The University of Wyoming College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources welcomes two new faculty members to the Department of Veterinary Sciences and the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory.
“UW is fortunate to have recruited two well-trained and talented experts in infectious disease diagnostics and research that have experience in both academia and biotechnology,” says Jonathan Fox, head of the Department of Veterinary Sciences. “They will be working in areas vital to the health of Wyoming livestock and wildlife, as well as human health.”
Sarah Kane joined the Department of Veterinary Sciences on Monday, Jan. 13. She will serve as an assistant professor and the Riverbend Endowed Professor of Wildlife-Livestock Health, a position which supports wildlife and livestock research at UW.
Kane has experience in studying chronic wasting disease and developing new technologies for infectious disease testing. Kane completed her doctorate and post-doctoral training at the Colorado State University Prion Research Center. In 2020, she joined a company that tests for pathogens, GT Molecular, to support COVID-19 wastewater testing during the pandemic. Kane became director of research and development at GT Molecular in 2022.
Izabela Ragan will serve as an assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Sciences and a virologist within the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory. Ragan is an expert in foreign animal diseases, zoonoses, disease mechanism investigation, and the development of diagnostic tests and vaccines.
Ragan completed her doctorate of veterinary medicine at Kansas State University. She then moved to Colorado State University to finish her post-doctoral training and was promoted to assistant research professor in 2021. In 2023, Ragan took on the additional role of director of research and development at Solaris Vaccines, a company based in Fort Collins that develops vaccines.
Ragan assumed her new role at UW Tuesday, Jan. 21.
Both Kane and Ragan love the outdoors and look forward to exploring Wyoming’s mountains with their families.
To learn more about UW’s veterinary sciences program or the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory, visit www.uwyo.edu/wyovet. Contact Fox at jfox7@uwyo.edu with questions.
