Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Melissa Lewis

January 19, 2018

This week’s Vet Gazette faculty spotlight is on Dr. Melissa Lewis as we continue our series of features on new Purdue Veterinary Medicine faculty. Dr. Lewis was appointed as an assistant professor of neurology in September, joining two other neurologists as part of the growing neurology and neurosurgery service in the Purdue University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. In addition to overseeing the care of clinical cases and training house officers and veterinary students, she also will continue to focus on translational research related to canine spinal cord injury.

Dr. Lewis was born in Montclair, N.J. and grew up in Raleigh, N.C.. From there she went on to earn her Veterinary Medical Doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and completed a rotating internship and residency in neurology and neurosurgery at North Carolina State University, for which she achieved board certification in 2014. She subsequently remained at NC State and earned a PhD in comparative biomedical sciences in 2017.

Dr. Lewis says she was drawn to Purdue by the supportive, collegial environment and the dedication to mentorship and fostering professional growth in young faculty. Given her research interests, she also found the university-wide commitment to neuroscience and inter-departmental collaborations very appealing. So far, her favorite part about joining the PVM family has been interacting with her colleagues. “Everyone has been great since I started, and I am particularly thankful for my colleagues in #teamneuro, who have made my transition into a faculty position that much smoother,” Dr. Lewis said.

She looks forward to combining her clinical and research interests in one position and advancing her field. She also is excited to teach veterinary students and veterinary technician students and, in the process, ignite in some of them a passion for her specialty.

So far in her Purdue career, Dr. Lewis considers her biggest achievement surviving (to date) her first Midwest winter! Though she is a dedicated professional and specialist, Dr. Lewis tries not to take herself, or anything, too seriously. She says, in her free time, she has serious “conversations” about life with her dog, occasionally her cat, and the birds that frequent her bird feeder, likes to play the lottery and avoids cooking at all costs.

When asked if she has any advice for people looking to pursue a career in veterinary medicine, Dr. Lewis said, “Being a veterinarian today has so many definitions beyond the traditional James Herriot model. Seeking out any and all opportunities to experience the diversity of our field will help to guide each aspiring veterinarian’s personal path.”

When you see Dr. Lewis in Lynn Hall, please help extend a warm PVM welcome!

Writer(s): Helen Thimlar, PVM Communications Intern | pvmnews@purdue.edu

Recent Stories

Purdue Veterinary Medicine Fosters Learning and Engagement linking people, animals and agriculture at Indiana State Fair

In just more than two weeks’ time during the month of August, the 2026 Indiana State Fair served up an abundance of fun, food, and festivities, and in the midst of it all, faculty, staff and students from the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine were visible and vibrant participants. Purdue Veterinary Medicine representatives made a difference in a variety of ways, from providing veterinary care for the animals on the fairgrounds, to helping animal agriculture organizations as volunteers, to conducting veterinary checks on animals at the annual 4-H State Fair Dog Show and Cat Show.

“Paws Up” for Jennifer Danaher – brought to you by the PVM Wellness Committee

This week we express our gratitude to Jennifer Danaher, who is department secretary for Veterinary Clinical Sciences.

‘Purdue Pursuits’: A PVM angle on Purdue’s teaching and learning reading groups

Crafting meaningful and engaging course experiences has been at the top of Dielson Vieira’s mind ever since he joined the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s faculty in 2024. As a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Vieira is already adept at applying innovative teaching practices to classroom environments, but that doesn’t stop him from seeking out new ideas, approaches and perspectives — insights he gains through outlets like Purdue’s teaching and learning reading groups.

Top tier biology journal publishes PVM study that unlocks secrets of a drug-resistant fungal pathogen, which causes serious infections in humans

Though the name “Candida auris” is far from a household term, public health experts know it well because the multi-drug-resistant fungal pathogen, which causes serious human infections, has been classified as an urgent threat by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Antibiotic Threats Report (2019). Dr. Shankar Thangamani, Associate Professor of Microbiology and University Faculty Scholar in the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Comparative Pathobiology, is researching C. auris, aided by a 2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). New research findings, just published in Nature Microbiology, show how C. auris adapts and evades the immune system.

In Print: ‘Translational Research Methods for Tauopathies’

A just-published 300-page volume edited by Jessica Fortin, Purdue assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Basic Medical Sciences, provides a significant new resource for researchers studying a group of neurodegenerative diseases known as tauopathies. “Translational Research Methods for Tauopathies” provides detailed protocols intentionally selected to serve as a basis for research laboratories seeking to further treatments for such debilitating neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer’s and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).