Professor emeritus of infectious diseases honored by epidemiology group

Paul Nicoletti, D.V.M., a professor emeritus of infectious diseases at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, was presented with the 2010 Karl F. Meyer-James H. Steele Gold Head Cane Award during the American Veterinary Medical Association’s annual meeting in Atlanta recently.

The award is the highest honor given to a veterinarian by the American Veterinary Epidemiology Society. The group selects the awardee on the basis of achievements in animal health that have significantly advanced human health through the practice of veterinary epidemiology and public health.

A 1956 graduate of the University of Missouri’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Nicoletti retired from the UF veterinary faculty in 2003. During his 25 years of service at UF, he taught courses in infectious diseases, epidemiology, public health and food safety.

Nicoletti’s career began at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Missouri, with later duties in Wisconsin, New York, Mississippi and Florida. He served as an epizootiologist in Tehran, Iran, from 1968 to 1972 with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations prior to beginning his academic career at UF in 1978.

An internationally recognized expert in brucellosis, Nicoletti has amassed many awards in his career, including Distinguished Service awards from both the University of Missouri and UF. As a tribute to Nicoletti’s professional contributions and service to the cattle industry, a private $1.3 million contribution was recently made to the UF College of Veterinary Medicine in his name.