Guidelines for Distinguished Veterinary Microbiologist Award

Distinguished Veterinary Microbiologist Award

Purpose: The purpose of the award is to recognize and honor a veterinary microbiologist who has distinguished themselves by a career that has made important contributions to the field of veterinary microbiology in the areas of research, teaching, and/or service.

The 2025 Distinguished Veterinary Microbiologist

Dr. Yung-fu Chang

Dr. Yung-fu Chang is a Professor in the Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences and Director of Infectious Diseases Program, Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University. He is an ACVM Diplomate in Bacteriology & Mycology, Immunology, and Virology (1987) and a was selected as a fellow of the Conference Workers in Animal Diseases (CRWAD) in 2021.

Dr. Chang has had a highly successful and impactful research career, with a focus on the interaction between bacterial virulence factors and the host immune system. He has published more than 280 peer-reviewed publications and has had more than 8400 citations of is work. He has investigated many important animal and human pathogens including Mannheimia haemolytica, Borrelia burgdorferi, and Clostridium difficile. His exceptional research has led to the development of multiple U.S. and European patents involved in enhanced diagnostics, treatments, and vaccine development for a number of bacterial pathogens.

His passion for research and strength as an educator has also resulted in highly successful training programs, including more than 230 undergraduate, graduate, post-doctoral, and visiting-scientist trainees. He supported and mentored research projects on Leptospira, Johne’s Disease, Salmonellosis, and many important veterinary pathogens including Riemerella anatipestifer, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, and Ehrlichia canis. His mentees hold positions in multiple countries (U.S., Brazil, Nigeria, China, and Thailand to name a few) and have provided scientific advancements in academia and industry. Dr. Chang’s enthusiasm for microbiology and ACVM is unrivaled, and he continues to advance the college, most recently as a member of the Continuing Education and Program Committee and the Examinations Committee. We are truly fortunate to have Dr. Chang as a microbiology colleague and proud to name him as the 2025 Distinguished Veterinary Microbiologist.

Award Criteria

Criteria: Nominees should have an established track record of noteworthy contributions to research, teaching, and/or service in the field of veterinary microbiology. Noteworthy contributions could include examples such as, but not limited to, the following:

• a history of undertaking research that has helped to define pathogen biology or mechanisms of pathogenesis, identify protective host mechanisms, or determine means of prevention or treatment of infectious diseases of animals. Evidence of research contributions will be supported by regular publications and/or grant funding related to the area of specialty, as well as presentations at national and international conferences.
• service in a diagnostic facility in which the nominee has developed and made available accurate and useful tests for the diagnosis of important animal diseases, or in which the nominee has worked to characterize and distribute information regarding infectious agents (e.g., antimicrobial susceptibility, strain variation) on a regional or national scale. Other outstanding service could include regulatory work that led to the development of programs that aid veterinarians or producers in the identification or control of important infectious animal diseases, or that educate the public about issues relevant to veterinary microbiology.
• efforts in teaching characterized by the development of novel undergraduate, graduate, or outreach courses or other learning materials, media, and opportunities relevant to veterinary microbiology; or authorship of useful and regularly updated textbooks relevant to veterinary microbiology.

Nominees for this award may well have made outstanding contributions in more than one area.

Nomination Process

Nomination process and identification of recipient: The ACVM Nominating Committee will solicit nominations for the Distinguished Veterinary Microbiologist Award in order to identify one or more nominees. The nominees can be an ACVM member or non-member who has done considerable work in veterinary microbiology/parasitology. Current members of the ACVM Board of Governors are not eligible. Persons nominating a candidate must provide the Nominations Committee with a letter of no more than one page explaining the nominee’s qualifications, with a copy of the nominee’s CV. These materials will be forwarded to the ACVM Board of Governors, who will vote on the nominee. The nominee with the most votes (representing at least a majority of the Board) will receive the award; in the event that only one nominee is presented, the award will be made if a majority of the Board is in favor of the making the award.