Rate My Professor Annette O'Connor

Annette O’Connor, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Administrative Affairs and Professor of Epidemiology at Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine, is an internationally recognized veterinarian and quantitative epidemiologist. She holds a BVSc from the University of Sydney (1993), MVSc from the University of Queensland (1997), DVSc from the University of Guelph (2000), and FANZCVSc. After 20 years at Iowa State University, including as an ADVANCE fellow studying faculty promotion barriers, she joined MSU in 2020. Her career appointments include Chair of the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences (2020–May 2025), Co-Interim Director of the MSU Veterinary Medicine Center (2020–2021), Interim Associate Dean of Student Engagement and Success (since December 2024), and Senior Associate Dean (effective July 2025). O’Connor occupies the Albert C. Dehn and Lois E. Dehn Chair in Veterinary Medicine and has contributed to faculty development, mentoring programs, promotion and tenure processes, salary equity, and fundraising for research facilities such as a Dairy Research and Teaching Center.

Dr. O’Connor’s research focuses on applying epidemiology to inform policies on food safety, One Health, animal welfare, animal health, and veterinary clinical practice. She leads international initiatives to minimize research wastage and improve reporting standards, co-developing REFLECT for randomized trials in livestock and food safety (published across five journals), STROBE-VET for observational studies involving animals, PETSORT for clinical trials in cats and dogs, and directing the MERIDIAN Network of reporting guidelines and SYREAF for systematic reviews of animals and food. Authoring over 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts, key publications include “Maximizing value and minimizing waste in clinical trials in swine: Selecting outcomes to build an evidence base” (Journal of Swine Health and Production, 2023), “Invited review: Maximizing value and minimizing waste in clinical trial research in dairy cattle: Selecting interventions and outcomes to build an evidence base” (Journal of Dairy Science, 2022), “Maximizing value and minimizing waste in swine research: Availability and accessibility of research reports” (Journal of Swine Health and Production, 2022), and “Watch your language: An exploration of the use of causal wording in veterinary observational research” (Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2022). She has advised the European Food Safety Authority and U.S. Food and Drug Administration, presided over the Association for Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine and the Evidence-based Veterinary Medical Association, and influenced global veterinary research practices through invited presentations and collaborations.