Dr. Lesley Ann Colby of Ann Arbor, Mich., received the 2006-2007 Outstanding Recent Alumni Award for the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech.

She was honored during the college’s 2007 convocation ceremony held in May.

Dr. Colby epitomizes the best qualities of a graduate of the veterinary college, said Dr. David Moore, assistant vice-provost for research compliance for Virginia Tech and associate professor in the college’s Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology.

“Dr. Colby has garnered national and international recognition for her tireless efforts on behalf of veterinary medicine in general, and the specialty of laboratory animal medicine in particular,” said Moore. “Her actions have influenced veterinary students across the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, and set the mark for future generations to aspire to, in service to the next generation of lab animal veterinarians.”

Colby is a three-time graduate of Virginia Tech. She received her bachelor’s degree in animal science in 1992, her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1996 and a master’s degree in veterinary science-bacteriology/immunology in 1997. She was also a post-doctoral fellow in laboratory animal science in the college from 1999 to 2002.

In 2005, she was board certified as a diplomate by the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine.

Since 2002, she has been a clinical assistant professor in the Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine in the University of Michigan Medical School. She also held teaching appointments during her time at Virginia Tech. In addition, she has practiced mixed, small animal and exotic veterinary medicine.

Colby is actively engaged in the veterinary profession through membership in a range of professional societies, serving as a reviewer on three different editorial boards of professional journals, organizing national seminars and forums, and serving in various administrative, clinical, and committee capacities at the University of Michigan. She has authored numerous articles in scientific journals and has been invited to give presentations around the country. She also serves as a consulting veterinarian to Molecular Imaging Research, Inc. in Ann Arbor.

To be eligible for the Outstanding Recent Alumni Award, recipients must be graduates of the past ten years and each should have distinguished him or herself professionally in his/her career or in rendering service to the university since graduating. The faculty of each college nominates and decides upon the recipient for their individual college.

The Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM) is a two-state, three-campus professional school operated by the land-grant universities of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg and the University of Maryland at College Park. Its flagship facilities, based at Virginia Tech, include the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, which treats more than 40,000 animals annually. Other campuses include the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Leesburg, Va., and the Avrum Gudelsky Veterinary Center at College Park, home of the Center for Government and Corporate Veterinary Medicine. The VMRCVM annually enrolls approximately 500 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and graduate students, is a leading biomedical and clinical research center, and provides professional continuing education services for veterinarians practicing throughout the two states. Virginia Tech, the most comprehensive university in Virginia, is dedicated to quality, innovation, and results to the commonwealth, the nation, and the world.

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