New Faculty Chair Established in College of Veterinary Medicine

AMES, Iowa — Michael Cho, a faculty member with the Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine, has joined the faculty of Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in large part due to a new named faculty position at the university.

Longtime Iowa State philanthropists Dr. W. Eugene (Gene) and Linda Lloyd have created the Lloyd Chair in Biomedical Sciences through a donation of $375,000 over the next five years.

“This is a very strategic hire for the College of Veterinary Medicine,” said John Thomson, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. “Because he was settled and happy at Case Western, Dr. Cho made it very clear in the beginning of the recruitment process that he needed a chair position to come to Iowa State.

“The Lloyds came through to make it happen by continuing to invest in the future of the college and the people, like Dr. Cho, who will really make a difference both in research and for our students.”

Cho’s research focuses on the development of a vaccine against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1), the virus that causes AIDS. In connection with this research, his research team characterizes biochemical and immunological properties of viral envelope glycoprotein with the intent of developing entry inhibitors and vaccines, as well as understanding viral pathogenesis.

Cho is a graduate of Whitman College with a double major in biology and chemistry. He earned a doctorate in cellular, viral and molecular biology in 1993 from the University of Utah. Prior to joining the Case Western faculty in 2001, he was a staff scientist for the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. At Case Western he also served as the director of two research centers with the Center for AIDS Research.

Gene and Linda Lloyd are both members of the ISU Foundation’s Executive Campaign Committee as well as the College of Veterinary Medicine Campaign Committee. Gene Lloyd earned two degrees from Iowa State’s College of Veterinary Medicine a doctor of veterinary medicine in 1949 and a doctorate in veterinary pathology in 1970. The Lloyds have endowed three additional faculty positions at Iowa State and were the lead donors for the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center that was dedicated in October 2008.

The gift is part of Campaign Iowa State: With Pride and Purpose, the university’s $800 million fundraising effort. More than $715 million in gifts and future commitments for facilities and student, faculty and programmatic support have been made to Campaign Iowa State.