Professor emeritus honored for achievements in virology
Dr. Paul Gibbs, a professor emeritus at the college and former associate dean for students and instruction, has been honored by a national veterinary diagnostics association for his professional achievements in the area of virology.
The American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians named Gibbs with its 2013 Pioneers in Virology Award award during the group’s annual meeting, held Oct. 17-23 in San Diego. That meeting coincided with the annual meeting of the U.S. Animal Health Association. Gibbs had just completed his five-year chairmanship of that group’s foreign and emerging diseases committee. Gibbs will present his lecture next year on the topic of “One World: One Health.”
A write-up on the AAVLD’s website notes that Gibbs’ orientation has been on the control and prevention of emerging and foreign animal diseases, including those of zoonotic importance, through research, education and policy development.
Gibbs graduated as a veterinarian from the University of Bristol in England in 1967 and subsequently focused his career on the epidemiology, control and prevention of emerging viral diseases. For nearly 10 years he worked at the Institute of Animal Health in England on diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease, bluetongue, sheep pox, and rinderpest. In 1979, he joined the newly established College of Veterinary Medicine at UF.
In Florida, apart from teaching, he has worked on several emerging problems and foreign animal diseases that threaten the USA; most recently West Nile virus encephalitis in horses, canine influenza, and bovine spongiform encephalopathy. He established UF’s International Center and was Director from 1994 to 1999. Among other responsibilities, he worked on the peace process in the Middle East. His interest in emerging diseases also involves work in the developing countries, often the least developed. In many of these countries, educational standards are poor, children are malnourished and, not surprisingly, animal health and welfare is frequently given little attention.
He is an advisor to several universities in Europe, government/international agencies, and pharmaceutical companies. In September 2005, he was awarded the Wooldridge Medal by the British Veterinary Association and, in May 2012, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the Florida Veterinary Medical Association for his work on Emerging Diseases.
Gibbs’ academic affiliation at the college is with the department of infectious diseases and pathology. He retired as associate dean for students and instruction in 2012.