Virginia Tech researcher John Rossmeisl honored by Auburn University
John Rossmeisl was recently named a 2024 winner of the Wilford S. Bailey Award by the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Rossmeisl is the Dr. and Mrs. Dorsey Taylor Mahin Endowed Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine (VMCVM) at Virginia Tech. He is an internationally recognized scholar in primary brain tumors, medical device development, central nervous system drug delivery, and endocrinology, and has authored 218 peer-reviewed publications in these and related fields.
The Wilford S. Bailey Award is the highest honor given to Auburn veterinary alumni to recognize their professional accomplishments in veterinary medicine, outstanding contributions to their communities and the overall advancement of animal and human health. The award is named to honor the late Wilford S. Bailey, who held a 50-year continuous faculty appointment at Auburn, serving in positions ranging from veterinary instructor to university president.
Rossmeisl directs the Veterinary and Comparative Neuro-Oncology Laboratory in its mission to develop effective methods for the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumors affecting companion animals and humans.
Rossmeisl earned the B.A. in zoology at the University of New Hampshire before completing his DVM at Auburn in 1997, graduating as valedictorian of his class. While a student at Auburn, he served for four years as a research fellow in the Scott-Ritchey Research Center.
After veterinary college, he earned the M.S. degree in veterinary science and molecular biology from Virginia Tech and completed residencies in Veterinary Neurology & Neurosurgery and in Veterinary Internal Medicine – earning board certification in both disciplines.
Rossmeisl joined the faculty at Virginia Tech in 2003 and rose through the academic ranks to professor in 2016.
Rossmeisl is director of targeted drug delivery systems at Virginia Tech’s Center for Engineered Health in the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science. He is also a Core Cancer Faculty Member at the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and an adjunct professor in the Wake Forest University Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Brain Tumor Center of Excellence. He has served for the past seven years as associate department head of the VMCVM’s Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences.
Rossmeisl has been recognized with numerous honors and awards for excellence in both research and teaching. These include, most recently, the Cutting Edge Cancer Research Award from the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Outstanding Graduate Student Mentor Award from the Virginia Tech Graduate School and the Zoetis Veterinary Research Excellence Award in 2014 and 2018.
In teaching, he earned the VMCVM’s Pfizer Distinguished Veterinary Teaching Award in 2011 and the National Student Chapter of the AVMA Teaching Excellence Award in 2008.
