Research Chairs

Canada Research Chairs

Dr. Amy Greer: Canada Research Chair in Population Disease Modeling and Associate Professor, Department of Population Medicine

Dr. Amy Greer is a Canada Research Chair in Population Disease Modeling and Associate Professor in the Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph. Dr. Greer has previously held scientific positions in the Centre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control at the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. She completed her postdoctoral training at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Dr. Greer's research program explores the introduction, spread, dynamics, and control of infectious diseases in populations. Leading the Math.Epi.Lab, she integrates empirical data with mathematical models to test the mechanisms leading to the epidemic spread of pathogens and identify optimal intervention and control strategies. Her research aims to examine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of both public health and veterinary health interventions in order to make informed decisions regarding public health policy.

Dr. Heather Murphy: Canada Research Chair in One Health and Associate Professor, Department of Pathobiology

Dr. Heather Murphy is a Canada Research Chair in One Health and Associate Professor in the Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College. Dr. Murphy has over sixteen years of experience in water/wastewater treatment, water quality, drinking water distribution, risk assessment, and environmental health, including positions at the United Nations International Emergency Children's Fund, Public Health Agency of Canada, and Temple University. Her research interests involve understanding and addressing water and health challenges in both developed and developing countries. She leads the Water, Health and Applied Microbiology (WHAM) Lab. Her research focuses on four key areas related to microbial quality of water and public health: 1. Surface water quality and recreation, 2. The impact of septic systems and agricultural activity on private wells, 3. Microbial Ecology of drinking water distribution systems and 4. Water and Sanitation challenges in resource limited settings.

Dr. J. Scott Weese: Canada Research Chair in Zoonotic Diseases (2009-2019) and Professor, Department of Pathobiology

Dr. Dorothee Bienzle: University Research Leadership Chair (2021 - Present), Canada Research Chair in Veterinary Pathology (2005-2015) and Professor, Department of Pathobiology

Dr. W. Allan King: Canada Research Chair in Animal Reproductive Biotechnology (2004-2018) and University Professor Emeritus, Department of Biomedical Sciences

Industry-Funded Chairs and Professorships

Dr. Theresa Bernardo: IDEXX Chair in Emerging Technologies and Bond-Centered Animal Healthcare and Professor, Department of Population Medicine

Dr. Bernardo is the inaugural holder of North America's first research chair focused on the human-animal bond and the role of technology in animal health care. She is an international leader in addressing complex health problems through technology. She has spent the past 30+ years using emerging technologies for global veterinary and public health in more than 30 countries. She previously held positions as a faculty member in epidemiology and public health informatics at Michigan State University (MSU), member of the World Organization for Animal Health's working group for epidemiology and informatics, consultant for the Canadian International Development Agency and Fortune 500 companies, and as head of knowledge management and communication for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), part of the United Nations system. Working with PAHO, she has looked at new ways to use technology to save lives in disasters, such as the worldwide flu epidemic (H1N1) and Haiti earthquake. She has designed and co-developed a multilingual disease surveillance and mapping system used in more than 100 countries and adopted by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the United Nations. At OVC, she leads a research and graduate training program connecting veterinary medicine and epidemiology with emerging technologies, including social media and veterinarian supported web-based care. She is the co-lead of the Informatics theme in the Global Burden of Animal Diseases program, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office.

Dr. Jason Coe: VCA Canada Chair in Relationship-Centred Veterinary Medicine and Professor, Department of Population Medicine

Dr. Jason Coe is a veterinary clinical communications expert and Professor in the Department of Population Medicine. He leads an active research program examining human-animal relationships as well as the role of interpersonal communications on the outcomes of veterinary care. He also coordinates the clinical-communication curriculum across all 4 years of the DVM program and is involved in teaching students about the relationships that exist between people and animals. Jason has published over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, contributed to several book chapters, and is regularly invited to speak nationally and internationally at scientific and continuing-education conferences. From 2010 to 2015, Jason held the Nestl� Purina PetCare Canada Chair in Communications dedicated to improving the relationship between companion animals and people through research and education. 

Dr. Caitlin Grant, Nestle Purina Professorship in Companion Animal Nutrition, Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Studies

Dr. Caitlin Grant is originally from Markham, Ontario and completed her undergraduate degree in animal biology earning a BSc at the University of Guelph. She then attended the Ontario Veterinary College and graduated with honors in 2014. After graduation, Dr. Grant became an associate veterinarian in a private, mixed animal practice working with mostly canine, feline and bovine patients. Dr. Grant thoroughly enjoyed her time in private practice, especially the daily interaction with clients and their pets, as well as the opportunity to strengthen the veterinary-client relationship. Dr. Grant had an interest in nutrition before she became a veterinarian, and this interest grew during her three years in private practice. Nutrition plays a vital role in the health and well-being of animals and this was seen daily in appointments with small animals as well as on the farm with food production animals. Dr. Grant made the decision to return to the Ontario Veterinary College in 2017 and completed a nutrition residency through the European College of Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition (ECVCN) and earned a Doctor of Veterinary Science (DVSc) degree in September 2020. Dr. Grant has recently joined OVC faculty and holds the position of Nestle Purina Professorship in Companion Animal Nutrition. She is excited to be involved with the nutrition curriculum for all 4 Phases of the DVM program and will also be heavily involved with running the OVC Clinical Nutrition Service.

Dr. Dave Kelton: Dairy Farmers of Ontario Chair in Dairy Cattle Health and Professor, Department of Population Medicine

Dr. Kelton is a veterinary epidemiologist and the Dairy Farmers of Ontario Dairy Cattle Health Research Chair in the Department of Population Medicine. He is a founding member of Dairy at Guelph, is a member of Scientific Committee of the Canadian Mastitis Network and Board Member of IDF (International Dairy Federation) Canada. He is the Canadian Representative to the International Dairy Federation Standing Committee on Animal Health and Welfare and chairs the Paratuberculosis Working Group. He teaches in the undergraduate, graduate and professional curriculum and is a member of several local, provincial and national working groups dealing with dairy cattle health and animal disease surveillance. His research interests include infectious and metabolic diseases of dairy cattle, including particular interest in Johne's Disease, bovine mastitis and bovine lameness.

Dr. Michelle Oblak, Animal Health Partners Research Chair in Veterinary Medical Innovation and Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Studies

Dr. Michelle Oblak is a veterinary surgical oncologist and Associate Professor of Soft Tissue and Oncologic Surgery in the Department of Clinical Studies, Ontario Veterinary College. Her research program focuses on translation, innovation and the incorporation of novel techniques and technology in treatment of patients, most often in a clinical trials setting. She has several collaborations considering dogs as a naturally occurring disease model for cancer in humans. She is co-director of the University of Guelph Institute for Comparative Cancer Investigation (ICCI), and an active member of the Dog Osteosarcoma Group: Biomarkers of Neoplasia (DOG BONe) and Rapid prototyping of patient-specific implants for dogs (RaPPID) working group. Michelle also serves as the Chair of the Veterinary Society of Surgical Oncology (VSSO) Research Committee, an international organization that works to advance the understanding and improve treatment of veterinary patients with cancer.

Dr. Adronie Verbrugghe, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Endowed Chair in Canine and Feline Clinical Nutrition and Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Studies

Dr. Adronie Verbrugghe graduated as a companion animal veterinarian (DVM) from Ghent University, Belgium in 2005. She completed her PhD focusing with nutritional modulation of carbohydrate metabolism in cats in 2009 and stayed at the same university for 2 additional years as a postdoctoral fellow. She became board certified for the European College of Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition in 2010. In 2011, Dr. Verbrugghe joined the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC), University of Guelph, as Royal Canin Veterinary Diets Endowed Chair in Canine and Feline Clinical Nutrition. Dr. Verbrugghe's academic responsibilities at OVC include development and teaching of small animal clinical nutrition curriculum for the DVM program. Dr. Verbrugghe is also the service chief for the OVC Health Science Centre Clinical Nutrition Service. Her research interests include companion animal nutrition, the link between nutrition, gut microbiota, health and disease, alteration of metabolic pathways through nutrition and nutritional modulation of inflammation and immunity. Currently feline obesity, plant-based pet food and canine cancer are the major subjects of her research. Dr. Verbrugghe has received research funding through the Canadian and Ontario government as well as from pet food industry and local charitable organizations. To date Dr. Verbrugghe has authored and co-authored over 35 peer-reviewed publications. She has been invited to speak at many local, national and international conferences. Dr. Verbrugghe has trained over 16 graduate students and postdocs and has supervised many undergraduate students for research project courses and summer projects. She is a reviewer for various scientific journal and sits on institutional committees and external scientific advisory boards.

University of Guelph and Ontario Veterinary College Chairs

Dr. Dorothee Bienzle: University Research Leadership Chair (2021 - Present), Canada Research Chair in Veterinary Pathology (2005-2015) and Professor, Department of Pathobiology

Dr. Tami Martino, Distinguished Chair in Molecular Cardiovascular Research, Career Investigator, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Director, Centre for Cardiovascular Investigations and Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences

Dr. Tami Martino completed her undergraduate studies at McMaster Health Sciences, and her PhD and postdoctoral studies in the research-intensive clinical institutes at the University of Toronto. She was recruited to Biomedical Sciences at the University of Guelph in 2009. Dr. Martino's research program is focused on translating fundamental knowledge about the circadian biology of the cardiovascular system into clinical applications. Her research team investigates how circadian dysregulation drives heart diseases, including myocardial infarction (heart attack), cardiac hypertrophy, hypertension (high blood pressure), and heart failure - our leading causes of death. They also examine how the heart's circadian biology can be therapeutically manipulated to benefit how we heal from disease, using genetic, environmental or pharmacologic approaches to slow or reverse ongoing damage. This pioneering new field of medicine - termed Circadian Medicine - will lead to longer and healthier lives. In 2015, Dr. Martino became the founding Director of the Centre for Cardiovascular Investigations (CCVI), bringing together hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students and faculty involved in cardiovascular medicine and science. In 2016, she became a co-investigator in the CIHR Canadian Sleep and Circadian Network (CSCN). In 2017, she was invited to the Board of Directors of the Canadian Society for Chronobiology (CSC). In 2018, she was named a GuelphY Woman of Distinction for her outstanding leadership and mentorship in STEM. In 2019, she was awarded a prestigious Career Investigator Award of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada in Circadian Medicine & Heart Health, the only one ever at UofG. In 2020, Dr. Martino was awarded the Distinguished Chair in Molecular Cardiovascular Research, for her internationally renowned research in Circadian Medicine. Dr. Martino's research is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Heart and Stroke Foundation, and Canadian Foundation for Innovation.

Dr. Lee Niel, Col. K. L. Campbell Chair in Companion Animal Welfare and Associate Professor, Department of Population Medicine

Dr. Jan Sargent, University Research Leadership Chair (2017 - 2020) and Professor, Department of Population Medicine

Dr. Shayan Sharif, University Research Leadership Chair (2017 - 2020), Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies, and Professor, Department of Pathobiology

Back to Research Experts