Introducing Our Newest Faculty

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The College of Veterinary Medicine is pleased to introduce these eight academic and research faculty members who have joined our academic departments this past year.

Michelle Tucker

Michelle Tucker, DVM, PhD joined the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences as assistant professor of large animal surgery on October 25, 2021. Dr. Tucker earned a DVM degree from Texas A&M University in 2014 and then completed a residency and PhD degree at the University of Saskatchewan. Dr. Tucker’s research interests include musculoskeletal biomechanics, equine respiratory surgery, and computational modeling. Dr. Tucker is board certified by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (large animal).

Ray Munguia-Vazquez

Ray Munguia-Vazquez, MD, PhD joined the Department of Medical Education as clinical assistant professor of otolaryngology – head and neck surgery effective January 2022. Dr. Munguia comes to PVM from the Purdue Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. Additionally, he serves as an adjunct professor with the Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Munguia earned his MD at the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México in 2001. He went on to earn a PhD in 2010 from McGill University in Canada followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in auditory neurosciences at the University of Calgary, Canada.

Justin Hayna

Justin Hayna, DVM joined the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences as clinical assistant professor of equine theriogenology effective January 3, 2022. Dr. Hayna earned a DVM from the University of Illinois in 1998 and went on to complete a residency at the University of Minnesota. A diplomate of the American College of Theriogenologists, Dr. Hayna most recently served as the owner of Mobile Advance Reproductive Equine Services, LLC and state veterinarian for the Illinois Racing Board.

C. Ryan Hill

C. Ryan Hill, DVM, MPH joined the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences as clinical assistant professor of shelter medicine and mobile surgery effective June 6. Dr. Hill earned a DVM from Oregon State University in 2013 followed by a Master of Public Health from the University of Florida in 2017. Dr. Hill joined PVM from Salt Lake County Animal Services in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he served as shelter veterinarian.

Andrea Rincón

Andrea Rincón, MV joined the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences as clinical assistant professor of emergency and critical care on July 25. Dr. Rincón earned a veterinary medicine degree from the National University of Columbia in 2016 before completing a small animal emergency and internal medicine internship. Dr. Rincón then continued on to Washington State University, completing a small animal emergency and critical care specialty internship in 2019 followed by a small animal emergency and critical care residency at Louisiana State University in 2022.

Christopher Rice

Christopher Rice, PhD joined the Department of Comparative Pathobiology as assistant professor of parasitology and section head of the Bacteriology, Mycology and Parasitology Laboratories effective August 15. Dr. Rice also is a member of the Purdue Institute of Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Disease with research focused on drug discovery and development for orphan and neglected diseases specializing in pathogenic free-living amoebae; Naegleria fowleri “the brain eating amoeba”; Acanthamoeba species; and Balamuthia mandrillaris. Dr. Rice earned a PhD from the University of Scotland in 2014.

Ranjie Xu

Ranjie Xu, PhD joined the Department of Basic Medical Sciences as assistant professor specializing in neuroscience effective August 15. Dr. Xu is also a member of the Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience with research focused on developing human-induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models to understand human neuro-immune interactions in neurological disorders. Dr. Xu earned a PhD in 2015 from the University of Science and Technology of China followed by post-doctoral studies at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Rutgers University.

Rainer Fischer

Rainer Fischer, PhD joined the Department of Comparative Pathobiology as research professor specializing in immunology and infectious disease on October 1. Dr. Fischer also is a member of the Purdue Institute of Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Disease and serves as a President’s Fellow in the Life Sciences in the Purdue Office of the Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships. Dr. Fischer earned a PhD at the University of Tübingen in Germany and was previously Distinguished Professor for Molecular Biotechnology at RWTH Aachen University in Germany.

Writer(s): Purdue Veterinary Medicine News | pvmnews@purdue.edu