Alumnus Magazine | Summer 2020

Discoveries
personnel during this difficult time translates
to essential research that helps agricultural
producers in Mississippi and across the globe
keep food on our plates today and into the
future,” said George Hopper, recently retired
dean of the College of Agriculture and Life
Sciences and director of the Mississippi
Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.
Hopper pointed out that while the work
has continued in the fields, the students in
the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
are quickly adjusting to the new landscape of
learning brought on by the pandemic.
“We have outstanding students and
faculty that have had to adapt to online
instruction on short notice,” Hopper said.
“I have never been prouder of our professors
who moved all instruction, including our
labs, to a virtual environment.”
He continued, “While this particular
challenge certainly hasn’t been easy, we
pulled together as a team to complete the
semester as we graduated a record number
of students across both the College of
Agriculture and Life Sciences and the
College of Forest Resources.”
College of Forest Resources
and the Forest and Wildlife
Research Center
In MSU’s College of Forest Resources,
faculty and staff joined with alumni to ensure
quality education and top-notch experiential
learning opportunities continue in the state’s
only nationally accredited forestry, wildlife,
fisheries and wood science program.
“We develop future leaders in natural
resources. Additionally, valuable research
continues in support of forestry and forest
products industries, and in wildlife and
fisheries recreation in Mississippi, which
generate $12.79 billion and $2.7 billion,
respectively, to the state’s economy,” said
Hopper who is also the dean of the College
of Forest Resources and the director of the
Forest and Wildlife Research Center.
Hopper explained that the college and
FWRC have continued to produce highquality
research but have worked differently,
alternating remote work, field collection and
laboratory work with flexible scheduling.
Examples of this work include a new study
on tracking vultures, enlisting help from
citizen scientists who have spent a large
12 SUMMER 2020
amount of time at home. Additionally,
scientists in the FWRC’s Center for Resolving
Human-Wildlife Conflicts released a feral pig
damage computer application that enables
local farmers to assess wild hog damage as
it happens. The Department of Sustainable
Bioproducts continues its work to explore
new uses of southern yellow pine lumber
which translates to greater income for
Mississippi’s private forest landowners.
Hopper said everyone across CALS,
MAFES, CFR and FWRC are doing all they
can with an unfailing sense of Bulldog spirit
in helping everyone who needs it.
“It’s our sense of Bulldog pride that
compels us to serve our community and help
everyone we can during this unprecedented
time,” Hopper said. “Whether that’s helping
train our students, helping producers make
the best decision with best farm and forestry
practices, or conducting basic sciences in
molecular biology, one thing is certain. We
are all doing our best to overcome this crisis.”
College of Veterinary Medicine
While the MSU College of Veterinary
Medicine’s mission is focused on educating
students, advancing research and providing
diagnostic and specialty veterinary services
to the region, the college has expanded its
focus during the COVID-19 pandemic to
share resources with medical personnel at the
state and local levels.
Five CVM research scientists in the
Department of Basic Sciences stepped up to
assist the Mississippi State Department of
Health with efforts to mitigate the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic.
These scientists include research associates
Michelle Banes and Allen Shack; Dr. Wei
Tan, director of the CVM flow cytometry
facility; graduate student Liyuan Liu; and
post-doctoral researcher Dr. Nogi Park, all
skilled in molecular biology and currently
working in areas conducting infectious
disease research.
By making themselves available to
conduct COVID-19 diagnostic work on
human samples at the MSDH laboratory
in Jackson during weekends in May, they
provided the lab’s day-to-day employees the
opportunity for a needed respite. These five
scientists joined Dr. Lifang Yan, a CVM
faculty member at the Mississippi Veterinary
Research & Diagnostic Laboratory in Pearl,
who was already assisting the MSDH.
CVM also delivered personal protective
equipment to the university’s Longest
Student Health Center, and two ventilators
suitable for human use are on loan to OCH
Regional Medical Center in Starkville.
Additionally, the college remains in contact
with appropriate agencies and physicians and
emergency preparedness representatives at
the University of Mississippi Medical Center
in Jackson, MSU’s health center and OCH,
regarding their ability to assist in efforts to
care for the public should additional resources
and personnel be needed.
In addition to the college’s efforts helping
medical personnel, it remains committed to
its primary responsibility of educating those
entering the field of veterinary medicine.
The college also continued to provide
essential services during the COVID-19
pandemic to ensure that veterinary care is
available to agricultural and companion
animals. Throughout this process, they
adhered to CDC, MSDH, MBVM, as well as
state and university guidelines, to maximize
the safety of staff, clients and patients.
Both the Animal Health Center in
the MSU Wise Center and the Animal
Emergency and Referral Center in Flowood,
continued to treat all emergency and essential
cases, such as diabetic, gastric distress and
other such patients that could not wait weeks
for medical care.
College of Veterinary Medicine Dean
Kent Hoblet said he is proud of how the
college has responded to the crisis.
“This is an unprecedented situation that
has hit our country and many in our state
hard, and we all have to do our part to get
through it,” Hoblet said. “We are proud of
our partnership with state and local agencies
and health care facilities.
“We’re also proud of our graduating class
for the obstacles they overcame to complete
their degrees and realize the dreams they
worked so hard to reach for so many years,
and we know they are entering the field
well-prepared to meet the needs of animals
in our ever-evolving world,” he continued.
“We remain committed to meeting the needs
of both companion and agricultural animals
while protecting the health and well-being of
our faculty, staff, students and clients.” •
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