Published 10/24/2023

Craig Franklin, DVM, PhD, DACLAM, a professor of veterinary pathobiology at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, was recently honored as the recipient of the Charles River Prize at the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science annual meeting. The award, named after its sponsor, is awarded to a veterinarian in recognition of their outstanding contributions to laboratory animal science and medicine.

Franklin also serves as co-director of the Comparative Medicine Program, the Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center and the Veterinary Research Scholars Program, as well as co-investigator in the Rat Resource and Research Center.

As noted in the AALAS annual meeting program, Franklin’s research, which has resulted in approximately 140 manuscripts and 250 posters or seminar presentations, centers on refinement of rodent models for optimal reproducibility and translatability, most recently focusing on the role of complex microbiota in model phenotype modulation. As co-director of the Comparative Medicine Program and Veterinary Research Scholars Program, he has advised more than 90 post-DVM trainees and 700 veterinary students exploring and pursuing biomedical research careers.

By Nick Childress