Rate My Professor Richard Laughlin

Richard C. Laughlin, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological and Health Sciences at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, where he currently serves as Executive Director of Research Compliance in the Office of Research and Innovation. He earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Clemson University in 2006 and his B.S. in Biochemistry from Stetson University in 2000. Laughlin's career trajectory encompasses postdoctoral research at Washington State University from 2006 to 2009 and at Texas A&M University in College Station from 2010 to 2014, followed by a Research Assistant Professor position at Texas A&M University from 2014 to 2015 and a Lecturer role at Blinn College during the same period. Since joining Texas A&M-Kingsville in 2015 as an Assistant Professor, he progressed to Associate Professor in 2021, chaired the Biological and Health Sciences Department from 2022 to 2025, and assumed his present administrative responsibilities in 2025.

Laughlin's research program employs molecular and genetic techniques to investigate host-pathogen interactions, with Salmonella Typhimurium as a primary model organism, and the biodiversity of intestinal microbiota in wildlife populations. He has successfully obtained substantial extramural funding, including a $2.4 million USDA grant as Principal Investigator to examine SARS-CoV-2 prevalence in wild and domestic animals from 2023 to 2025, a $434,024 Kleberg Foundation grant as Co-Principal Investigator for infectious disease surveillance in South Texas wildlife from 2023 to 2027, and additional awards from state programs like THECB and JAMP, as well as federal sources such as NIH. His influential publications feature "Salmonella Typhimurium uses smooth swimming to increase invasion in the mammalian gut" in Nature Communications (2021), "Single-dose plant-made biobetter E2 glycoprotein vaccine protects pigs against Classical Swine Fever" in Plant Biotechnology Journal (2018), "Outer membrane vesicles in service as protein shuttles, biotic defenders, and immunological doppelgängers" in Gut Microbes (2016), "Identification of prognostic gene set for seroconversion for vaccination against Rift Valley Fever Virus" in PLOS One (2016), and "Spatial segregation of virulence gene expression during acute enteric infection with Salmonella Typhimurium" in mBio (2015). Laughlin received the Olan Kruse Science Faculty Award in 2025 and the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2019. A member of the American Society for Microbiology, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society, and Golden Key International Honour Society, he has mentored numerous graduate and undergraduate students who have advanced to careers in research and professional fields.