Two faculty members awarded LSU Vet Med endowed professorships
September 23, 2022
The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine announces the new recipients of two endowed professorships, specifically the Everett D. Besch Professorship in Veterinary Medicine, established in 2002, and the Hannelore and Johannes Storz Professorship in Pathobiological Sciences, established in 2015.
Tammy Dugas, PhD, has been awarded the Everett D. Besch Professorship in Veterinary Medicine, which was established in honor of the school's founding dean.
Dr. Dugas is associate dean for Research and Graduate Education and a professor in the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences. She received her PhD from Louisiana State University in 1996. She went on to complete postdoctoral fellowships at the Drexel University College of Medicine and the University of Texas Medical Branch. After 13 years as a faculty member at the LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, she joined the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine in 2014 to continue her research and education programs.
Dr. Dugas’ research broadly focuses on cardiovascular pharmacology and toxicology. Her toxicological research is aimed at understanding the role of environmental exposures like that of air pollution in promoting vascular diseases, including atherosclerosis (“heart disease”) and pulmonary hypertension. Her pharmacological research is directed at the development of drug-eluting medical devices such as drug-coated balloons and drug-eluting stents for the treatment of artery blockages. Dr. Dugas’ research has culminated in two approved patents and several other patent filings related to these technologies.
Konstantin “Gus” Kousoulas, PhD, has been awarded the Hannelore and Johannes Storz Professorship in Pathobiological Sciences. He is the first recipient of the Storz Professorship. Johannes Storz was head of the LSU Vet Med Department of Veterinary Microbiology & Parasitology (now Pathobiological Sciences) from 1982 to 2000. Dr. Kousoulas’ research team is working on vaccines to combat herpes infections, COVID-19, and other viral and parasitic infections. He holds 18 patents that span innovations in gene delivery, vaccines for herpes viruses of humans and animals, other viruses and bacteria and immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer. His primary research interests are focused on the molecular biology and pathogenesis of herpes simplex viruses (HSV), bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) and human and bovine coronaviruses.
Dr. Kousoulas is director of the Division of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine (BIOMMED), and department head and professor in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences. He received his PhD from Pennsylvania State University in 1981 in molecular and cell biology. He joined the LSU Vet Med faculty in 1988. Dr. Kousoulas is the Principal Investigator of the Louisiana Biomedical Research Network (LBRN) supported by the NIH:NIGMS Idea Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Program and the Louisiana Board of Regents, and a co-Investigator and director of the Molecular and Cell Biology Core of the Center for Pre-clinical Cancer Research (CPCCR), and director of the Molecular and Cellular Biology Core of the Center for Lung Biology and Disease (CLBD), both supported by NIH:NIGMS Centers for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) Programs. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the highest professional distinction accorded solely to academic inventors.
An endowed professorship provides the resources to reward a renowned professor for academic achievement and enables the professor to pursue research or innovative teaching methods. Endowed professorships are critical to enhance research at the School of Veterinary Medicine. Each professorship is awarded for five years, and recipients are selected based on a distinguished and sustained record in the areas of teaching, research, and public and professional service. The award is used to support academic activities of the professorship position, including instruction and research, equipment and materials, faculty improvement and travel.
About LSU Vet Med: Bettering lives through education, public service, and discovery
The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine is one of only 33 veterinary schools in the U.S. and the only one in Louisiana. LSU Vet Med is dedicated to improving and protecting the lives of animals and people through superior education, transformational research, and compassionate care. We teach. We heal. We discover. We protect.