Veterinary professor honored by national parasitology group

Ellis Greiner, Ph.D., a professor in the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine's department of infectious diseases and pathology, has received the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists' Distinguished Veterinary Parasitologist Award.

The award consists of a plaque and $1,500 and was presented during the AAVP's annual meeting this month in Calgary, Canada.

The award honors the outstanding contributions of an AAVP member to the advancement of veterinary parasitology. Recipients are nominated by association members and the winner is selected by an awards committee.

Greiner has served on UF's veterinary faculty for more than 30 years. His research has involved reptiles, birds, livestock and domestic pets, but most has been centered on sea turtles and marine mammals. Earlier in his career at UF, he worked extensively with bluetongue, a viral disease affecting sheep and cattle, and with a devastating neurological disease that affects horses, known as equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, or EPM, caused by a parasite known as Sarcocystis neurona.

Greiner chaired the UF Committee on Committees and the veterinary college's Academic Advancement Committee. He recently served on the UF Student Conduct Committee and is now on the same committee for the Health Science Center. He is in his third year on the UF Senate Steering Committee.