Parasitologist, graduate student earn professional honors
A parasitologist on the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM) faculty at Virginia Tech and his graduate student were both honored during the annual meeting of the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists (AAVP) in Philadelphia.
David S. Lindsay, of Christiansburg, Va., a professor in the college's Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology and who is widely recognized for his expertise in veterinary and human parasitology, was honored with the AAVP's prestigious 2004 "Distinguished Veterinary Parasitologist Award."
Lindsay's graduate student, Alexa Rosypal, of Blacksburg, earned first place honors for her presentation entitled "Clinical leishmaniasis induced in beagles with an American isolate of Leishmania infantum." Both the awards were sponsored by the Bayer Animal Health Corporation.
Lindsay has been a major figure in international parasitology research for more than two decades. Much of his work has involved the examination of the protozoal parasites causing diseases like cryptosporidiosis, coccidiosis infection in pigs, and toxoplasmosis.
In the 1990's, Lindsay was part of a USDA funded team that made a major breakthrough in the understanding of an economically significant parasitic disease afflicting cattle. Working in the college's Center for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Disease, Lindsay and colleagues demonstrated that the dog is a "definitive host" for Neospora caninum, a single-celled parasitic organism that causes pregnant cows to abort their fetuses.
Recently, he has been working on an improved diagnostic test for Equine Protozoal Myelitis (EPM), a serious disease that causes a range of neurological problems in horses.
Lindsay worked at Auburn University and with the American Parasitology Institute at Beltsville, Md., prior to joining the Virginia Tech faculty in 1997. Promoted to full professor in 2003, Lindsay became the first member of the VMRCVM to receive the university's Alumni Award for Research Excellence in 2003.
Among numerous professional honors and awards, Lindsay was presented the Henry Baldwin Ward Medal in 2000 from the American Society of Parasitologists. He also has been twice awarded the Pfizer Award for Research Excellence, once in 1996 and again in 2002.
Lindsay has been active in parasitology research since 1978. He has published more than 310 papers, 21 book chapters, one book, and co-edited one book. He received his bachelor's degree from Troy State University and his Ph.D. from Auburn University.
