VERO Research Director Named McIntosh Endowed Chair at Texas A&M

Dr. Paul Morley, a professor at the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences and director of research for the Veterinary Education, Research, & Outreach program, has been selected as the holder of the newly established Sally Rau McIntosh Endowed Chair for Veterinary Strategic Initiatives.

The chair was created by Sally Rau McIntosh in December 2021 to support the teaching, research, service, and professional development activities of its holder. Morley began his four-year term as the Sally Rau McIntosh Endowed Chair in September 2022.

As director of research, Morley—also a faculty member at West Texas A&M University’s Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences—supports the growth of research programs for all VERO faculty, supervises and provides oversight for research staff and laboratories, and promotes research exposure programs for veterinary and undergraduate students.

He is a productive researcher in his own right, having published more than 210 scientific journal articles in his career, 32 of these since the beginning of 2019. His primary research interests include antibiotic resistance, infectious diseases in food animals, and improving infection control and biosecurity to manage health risks that are important in veterinary medicine, agriculture, and public health.

During his career, Morley has received 124 awards totaling $16 million to support his research.

In addition to his administrative and research roles, Morley teaches courses on metagenomic sequencing, bioinformatics, and research techniques for graduate students at the VMBS and WT.

Morley was recommended for the Sally Rau McIntosh Endowed Chair by a committee of four faculty members from within and beyond the VMBS.

“Dr. Morley has a proven track record of research funding and publication that has grown year over year,” said a representative from the committee. “This has borne out at Texas A&M, as Dr. Morley has led the VERO research faculty to acquire just under $5 million in research funding and have over 60 publications in print or accepted since 2019.

“Of equal importance to his own productivity is Dr. Morley’s track record of mentoring graduate students and young faculty in success,” the committee member continued. “Dr. Morley’s commitment to addressing issues of societal importance, including food safety and food production, is evident in his leadership of the VERO research program.”

Morley earned his doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Washington State University in 1989 and a Ph.D. from the University of Saskatchewan in 1995. In 1997, he became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Large Animal Internal Medicine).

Prior to joining Texas A&M in 2019, he held faculty positions at The Ohio State University, Colorado State University, and the Colorado School of Public Health.

Morley has won numerous awards throughout the years, including, most recently, the VMBS’ Outstanding Research Leader Award and the Texas Veterinary Medical Association Research Award in 2022.

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Contact Information: Jennifer Gauntt, Director of VMBS Communications, Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences; jgauntt@cvm.tamu.edu; 979-862-4216