Faculty
Nichole C. Anderson, MS, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Behavior and Welfare
Nichole Anderson is an Assistant Professor of Animal Behavior and Welfare at Texas Tech University. She completed her master's degree from North Dakota State University in lameness in dairy cattle then went on to receive a Ph.D. at Purdue University in sow-piglet communication.

Babafela B. Awosile DVM, MVSc, GradCert (One Health), PhD
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology
Babafela Awosile is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology. He grew up in Southwestern region of Nigeria. He earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and MVSc in veterinary public health and preventative medicine from the Federal University of Agriculture in Abeokuta, Nigeria.

Jerry B. Black, DVM
Visiting Professor
Jerry B. Black is a Visiting Professor at Texas Tech School of Veterinary Medicine and is an Emeitus Professor and Wagonhound Land and Livestock Chair in Equine Sciences at Colorado State University. He was raised in west Texas and eastern New Mexico on a family cattle and wheat farming operation.

Alexandra Calle, PhD
Assistant Professor of Microbiology
Alexandra Calle is a native of Colombia (South America). She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Universidad del Valle –Colombia, a Master's degree in Food Sciences with emphasis in Microbiology from University of Nebraska (Lincoln, NE), and a PhD in Animal Sciences with emphasis in Food Microbiology from Texas Tech University (Lubbock, TX), where she also conducted postdoctoral research studies.

Seth E. Chapman, DVM, MS, DACVP
Associate Professor of Clinical Pathology
Seth Chapman is an Associate Professor of Clinical Pathology at Texas Tech University and a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists. He attended the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine and completed a small animal rotating internship and pathology residency at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Prasanth K. Chelikani, BVSc, MVSc, PhD, FTOS
Professor of Physiology
Prasanth Chelikani is a Professor of Physiology. He graduated with a BVSc (Bachelor of Veterinary Science) degree followed by an MVSc in reproductive physiology from Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University, Tirupati, India, and a PhD in animal science from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.

Clayton J. Cobb, DVM, MS
Assistant Professor of General Veterinary Practice
I grew up between northeast Texas and central New Mexico, learning the life of rural ranching family at a young age. I was introduced to veterinary medicine through a local veterinarian named Wally Kraft, DVM; and he later became a strong influence in becoming a veterinarian and a voice in organized veterinary medicine.

Britt Conklin, DVM
Associate Dean and Professor
Britt Conklin is the Associate Dean for Clinical Programs and a Professor. He grew up on a farming and ranching operation in the panhandle of Texas and has a diverse agricultural and veterinary background.

Michael J. Cruz Penn, DVM, DACVP
Assistant Professor of Anatomic Pathology
Michael J. Cruz Penn is a Assistant Professor of Anatomic Pathology at the School of Veterinary Medicine of Texas Tech University. He grew up and completed his Veterinary degree in Costa Rica with a graduation research focused on Veterinary Forensic Pathology.

John J. Dascanio, VMD, DACT, DABVP (Equine)
Professor of Theriogenology
John Dascanio is the Senior Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs and a Professor of Theriogenology at Texas Tech University. He is a diplomate of the American College of Theriogenology and the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, Equine Specialty.

Linda Dascanio, LVT
Visiting Professor
Linda Dascanio is a visiting professor working with the School of Veterinary Medicine's professional skills program. Linda grew up on her family's dairy farm in the Finger Lakes region of New York where she took an active part in the dairy and worked throughout high school.

David M. Dutton, DVM, DACVS
Professor of Surgery-Large Animal
David M. Dutton is a Professor of Large Animal Surgery at Texas Tech University, School of Veterinary Medicine. He grew up in the agricultural industry in west Texas and southern New Mexico and continues to be involved in ranching, raising show cattle and wildlife management. He was the owner of an equine practice for 20 years focused on equine surgery, lameness and sports medicine.

Klementina Fon Tacer, DVM, PhD
Assistant Professor, Cancer Biology and Reproductive Biology
CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research
Klementina originally comes from Slovenia, Europe. After obtaining her veterinary degree and Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Ljubljana, she came to the U.S. for her post-doctoral training at the UTSW Medical Center in Dallas, TX.

Jason M. Fritzler, PhD
Associate Professor of Microbiology
Jason Fritzler is an Associate Professor of Microbiology and Parasitology. He grew up in New Deal, Texas and obtained both his BS in Animal Science and PhD in Veterinary Microbiology from Texas A&M University.

Arlene Garcia, PhD
Assistant Professor, Behavior and Welfare
Dr. Arlene Garcia-Marquez is a Presidio, Texas, native with a research focus in animal behavior and welfare. She is a PAACO certified multi-species animal welfare auditor, a licensed veterinary technician, and animal welfare consultant for various industry groups.

John Gibbons, MS, PhD
Associate Professor of Reproductive Physiology
John Gibbons is a reproductive physiologists with a mixture of clinical and academic experiences focused on assisted reproductive techniques in livestock ranging from the very basic to the easily applied. A native of Dallas TX, John received a BS in Animal Science from Texas A&M University, an MS in Dairy Science from Virginia Tech University, and a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Philippa (Pippa) Gibbons, BVetMed(Hons) MS DACVIM(LA) MRCVS DipVetEd
Associate Professor of Food Animal Medicine and Surgery
Philippa (Pippa) Gibbons is an Associate Professor of Food Animal Medicine and Surgery. She grew up on a mixed crop, beef and sheep farm in England. After completing veterinary school and a food animal internship in the UK she moved to Texas and completed a food animal internal medicine residency and Masters program at Texas A&M.

Shireen A. Hafez, DVM, PhD, PGCertVetEd, FHEA
Associate Professor of Anatomy
Shireen Hafez is an Associate Professor of Anatomy. After obtaining her veterinary degree and a PhD in veterinary anatomy, she taught anatomy at several veterinary colleges across the United States and other countries.

Laszlo M. Hunyadi, DVM, MS, DACVIM (LAIM)
Professor of Large Animal Internal Medicine
Laszlo Hunyadi is a professor of large animal internal medicine and originally from El Paso, TX near Sunland Park, NM. He is a diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Large Animal.

Jennifer H. Koziol, DVM, MS, DACT
Associate Professor of Food Animal Medicine and Surgery
Jennifer Koziol is an Associate Professor of Food Animal Medicine and Surgery at Texas Tech University. She is a diplomate of the American College of Theriogenology.

Gizem Levent, DVM, PhD
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology
Gizem Levent is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology. She grew up in Antalya, Turkey. Gizem earned her veterinary medical degree in 2012 from Ankara University, Turkey, and her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Texas A&M in 2019 with an emphasis in epidemiology and served as a postdoctoral Research Associate at Texas A&M University until 2022.

Guy H. Loneragan, BVSc, PhD
Dean and Professor
He grew up in rural Australia and was introduced to the veterinary profession while working with his veterinarian father on the family livestock operation which housed a pioneering embryo transfer center. After completing his veterinary degree he traveled to the US which led to his PhD is in Epidemiology from Colorado State University.

Pedro G. Melendez, DVM, MS, PhD, DABVP (Dairy)
Associate Professor
Dr. Pedro Melendez is an Associate Professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine, Texas Tech University. He obtained his DVM at the University of Chile, and then he pursued a residency in Food Animal Medicine at the University of Florida, and earned a Master of Science in 2000 and a Ph.D. in 2004 at the same University.

Thu Annelise Nguyen, PhD, MBA, DABT, ATS
Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Toxicology
Annelise Nguyen is the Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Toxicology at Texas Tech University and a diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology. She grew up in the northeastern region of Texas.

Howard Rodriguez-Mori, PhD
Associate Professor
Howard R. Mori is the Associate Professor of Library and Information Services. He arrived at Texas Tech after serving as the Open Educational Resources Coordinator and Associate Librarian at Florida International University and as an Assistant Professor of Library and Information Studies at Florida State University.

Fernanda Rosa MS, PhD
Assistant Professor of Immunology
Fernanda Rosa grew up in a small town in the South of Brazil and was first introduced to Animal Health Sciences during her bachelor's degree which led to her travel to US for an internship at the Mammalian NutriPhysioGenomics Lab at University of Illinois, her internship led to her MS in Animal Sciences from Oregon State University and her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from South Dakota State University.

Joshua A. Rowe, DVM, PhD
Associate Professor of Anatomy
Joshua Rowe is an Associate Professor of Anatomy. He grew up in rural Tennessee and became interested in the veterinary profession while working with his grandfather, who raised purebred Limousin cattle.

Bethany Solomon Schilling, DVM
Assistant Professor
Dr. Bethany Solomon Schilling joined the Texas Tech faculty February 1, 2020. Dr. Schilling grew up on a farm and ranch in the Texas Panhandle and has deep roots in agriculture.

Marcelo Schmidt, PhD
Assistant Professor of Curriculum & Assessment
I am an educational psychologist with interests in curriculum development, program assessment, and data-use practices in higher education. I have a master's degree in Education from the University of Texas - Pan American and a PhD in educational psychology from Texas Tech University.

Devendra Shah, BVSc (DVM), MVSc, PhD
Professor of Veterinary Microbiology & Infectious Disease
Devendra grew up in a rural community in Western India. He was trained as a veterinarian at Bombay Veterinary College. He practiced in mixed animal, and poultry medicine in clinical and industrial setting before pursuing academic career path in veterinary clinical microbiology and infectious disease research.

Ashley Steuer, DVM PhD
Assistant Professor of Parasitology
Ashley Steuer is an Assistant professor of Parasitology at Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine. She grew up in rural southwest Michigan and was introduced to veterinary medicine and animal production with family, local farmers, and veterinarians.

Emily Sundman, DVM, DABVP (Equine Practice)
Assistant Professor of Medicine
I grew up in upstate New York with horses. From there I have worked as a large animal veterinarian and in the animal health industry while living in Colorado, California, and Texas.

Jonathan Thompson, M.S., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Analytical Chemistry
Jon Thompson is an Associate Professor of Analytical Chemistry. He grew up in Allentown, PA prior to moving to the Tampa, FL area to complete high school. Jon's education took him to southern Alabama and then the University of Florida to complete graduate school (both M.S. and Ph.D.).

Ebenezer Tumban, MS, PhD
Associate Professor of Molecular Virology and Vaccinology
Dr. Tumban is a molecular virologist and vaccinologist by training. Before joining Texas Technological University, Dr. Tumban was an Associate Professor and the Graduate Program Director of the Department of Biological Sciences at Michigan Technological University (MTU).

Dickson D. Varner, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACT
Visiting Professor
Dickson Varner grew up around livestock in the Ozarks of Missouri, where his parents were producers of rodeos and wild west shows, with a variety of western activity offerings to the general public. He practiced veterinary medicine for 4 years in Lexington, Kentucky prior to completing a residency in animal reproduction (theriogenology) at the University of Pennsylvania.

Heidi Villalba, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
Heidi Villalba obtained her BS and MS in Biology from West Texas A&M University (WTAMU) in Canyon, Texas. She completed her Ph.D in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center University- Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy in Amarillo, Tx.

Sarah A. Wagner, DVM, Phd, DACVCP
Professor of Pharmacology
Dr. Sarah Wagner was in mixed animal practice in rural Virginia for 5 years after completing her DVM at Michigan State University. She earned her PhD in Physiology (Pharmacology) from Iowa State University and served on the faculty in the Department of Animal Sciences at North Dakota State University.

Ronald D. Warner, DVM, MPVM, PhD, DACVPM (Epidemiology), DACE
Professor Emeritus
Ronald D. Warner is Professor Emeritus of epidemiology. He grew up in SE Ohio on a family farm (Jersey dairy, Hereford-x-Angus cow/calf, Duroc hogs, and turkeys) and realized his goal of becoming a DVM when he graduated from Ohio State in 1971.

Kelly Cukrowicz Williams, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychological Health
Dr. Williams is a Professor of Psychological Health. Dr. Williams received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Florida State University in 2005, and completed an internship and a National Institute of Aging-funded postdoctoral fellowship at Duke University Medical Center.

Ryan Blake Williams, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Economic and Public Policy
Ryan Blake Williams is an economist and is Associate Professor of Economic and Public Policy. He grew up in northern California in a small town on the Pacific Ocean, nestled amongst redwood trees, dairies, and ranches.

Nancy Zimmerman, DVM, MS, CCRT, DACVS
Professor of Surgery
Nancy Zimmerman is a Professor of Surgery at Texas Tech University. She earned a doctor of veterinary medicine from the University of Wisconsin and completed a small animal surgery residency at Virginia Tech.

School of Veterinary Medicine
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Address
7671 Evans Drive, Amarillo, Texas 79106 -
Phone
806.742.3200 -
Email
SVM@ttu.edu