Directors and Advisory Board

About the NCVP Leadership

The National Center for Veterinary Parasitology is led by Drs. Susan Little, Mason Reichard, and Ruth Scimeca at Oklahoma State University with input from a diverse and dedicated board comprised of academic and industry leaders in the discipline.

NCVP Co-Directors

Susan Little, DVM, PhD, DACVM-Parasit.
In addition to Dr. Little's work with the Center, she is active in veterinary parasitology teaching and oversees a research program that focuses on zoonotic parasites, ticks, and tick-borne diseases. She earned her BS from Cornell University, a DVM from Virginia Tech, and a PhD in veterinary parasitology from the University of Georgia. Dr. Little is an outstanding teacher and has received two excellence in teaching awards from the national Student American Veterinary Medical Association. She is past-president of both the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists and the Companion Animal Parasite Council. In 2017 she received the Distinguished Veterinary Parasitologist Award from the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists.

Mason Reichard, MS, PhD
Dr. Mason Reichard is active in teaching veterinary parasitology to veterinary students and to practicing veterinarians through continuing education. His creative approach to teaching has generated a number of tools used in training veterinary students at Oklahoma State and elsewhere. Dr. Reichard also leads a very successful research program that focuses on zoonotic and tick-borne diseases of wild and domestic animals. He received a BS in Biology from Central Michigan University, MS in Biology from Northern Michigan University, and a PhD in Veterinary Biomedical Science from Oklahoma State University.

Ruth Scimeca, DVM, PhD, DACVM-Parasit.
Dr. Ruth Scimeca obtained her veterinary degree in 2004, and part of her training was completed at the Veterinary School in Zaragoza Spain. She obtained her masters and doctorate degrees in Ciudad Real, Spain. In 2011 she completed a postdoctoral fellowship from in the Tick and Tick-Borne Diseases Laboratory at Oklahoma State University (OSU) under the direction of Dr. Katherine Kocan. She was the Bayer Resident in Veterinary Parasitology at Oklahoma State University under the direction of Dr. Mason Reichard from 2017 to 2019.
After completing her residency and passing the board examination in veterinary parasitology she joined the faculty of Oklahoma State University's veterinary college as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Parasitology in 2020.

NCVP Academic Board Members

Byron Blagburn, MS, PhD, DACVM-Parasit. (Hon.)
Dr. Byron Blagburn, Auburn University, holds the position of Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, where he trains veterinary and graduate students in parasitology and leads an internationally recognized research program on parasitic diseases of animals. He earned his BS from Andrews University and his PhD in Parasitology from the University of Illinois. Awards received by Dr. Blagburn include the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists Distinguished Parasitologist Award in 2001, the highest honor granted by the AAVP, the Beecham Award for Research Excellence, and the Pfizer Award for Research Excellence. In addition, he is a Past-President of the AAVP, an Honorary Diplomate of the ACVM-Parasitology, and has been named Outstanding Teacher, Alumni Professor, and Distinguished University Professor at Auburn University.

Dwight Bowman, MS, PhD, DACVM-Parasit. (Hon.)
Dr. Dwight Bowman, Cornell University, has established an impressive body of work examining various compounds for treating parasites in dogs, cats, cattle and sheep, with primary emphasis on soil-transmitted parasites. He earned his MS and PhD in parasitology from Tulane University and completed post-doctorate work on ocular larva migrans at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. He has been at Cornell University since 1987 where he teaches veterinary parasitology and continues his research on animal parasites; he is the author of Parasitology for Veterinarians, the leading textbook in veterinary parasitology. Awards received by Dr. Bowman include the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists Distinguished Parasitologist Award, the highest honor granted by the AAVP. In addition, he is President of the Companion Animal Parasite Council, President-elect of the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists, and an Honorary Diplomate of the ACVM-Parasitology.

Jenifer Edmonds, DVM, PhD, at Johnson Research is a native Idaho resident and 1998 graduate of Washington State University, College of Veterinary Medicine. After veterinary school Dr. Edmonds obtained her PhD at Louisiana State University under the supervision of Dr. Tom Klei. Her graduate studies focused the characterization and regulation of the equine humoral and cellular immune response to Strongylus vulgaris and further delineated the Th1/Th2 paradigm in the horse. Since 2002, Dr. Edmonds has served as Investigator/Parasitologist at Johnson Research, a family-owned independent contract research organization in business for more than 40 years. Dr. Edmonds is involved in the development, conduct, and monitoring of target animal safety, pharmacokinetic, and product efficacy studies in beef /dairy cattle and horses. She is active in AAVP and has served as the AAVP Newsletter Editor since 2009.

Andrew Peregrine, BVMS, PhD, DVM, DEVPC, DACVM-Parasit.
Dr. Andrew Peregrine obtained his BVMS, PhD (Veterinary Parasitology) and DVM from the University of Glasgow, Scotland. He then worked for 9 years at the International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases, Nairobi, Kenya, where he carried out research to improve control of tropical parasites in livestock. Since 1997, he has been an Associate Professor in clinical parasitology at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Canada, where his research interests currently include emerging zoonotic parasites of companion animals, and control of gastrointestinal parasites in sheep. He has received 10 College/University/Provincial teaching awards and the Broad Spectrum LGBTQ+ Veterinary Awareness Award. He is a past-president of the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists.

Lindsay Starkey, DVM, PhD, DACVM (Parasit.)
Dr. Starkey earned her BS in Animal Science from the University of Arkansas in 2007. She completed both her DVM (2011) and PhD (2015) in Veterinary Biomedical Sciences at Oklahoma State University where her graduate research focused on several vector-borne infections of dogs. She is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Microbiology, Parasitology sub-specialty, completing her residency training through the National Center for Veterinary Parasitology at Oklahoma State University in 2015. Dr. Starkey joined the faculty at Auburn University in May 2016 where she is involved in the teaching of parasitology to first and fourth-year veterinary students, various research projects involving vector-borne and food-borne infections, diagnostic parasitology, and parasite consultation and outreach.

Gui Verocai MV (DVM equivalent) MS, PhD, DACVM-Parasit.
Dr. Guilherme (Gui) Verocai earned his MV (DVM equivalent) and MS in Veterinary Parasitology from the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and his PhD in Veterinary Medical Sciences from the University of Calgary, Canada. Dr. Verocai is also a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists (Parasitology). Following his PhD, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Global Health of the University of South Florida, and was an Assistant Research Scientist at the Department of Infectious Diseases at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, where he also served as director of the Parasitology Diagnostic Laboratory, while also involved in teaching and research.
Currently, Dr. Verocai is a Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of the Parasitology Diagnostic Laboratory in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. He is actively involved in teaching veterinary students, and mentoring graduate students. His research focuses on advancing the knowledge on biodiversity and diagnostics of parasites of domestic animals and wildlife, with a special focus on vector-borne and zoonotic nematodes, including heartworm, Onchocerca, and the Guinea worm, Dracunculus medinensis.

NCVP Industry Board Members

Pablo Jimenez Castro, DMV (DVM equivalent), PhD, DACVM-Parasit., earned his DMV (DVM equivalent) in 2013 from La Universidad Nacional de Colombia. After working for several pharmaceutical companies in regulatory affairs for the Andean countries, and fueled by the time spent at a contract research organization conducting parasitology studies in the UK, he enrolled in the PhD program under the guidance of Dr. Ray Kaplan at the University of Georgia studying multiple anthelmintic drug resistance in hookworms of dogs. He graduated in 2021. Dr. Jimenez Castro is also a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists (Parasitology). He joined Zoetis in 2021 as a Field Veterinary Specialist in Parasitology on the Veterinary Specialty Team, where he collaborates with veterinary medical Research and Development to address the need for novel veterinary parasite control strategies. Dr. Jimenez Castro has authored numerous peer-reviewed scientific articles and is starting to become a popular presenter at both national and international symposia.

Melissa Beall, MS, DVM, PhD, is the Director of Clinical Research for IDEXX. Dr. Beall is a Pennsylvania native, and received her BS in Chemistry from Cornell University, an MS in Neuroscience from the University of Pittsburgh, and a veterinary degree from the Ohio State University. After working in small animal practice and laboratory animal medicine in New Jersey, she completed a PhD in Comparative Medicine at Cornell University where she studied host-parasite interactions in Schistosoma mansoni infections. Since joining IDEXX in 2002, she has worked in research and development, medical affairs, and clinical research supporting the development and launch of infectious disease, pancreatic lipase, and NT-proBNP diagnostic tests. She is a co-author on over 40 peer-reviewed publications and an inventor on 14 IDEXX patents.

Doug Carithers, DVM, is the Director of Applied Research and Publications for North American Business Operations of Merial in Duluth, GA, USA. At Merial for 20 years, Dr. Carithers has been the Director of Applied Research and Publications for the past ten years. In addition to coordinating trials and surveys, he has authored or co-authored over 40 scientific papers, has lectured internationally at veterinary and parasitology meetings and conferences, and has participated in national and international round table discussions on pain medication and parasitology. He is currently serving on the AHS board as Editor, and was previously Vice President of the American Heartworm Society. Dr. Carithers has also served on the boards of the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues (NCVEI), the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC), and the North American Veterinary Medical Education Consortium (NAVMEC) for the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC).

Frank Guerino, PhD, is a Director in Global Pharmaceutical Development for Merck Animal Health. He received his BS from Rutgers University, MS degree from The Pennsylvania State University and PhD from the University of Maryland. Following a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Johns Hopkins Medical School, he joined American Cyanamid Company and began a career in product development. Dr. Guerino was also employed by Fort Dodge Animal Health and Alpharma prior to joining Schering-Plough Animal Health (currently Merck Animal Health). He has over 20 years of experience in the development of parasiticides for livestockand companion animals

Lisa Young, DVM, is a Principal Research Scientist for Elanco Animal Health in Companion Animal Development, located in Greenfield, IN. She graduated from Indiana University with a B.S. in Business – Marketing and Advertising in 1990 and received her DVM from Purdue University in 2001. After 7 years as an associate veterinarian in a progressive small animal practice, she joined Elanco Animal Health. Over her 9 years at Elanco, Dr. Young has served as both the Director of Global Technical Strategy as well as the Director of North America Technical Marketing before joining a parasiticides product Development team. In addition to planning and coordinating parasitology studies, she has co-authored a number of peer-reviewed publications and previously served as a sponsor board member of the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC).

Former NCVP Team Members

Mike Dryden, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVM-Parasit. is a leading authority on flea and tick biology and control for dogs and cats. His research program focuses on in-home evaluations of flea and tick control products as well epidemiologic investigations of intestinal parasites. He earned his BS and DVM from KSU and his MS and PhD at Purdue University, and he currently holds the University Distinguished Professorship in Veterinary Parasitology at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Awards received by Dr. Dryden include the Pfizer Award for Research Excellence, the KSU Distinguished Service Award from the Kansas Veterinary Medical Association, a Recognition Award in Urban Entomology from the northcentral branch of the Entomological Society of America, an Excellence in Teaching Award from the American College of Veterinary Dermatology, and the Veterinarian of the Year Award at the Purina Annual Show Dogs of the Year Awards. He is a Charter Diplomate in Parasitology through the ACVM.

Craig Reinemeyer, DVM, PhD DACVM-Parasit, is the founder and president of East Tennessee Clinical Research, Inc., an independent business that conducts clinical pharmaceutical research for animal health companies. Dr. Reinemeyer is a co-author of the Handbook of Equine Parasite Control, an essential reference for internal parasites of horses including principles of parasite control and diagnosis and assessment of parasitologic information. He received his DVM and PhD in veterinary parasitology from The Ohio State University. Before founding East Tennessee Clinical Research, he was an Associate Professor in the Department of Comparative Medicine at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine. He is a past-president of the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists and a Charter Diplomate in Parasitology through the ACVM.

Tim Geary, PhD
As of 2019 Dr. Timothy Geary is an Emeritus Professor at McGill University and now has a 20% appointment as a Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at Queen's University–Belfast. He earned a BSc from the University of Notre Dame in Biology and a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Michigan, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship and Research Assistant Professorship at Michigan State University, where he began to study parasites with a focus on chemotherapy. He then enjoyed a 20-year career in veterinary parasitology drug discovery and development at Upjohn/Pharmacia/Pfizer before joining the faculty at McGill. Tim has been honored with the AAVP Distinguished Parasitologist Award and the Beuding-von Brand Award from ASP. His research interests include parasite chemotherapy, antiparasitic drug resistance and the molecular language of the host-parasite interface.

Anne Zajac, MS, DVM, PhD DACVM-Parasit, is an internationally recognized expert in clinical parasitology and the author of Veterinary Clinical Parasitology, the textbook used to train veterinary students and veterinary technicians throughout North America in diagnostic parasitology. Dr. Zajac received her BS from the University of Michigan, her MS and DVM from Michigan State University, and her PhD in veterinary parasitology from The Ohio State University. She is currently a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech. She is a past-president of the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists and a Charter Diplomate in Parasitology through the ACVM. In 2016 she was the recipient of the Distinguished Veterinary Parasitologist Award, the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists’ highest honor.

Dr. Meriam Saleh, PhD joined the NCVP as Project Leader in July 2019 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship in Veterinary Parasitology at Oklahoma State University. Originally from east Tennessee, she earned a BS in Animal Science from the University of Tennessee in 2011 and a PhD in Veterinary Parasitology from Virginia Tech in 2017. As NCVP Project Leader she worked on a number of projects, including the creation of NCVP promotional materials and coordinating our educational outreach programs and newsletters. She served as a key point of contact for residents, board members, and prospective veterinary externs. In addition to her role as NCVP Project Leader she was also a lecturer in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology. Dr. Saleh accepted a post-doctoral position working in the research laboratory of Dr. Gui Verocai at Texas A&M University in January 2021.

Dr. Kelly Allen, MS, PhD is an Assistant Professor in Parasitology in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology at Oklahoma State University’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences (OSU-CVHS). She leads a research laboratory focused on vector-borne parasitic infections important in veterinary and human medicine. Also, Dr. Allen enjoys teaching parasitology to veterinary students and graduate students at OSU-CVHS, to practicing veterinarians through continuing education opportunities, and to public audiences via outreach efforts. Dr. Allen is originally from Athens, Georgia, and received a BS in Microbiology and an MS in Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology from the University of Georgia. She received her PhD in Veterinary Biomedical Science from OSU-CVHS.
In 2022, Dr. Allen accepted a position at Merck as an Associate Principle Scientist (Global Clinical Research).

Dr. Megan Lineberry, PhD provides support to the NCVP through expert image and video capture, fixed and fresh specimen provision, and website upkeep. Megan is currently a Research Technician and PhD candidate in Veterinary Parasitology at Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Her research is focused on the prevalence and geographic distribution of Cercopithifilaria in dogs in the U.S. Prior to her current research position and TA-ship, she served in the parasitology section of the Oklahoma Animal Disease and Diagnostics Laboratory, where her interest in the discipline developed. Due to her diagnostic and research experience, Megan is a wonderful resource to the NCVP in providing quality images and materials to educators and industry representatives in the field. Megan has a bachelor's of science in Zoology. She grew up in a military family and has lived and seven different states! Well, the NCVP is glad that you are in Oklahoma for a while!
In 2022, Dr. Lineberry accepted a Senior Scientist position at Zoetis Animal Health.