John McGlone, a professor with Texas Tech’s Department of Animal and Food Sciences, has been honored as a 2020 Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. 

The prestigious honor was announced at the 10th Annual National Academy of Inventors Meeting on Wednesday (Nov. 3) in Tampa, Florida. The meeting was pushed back to November due to concerns with COVID-19.

“All of us in CASNR are tremendously proud of Dr. McGlone’s accomplishments,” said Cindy Akers, Interim Dean of the Tech’s College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources. “His research has pushed the boundaries of his discipline, and helped solve real-world problems.”

McGlone, a Texas Tech Professor of Animal Behavior, Physiology & Welfare, received his bachelor’s degree (1977) and master’s degree (1979) from Washington State University. His doctorate in animal science with an emphasis in ethology and neuroscience is from the University of Illinois. His research focuses on animal welfare, ranging from housing and production systems for pigs to under-standing neuroendocrine and immune mechanisms underlying stress.

McGlone’s first faculty appointment began at the University of Wyoming, where he was the first animal scientist to receive a Harry Frank Guggenheim Research Fellowship Award for his studies of pig behavior and physiology. He then moved to Texas Tech’s Department of Animal and Food Sciences, where he has made significant international contributions to animal welfare, received over millions of dollars in research support and developed several companies to address animal welfare needs and support animal health in livestock production and among companion animals. 

His patents include the use of novel molecules to stimulate litter size, to improve reproductive success in pigs, to reduce stress and he developed an image analysis system to estimate pig body weight without touching the pig. Two pheromones, from additional patents, are currently sold in pet stores. His contributions to the swine industry have led to group housing systems for sows, improvements in swine transport and reduction of stress.  His patents have led to sales of boar pheromones in the North America, Europe and Asia.  Novel pheromones are being discovered and their application to improve animal welfare and health are being explored.

He was co-editor of the last version of the Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Research and Teaching (AG Guide), which was used by the USDA, Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, universities, and research institutions worldwide. McGlone was the first animal scientist to serve on the Council of Accreditation for AAALAC International, and was appointed to a National Academy of Sciences panel on animal transport. In 2015, the AAALAC Bennet J. Cohen Award, AAALAC’s highest award, and the FASS Service Award for his work on the AG Guide. 

He also received the American Veterinary Medical Association AVMA Humane Award (2015), which recognizes a non-veterinarian's achievements in advancing the welfare of animals via leadership, public service, education, research/product development and/or advocacy. Recent honors for McGlone include the Texas Tech President’s Excellence in Commercialization Award (2019) and being issued a patent for artificial boar saliva (boar saliva analog – BSA) and boar grunts stimulate estrus behavior and reproduction in swine (2017). 

CONTACT: Chance Brooks, Interim Chair and Professor, Department of Animal & Food Sciences, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2808 or chance.brooks@ttu.edu

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