate with USDA researchers to develop new vaccines and improved diagnostics.
By the numbers
Our department draws on the expertise of 17 regular faculty members, 2 faculty holding joint appointments, 33 collaborating faculty, 9 allied faculty and 3 emeritus faculty member. 56 graduate students who are pursuing MS or PhD degrees have VMPM faculty members as their major professors. Evidence of faculty innovation is seen in the number of patents approved (3) and submitted (an additional 4) in the past year.
VMPM Governance Document establishes the procedures for governance of the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine. It is supplemental and subordinate to the rules and practices of the College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University and actions of the State Board of Regents.