Rate My Professor Kevin Lahmers

Lahmers specializes in extending molecular techniques to advance veterinary diagnostics, with emphasis on next-generation sequencing for disease detection and characterization, epidemiology of tick-borne diseases in domestic animals, and collaborative research in food and waterborne diseases and cardiovascular disease. His research team identified the novel Theileria orientalis Ikeda genotype in Virginia cattle in 2019, transmitted by the invasive Asian longhorned tick Haemaphysalis longicornis, which arrived in the U.S. in 2017; this discovery tracked its spread, rising from 2% prevalence in Virginia cattle in 2018 to 60% in 2022, spurring national and international collaborations and positioning Virginia Tech as a leader in exotic tick-borne disease control with significant economic implications for livestock producers. Key publications include "The genome sequence of taurine cattle: a window to ruminant biology and evolution" (Science, 2009), "Multistate infestation with the exotic disease–vector tick Haemaphysalis longicornis—United States, August 2017–September 2018" (MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2018), "Theileria orientalis Ikeda genotype in cattle, Virginia, USA" (Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2019), and "A U.S. isolate of Theileria orientalis, Ikeda genotype, is transmitted to cattle by the invasive Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis" (Parasites & Vectors, 2021). Major awards include the Zoetis Award for Veterinary Research Excellence (2022), Faculty Excellence Award from Washington State University (2008), Teaching Assistant Excellence Award from Washington State University Graduate and Professional Student Association (1999), and Kevin and ‘Buns’ Sheehy Award for Teaching Excellence (1999).