Andrew W. Park, assistant professor in the University of Georgia Odum School of Ecology and the College of Veterinary Medicine Department of Infectious Diseases, has been named the recipient of the 2011 John M. Bowen Award for Excellence in Animal/Biomedical Research. The award was presented at the College of Veterinary Medicine’s annual Phi Zeta honor society awards ceremony in April.

The Bowen award recognizes College of Veterinary Medicine faculty members who have developed a sustainable research program.

“Dr. Park works at the interface between empirical science and theory,” said Dr. Sheila Allen, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, who presented the award. “Much of his work aims to describe observed patterns in animal diseases. To do this he teams up with field and laboratory-based infectious disease scientists and incorporates data at the individual animal level into models that allow him to scale-up that information to the population level.”

Park’s research includes studying the emergence of macro-parasite drug resistance in ruminants; exploring how genetic mutations of the influenza virus affect the risk of disease outbreak; determining environmental drivers of sudden, unexpected outbreaks of hemorrhagic disease in white-tailed deer throughout the U.S.; and the role of host and pathogen genetic diversity in cross-species disease transmission.

“This award is a great honor, and well-deserved,” said Dean John Gittleman of the Odum School of Ecology. “Andrew Park is a leader in the increasingly important area of disease ecology. This award recognizes his achievements, and highlights the growing partnership between the Odum School and the College of Veterinary Medicine.”