Skip to main content

PVM Cancer Researcher Speech Highlights Purdue Inventors’ Reception

Dr. Ratliff pictured
Dr. Timothy Ratliff, distinguished professor of comparative pathobiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Robert Wallace Miller Director of the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research

Dr. Timothy Ratliff, a Purdue Veterinary Medicine faculty member who helps lead Purdue’s efforts to find treatments and potential cures for cancer, served as the featured speaker at an event honoring the University’s inventors who received a patent in the most recent fiscal year.  The Purdue’s Inventors Recognition Reception, an annual event held February 6, celebrated innovation at the University.  Several PVM faculty members are among those who received patents in 2017-18. 

Dr. Ratliff, distinguished professor of comparative pathobiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Robert Wallace Miller Director of the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research, works with professors and researchers from across the University to translate basic research into lifesaving treatments.  “Working with world-class researchers to discover new ways to treat and eradicate cancer while enhancing the lives of those touched by this devastating disease is truly a lifetime commitment for all involved,” Dr. Ratliff said. “In this endeavor, we are bringing together the best minds and using the highest level of technology and fundamental science to accomplish things that could not be done without collaboration to make a profound impact on those touched by this terrible disease.”  Dr. Ratliff, who lost his father and father-in-law to cancer, said some of the current research being done at Purdue focuses on immunotherapy, chemotherapy sensitivity, nanoparticle development, and drug discovery. 

Receivers of patents in 2017-18 included the following Purdue Veterinary Medicine faculty members and professor emeritus:

  • Dr. Harm HogenEsch, associate dean for research and professor in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology
  • Dr. James F. Leary, professor emeritus in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences
  • Dr. Sophie A. Leliévre, professor in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences; co-leader of the Drug Discovery and Molecular Sensing Program, Purdue University Center for Cancer Research; and scientific director, 3D Cell Culture Core (3D3C) facility
  • Dr. Joanne B. Messick, professor in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology
  • Dr. Timothy Ratliff, Distinguished Professor of Comparative Pathobiology in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology; Robert Wallace Director of the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research
  • Dr. Mohamed Seleem, professor of microbiology in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology
  • Dr. John J. Turek, professor in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences
  • Dr. Sherry L. Voytik-Harbin, professor in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences and Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering

Click here to read a complete news release about the Purdue’s Inventors Recognition Reception, which includes a complete listing of honored Purdue faculty members.

Writer(s): Chris Adam, Purdue Research Foundation, and Kevin Doerr | pvmnews@purdue.edu

Recent Stories

Take a jog with a dog for a good cause!

Building on the growing success of a long-running community event and Purdue Veterinary Conference tradition, organizers of the 2026 Dr. Skip Jackson Dog Jog are excited about prospects for a great turnout at this year’s run/walk coming up the morning of Saturday, September 26. And there’s still time to register and participants are welcome whether they are jogging with or without a dog or want to run with an adoptable shelter dog.

PVM well-represented by students, faculty and staff at annual AABP meeting

The American Association of Bovine Practitioners’ (AABP) 59th Annual Conference last month in Minneapolis, Minnesota, included significant representation from the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine. A total of 17 students from the 2nd- and 3rd-year classes attended along with faculty and staff and Purdue Veterinary Medicine alumni. Two Purdue veterinary students received special recognition.

In Memory: Dr. Kevin Thomas Schultz (PU DVM ’76)

The Purdue Veterinary Medicine community is saddened to learn of the passing of an alumnus, Dr. Kevin T. Schultz of Dawsonville, Georgia, on August 15, 2026.  He was 74.

In Memory: Mair Lewis – former Purdue Veterinary Medicine First Lady

Mair Lewis (née Harris-Hughes), the widow of the late Dr. Hugh Bilson Lewis – the fourth dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine – is remembered with appreciation and admiration by the Purdue Veterinary Medicine community after her passing September 7, 2026, in Vancouver, Washington. She was 83.

“Paws Up” for Dr. Kenitra Hendrix and Dr. Craig Bowen – brought to you by the the PVM Wellness Committee

This week we share appreciation for Dr. Kenitra Hendrix, Associate Dean for the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories, and Dr. Craig Bowen, Associate Director of the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and Department Head of Accessioning.