May 12, 2022
Dr. Suzanne Millman, professor of veterinary diagnostics and production animal medicine and biomedical sciences, has been named the Scott and Nancy Armbrust Professorship in Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University.
A faculty member at Iowa State since 2008, Millman is a well-known animal welfare expert. She has developed a program related to the fundamentals and policies of animal behavior and well-being in production systems for food producing animals. She was also recently named the recipient of the 2022 American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Humane Award given annually to a non-veterinarian to recognize achievement in advancing the welfare of animals through leadership, public service, education, research and product development, or advocacy.
“Animal welfare research requires an interdisciplinary approach, involving scientific disciplines of behavior, health, performance, endocrinology and neurophysiology with recognition of ethical and cultural aspects of the issues,” Millman said.
Millman’s research team uses an interdisciplinary and collaborate approach focusing on animal welfare assessment on livestock and poultry farms, understanding pain and sickness behavior to improve animal care, identifying robust and practical animal-based outcomes for on-farm animal welfare evaluation, and facilitating stress resilience in farmed animals.
Millman earned her PhD in applied ethology from the University of Guelph. She is the recipient of several awards in the College of Veterinary Medicine including the 2016 Faculty Member of the Year Award, the Zoetis Award for Veterinary Research Excellence, and the Mid-Career Achievement in Research Award.
The Scott and Nancy Armbrust Professorship was established by the Armbrusts in 2006 to advance the field of large animal medicine and/or reproduction. After graduating from Iowa State's College of Veterinary Medicine in 1975, Dr. Scott Armbrust has been a dairy practitioner in Wisconsin since 1976. He was one of the first veterinarians in Wisconsin to practice embryo transfer exclusively. He is internationally recognized for his expertise in bovine genetics and embryo transfer.
