ALPHAPATHO
Dr. Yava Jones-Hall
Associate Professor of Pathology and Director of the CVM Histology Laboratory, Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, College Station, TX | BA 1999, Talladega College| DVM 2003, Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine | PhD (Pathology) 2011, Michigan State University, 2011 | Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Pathology (Anatomic Pathology) 2008
My Story
I have always loved science and learning how the body works, but I’m kinda grossed out by humans. After taking pathology second year, I realized that I could combine my research interests and my love of the mysteries of science. Pathology brings a new challenge every day and can a pathologist can have so many different types of jobs!
My Struggles
My biggest struggle was access to the field of veterinary medicine before vet school. I only knew 2 vets, remotely. One was the vet I saw once a year for a few minutes at my pet’s vaccination appointment and the other was the only Black vet I had ever met, but he lived so far from me that I only got to shadow him twice, for about an hour each time before applying to vet school. I had no idea of all the jobs that vets could have (including pathology!) before vet school and certainly not the nuances of each specialty. I was half way through my undergraduate education before I learned there was a path that didn’t require me to complete undergrad before applying to vet school. I didn’t know anything about finance options for vet school. I didn’t even have that much exposure to animals, having only my dog and national geographic as resources.
My Heroes
My role model is and has always been my mom. She showed me the power of believing in myself, working hard and focusing. She also taught me how to seek out assistance from other people if I needed it. Those qualities made me a successful student and veterinarian/pathologist and they helped me realize the importance of finding my own mentors to help me continue to be successful.
My Typical Day
One of the best things about pathology is all the things that we do and how different each day in each job can be. I used to work at Purdue as an experimental pathologist, diagnostic pathologist, researcher and teacher. On any given day I could be looking at slides from another investigator’s study under my microscope to help them identify pathology in their model; on the necropsy floor in coveralls and boots opening up animals to figure out how they died; in my own research lab doing my studies using mice to understand human inflammatory bowel disease; or in the classroom teaching 2nd year vet students about pathology of the gastrointestinal tract of different animals. I now work at Texas A&M, still as a faculty member, which has a lot of responsibility on top of my pathology duties, just like at Purdue. I am now; however, focusing on experimental and digital pathology and administration. Similar to before, I use my microscope and my computer (digital pathology) to help other investigators identify increased or decreased pathology in their models of a human disease. I also am the director of the histology core laboratory, so I have a lot of administration and management duties.
My Stressors
Honestly, I don’t get stressed a lot. I have a strong foundation, instilled in me by my mom and strong faith in the plan that God has for my life. I also have good karma ??. I treat others well and the universe rewards me. I believe that!
My Why
Being a pathologist and contributing so much to advancing animal and human research on diseases. I also love how in research there is a team approach. I like being a valued member of a team where each member contributes a piece that makes the sum greater than the parts.