Rate My Professor Kevin Lahmers

Kevin Lahmers, DVM, PhD, DACVP–Anatomic Pathology, serves as Clinical Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, a position he has held since 2023, following his role as Clinical Associate Professor from 2013 to 2023. He earned a BS in Animal Science summa cum laude in 1994 and a DVM in 1998 from The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, and a PhD in 2005 from Washington State University, Pullman, WA, through a combined veterinary anatomic pathology residency and PhD program completed between 1998 and 2005. Board-certified in Anatomic Pathology by the American College of Veterinary Pathologists since 2007, Lahmers began his career at Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine as Resident in Anatomic Pathology (1998–2005), Assistant Research Professor (2005–2007), Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Pathology (2007–2013), and Assistant Professor in the Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health (2008–2013). At Virginia Tech, he heads molecular diagnostics at Virginia Tech Animal Laboratory Services, where he also serves as Interim Laboratory Director, and devotes one quarter of his time to instruction.

Lahmers specializes in extending molecular techniques to advance veterinary diagnostics, with emphasis on next-generation sequencing for disease detection and characterization, epidemiology of tick-borne diseases in domestic animals, and collaborative research in food and waterborne diseases and cardiovascular disease. His research team identified the novel Theileria orientalis Ikeda genotype in Virginia cattle in 2019, transmitted by the invasive Asian longhorned tick Haemaphysalis longicornis, which arrived in the U.S. in 2017; this discovery tracked its spread, rising from 2% prevalence in Virginia cattle in 2018 to 60% in 2022, spurring national and international collaborations and positioning Virginia Tech as a leader in exotic tick-borne disease control with significant economic implications for livestock producers. Key publications include "The genome sequence of taurine cattle: a window to ruminant biology and evolution" (Science, 2009), "Multistate infestation with the exotic disease–vector tick Haemaphysalis longicornis—United States, August 2017–September 2018" (MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2018), "Theileria orientalis Ikeda genotype in cattle, Virginia, USA" (Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2019), and "A U.S. isolate of Theileria orientalis, Ikeda genotype, is transmitted to cattle by the invasive Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis" (Parasites & Vectors, 2021). Major awards include the Zoetis Award for Veterinary Research Excellence (2022), Faculty Excellence Award from Washington State University (2008), Teaching Assistant Excellence Award from Washington State University Graduate and Professional Student Association (1999), and Kevin and ‘Buns’ Sheehy Award for Teaching Excellence (1999).