World’s best veterinary immunologist award stays at WSU

Wendy C. Brown, professor and veterinary immunologist with Washington State University‘s College of Veterinary Medicine, has been awarded the Distinguished Veterinary Immunologist Award by the Veterinary Immunology Committee of the International Union of Immunological Societies.

This prestigious award is granted every three years and is considered to recognize the best veterinary immunologist in the world during that period. 

The previous recipient was Travis McGuire, a professor of veterinary immunology who also conducts research in the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine.

Brown is a researcher in the field of cellular immune responses to agents that cause disease in cattle. She is one of the leaders in research to understand how certain immune cells, called T-lymphocytes, function to provide protection against cattle parasites transmitted by ticks.

In making its selection, the committee noted that Brown has demonstrated research excellence through publication in high-quality journals, having authored or co-authored more than 125 peer-reviewed publications. At the same time, Brown has contributed to teaching veterinary immunology in 15 graduate courses.

Brown has received numerous large research grants during her career.  She has been a principal investigator on three National Institutes of Health grants, co-investigator on two NIH grants and co-investigator and trainer on two NIH Immunology Postdoctoral Training Grants and one NIH Predoctoral Biotechnology Training Grant.