UK Gluck Equine Research Foundation names four inductees to Equine Research Hall of Fame

 By Jenny Blandford

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 2, 2009) – Four scientists will be inducted into the University of Kentucky Equine Research Hall of Fame Oct. 25 at Keeneland Race Course by the Gluck Equine Research Foundation.

Douglas F. Antczak of Cornell University, I.G. Joe Mayhew of Massey University, Alan J. Nixon of Cornell University and Peter J. Timoney of UK’s Gluck Equine Research Center were selected for their contributions to equine science and research. Nominated by their peers and colleagues, the four individuals were selected by past Hall of Fame inductees.

“On behalf of the Gluck Equine Research Foundation board, I would like to congratulate this year’s inductees,” said Walter Zent, chairman of the foundation’s board of directors. “We were fortunate to have many excellent nominees who have dedicated their lives to equine research.”

“I am pleased to congratulate this year’s Equine Research Hall of Fame inductees, who have each in their own way contributed to equine health and well-being through their distinguished research in equine veterinary science,” said Dr. Mats Troedsson, director of the Gluck Equine Research Center and chair of the department of veterinary science at UK. “I am of course particularly proud of having Dr. Peter Timoney, a long-standing faculty member and leader of the Gluck Center, receiving this prestigious award.”  

Connecticut native Antczak, the Dorothy Havemeyer McConville Professor of Equine Medicine at the James A. Baker Institute for Animal Health, College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University, joined the staff in 1979. In 1994, he became the director of the Baker Institute for Animal Health, a post he held for 15 years until mid-2009. 

For the past 30 years, Antczak has conducted research in equine immunology, genetics and reproduction. For more than 15 years, Antczak was also a major participant in the Horse Genome Project. 

“It is a tremendous honor to be inducted into the University of Kentucky’s Equine Research Hall of Fame,” Antczak said. “I feel very privileged to be associated in this way with so many outstanding scientists who have devoted their careers to advance the health and well-being of the horse.”

Mayhew, who focuses on studying neurological disorders in horses in New Zealand and worldwide, is a founding graduate of Massey Veterinary School and currently assists in training future veterinarians at Massey. Mayhew has an interest in equine medicine and comparative neurology and has spoken on these subjects in a variety of countries.

“My first thought on glancing at the message was that it was a generic invitation to attend an awards ceremony at the University of Kentucky for other recipients, and I was wondering if I could fit such a trip (together) to visit our son at the University in London, UK,” Mayhew said. “After I realized what it meant, I am afraid I still felt that there were far more deserving contributors to equine science out there than a dirty-fingered, nervous person from New Zealand! Nevertheless, I certainly am grateful to the folks at the UK Equine Research Foundation Hall of Fame for even thinking that I might be worthy of such an award. Thanks sincerely from my heart, dear friends.”

Nixon is professor of orthopedic surgery and director of The Comparative Orthopaedics Laboratory and the JD&ML Wheat Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Laboratory at Cornell University. His clinical and teaching at Cornell University focuses on musculoskeletal injury and repair, with a specific interest in regenerative medicine. He also has an adjunct appointment as professor at Colorado State University.

Nixon has authored more than 280 papers and book chapters, two texts on equine orthopedics and is a member of numerous veterinary organizations. He currently has a five-year $1.8 million National Institutes of Health grant. He also serves as a consultant to the Food and Drug Administration panel on Cell and Gene Therapy.

“What an extraordinary honor to be recognized among such giants in equine research,” Nixon said. “I doubt I measure up to many in the University of Kentucky Equine Research Hall of Fame, but I am humbled by this prestigious nomination, and thank the many driven people in my research career who have asked the questions and helped me seek the answers.”

Ireland native Timoney is the Frederick Van Lennep Chair in Equine Veterinary Science at the Gluck Center and past president of the World Equine Veterinary Association. He has specialized in equine infectious diseases since 1973, with a research emphasis on equine viral arteritis, contagious equine metritis and equine herpesviruses. He is a World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) designated international specialist on equine viral arteritis.

Timoney joined UK’s department of veterinary science in 1983. He was director of the Gluck Center from 1989-2006 and chair of the department of veterinary science from 1989-2008.

“I feel very privileged to have been selected for induction into the University of Kentucky Equine Research Hall of Fame,” Timoney said. “Being aware of the number of other scientists worldwide who have made notable contributions to the field of equine research, I am humbled to have been selected for this prestigious award. It is a unique distinction to be so recognized by a select group of one’s scientific peers.”

Equine Research Hall of Fame nominees can be living or deceased, active or retired in the field of equine research. Established in 1990, the Equine Research Hall of Fame honors international scientific community members biennially who have made equine research a key part of their careers, recognizing their work, dedication and achievements in equine research.

Past inductees include: W. R. Allen, John T. Bryans, William W. Dimock, Elvis R. Doll, Jr., Harold Drudge, Phillip R. Edwards, Baltus J. Erasmus, Harold E. Garner, Oliver J. Ginther, Harold Hintz, Sir Frederick Hobday, Leo B. Jeffcott, Robert M. Kenney, Travis C. McGuire, Jr., C. Wayne McIlwraith, Peter D. Rossdale, Edward L. Squires, Clyde Stormont, and Sir Arnold Theiler.

The Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center, on the University of Kentucky campus, is home to the Equine Research Hall of Fame. For more information, visit http://www.ca.uky.edu/gluck.