Illinois professor to head UF veterinary college department

Paul S. Cooke, Ph.D., has been named chairman of the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine’s department of physiological sciences, following a national search.

He began his new job Feb. 1.

Formerly, Cooke was a professor and held the Billie A. Field Endowed Chair in Reproductive Biology in the department of veterinary biosciences at the University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign. He has been on faculty at Illinois since 1987. Named the Billie A. Field Endowed Chair in Reproductive Biology in 2004, Cooke also received the Dr. Gordon and Mrs. Helen Kruger All-Around Excellence Award that same year. He received the Pfizer Animal Health Award for Research Excellence in 2001 and numerous other acknowledgments for his research in previous years.

Cooke’s professional interests include reproductive biology, companion animal contraception and developmental toxicology. His current research focuses on the regulation of spermatogonial stem cells – the precursors of sperm cells – in the testis, and inducing permanent sterility in female dogs by altering key developmental events in neonatal uterine development.

“This is an exciting time for the College of Veterinary Medicine here at the University of Florida,” Cooke said. “The opportunity to come to Gainesville and be a part of this college and to lead this department into the future is an exciting one for me.”