Richard French, DVM, M.S., Ph.D.
Dean of Animal Studies and Allerton Chair of Animal Health Sciences
Division: School of Animal Studies
Office Location: Borger Academic Center
Email: richard.french@becker.edu

Speaker:
Dr. French is an expert in and is available for comment on the following:

• Zoonotic Disease
• Influenza in humans, pets, and food animals
• War of the Worlds: Our Worlds are Colliding and Infectious Disease is Winning

Dr. Richard French, D.V.M., is dean of the School of Animal Studies, and the Allerton Chair of Animal Health Sciences, at Becker College.

A veterinary pathologist, Dr. French has served as an instructor and collaborator with the USDA, Plum Island Animal Disease Center for 10 years, as well as both the Agricultural Research Service and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Dr. French is an expert on zoonotic diseases, diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans, particularly those with public health significance like H1N1 and avian flu. Dr. French has authored and co-authored numerous articles and presentations, including “War of the Worlds: Our Worlds Are Colliding and Infectious Disease Is Winning – Emerging Diseases and the One Health Initiative” in 2009.

Previously director of the New Hampshire Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Dr. French comes to Becker from the University of New Hampshire, where he supervised the pre-veterinary program, for which he was recently honored as academic advisor of the year; helped reorganize the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture; and helped lead development of a cooperative wildlife disease center involving Cornell University, Tufts University, the University of Connecticut, and the University of New Hampshire. Dr. French has also served as a tenured faculty at the University of Connecticut and as a pathologist in the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory.

Dr. French acquired his D.V.M. from the University of Illinois, and ran a small animal practice for several years before returning to the academic world. He received a masters degree in parasitology and a doctoral degree in neuropathology, and he completed a residency in anatomic pathology. He is a member of the USDA National Animal Health Emergency Response Corps, and has authored numerous publications, including the first report of West Nile virus in the northern hemisphere (Science, 1999).

Dr. French says his goal is to employ his experience and expertise to enhance Becker College students’ education and potential opportunities as the new School of Animal Studies is established. “Issues of animal health, food safety, and welfare are global issues; the expanded depth and breadth of animal studies can only contribute to the college’s efforts to educate students to contribute to and thrive in a global society,” he says.

Licensure, Acreditation, and Certification

• Member: The USDA National Animal Health Emergency Response Corp (NAHERC)
• Licensed Veterinarian, IL, NH
• Accredited Veterinarian, USDA
• Instructor: Foreign Animal Disease Training Course, Plum Island Animal Disease Center,
• Foreign Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Plum Island, New York, 2003 – present.

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  Easter: Pets Take Warning

  Each year hundreds of dogs become ill or die from poisonings. Of the top 10 causes reported in 2011, according to the Pet Poison Hotline, among insecticides, mouse and rat baits, human medications, and household cleaners, human foods were a leading cause of illness and death in pets, and the main culprit was chocolate.

  Read more.