Michael Lairmore, Dean, Veterinary Medicine

Dean's Perspectives

Tag: innovation

Using Creativity and Innovation to Fight COVID-19

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On July 7, 2020

In Dean's Perspectives

“By working to ensure we live in a society that prioritizes public safety, education, and innovation, entrepreneurship can thrive and create a better world for all of us to live in.” —Ron Conway

Our current COVID19 pandemic has catapulted our society into a new reality and an uneasy sense of the future. The global spread of SARS-CoV-2 and its tragic impact on the lives of those affected has forever changed our view of how we view the world. In response to the public health threat, our scientists and innovators have worked to bring new ideas and creativity to solve the complexity of the effects of this new pathogen and the subsequent public health crisis caused by our inability to control its transmission. From tragedy, however, our faculty, staff, and students have risen to the occasion.

Researchers in our School have responded to the COVID-19 challenge by bringing fresh ideas to this new problem. Dr. Patricia Pesavento, our new Chair of the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, received a seed grant from the UC Davis COVID-19 Research Accelerator Funding Track Program to study how SARS-CoV-2 targets cells, a key to understanding the how the virus damages organs.

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Celebrating a Decade of Innovation and Discovery

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On January 6, 2020

In Dean's Perspectives

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”  —Steve Jobs

The end of a decade brings reflections on the past and hope for the future. Organizations that continue to provide an environment of innovation and embrace change are often those that lead us toward the future. As we have done since our inception, the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine’s faculty, staff, and students have continued to create the future of veterinary medicine through the generation of novel ideas, unique discoveries, and creativity in teaching and service.

During the past decade, our people have pushed boundaries to produce new treatments, pioneer approaches to solve complex programs, and serve their communities in caring and compassionate ways to address societal needs. Through our innovations, we have helped make veterinary medicine even more vital not just to the treatment of animals, but to human and planetary health. View Decade in Review video.

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Observations in Nature Leading to Scientific Discoveries

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On July 19, 2019

In Dean's Perspectives

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”  — Albert Einstein

Curiosity is a basic characteristic of scientists in many fields. The ability to observe and form hypotheses to verify or refute is a foundation of the scientific method. Edward Jenner, an English physician and scientist in the late 1700s, pioneered smallpox vaccination by using lesions from workers who milked cows with cowpox, a less virulent form of pox that rendered them immune to smallpox. His understanding of the natural world inspired him to create an effective way to block the scourge of his country and a global threat. Edward Jenner and those like him sought knowledge by embracing the animal-human interface. Today, our scientists are continuing in the footsteps of Edward Jenner. By seeking answers to complex biological questions in nature, these modern-day pioneers are providing fundamental knowledge to advance the health of animals, people, and our planet.

Cycle of Rift Valley fever. (From “Towards a better understanding of Rift Valley fever epidemiology in the south-west of the Indian Ocean” – Scientific Figure on ResearchGate.)

This week, CEPI—the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations—announced an initiative to create a human vaccine for Rift Valley Fever (RVF) virus. The virus causes an acute, febrile disease most commonly observed in domesticated animals (such as cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels), with the ability to infect and cause illness in humans. The majority of human infections result from contact with the blood or organs of infected animals or from the bites of infected mosquitoes. Vaccines against RVF have been effective in livestock, and one of these vaccines, DDVax, will be the basis of the human vaccine candidate. DDVax was developed at the Centers for Disease Control by a team including Dr. Brian Bird, now of UC Davis.

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A Year of Innovation and Discovery

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On December 11, 2018

In Dean's Perspectives

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”– Steve Jobs

As the year of 2018 comes to a close, it is a good time to celebrate our accomplishments.  For the school, this past year was a time of innovations and discoveries in multiple areas of our mission—from basic science to community building.

DVM students welcomed into our Class of 2022.

We welcomed a diverse incoming class of students who are academically gifted and prepared to serve in our global society. They joined and strengthened a community united by our common sense of purpose to serve society.

Talented teams of researchers, clinicians, students, and staff used novel techniques and approaches. They advanced new treatments and helped answer fundamental questions to explain our world and advance the health of animals, people, and our planet.

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Innovation and Creativity Lead to Positive Change

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On June 12, 2017

In Dean's Perspectives

“Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable.” – William Pollard

We all marvel at those among us that are creative in their approach to life and work. Through the vision of those who innovate, we see creativity put into action—in some cases changing the world. In our society, we celebrate pioneering changes that improve the health and well-being of animals, people, and our environment. Throughout our school’s history, we have always embraced new ideas, cutting-edge treatments, and novel discoveries that bring about positive changes in veterinary medicine and biomedical or agricultural sciences.

Our faculty, staff, and students are eager to explore new ways to educate themselves and those they teach, through educational initiatives that embrace unique technologies to expand our intellectual horizons. This thirst for implementation of new ideas is a founding principle that allows us to maintain our global leadership position in research, education, and service to our communities.

So how do you encourage or promote innovation and creativity? Forbes magazine suggests that the workplace needs to be “relaxed and flexible” to increase productivity and encourage new ideas. Certainly, most would agree that lowering the barriers to sharing concepts includes an atmosphere that encourages a free flow of new ideas. Idea generation supported by an inventive environment is a starting point of the process of positive change. 

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