Dr. Brad Fenwick, DVM, PhD, DACVM
Vice President for Research and Professor of Infectious Disease Pathobiology
Having received B.S., D.V.M., and M.S. degrees from Kansas State, Dr. Fenwick completed a residency in diagnostic pathology and received a Ph.D. in comparative pathology from the University of California, Davis. He is board certified by the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists and has served as Chair of the Board of Directors. Following a faculty position at the University of Florida, he was recruited by Kansas State University and joined the faculty in 1986.
During his tenure at Kansas State he built a world-class research program in veterinary infectious diseases and held numerous administrative and leadership positions, including associate dean, assistant department head, president of the faculty, special assistant to the Provost, and became a fellow with the American Council on Education. He has completed numerous specialized training and certification programs.
In 2003 he was selected as the first veterinarian to serve as the Chief Science Advisor for the Competitive Research Programs and the National Research Initiative (NRI) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The NRI Program is the nation’s premier and largest investigator initiated agriculture related research program. The NRI, Integrated Research, and Special Research programs support research on key problems of national and regional importance spanning over 25 scientific programs within eight major subject areas in the biological, environmental, physical, and social sciences.
In association with the Chief Science Advisor position, Dr. Fenwick served on numerous federal committees and initiatives, including chair of the interagency working group on microbial genomics and biology (The Microbe Project) as well as a member of the US-EC Committee on Biotechnology where he co-organized a international meeting on predictive aspects of emerging/re-emerging infectious diseases of animals and humans. Recently, he was appointed as Vice President for Research at Virginia Tech.
Dr. Fenwick is recognized nationally and internationally as an expert on zoonotic and infectious diseases of animals, served as president of several professional societies, is an editor for the leading journal of clinical and diagnostic microbiology (The Journal of Clinical Microbiology, published by the American Society for Microbiology) and is routinely called to consult by corporations, producer organizations, universities and governmental agencies. He has received numerous awards and honors including the Beecham Award for Research Excellence, the Yarborough Medicine Award, the Kansas Veterinary Service Award, and Sigma Xi Outstanding Scientist and Service Awards. He has published over 130 research papers, numerous book chapters and proceeding reports; holds four scientific patents, given over 150 invited scientific presentations world-wide, and has received over $7-million in competitive research funding from numerous Federal and State agencies, and private organizations. His research laboratory and service program are engaged in the development of preventions and directed therapies against human Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome caused by toxigenic strains of E. coli, recombinant vaccine to prevent infectious respiratory diseases of animals, the genomic sequencing of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (the cause of a highly contagious pneumonia in pigs), and the development of animal genetic improvement strategies based on enhanced immune function and reproductive efficiency. His laboratory serves a national reference for several infectious diseases of pigs, cattle, and dogs; as well as the national genetic registry for all greyhounds registered by the National Greyhound Association.
Core Expertise: Infectious Diseases (Animal and Zoonotic); Bacterial Virulence Mechanisms (Toxins); Clinical and Diagnostic Microbiology; Veterinary Medicine; Comparative Pathology (Mechanisms of Disease); Clinical Immunology; Molecular Biology / Microbial Genetics; Scientific Publication and Editorial Policy; Academic Research Policy and Administration.