Dr. Maarten Drost is UF veterinary college’s Teacher of the Year

Maarten Drost, D.V.M., a world-renowned expert in bovine reproduction, has been named the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine’s 2003 Teacher of the Year.

Drost, a professor of large animal clinical sciences, is known for his ground-breaking work in embryo transfer technology and the mechanisms of pregnancy recognition and fertility management in cattle.

His team at UF was responsible for the world’s first embryo transfer to result in the birth of a water buffalo calf, an achievement that led to production of the first buffalo calves using the same technique in Europe.

Drost came to UF in 1977 after serving on the faculty of the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California at Davis. Before that, he was a visiting associate professor at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and at State University at Utrecht, The Netherlands; he also was a visiting professor at Colorado State University’s embryo transfer unit. He has worked in private practice and served as a captain in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps.

Drost received his doctorate in veterinary medicine from Iowa State University. He has won many awards, including the 1993 Gamma Sigma Delta International Award for Distinguished Service to Agriculture. In his nomination letter, the president of the agricultural honor society’s Florida chapter wrote, “His forte is teaching at all levels, while his research has kept him at the forefront of reproductive biotechnology in cattle.”

Drost also is a past recipient of UF’s Distinguished Faculty Award, the Egyptian Veterinary Association’s Science Pioneer Prize and UF’s Teaching Improvement Award.

Drost said he believes teaching and research are compatible and that a commitment to research is vital to maintaining and stimulating good teaching.

“My firsthand experience with the effect of heat stress on reproductive performance of the dairy cow — through collaborative research with faculty in the department of dairy and poultry sciences — has sharpened my knowledge and skills,” he said. “That knowledge has been directly applicable to our clinical program. Residents and senior students participate in some of the field trials that demonstrate technology transfer. They also interact with producers, managers and farm personnel.”

His interest in students stems from the satisfaction he derives from explaining the marvels of reproduction, Drost said.

“The processes of reproduction hold fascination for many people, whether 4-H groups, livestock owners, herdsmen, veterinary students or veterinary practitioners,” Drost said. “I enjoy seeing the students progress from their pre-veterinary days, when I teach some of them a dairy science course on reproductive management, to our freshman reproductive system course and the major lectures and laboratories in theriogenology (the study of animal reproduction), then finally to the clinical rotations their junior and senior years.”