Gilmour named Vet College associate dean for research and grad education

Gilmour

By Roger Segelken

Robert F. Gilmour Jr., professor of physiology in Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine, has been named the college's associate dean for research and graduate education.

Gilmour will be responsible for administrative support and leadership in the college's $31.5 million research program, which receives about half of its funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

"This is a special time for research at Cornell," said Donald F. Smith, dean of the college, in announcing Gilmour's appointment. "Not only are there unique opportunities for the College of Veterinary Medicine to expand its research contributions in the areas of bio-security and public health, but we are also gaining acceptance across the university as a place where outstanding veterinary and biomedical research is being done for the benefit of both animals and humans."

He called Gilmour "a gifted and popular teacher, active in both the first and second year veterinary curriculum, as well as teaching graduate courses." Smith noted that David G. Russell, interim director of research and graduate education for the past year, will continue as chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

Gilmour's responsibilities in the area of graduate education will include oversight of approximately 100 doctoral and 10 master's candidates, as well as the combined D.V.M. and Ph.D. degree program.

In addition to his administrative responsibilities, Gilmour will continue his research into investigating the mechanisms for the development of cardiac rhythm disturbances. His work is at the cellular level, although for several years he has tested various models of cardiac arrhythmia in a group of German shepherd dogs with inherited cardiac disease. In humans, sudden cardiac death from ventricular arrhythmias and other disorders is one of the leading causes of mortality in the United States, resulting in more than 350,000 deaths annually. His work is funded by the NIH and is published in physiology and medicine journals.

Gilmour earned his Ph.D. in pharmacology in 1977 at SUNY Upstate Medical Center. He was appointed associate professor of physiology at Cornell in 1987 and named professor in 1999.