Dr. Kent Reed
Dr. Kent M. Reed, Professor, has been appointed as Chair of the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences (VBS). He served as Interim Vice Chair of the department from 2020-2023. Prior to this, he served 5+ years as the Director of Graduate Studies for the Comparative and Molecular Biosciences Graduate program.
Kent received a B.S. degree in Biology from the University of Minnesota, a M.S. in Biology from Fort Hays State University, and a Ph.D. in Zoology from Texas A&M University. He subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Rochester (NY), the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and was as Visiting Scientist at the Max-Planck-Institute for Behavioral Physiology, Seewiesen (Germany) before coming to the University of Minnesota in 1998. He joined the VBS faculty in 2000.
Kent is the coordinator and instructor in genomics and molecular biology courses for veterinary and graduate students, and also teaches in undergraduate and continuing education courses. With funding from USDA and other agencies, he and his graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and collaborators apply genomic tools in collective investigations in muscle physiology, immunology and toxicology, and has authored over 150 publications. Kent is the recipient of the Zoetis Award for Excellence in Research, the National Turkey Federation Research Award, a Cargill Research Excellence Fellowship, and a CVM Graduate Advising/Teaching Award. A self-proclaimed Renaissance man, he is a published poet and as an amateur musician performs regularly with several musical groups.