Rate My Professor Jennifer Johns

Jennifer Johns, DVM, PhD, DACVP, serves as Associate Professor of Clinical Pathology and Erin and Mary Power Endowed Faculty Fellow in the Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University. She heads the clinical pathology laboratory at the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and coordinates the Clinical Pathology Residency Program, providing advanced training in veterinary clinical pathology and laboratory medicine to prepare residents for American College of Veterinary Pathologists certification. Johns earned her BS in Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles; DVM from the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine; and PhD in Comparative Pathology from the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

Her research focuses on translational applications of mesenchymal stem cells, investigating their interactions with bacterial pathogens, alterations in immune responses during infectious and inflammatory diseases, and potential for regenerative medicine in domestic animals, including modulation of tumor microenvironments in canine osteosarcoma. Additional interests encompass tick-borne rickettsial infections such as granulocytic anaplasmosis caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum, hematology and hematopoiesis in laboratory animals and non-mammalian species, hematopoietic disorders in domestic animals, and development of veterinary diagnostic testing for exotic and laboratory species. Johns has received the 2025 Zoetis Distinguished Veterinary Teacher Award for outstanding teaching, character, and leadership as voted by students; the 2023 Zoetis Award for Veterinary Research Excellence; and UC Davis honors including the Donald Dungworth Graduate Student Travel Award, CL Davis Award for Outstanding Pathology Trainee/Graduate Student, and Leslie Shelton Award for Excellence in Emergency and Critical Care Medicine. As the inaugural Power Endowed Faculty Scholar, she supports resident and student research, innovative teaching initiatives, and collaborations with animal shelters and international veterinary programs.