|
New UW laboratory will further wildlife disease research
Wyoming Wildlife disease research will expand with a new laboratory at the University of Wyoming created in memory of scientists Beth Williams and Tom Thorne, said the father of Beth Williams. The Beth Williams and Tom Thorne Wildlife Research Laboratory was dedicated April, 20 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Williams and Thorne family members, university administration, faculty and staff members, personnel from the Wyoming Fish and Game Department and guests. Williams was a professor in the Department of Veterinary Sciences in the College of Agriculture, and her husband, Tom, was a retired G&F veterinarian. They were prominent experts on chronic wasting disease and brucellosis. They died in a motor-vehicle crash in December 2004. The facility, in the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory, was established by converting six animal rooms into an infectious diseases lab. Walt Williams, father of Beth and a retired professor from the animal science department at the University of Maryland, helped cut the ribbon along with University of Wyoming President Tom Buchanan and Gary Thorne, brother of Tom Thorne. "This laboratory means that work to protect wildlife and our environment is now more capable here at UW for doing newer kinds of research that could not be done without this facility," said Williams, a faculty member at Maryland for more than 35 years. The facility is funded by the Williams family in memory of Williams and her husband, the Department of Veterinary Sciences and the Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station. Williams watched the budding of his daughter's interest in wildlife research and then saw that interest grow in his own laboratory. "I remember when she was 5 or 6 her finding a young rabbit in our backyard," he recalled. "She treated it and nursed it back to health and released it back into the wild. I had the great pleasure of having Beth with me in the lab at the University of Maryland for a short while and saw her become excited about research." Williams obtained a veterinary degree from Purdue University and her doctorate from Colorado State University. "The reason we are here is everybody shares the passion that Beth and Tom had for wildlife disease research," said Frank Galey, dean of the College of Agriculture, during remarks before the ribbon cutting. More than 90 people attended the dedication. "I think they would approve our efforts not only to memorialize them but carry on the research," Professor Donal O'Toole, head of the Department of Veterinary Sciences and director of the WSVL, told the crowd. The laboratory will be under the supervision of Leslie Woods, a veterinary pathologist and professor in the Department of Veterinary Sciences. Graduate students and other faculty members, including the WSVL's virologist, Assistant Professor Nicky Bratanich, will also use the facility.
0 None Date: 5/24/07
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2008. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com |
| ||||||||||||||||||||
