Stephen Boyle named director of Center for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Diseases
Stephen M. Boyle, of Blacksburg, Va., a professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology in the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech, has been named the new director of the college's Center for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Diseases.
Boyle succeeds Dr. Ansar Ahmed who recently was named head of the department.
In this position, Boyle will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the center, an advanced research and development facility focused on the development of genetically altered vaccines and immunomodulators to fight infectious diseases in people and animals.
"Dr. Boyle's accomplishments and experience as a researcher, especially in vaccine development, will be of great benefit as he helps to guide [the department’s] mission to uncover new ways to fight disease," said Dr. Roger Avery, senior associate dean for research and graduate studies. "I look forward to working with him in this new capacity."
Boyle received his undergraduate education from Rutgers the State University and his Ph.D. from the University of Rhode Island. Before coming to the college in 1984 as an associate professor, Boyle was an assistant and an associate professor at Memorial University, Newfoundland.
Boyle's principal research interests are microbial virulence mechanisms and the application of recombinant DNA technology to vaccine development. He is currently focusing on the improvement of the Brucella abortus vaccine strain RB51TM to prevent brucellosis as well as other diseases, the construction of a microarray encompassing the genomes of 3 Brucella spp., and the development and testing of a contraceptive vaccine for the control of feral cats. Boyle is a member of the American Society for Microbiology, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases and the Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs.
