MU CVM’s Franklin Earns ACLAM Mentor Award

Craig Franklin, a professor of veterinary pathobiology at MU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, received the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine’s (ACLAM) Mentor Award at the 2018 ACLAM Forum, held April 29 -May 2 at Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Franklin, DVM, PhD, was a scheduled speaker at the forum and accepted the award in person.

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The Mentor Award recognizes individuals who have contributed substantially to ACLAM membership in terms of mentoring postdoctoral fellows, graduate students or junior level ACLAM diplomates. Award recipients are elected by majority vote of the ACLAM board of directors, following recommendation by the group’s awards committee.

“I’m completely floored, and so honored, to receive this award,” Franklin said. “This made my day, week, year, and career. An award such as this can be topped only by the lifelong reward of working with so many awesome students.”

When accepting the award at the forum, Franklin thanked his mentors, “including those at MU and the many research and training program directors across the country, from whom I have tried to model my mentoring approaches.

“Most importantly, I need to thank the hundreds of students with whom I’ve had the pleasure to work,” Franklin said. “They put up with me, challenged me to do better, and probably taught me more than I taught them.”

He also thanked those who nominated him and wrote letters of support.

“There are many deserving mentors, but the ones who receive the accolades are those that have friends who are willing to take the time to put together nomination packets,” Franklin said. He encouraged the audience to think of their mentors and submit a nomination package, “because it is a tremendous feeling to receive such an award.”

To be considered for the Mentor Award, candidates must have:

• Been a director of a training program whose trainees have gone on to become leaders in the field,
• Been recognized as a leader in the field through other notable awards,
• Provided training programs or workshops at major meetings or institutions that have been instrumental in the training of laboratory animal veterinarians,
• Published books, manuscripts or training manuals that have been instrumental in the development of laboratory animal veterinarians,
• Held leadership positions in ACLAM, the American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners, the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, or the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).

The linchpin of several CVM programs, Franklin serves as director of the Comparative Medicine Program (CMP), director of MU’s Mutant Mouse Regional Resource Center, director of the Veterinary Research Scholars Program, and associate director of the Metagenomics Center.

Completing a DVM, PhD and residency training at MU, Franklin’s association with the university spans more than 35 years. He joined the faculty in 1992.

Franklin’s teaching responsibilities include laboratory animal medicine, pathology of laboratory animals, and immunology. His research interests include microbiomes and their impact on health and model phenotypes, inflammatory bowel diseases, immunology, and rodent infectious diseases.

ACLAM advances the humane care and responsible use of laboratory animals through certification of veterinary specialists, professional development, education and research.

Founded in 1957, ACLAM is a specialty board recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Association as the certifying organization for laboratory animal medicine, a recognized specialty within the veterinary medical profession.

Candidates who pass the ACLAM certification exam receive the title of diplomate. ACLAM has certified more than 931 veterinarians as active specialists in the field of laboratory animal medicine. ACLAM’s active membership comprises more than 1,100 diplomates.

The MU CMP has trained approximately 8 percent of ACLAM’s 931 active diplomates.