Rafael Neves has been named an assistant professor in the newly created Department of Veterinary Sciences at Texas Tech University's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, according to officials within the college. He officially stepped into his new post on Oct. 16. The new CASNR department will have a graduate degree program only that the college hopes will attract students who have an interest in population or preventative veterinary medicine, with a focus on large production animal veterinary medicine.

Neves indicated that he is interested in continuing his research efforts to better characterize subclinical hypocalcemia in periparturient dairy cows, and to understand the interrelationship of macromineral balance and energy demands in influencing dairy cattle postpartum health. One of his goals is to enhance the outreach of Tech with the Texas dairy industry and expand his research program in a multi-disciplinary manner.

Neves' position helps form the core of the new department, which will be strongly aligned with Tech's existing Department of Animal and Food Sciences through joint appointments, said Michael Ballou, CASNR's Associate Dean for Research. The veterinary sciences department is designed to provide a greater focus on research and outreach efforts in food animal, equine, and wildlife health and well-being, and is intended to meet the educational and research needs of the animal-agriculture industry and the regional veterinary community, he said.

As part of his position, Neves will have access to Tech's sprawling mix of laboratory animal facilities that include the Gordon W. Davis Meat Laboratory; a livestock arena; the New Deal Farm which consists of more than 900 acres, as well as the Burnett Center's Research Feedlot; an equestrian center; and a food safety laboratory in Tech's Experimental Sciences Building.

Neves received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais in Brazil; and master's degree in epidemiology from the University of Guelph's Ontario Veterinary College in Canada. Prior to joining the Tech faculty, Neves served as a resident at Cornell University's Ambulatory and Production Medicine Clinic in College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New York. His doctorate in comparative biomedical sciences is from Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine.

Neves served as an instructor for different wet labs in the Cornell Large Animal Symposium and as a co-instructor in clinical labs in food animal anesthesia, surgery, and diagnostics at Colorado State University. He is a member of the American Dairy Science Association, the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

CONTACT: Michael Ballou, Associate Dean for Research, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2808 or michael.ballou@ttu.edu

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